“We will carry Marble İzmir into its 50th and 100th years”

Marble İzmir, which has become a global brand in the fair industry with its 30 years of experience, hosted the sector in İzmir on April 9–12. Emphasizing that Marble İzmir will continue to grow and advance, İZFAŞ General Manager Tuğçe Cumalıoğlu said: “We aim to start preparations for next year immediately. We will carry Marble İzmir into its 50th and even 100th years with much greater strength.”

Organized for the 30th time this year by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZFAŞ, the Marble İzmir – International Natural Stone and Technologies Fair welcomed the world to İzmir between April 9–12. As every year, Marble İzmir made a significant contribution to the city’s economy. Buyer delegations from 17 countries including Italy, France, Russia, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, as well as 188 foreign participants from 27 countries and companies from 49 provinces across Türkiye attended. In total, over 1,000 domestic and international participants took part in the fair.

Held on a 150,000 m² exhibition area, the fair hosted buyers and visitors for four days. Participants came from provinces such as Adana, Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Antalya, Aydın, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Konya, Manisa, Muğla, Trabzon, and many more. International participation included Germany, the United States, Australia, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, China, Morocco, Finland, France, South Korea, India, the UK, Iran, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Qatar, Egypt, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Greece.

Cumalıoğlu: We will continue to make every effort

İZFAŞ General Manager Tuğçe Cumalıoğlu noted that although Marble İzmir is considered to have a 30-year history, if the first marble exhibition at Kültürpark is included, its legacy extends back 35 years. She highlighted that this year’s 30th edition hosted 188 participants from 27 countries:
“We welcomed marble producers as well as technology and machinery manufacturers from 49 provinces of Türkiye. The 30th anniversary celebration was very meaningful for us. Considering Türkiye's current political and economic conditions, it is fair to say that this year’s fair exceeded expectations. We are also receiving the same feedback from our participants.”

Cumalıoğlu emphasized that they will continue working to further enhance Marble İzmir’s international power and visibility:
“We aim to begin preparations for next year immediately. We are in contact with trade attachés all over the world, as well as international marble and machinery producers’ associations. We will carry Marble İzmir into its 50th and even 100th years much stronger.”

Şimşek: This fair belongs to all 85 million

Hanifi Şimşek, Chairman of the Board of the All Marble, Natural Stone, and Machinery Producers Association, said the fair was very successful:
“Our country is surrounded by turmoil, but despite everything, the fair went very well and was fruitful. From now on, we will dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to our work and strive to increase exports. I say this proudly: we are number one. In 1989, our exports were $77 million; today they have exceeded $2 billion. This is a sector to be proud of. We must protect this fair — it belongs to all 85 million citizens. We will hold our Advisory Board meetings and prepare for next year’s fair. Starting today, we are pressing the button for 2026 to organize an even more effective and vibrant fair.”