Asian Ceramics - AC16-1 Edition by Bowhead Media Ltd

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Guangdong tiles Turkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tableware Pakistan: survival strategies CICA focus p1; Vietnam

PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANALYSIS AND MUCH MORE!

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Contents: AC 16-1

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Normally, a feeling of being unbalanced and slightly hungover at the start of a new year is down to the excesses of celebration the night before. This year, however, it’s a little different as economic markets have been in a tailspin of dizzying proportions as financial screens have flashed red the world over.

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But, hang on. What is all the fuss about? Do we suddenly need less houses? Less toilets? Less floors? Less walls? Less things to eat off? No. So before we all start panicking because some sharp-suited, surrealist from a parallel universe who understands nothing of the realities of supply and demand starts dictating the size of our pension funds, let’s remember that underneath it all, demand is robust. When all the panic subsides in the next month or two, the world will look no different or less exciting than it did six months ago.

: OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

IN D IAN CE RAM IC S 2016 DIA AHMEDABAD, IN

Asian Ceramics Edit orial & Distribution Schedule A wealth of exciting

opportunities…

✷ ON-PAGE: full and half display advertis ing ✷ DIGITAL: full and half display advertis ing…and more! ✷ DUMMY COVERS: the ultimate, high impact creative… ✷ BELLY-WRAPS: take ownership of high profile, hard-hit the issue ting message conveya nce

November 2015

E: IN SkaID in focus ●●●●●●●●

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■ Heavy clay in Maghreb ■ Fuel evolution in Asian heavy clay ■ Capacity builders: the future for Asian ■ Province profile: ●●●●●●●●

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■ Shared freight: cost savings for Asia ■ Iranian porcelain spreads regional influence ■ Tile trade: winners and losers ■ Heavy clay industries ●●●●●●●●

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BONUS DISTRIBUTION: SPECIAL FOCUS: Asia: Yearplanner; Indian Ceramics 2016 the brick industry forecast

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LYSIS AND MUCH PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANA

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■ Province Profile: Guangdong ■ Turkey: a tablewar e hotspot ■ Pakistan: an industry in turmoil? ■ ASEAN in focus: the leaders' debate ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: ●●●●●●●●

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Asian porcelain tiles SEE US AT: Ambiente , Germany; Unicera, Turkey; Cevisama, Spain

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Chinese machinery exports SEE US AT: Official Magazine: Ceramics China; Middle East Stone & Ceramic, Dubai

Maxi mise you r exposu re,

find out how by contact

ing:

Paul Russell, Tel: +44 (0) 208 638 0619 Email: prussell@asiancera mics.com

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■ Rajasthan: a rival for Gujarat? ■ Chinese sanitaryw are markets and ■ South Korea: setting a future stage makers ■ Egyptian tile markets ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

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■ The Casting Couch: Asia decides ■ Vietnam sanitaryw are markets and ■ Tile decoratio n: choosing the right makers option ■ Brick opportun ities in North Africa ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: ●●●●●●●●

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Printing technolog y SEE US AT: The Big 5, Dubai

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Raising investment funds SEE US AT: Tecnargill a, Italy

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options?

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■ Province Profile: Xinjiang ■ Iran in focus: tableware and sanitaryw ■ J-V or OEM: decisions are for tile makers ■ Technical ceramics demand in South Asia ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

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revolution? tableware decoratio n techniques SEE US AT: Ceramic Industry Club of ASEAN, Thailand

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Asian tile makers SEE US AT: Cersaie, Italy

Tile inspection and certification SEE US AT: Keramika , Indonesia; Mosbuild , Russia; 27th Cerambath, China

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clay land of opportunity? SEE US AT: Official Magazine: Indian Ceramics; Tile & Sanitaryware China

■ Province Profile: Qinghai & Tibet ■ Kiln design tech: conflicts of interest? ■ Gujarat p1: changing tiles, changing times ■ Building blocks: heavy clay markets in ASEAN ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

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■ Iran in focus: the heavy clay options ■ Cost control in Asian tiles ■ Middle East sanitaryw are: evolution or ■ Asian Tablewar e: a change in focus ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

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■ ASEAN tile manufact uring trends ■ Fuel choice: powering the factories of tomorrow ■ China tile demand analysis ■Asian trading blocs: winners and losers ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

MORE!

■ Province Profile: Fujian ■ Sri Lanka: a new day dawns ■ Cost saving strategies for heavy ■ Bangladesh:

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or consolidation? Freight options for difficult markets SEE US AT: Cerafair, Iran; ISH, China

OPPORTUNITIES SUPPLEM ENT

December/January Sri Lan 2016 opportunity? Bangladesh: a land of clay vy hea in Cost savings AC16 file-1 Gao’an: a provoince pro

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■ China: the mid-year review ■ Kiln furniture demand cycles ■ Gujarat p2: sanitaryw are - growth ■ Bangladesh: a new tile centre ■ SPECIAL FOCUS:

saniware?

BONUS DISTRIBUTION: g SPECIAL FOCUS: AFRICANBricks Expo Ahmedabad

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■ Roof tile markets in southern Asia ■ Export patterns for Asian tiles ■ Thailand: the Lampang factor ■ Southern India: a tile and sanitaryw are ■ FREE INSIDE: ●●●●●●●●

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YOUR 2017 YEAR

maxim ise you r budget…

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centre PLANNER

FRE E WIT H THI S ISSU E The 2017 Year plan

Valerie Adamson, Tel: +44 (0) 208 133 5273 Email: vadamson@asianc eramics.com

ner!

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ics.com

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In other news, the sharp-eyed will have noticed we have now started our new numbering system for the magazine: this being AC16-1 (not the usual ‘February’ of old). Since we started back in 1997, we have always entitled our issues by “month”. However, from the first issue of 2016 onwards (which will be published in late January), we are moving towards a more harmonised system of year and number. For example, the first of 2016, will be called “AC161” through to “AC16-10” at the end of next year. It will then move each year to be “AC17-1” etc. There is of course no difference in the quantity of issues of course, but we believe that the new system will make it easier to track down articles compared to the old-fashioned “monthly” system.

