21   Ottobre   2020

Italian ceramic tiles and bricks showcased at SAIE 2020

The 55th construction industry exhibition SAIE held recently in the Bologna Exhibition Centre came to a close on Saturday 17 October. The event, which this year took the name SAIE - Riparti Italia (“Restarting Italy”), provided an opportunity for companies, professionals and associations to meet in complete safety and give a boost to the construction industry with a focus on innovation and new market opportunities. For the organisation of SAIE 2020, BolognaFiere observed the health and safety guidelines drawn up by AEFI (Association of Italian Exhibition Organisations) and approved by the Italian Conference of Regions.

The Italian ceramic and brick industry was present in the Ceramics and Brick Area promoted by Confindustria Ceramica under the auspices of the Ceramics of Italy collective trademark. This approximately 200 sqm space hosted a selection of ceramic tiles and mock-ups of brick construction solutions, as well as an info point for Italian ceramic and brick industry products. A practical showcase space was set up alongside this area to enable Assoposa-affiliated master tile layers to give demonstrations of the latest large size ceramic slab installation techniques.

It is important to be able to keep the market informed about the latest construction solutions based on the use of natural materials, which are capable of guaranteeing efficient use of energy and water, environmental sustainability, living comfort, health and safety – all of which are intrinsic properties of ceramic materials.
SAIE was the first real opportunity to showcase solutions eligible for the Italian tax concession scheme and to present the new Life Superhero (SUstainability and PERformances for HEROTILE energy efficient roofs, www.lifeherotile.eu) research project to the general public. Aimed at improving the energy efficiency of brick roofs, the project was unveiled at an event organised by Confindustria Ceramica on Friday 16 October on the ground floor of the Services Centre and streamed online. Entitled “Sustainability and performance of energy efficient roofs”, the conference hosted talks by Mario Cunial - ICP (From LIFE HEROTILE to LIFE SUPERHERO, the sustainability and performance of brick roofs), Giuliana Bonvicini - Centro Ceramico (“LIFE SUPERHERO”, the European project on ventilated and breathable brick roofs) and Prof. Elisa Di Giuseppe - Universitą Politecnica delle Marche (ventilated and breathable roofs for the cooling of buildings and cities: breaking down barriers).

The four-day event discussed the future of the world of construction and focused on revitalising an industry that is crucial for the country’s economy and alone accounts for over 22% of Italy’s GDP. The event also demonstrated SENAF and BolognaFiere’s ability to adopt all the protocols necessary to guarantee the health and safety of staff from the 200 exhibiting companies, the more than 10,000 visitors and everyone else working behind the scenes at the show.
The next SAIE will be held in the Bari exhibition centre from 21 to 23 October 2021.