Spotlight on Coverings 2016

The twenty-seventh edition of Coverings, the most important North American exhibition for the tile and stone industry, begins today, Monday 18 April, in Chicago.

Through to 21 April, a total of 1,100 exhibitors from more than 40 countries will showcase the latest design trends in a net exhibition space of 425,000 square feet in the McCormick Place Convention Center.  A number of country pavilions will be present, including the US pavilion organised by the Tile Council of America (TCNA), the Italian pavilion under the banner of Ceramics of Italy and the Spanish pavilion under the trademark of Tile of Spain.

The Italian Pavilion, organised by Confindustria Ceramica with the support of the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, hosts 122 companies and numerous brands under the Ceramics of Italy banner. Hundreds of innovative products will be on display, including high-end mosaics, porcelain tiles, large-format porcelain panels, antibacterial grout and simple installation systems.

There will be a packed programme of events, including the Ceramics of Italy International Press Conference to be held tomorrow 19 April at 4.00 pm local time in Hall S401BC B, where the association’s representatives will discuss the state of the sector and announce the highly anticipated winners of the 2016 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition. This will be followed by the presentation of the coveted Confindustria Ceramica North American Distributor Award. The initiative Installation Design Showcase will be back for the seventh year running, highlighting the close relationship between innovative products, creative design and professional installation. Sicis, Atlas Concorde, Tagina Ceramiche d’Arte and Ceramica Sant’Agostino have contributed to the initiative by supplying tiles from their award-winning collections, while Mapei supplied the installation materials.

Spanish ceramic excellence takes centre stage in a country pavilion organised by ASCER and hosting 68 companies under the banner of Tile of Spain. The Spanish pavilion is showcasing a wide range of cutting-edge products and hosting a range of initiatives. In particular, two seminars led by Ryan Fasan entitled “From Skin to System: Rethinking Ceramic’s Place in Design” and “User Experience Focus: Trends in Ceramics 2016” will offer industry professionals some useful insights into innovation, large sizes and major trends in ceramics in keeping with UX design principles.