Have a great New Year!

News 4 Inside Asia

Sacmi turns it on in Turkey.

6 Welcome

Rwanda calls for help.

8 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

16 International News Our eye on the international arena.

21 Material Matters Raw materials news and views.

22 Comment & Analysis Bangladesh: open for investment.

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AC 16-1

26 www.asianceramics.com

News

www.asianceramics.com Features 26 Southern China under pressure

Looking forward

The year 2015 proved to be tough one for tile producers across China as markets slowed and investment buckled. AC looks at the prospects for a recovery this year…

Cevisama

Spain 01-05-Feb

40 Tableware in Turkey

Ambiente

Germany 12-16-Feb

Unicera 2016

Turkey

23-27-Feb

Indian Ceramics

India

02-04-Mar

Keramika

Indonesia 17-20-Mar

Ecobuild China

China

29-Mar-01-Apr

Mosbuild

Moscow

05-08-Apr

Although Turkey is more renowned for its construction ceramics, the country’s tableware industry has created a major impression, as AC finds out…

46 Pakistan: now or never

Yogender Malik looks at why despite all the advantages that should propel Pakistan’s ceramic industry to the frontline, it continues to lag its regional neighbours.

52 Vietnam gains as ASEAN advances

When the Ceramic Industries Club of ASEAN meet each year, only one magazine is allowed access…Asian Ceramics. Jahir Ahmed files his first of a series of reflective reports from the event which highlight once again the emergence of SE Asia as a ceramic major.

The 27th China International Ceramic & Bathroom Fair Foshan 18-21-Apr ISH China & CIHE China

30-May-01-Jun

Middle East Stone

UAE

23-26-May

Ceramics China

China

27-30-May

Unitecr

Austria TBC

Tecnargilla Italy 26-30-Sep Cersaie

Italy 26-30-Sep

We look forward to seeing our readers and advertisers at the show!

Anaylsis 56 Talking Shop

AC looks at how the continued instigation of anti-dumping (AD) duties on Chinese ceramic exports is causing a rethink in strategy.

58 Insight

Analysis and insight into Zircon pricing.

61 The Hunter And The Hunted

William upgrades to an ipad, but still casts his unsympathetic eye over industry issues: this month he talks about “Bigenomics”…the “science” of running large scale corporate budgets..

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www.asianceramics.com Your favourite magazine is now available at the App Store… download today to see your first sample issue! Asian Ceramics: now for mobiles, ipads and androids

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Inside Asia SACMI AND EGE: THE PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES Ege Vitrifiye, a Turkish vitreous china and fine fire-clay sanitaryware manufacturer, has completed its glazing department with a third GA 2000 robot. This now-operative Gaiotto robot ensures stable surface finish quality. It also offers user-friendliness and flexibility when inserting new products thanks to self-learning programming and an operator interface already in Turkish. The Mass Control system optimises glaze delivery while reducing overspray. This latest project, completed by Ege Vitrifiye together with Sacmi, strengthens a partnership and a mutual trust

that is already more than a decade old. Progress in Brazil In tiles too, there has been major progress. In Brazil, Vinci Partners, the Brazilian investment company with a majority share in Cecrisa – one of the country’s leading manufacturers of high-end ceramic wall tiles – has continued to modernise its machine pool, the aim being to attain major advantages in terms of both the productivity and energy efficiency of its plants. The core of this initial stage of the project is undoubtedly

the new spray-dried body preparation department. The latter has been equipped with two MMC180 continuous modular mills and two ATM180 spray driers; in keeping with the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manufacturing policy, this order will boost glazed porcelain and monoporosa tile body output by some 80 tons/hour. Located at Portinari, the new body preparation department will supply two factories, one in Portinari itself and another in Eldorado. In this way Cecrisa aims to make the most of all the technological development and energy efficiency opportunities on the raw material processing front, with electricity savings of up to 50% and gas savings of 10-15%. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, high levels of process automation will reduce labour requirements by an impressive 67%; additionally, there is guaranteed process repeatability, resulting in improved

finished product quality. This project, then, is designed to lay the foundations for an ambitious programme that will strengthen operations in Brazil and allow the company to expand its position on high-end foreign markets. The installation of a new, complete high productivity line for both glazed porcelain tiles and monoporosa aims to achieve similar goals: at the heart of the line is a combination of Sacmi PH5000L presses, a 5-tier ECP307/28.2-metre drier and a firing solution consisting of a JMC315/14.7-metre pre-kiln and FMC 325/161.7-metre kiln. The latter machines feature hot air recovery systems and other technical innovations that, in addition to incredibly precise firing curve control, ensure production flexibility and optimised energy consumption.

Welcome

It’s often been considered that Asian Ceramics is the home of emerging markets. It is within the pages of this journal for example, that we have focused attention over the last 19 years on developments right across the continent, at a time when much of the industry we now are all so familiar with was in its nascent phase. With this in mind, not only do we continue to monitor the excitement of our host continent, but we are also keeping our eye on what is happening in Africa too. Whilst the start-point for the industry there is much lower than was the case with the modern Asian industry, there is nevertheless massive potential – albeit long-term.

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CONTACT DETAILS EDITORIAL

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Guangdong tiles Turkey’s tableware Pakistan: survival strat egies CICA focus p1; Vietnam

PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANAL YSIS AND MUCH MORE!

