From Realtà Mapei International n° 88 - 11/18/2021
Interview with Veronica Squinzi, Mapei’s CEO.
“Connecting Minds. Creating the Future” is the theme of this edition, which, for the first time, is being hosted in the ME.NA.SA. region (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia), an area where Mapei is strengthening its operations.
What connections has Mapei setup to contribute creating the future of local communities?
The theme of this year’s Expo is an idea that has always underpinned Mapei’s strategy. We were founded almost 85 years ago and have always believed in being local, i.e. in creating value not just from Italy but also by actually operating in different countries to connect people while promoting the values and quality that are our hallmark.
We are international; we operate across all five continents and we are investing heavily in new local companies because we believe that being local gives us inside knowledge of the market. Being able to draw on the experience of various regions enriches us and allows us to grow in a healthy way while holding onto our core values - quality, sustainability, research- and it also enables us to have highly specialised products that can deal with all the problems potentially arising on building sites.
What is Mapei’s approach to internationalisation?
In every country in which we operate worldwide, as well as creating facilities to support our operations, we draw on competent local resources with an understanding of sustainability. Our dual goal is to grow the company and, at the same time, contribute to the development of the local community. Indeed, we firmly believe that you cannot “create the future” without close ties between business, local regions and communities.
Mapei is renewing its support for the Expo. What is the importance of this event nowadays and what does it mean for Italy as a system?
Expo 2020 Dubai, just like all the other expos, is a great showcase of the world, which, this year in particular, provides an opportunity to show off the creative-business skill and potential of Italy and to reassert our excellence following the tricky period we have just been through.
Mapei, which for years has been an ambassador for Italian know-how, could not fail to be present at this event and is committed to helping designers ensure a truly memorable experience for visitors of the Italy Pavilion.
The Italy Pavilion is a melting pot of cooperation and innovation “Made with Italy”. What was Mapei’s contribution to this project involving other great champions of Italian excellence to give shape to the design concept “Beauty connects people”?In the design concept “Beauty connects people”, not taken as beauty from a purely aesthetic viewpoint but as “a harmony of beauty, truth, goodness and taste”, we found a powerful analogy with our business operations. Mapei products and solutions cannot be seen but, thanks to their innovation and specialisation, they help make building works more beautiful, sustainable and long-lasting, giving concrete shape to designers’ ideas. And that is what we have done for the Italy Pavilion, too. Making it possible for the project to use iconic materials for both Italian and Arab culture, such as coffee, oranges, desert sand, we have given shape to one of the underlying ideas behind the Italy Pavilion: Mediterranean-ness as the co-existence of different cultures.
How important is sustainability?
In our concept of “beauty”, we include the sustainability and durability of everything we make in partnership with designers and leading contractors: not just major works but also projects that will then be part of the everyday lives of thousands of people.
The curtain rose on Expo 2020 Dubai on 1st October. This is the first world fair to be held in the Middle East/North Africa/South Asia region.
Planned to be held in 2020 and then postponed due to the health crisis, it will end on 31st March 2022. On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates, the event is a great showcase for the countries taking part that present a range of innovative projects and ideas inspired by the Expo’s motto: “Connecting minds, Creating the future”.
This elaborate theme is divided into three keywords that bring together the global community in search of solutions to fundamental issues: sustainability (progress and prosperity without compromising the needs of future generations), mobility (innovative systems for logistics, transport and communication), opportunity (creating a better future by unleashing the potential of individuals and communities).
The event’s facts and figures are impressive: over 200 pavilions, 191 participating nations, approximately 25 million visitors expected, who will gather over a total area of 4.3 km² (equal to 613 football pitches). The Emirate of Dubai expects its economy to be boosted by 33 billion US dollars through the Expo, which will also create almost 300,000 jobs.
All while focusing special attention on the project’s sustainability, which has received glowing recognition from CEEQUAL: Expo 2020 Dubai became the first project in the Middle East to score ‘Excellent’ ratings from one of the world’s first assessment, rating and certification schemes for sustainability in infrastructure projects.
Mapei is involved in the event as Partner of Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and supplied its products for the construction of plenty of other pavilions, hospitality and welcome areas and nearby infrastructures. No.88 of Realtà Mapei International provides an overview of these projects that have also seen the creation of tailor-made products and the constant presence of Mapei experts on site.
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