The organisers of Indian Ceramics 2009 have confirmed that the venue for next year’s exhibition – the fourth in the series – will be The Karnavati Club in Ahmedabad, with the event running over three days from 3-5 March.

The Karnavati Club is a well known and respected centre, much used by the Gujarati business community. Established in 1989, it is located on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway and now covers a total area of around 46,500 square metres. A broad range of modern facilities are offered throughout the club and office bearers are drawn from established professionals across Ahmedabad, voted in a recent SundayET poll of Indian CEOs as one of the top five futuristic cities in the country.

“Having taken the decision to relocate Indian Ceramics to Gujarat, we are fortunate to have secured The Karnavati in Ahmedabad as our next venue,” commented Exhibition Director, Kevin Hudson. “It provides the exhibition space that we require, decent break-out areas for the conference and other meetings, full catering and hospitality support and general facilities which are superior to most exhibition centres.”

The organisers report that since announcing the move up to Gujarat some weeks ago, the reaction of exhibitors and visitors had been positive. Some of the major international players are in the process of finalising their space requirements and a large area is currently being negotiated for a group of key Chinese suppliers to the ceramic manufacturing industry. For the first time, there has also been strong interest from elsewhere in the Far East, including Korea.

Indian Ceramics is the only event to be dedicated to all sectors of the industry in India and to have a significant showing from both domestic and internationally based suppliers. The experience built up since the inaugural event in 2006 has proved crucial. “In over three years’ continuous data research and liaison with the industry, particularly in Gujarat, we have built up a very good picture of the manufacturing base,” said Indian Ceramics’ Paul Ratcliffe. “We know that with all the investment required to take ceramics further forward in India, these manufacturers are always keen to see new technology and to meet the innovators. We will provide them with just such an opportunity in March next year and what’s more, right on their doorstep.”