When we hear then, of a development in an economically struggling country that is simply in need of a few basics to change the lives of a huge number of people, it does resonate with us. In this issue, we would like to highlight a twelve-member cooperative for potters, Potérie Locale de Gatagara, in Nyanza District of Rwanda, that has appealed for support to acquire advanced tools to produce standard ceramic products. That a cooperative accredited four years ago only has 12 members means the country should reflect deeply. But all is not lost. Just like the government last year took a decision to support local leather industry by increasing taxes on imported leather products - such as second-hand shoes, belts and bags - the pottery sector too needs more attention. There is a lot for the sector to realise. The best way to give the peasant self-reliance and the dignity they crave for is not by advancing the ideals of white collar jobs to them, but dignifying the same lay activities they engage in. Although Technical and Vocational Education and Training already caters for a lot of such handson skills training - giving them a salient place in the socio-economic transformation of the country -, going by the wishes of potters, there is more to be done. Besides the obvious economic value, as in direct employment and tourism, pottery defines cultural heritage. For instance, it's easy to tell historical aspects of social groupings by looking at ceramics and pottery. You can tell how Egyptians or Israelites of thousands of years ago lived from their ancient ceramics. Through such unique characters as patterns and designs inscribed on ceramics, it defines and promotes cultural identity as one can tell what originates from Rwanda apart from what is coming from, say, China. Pottery also accentuates designs in both environments and other social settings as well as in homes. But despite such array of significance, the industry is almost a forgotten. Despite the industry gradually picking up in recent years, potters lack enough clientele (limited to mainly tourists), face difficulties in accessing the market and continue to rely on rudimentary machinery. Stakeholders should consider promoting the activity by encouraging locals into buying the valuable pieces and equip potters with modern tools. Cooperatives need to be supported and accorded access to loans to develop the industry. We can all make a contribution: the basic associations of today are the future for our industry in a decades to come. Happy Reading!

Publishing Director Andy Skillen Email: askillen@asianceramics.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0196 Fax: + 44 (0) 207 183 7196

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Asian Ceramics (ISSN: 1476-1467), is published by Bowhead Media Ltd, registered in the UK no: 6127651

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Al Jawdah company for plastic pipes and fittings: The company was founded in 1994 and is engaged in the production of plastic pipes of the (PVC) and (C-PVC) and (UPVC) and (PP-R) This addition to the production of links all kinds of plastic in all sizes and different thickness are used in various fields such as extensions of water lines with high and low pressure and sewage extensions, telephone and electricity and agricultural extensions, according to the Saudi Arabian Standards for Standards, Metrology and international standards.

AL-JAWDAH pLASTIC PIPES & fITTINGS cOMPANY

Al-Jawdah Ceramics Company was established in 1995 and produces ceramics wall and floor tiles with a wide range of products. The Company produces all decorative products such as Listello,skirting etc, to match the tiles. The Company continuous growth to fulfill the Saudi Arabian and Middle East market requirement.

AL-JAWDAH CERAMICS

Group of Companies Abdul Rahman and Abdul Karem Saleh Al-Omran were established in 1975 under the name of Al Omran sanitary ware and specialized in wholesale and retail trade of sanitary ware and accessories, as one of the largest companies imported sanitary ware in the kingdom and the Middle East, where the importation of the major companies and factories World finest varieties and the latest models to suit all tastes and in very large quantity to cover all the request for the large projects and the Group is one of the largest and most famous companies working in this field in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states in the framework of the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to provide distinctive products has added industrial ACTIVITY through the creation of the group of companies large industrial sophisticated and includes four leading industrial companies under the name of Aljawdah companies, namely:

www.alomran.sa / www.aljawdahgroup.com

Visit us at

Email: alomran@cyberia.net.sa / info@aljawdahgroup.com Tel: Al-Jawdah: +966 11 265-0228 / Al-Omran: +966 11 422-3316

Emirates Quality Mark

The photo shows the owner, Mr. Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Omran center, with son Dr.Saleh Abdul Rahman Al-Omran.

The new production plant of Al Jawdah Porcelain & Ceramics owned by Abdul Rahman Saleh Al-Omran, is currently undergoing installation of machines. Located in Riyadh, The facility is an impressive INVESTMENT project which when completed will have an output capacity of 110,000 square metres per day. The centerpiece of this plant is the new PH 6500, a hydraulic press. The first largest press ever INSTALLED in Saudi Arabia, it has a maximum pressing force of 64,000 kN and an inter-column clearance of 2,450 mm, making it ideal for the manufacture of very large tiles. Two presses of this kind have been installed for the new facility. The first was delivered in early July and a second with similar dimensions and characteristics has now been added to complete the first phase of the INVESTMENT, capable of producing 40,000 sq.m per day. They join four PH 3200 presses which have already been INSTALLED in the shaping department. Sacmi has also supplied the other key machines in the production line, including three spray-driers and two high performance mills. The project will be completed by machinery and equipment for the drying and firing deparments.

AL-jawdah PORCELAIN

One of Abdul Rahman, a group of companies and Abdul Karem Saleh Omran TRADE and industry began commercial production of the plant in early 1999, the factory is located in riyadh Second Industrial City and a production capacity of up to (400,000) electric water heater annuall annually. The factory produces electric water heaters sizes (30.50,100,200,250,300 liters) multiple different colors and models, including horizontal and vertical-fashioned style and ground-style central and style.

AL-JAWDAH WATER HEATER

Tile output slows as economic issues bite • Dynasty gains investor favour • Tile standard imposed • Financial resu Kale Group plans manufacturing investment • Morbi reprieve as gas price cut • Brand-building has tile industry Government levies could break brick sector • Ege installs new sorter system CHINA

Tile output slows as economic issues bite According to China Building and Sanitary Ceramics Association, in the first eight months of 2015, total output of the country's 1,119 ceramic tile enterprises is 6.89 billion square metres, an increase of 0.94% only. Among them, output in Shanxi and Guangxi increased by over 20%, in Sichuan over 10%, but in Chongqing, Xinjiang and Jiangsu decreased by over 20% and in Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang and Ningxia over 10%. The growth for the first eight months is nearly zero and then combined many kilns stopped operation and ceramic tile enterprises closed down in the second half of this year, the

industry has made a forecast that China's ceramic tile output or will bid farewell to the high growth rate of more than ten years and show negative growth again for 2015. The statistics show that China's ceramic tiles on a negative growth of -13.4% and -2.77% for 1998 and 1999, respectively, and then entered the stage of rapid development and even maintained two digit growth for a long period. To 2014, China's ceramic tile output first break 10 billion, reaching 10.23 billion square meters. But, the annual capacity of China's ceramic tiles reach 13,961.16 million square meters by the end of 2014 based

THAILAND

Financial analysts in Thailand believe that the country’s tile industry is about to turn a corner, and that Dynasty Ceramic, as a result, will see a potential upside in the coming 12 months. Total sales volume for ceramic tiles in Thailand has seen its trough in Aug 2015 at 12.9m sqm, which was the lowest monthly sales figure since 2010, a decrease of 11% YoY and 5% MoM. In a positive surprise, despite the low season, domestic sales volumes show that such recovery signs will increase 4% MoM to 13.5m sqm in September and up 3% MoM to 13.9sqm in October. Thus, 4Q15 industry-wide demand is expected to be QoQ flattish, which outperforms the historical evidence of demand slippage by 2-5%. FY15 industry-wide demand should slip 4% YoY to 168m sqm. We are looking for demand growth of 2percent

asian ceramics

Shandong (Zibo and Linyi), Jiangxi (pan Gao’an), Sichuan (pan Jiajiang), Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. All showed the cessation of operation of many kilns and reduction of output. In Xiqiao Town of Nanhai District and Gaoming District of Foshan more than 30% of the production lines were shutdown. In Zhaoqing (Yongan, Jinli and Baitu district), 40% of production lines were shutdown. In Shahu of Enpingover 50% of the production line were shutdown. In Zibo, around 8000 production lines, accounting for around 20% of the total, are shutdown.

CHINA

Dynasty gains investor favour

on 310 operation days per year. Since this Spring, affected by the market downturn, sluggish sales, full warehouses and the difficulties in funds return, such as multiple factors influence, some companies are confronted with reduction of output and stopping operation. In mid August, the reporters did investigations in Gao’an, Jiajiang, Zibo, Neihuang (Henan), Hebei and Shaanxi. Preliminary statistics show that nearly 100 production lines stopped operation. By the end of November, investigations again in Guangdong (Foshan, Zhaoqing, Qingyuan and Enping),

AC 16-1

for FY16 pegged to CAGR for FY05-14. Demand outlook in Jan-Mar 2016 will expand YoY and QoQ by seasonality and the low base set by the figures from 1Q15. Analysts have raised their FY16 core profit forecast by 2% for Dynasty to reflect the energy price (natural gas) plunge. Natural gas comprises 30% of DCC's cost of production (its highest single cost) and gas is loosely benchmarked against the price of crude, with quarterly or six-monthly price adjustments (depending on the field). The Brent crude cost has fallen about 24% QTD and 36% YTD to about US$37/bbl. There is also the prospect that the industry should expect lower gas prices in future, particularly in FY16, which would boost DCC's GM and profit. They have also lifted their GM assumption for FY16 from 42.5% to 43.0%, up 0.5% YoY.

Tile standard imposed The new revised "41002015 GB/T" national industry standard for ceramic tiles has been officially implemented from 1st December 2015. The new standard makes a limit for thickness of dry pressed ceramic tiles for the first time. In the premise of ensuring the same technical indexes of strength and water absorption, the thickness of ceramic tiles is greatly reduced to promote the development of thinness. The new standard provides that the thickness should be less than 13.5 mm for the tiles with surface area of more than 6400 cm2, the thickness of less than 10 mm for the tiles with surface area of less than 3600 cm2 and the thickness of less than 11 mm for the tiles with surface area of 3600 ~ 6400 cm2. It is estimated that only this can save a lot of clay resources and reduce

the energy consumption by 10%. That means more than 17 million tonnes of standard coal. The new standard also eliminates the tiles made by other methods. Two types of ceramic tiles are classified on water absorption. One is the tile with water absorption less than 0.5% and the other with water absorption 0.5%-3%. The type with water absorption between 3%-10% is eliminated. It improves the technical requirements for ceramic tiles and further eliminates outdated production capacity.

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ults defy downturn? • Brick shortage slows reconstruction • y benefits • Borosil acquires Hopewell Tableware • HSIL targets Telangana CHINA

Financial results defy downturn? In the first half of 2015, DONGPENG had a total turnover around ￥1.65 billion. The net profit reached ￥231 million, growing by 28.9% as compared with the same period of last year. According to the statement, the growth in turnover was due to increase in the sales of glazed tile, mostly generated by new product collections such as Wonders of the World, Europe Image etc.. Statistics showed that in the first half of 2015, the turnover of glazed tile totaled ￥848.5 million, growing by 12.4% as compared with the same period of last year. Besides, polished glazed tiles were proved more popular in retail market. Meanwhile, the turnover of polished tile dropped to ￥581.6 million from ￥647.6 million, down by 10.2% as compared with the same period of last

year. Analyses conducted by the company gave further explanation to this phenomenon: it had lowered the average price of products that are sold to corporate buyers. What’s more, the financial statement also showed an increase in the number of retail stores. By the end of June, DONGPENG had 2,556 retail stores in total( mostly owned by a third party), covering over 600 cities across the country. This means that since the end of 2013, there has been another 577 retail stores. By the end of June, DONGPENG’s total production capacity reached ￥26.5 million m2, with the utilization ratio up to 87.2%. The first half of 2015 for CIMIC has witnessed a turnaround in the real estate market, but it takes longer for the building material market to recover and

that has exerted considerable impact on the ceramic industry. According to the financial statement unveiled by CIMIC, the company’s turnover in the first half of this year stood at ￥292 million, down by 27.78% as compared with the same period of last year, less than 1/3 of its annual target. However, sales of the company’s highperformance decorative panels( a kind of panel that produces negative ions and thus benefits human health) showed a rapid growth, up by 110.38% in value. In the first half of 2015, OCEANO had a turnover of ￥634 million, down by 2.43% as compared with the same period of last year. The main reason for this decrease was due to the loss of profits following the transfer of the shares of its subsidiary company, TIDIY Ceramics, which took place in

October, 2014. In the first half of that year, TIDIY contributed a total sales value of ￥77.34 million. However, despite the loss, net profit reached ￥44.97 million, increasing by 18.85% as compared with the same period of last year. According to the financial statement, the company’s inventory turnover ratio of the first six months of 2015 was 1.27, with the inventory taking up 25.75% of the company’s total assets. The increasing sales scale of construction buyers has risen the stock of relative products, thus blocking the elimination of the company’s inventory. OCEANO has been enhancing the management of its production plan and inventory control, regulating production capacity, aiming at achieving the balance between production and marketing.

NEPAL

Brick shortage slows reconstruction Stakeholders have said brick kilns will take more than four years to produce bricks required for reconstruction of earthquake-damaged structures. “According to government estimates, 12 billion bricks are needed for reconstruction and it might take four years, or even more, for us to produce bricks in this volume,” said Nepal Brick Kiln Federation Chairman Mahendra Bahadur Chitrakar. According to him, the country has 850 modern technologybased brick kilns. “The industries in total are producing 2.5 billion bricks annually. So it might take four years or more to meet the demand if the kilns

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run continuously,” he said. Chitrakar, however, showed his concern about the ongoing blockade and its effect. “As there is no fuel most of the brick kilns are unable to feed workers there and have shut down, while others are suffering due to shortage of coal that is needed to bake bricks,” he said, adding that brick industries will be able to produce half their annual capacity if the blockade ends any time soon. According to Chitrakar, around 10 per cent of brick kilns are now in operation. “Though a few of the kilns in Kathmandu Valley, Nawalparasi and Chitwan are running, the ones located in the plains where the stir is on,

haven’t operated,” he said. On his part, federation secretary Narayan Sapkota dwelt on the difficulties in supplying raw materials to brick kilns set up in the interiors of Madhes. “As there is a blockade, we have failed to supply the necessary raw materials to brick kilns in the Madhes where the agitation is on,” said Sapkota, also expressing concern about the plight of brick kiln workers amidst the blockade and lack of cooking fuel. “There are 250,000 to 300,000 workers working in brick kilns. We’ve failed to feed them, let alone run the brick industry,”

25th - 27th April, 2016

NEW DELHI, INDIA

said Sapkota, adding that brick kilns had lost around 1.12 billion rupees. He also sought government help in providing necessary fuel so as to operate the kilns.

AC 16-1

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News

PAKISTAN

Kale Group plans manufacturing investment Turkish industrial giant, Kale Group, with a growing worldwide footprint and diverse portfolio of interests including ceramics, machinery and equipment manufacturing, defense and energy, is the latest overseas investor to enter the Pakistan market. Kale Group President and CEO Zeynep Bodur Okyay talking to The Nation said that Pakistan is a lucrative market for construction materials with limited state of the art manufacturing facilities. “We are planning to establish manufacturing plant and assessing the market through our Pakistani dealers in this regard,” she added. She said that joining hands with the El Nafey Group, one of Pakistan’s leading entrepreneurships, the Kale Group company, Kaleseramik has opened a spanking new seven story exclusive showroom in Lahore to display and market

the complete range of Kale brand Ceramic tiles and bathroom furniture and fixtures. Zaynep Bodur Okyay said that initial response is very encouraging, as the company has won contracts for Packages Shopping Malls, Nishat Emporium and Coca Cola head office. Kale Group President termed Pakistan as one of the top emerging global economies of the world, next to Turkey, India, China, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia and added, “Pakistan, with a national income in access of $ 237 billion and a population approaching the 200 million mark, is on its way to become one of the most important global players in the near future.” She claimed that Kele products are at par in quality with the Italian and Spanish brands but are 40 percent cheaper. The products she added are 20

percent more expensive than Chinese but are far superior in quality. She said Chinese products are imported at very low duty due to FTA between the two countries. She said the high end buyer go for Italian and Spanish products, middle segment prefers Chinese products that are relatively cheaper and local products used by the lower segment of society. Mentioning how the Turkish people have never forgotten the support from the people of Pakistan during Turkey’s war of independence, Zeynep Bodur Okyay expressed that she sees this investment as payment to a debt of gratitude – a sentiment that will capture the hearts of a majority of Pakistanis, who also see Turkey as a brotherly nation. Kaleseramik is Turkey’s no1 Ceramics manufacturer and exporter and Europe’s third largest, exports to over 100

INDIA

Morbi reprieve as gas price cut Gujarat government's move to reduce prices of piped natural gas (PNG) for industrial users has given a new lease of life to ceramic industry in Morbi, which was reeling under slowdown and fierce competition from China. Reduction in production cost as a result of gas price cut is expected to provide a much needed cushion to India's largest cluster of ceramic units to face Chinese onslaught and slowdown to some extent. Ceramic tile manufacturers of Morbi estimate around 10% decrease in their production cost with gas prices coming down. The Gujarat government had on Wednesday slashed prices of piped natural gas prices by Rs 5 per cubic meter. The cost of gas for the ceramic industry has come down to Rs 27 per cubic meter effective January 1 from earlier Rs 30 per cubic meter. The price will further come

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down by Rs 2 per cubic meter from April 1, 2016. As many as 350 units in Morbi had brought their shutters down for a month in November due to slowdown and Chinese competition. "From April the effective price will be Rs 25 per cubic meter. This will benefit ceramic tile makers.Reduced gas price has given a new lease of life to Morbi ceramic industry ," said Nilesh Jetpariya, president, Morbi Ceramic Industry Association. Around 600 odd ceramic tile units in Morbi consume 25 lakh cubic meters per day and Rs 5 per cubic meter dip in gas price will bring the fuel cost down by Rs 1.25 crore per day . Decline in production will also ease pressure on margins. Vitrified tiles from China are 20% cheaper than those manufac tured in Morbi. "As far as vitrified tiles are concerned, an anti-dumping duty is still

required to get competitive edge over China. Lower production cost will aid wall tile makers in exports and domestic markets as China has limited presence in this segment," added Jetpariya. According to industry players, availability of gas at Rs 22 to Rs 23 per cubic meter will provide the Morbi ceramic industry a competitive edge over China. And, if antidumping duty on Chinese ceramic products in imposed, it can even compete China.

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countries, earning export revenues in access 100 million dollars per annum. She said that Kale brand products are set to rapidly penetrate the Pakistan market, with a commitment to provide top quality at affordable prices. First established as Canakkale Ceramic Factories Corporation in 1957, Kale Group pioneered the formation of the ceramics industry in Turkey, and has become an industrial giant internationally with investments in Turkey, Italy, and Russia. In Turkey alone the Group comprises 17 different companies with a combined workforce of 5,000.

NEWS IN BRIEF Sanitary ware company Cera plans enhanced presence in central India by increasing its galleries, distribution and marketing drive. The company plans to increase its distribution network from current 70 to 100 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh, said company officials. “We plan three new galleries apart from the existing ones in Raipur and Indore and will have increased distribution to reach every part of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” said Abbey Rodrigues, Senior Vice President- sales, Cera Sanitaryware Limited. The upcoming galleries will come up in Gwalior, Dewas and Indore. Apart from distribution, the company also plans to grow by expanding its product portfolio. Recently, the company has launched innovative thinking basins and the new clean rim EWCs.“These EWCs are water-Saving products built with cutting edge eco-designs and technology.” said Atul Sanghvi, Executive Director, Cera Sanitaryware Limited.

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VIETNAM

Brand-building has tile industry benefits While many ceramic tile businesses in Vietnam are struggling to compete with cheap Chinese products, several brands have made a breakthrough to enter the high-end segment to be on par with western business giants. The high-end segment, which has been dominated by European imports in recent years, is a big challenge for companies in Vietnam as it requires both huge financial and technical investments to catch up with latest global trends. Chang Yih Ceramic JSC is one of a few that have set the strategies to win part of this segment. The company in 2000 built a foreign-invested factory funds in the southern province of Dong Nai and since then has been exporting 40 percent of the products to Japan, Germany, Denmark and Thailand, which countries with strict requirements for ceramic tiles. That foundation has helped Chang Yih become a strong competitor of famous Italian and Spanish brands in Vietnam.

Tran Van Sinh, deputy general director of Chang Yih, said the company has been researching the local market trends carefully and seen more potentials from the domestic high-end segment than the export market. “We’ve decided that we have to quickly lead this segment,” Sinh said. He said the leadership in the segment will help the company cash in on property projects by foreign investors, who have high demands for tiles with high quality, good designs and competitive prices. Several property giants in Vietnam such as CotecCons, Cofico and Singapore-owned Capital Land have trusted Chang Yih as their ceramic tile provider, which strongly confirms the company’s position in the local high-end segment. However, it was not easy to win customers in a market crowded with imported products. Based on its 15year experience of competing in both local and international markets, Chang Yih came up with a strong and decisive strategy.

“We spent a lot on new technology to catch up with new trends. Our production lines were imported entirely from those countries that have a strong ceramic tile industry such as Italy and Spain, costing millions of dollars,” Sinh said. In 2015 alone, Chang Yih spent US$1 million on three color 3-D printers and almost $1 million on high-tech Italian pressing machines in order to produce high-end products, Sinh said. Thanks to its high-tech production lines, Chang Yih ceramic tiles are proud of its extra shine. Besides, the color 3-D printing system brings depth and brilliant colors to product finish. Every year the company introduces at least one more line of products following thorough researches of the market in Vietnam as well as its neighboring countries. Moreover, Chang Yih has been quick in catching up with new trends. As more foreign investors pour money in real estate in Vietnam, Chang Yih introduced a new line of large size tile products (450 mm x900 mm, 800 mm x800 mm).

These products of faux marble tiles and faux wood tiles are unique in the segment and meet developers’ demand for installing elevator walls and floors. They are leading the market thanks to many advantages, including retaining its shine without much maintenance, costing only 40 percent compared with the use of real marble or wood products, and - compared with Italian marble products - being more durable and having impressive designs thanks to the color 3-D printing technology. According to Sinh, mastering the technology is not the company’s only strength. “Compared with imported products, we can offer high quality service: faster delivery time because our production is based in the country; lower cost because all our workers are Vietnamese, as a result the cost price is 10-20 percent cheaper than imported products,” Sinh said. “Our payment method is also more flexible, and besides we have offered many favorable policies, such as free floor tiles for developers’ sample housing unit.”

INDIA

Borosil acquires Hopewell Tableware Borosil Glass Works Ltd has entered into an agreement to buy the Jaipur (Rajasthan) based Hopewell Tableware Private Limited, a closely held non-listed company that manufactures tableware and dinnerware products made of opal glassware, for Rs 27 crore. Opalglass is a special treated glass with impurities making it look white in colour due to diffusion of light. Hopewell also manufactures tableware of melamine, which is a thermostat plastic

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dishware. With this, Hopewell Tableware will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Borosil. "There is a limited scope of augmenting the company's marketshare in its traditional product range. Hence, as a part of the company's growth strategy, it has been decided to enter into the opal dinnerware business," said Borosil Glass in a BSE filing on January 14, 2016. Opal dinnerware is complementary to product

range of Borosil Glass, which already markets tableware products made of melamine. Borosil, with its experience in manufacturing and running glass furnaces, will bring in efficiencies in costs and enhance profitability. With this, Borosil will be able to enhance the capacity utilisation in the Hopewell Tableware plant, located in Jaipur, and boost sales. As a part of transaction, Borosil will also infuse Rs 10 crore in Hopewell Tableware.

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INDIA

HSIL targets Telangana HSIL, the flagship company of the Somany Group, aims to commission two new plants in Telangana, a top executive has said. Talking to Deccan Herald, HSIL JMD Sandip Somany said, “Currently, we have three units in Telangana. We are commissioning two more new plants. At present, we have one plant in Rangareddy district, and two in Nalgonda district. The new units will come up in Medak district. They will be commissioned in the last quarter of FY 2017 (by March 2017).”Somany explains, “We are going to produce CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) pipes in technology partnership with Japanese multinational Sekisui in one plant, and in the other we are going to produce security caps and closures products designed to prevent counterfeiting in various beverage and food industries.” HSIL, which was established in 1962 as a joint venture with Twyford, UK, employs over 3,500. With two new plants in the pipeline, the company aims to hire 800-900 employees and invest over Rs 240 crore. For the company, Southern India is the biggest market followed by North, West, and East. Somany said, “The general level of development in Southern India, particularly in reference to sanitation, has always been better than the North. People do like to spend on their homes and even the homes of the relatively poor people’s homes are ‘Pukka’.” Somany was in the City to launch the ‘Hindware Lacasa’ display centre at Richmond Town. Hindware Lacasa is a concept store, a one-stop shop for architects, interior designers, business buyers, as well as homeowners can experience the entire product basket from the brand. ‘Hindware Lacasa’ exhibits all product categories on offer across sanitaryware, faucets, tiles, kitchen appliances, vents, and wellness range comprising of massage tubs, shower panels,

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and other allied products — all under one roof. The company’s current capacity of sanitaryware is 38 lakh pieces a year with 85-88 per cent capacity utilisation. In the taps and showers business, the capacity is 25 lakh pieces a year and by March 2016, the running capacity will be about 75–80 per cent. Exports contribute only about Rs 70 cr–Rs 80 cr for the company. “We do exports from India, but we are not export focused. We export to Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Middle East among others,” Somany said.

TURKEY

Ege installs new sorter system Ege Seramik has adopted the Multigecko sorter and the 4Phases packaging machine (Big Size version) from System for the large-format tile polishing and squaring department at its facility in the Izmir Kemalpasa industrial area of Turkey. The combined use of the two solutions creates an end-of-line department capable of handling polished technical porcelain in large sizes (up to 120x120 cm) with a high degree of efficiency. Multigecko can operate at high speed, with great care and precision in the treatment of materials, and without machine stoppages for size changeovers. After being sorted by Multigecko, the tiles enter the 4Phases Big Size automatic packaging system which builds cardboard frames around the stack of tiles with zero waste, resulting in raw materials savings of up to 80%. 4Phases also performs size changes instantaneously. Ege Seramik has also installed an FV08 sorting line with F50 double cardboard sheet and V120 tray packaging systems capable of handling sizes up to 600x1200 mm.

Government levies could break brick sector With the central government is keen on implementing Goods & Service Tax across the country, brick manufacturers in the state of Tamil Nadu have appealed it to consider the compounding taxation for their industry. They have met the minister of state for finance Jeyant Sinha in this regard recently. According to manufacturers, unit-wise or brick-wise taxation is complicated since the unit damage is very high in the kilns in every stages of production. Explaining the difficulties in taxing per unit, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Brick Manufacturers Association S P Jeyaraj said raw brick get damaged if the mix of clay and water differs even slightly. The bricks get damages if the sunlight is intense during drying. If it rains, the raw bricks will be washed away and if the heat is excess or insufficient in kilns, bricks will be damaged. The manufacturers can't asses the exact damage or stock as well as production, he said. Another challenge is brick manufacturers directly sell the bricks to end users. This results in tax revenue loss for the government from second sales. Furthermore, bricks produced in a district are mostly consumed within the respective districts to avoid transportation cost. "Considering all the difficulties

in production, stocking and sales, the associations for long pressed the state government to implement compounding method of taxation on brick kilns. In compounding method, taxation is done on number of kilns in a manufacturing unit. After Tamil Nadu implemented such taxation, many more states followed helping the industry," Jeyaraj said. Hence, the associations have demanded the central government also to follow compounding method of taxation in upcoming Goods & Services Tax. Similarly, the brick manufacturers also asked for the exemption of taxing clay - the raw material to manufacture bricks in GST like it is exempted in Tamil Nadu. Brick kilns employ unskilled labourers from rural areas when there are no agricultural activities. There are around 2,000 brick chamber kilns in the state. Most of them are situated around Chennai and Coimbatore, according to the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Brick Manufacturers Association. There are also numerous brick makers doing business in small-level. In states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Punjab, the clay brick industry is doing well because the state governments have supported the industry with compounding method of taxation.

Tamil Nadu brick industry

• There are more than 2000 chamber brick kilns spread across the state with most of them situated around Chennai and Coimbatore cities • There are 75 chamber kilns in Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts • In addition to these chamber kilns, there are hundreds of country brick makers across the state • The annual production in chamber brick making is around 25 to 30 lakhs of bricks • Every chamber brick kiln employs nearly 100 unskilled labourers and another 200 to 300 are employed per kiln in transportation works • Brick manufacturing happens around 7 months in the state except monsoon months

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International News

Tableware imports reach “all time high” United States

espite growing at the slowest pace in four years, U.S. containerized imports of tableware and household goods reached an all-time high in 2015, riding on the back of increasing disposable income and an ongoing recovery in the home sales market. U.S. imports of tableware and household goods have been on the rise since dropping to their lowest point between 2007 and 2009, during the worst of the Great Recession. Imports grew 3.1 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of this year, marking the 16th consecutive year-overyear expansion, according to JOC Economist Mario Moreno. Moreno said he expects U.S. imports of tableware and household goods to hit 132,216 twenty-foot-equivalent units by year’s end, a new record even if the rate of growth has been the

weakest in the past four years. There are several determining factors behind an increase in tableware and household good imports, Moreno said, but the most important ones are import prices, downstream demand from retailers, real disposable income and home sales. With the improving American economy, all four of those factors came into play in 2015. “When real disposable income increases, spending on discretionary goods such as toys, apparel, and household articles tends to increase as well,” Moreno said. “With the help of a relatively strong dollar, and a still recovering home sales market, it is no surprise to see demand for tableware and other household articles imports reach an all-time high this year.” U.S. per capita disposable personal income has increased 3 percent since the start of the year, hitting

$42,274 in November. The strong U.S. dollar, likewise, contributed by marking imports cheaper. By TEU volume, China is by far the largest supplier of tableware and household articles to the U.S., but the country has lost market share over the past year. China accounted for 83.2 percent of all U.S. tableware and household imports year-to-date through September. That number is, however, down from 84.6 percent over the same period in 2014 and inbound shipments from China were up only 3 percent year-todate in 2015. According to Moreno, the loss is more than likely the result of increasing production costs as the country shifts to a more consumerbaased economy and wages rise. The China manufacturing sector has been contracting this year. China’s factories in November delivered mixed results, with the

National Bureau of Statistics’ PMI showing manufacturing activity for large state-owned firms hitting a three-year low. Many manufacturers are now shifting their production from the mainland to neighboring Southeast Asian countries. There’s no better example than Vietnam. The country, the fourthranking supplier of tableware and household goods to American homes, has been significantly increasing its market share of U.S. home goods imports for the past two years, from from 0.6 percent in 2013 to 1.5 percent in 2014 and to 2.3 percent year-to-date. Inbound shipments from Vietnam more than doubled in 2014 and have been up some 83 percent year-to-date. Stateside, the port of Savannah gained more inbound traffic of tableware and household goods than any other port year to date.

3D printing makes heat resistance breakthrough United States

arpa-funded engineers have found a way to create a heat-resistant ceramic material that can be 3D-printed and still retain its strength. This opens up the use of 3D printing in multiple applications in the aerospace industry, including building components for hypersonic jets and spacecraft. Researchers from HRL Laboratories in Malibu, California have invented an incredibly strong ceramic polymer resin that can withstand temperatures of more than 1,700 degrees Celsius and be able to be moulded into complex shapes. At the moment, ceramic materials are not suitable for being 3D-printed as they require an incredibly high temperature before the particles will melt and fuse together properly, and currently, 3D-printing experiments have shown that the resulting ceramics often tend to crack or have fractures in the

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material. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a new technology that enables industries to manufacture materials much faster than the traditional injection moulding technique traditionally used. Today, 3D printing is being used more and more in healthcare and to rapidly prototype designs in manufacturing, but in the fields of aerospace and defence, 3D-printed metals and ceramics are still not safe enough to guarantee no structural weaknesses when planes are sent up into the air. However, being able to 3D print components for the aerospace industry has myriad benefits, and in April 2015, United Launch Alliance (ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin) told IBTimes UK that 3D-printing rocket components out of Ultem 9085 FDM thermoplastic material instead of using traditional methods is

saving ULA up to $1m (£680,000) a year. Ceramic 3D printers already exist today, but they make use of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology wherein objects are printed by the 3D printer's nozzle, laying down material layer by layer until the object is fully crafted. While this is fine if you're just making an ornament, the material would need to be far stronger if used to hold an aircraft or spacecraft together in the face of aeroheating, where the outsides of space rockets and jets flying at incredibly fast speeds experience heat from friction. The researchers created a new type of ceramic resin, and they found that if they used another popular 3D-printing technique known as stereolithography – whereby a laser beam is used to build structures layer by layer from a liquid polymer – making complex 3D structures would be possible. And once printed, the

material could then be heated to turn it into incredibly strong ceramics. The 3D-printed material could be printed to create large, lightweight lattice structures that would be suitable for building heatresistant panels for aeroplanes and spacecraft, as well as smaller components for use in jet engines, and HRL Laboratories says that its ceramic lattice structures are 10 times stronger than commercially available ceramic foams. Darpa, which funded the research, is hoping that the new ceramic polymer can be used to develop a ceramic aeroshell shield that can protect spacecraft and hypersonic aircraft from heat, pressure and debris, according to MIT Technology Review. Although they withstand heat just fine, ceramic foams available today have poor mechanical properties meaning they are unsuitable for use in load-bearing structures.

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News

Granito Forte brings on 7th Sacmi line

Technology upturn despite difficulties

Italy

ne of Italy’s biggest manufacturing complexes, the Granito Forte ceramics company in Fresagrandinaria (Chieti, Italy) purchased a seventh complete line for the manufacture of ceramic floor and wall tiles, entirely supplied by Sacmi. This latest production line for traditional sizes (from 15x15 to 60x60) is currently being installed and is now expected to come on stream in the first half of 2016. The agreement between Sacmi and the management of Granite Forte was reached at the highest levels, with the direct involvement of technical manager, Mr. Fiorenzo Marrone, and of the financial and administration manager, Mr. Gegi Lugari, who have believed in the strategic value of this investment project since the very beginning. The showpieces of this new line are a continuous mill, downstream of which there are two new Sacmi PH 6500 presses, among the most popular on the market for the production of both standard and medium-large tiles. Then come the 25-metrelong horizontal dryer and a 117-metre roller kiln equipped

with all the latest heat recovery and energy saving devices. Sacmi has also supplied the loading and unloading systems that service the kiln. Last but not least come the sorting line and storage system, with automated high-efficiency stackers and palletizers. A leading player on the Italian ceramic scene for over twenty years and one of just a few manufacturers in centralsouthern Italy capable of both defending and increasing its market share, Granito Forte has once again decided to implement its investment decisions by working with Sacmi. The first Sacmi supply to this Abruzzo-based firm dates back to 1995: now, with this latest project, the number of Sacmi machines installed at the Fresagrandinaria plant totals no less than 14 presses, 7 dryers, 7 kilns, 7 sorting lines, 3 spray dryers and 3 continuous mills. For Sacmi, then, this confirms the soundness of a longstanding industrial partnership that has, over the years, gone from strength to strength thanks to comprehensive, integrated solutions that span from body preparation to warehouse logistics.

s AC went to press, ceramic machinery and equipment manufacturers are set to close 2015 with a very positive performance. Although difficulties remain in the heavy clay and sanitaryware client sectors and in some foreign markets such as Russia, Brazil and China, the sector’s turnover is expected to pass the 2 billion euro mark for the first time in its history. Based on preliminary figures published by the Research Department of Acimac (Italian Ceramic Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers’ Association), the sector’s turnover is estimated to have risen by 11.7% with respect to the 2014 figure of 1.89 billion euros (in turn up 7% on 2013). This excellent performance is a result of growth in both the international and Italian markets. Exports continue to account for the largest share of the sector’s turnover, reaching 76.6% in 2015 (1.57 billion euros, up 12.6% on 2014). If these values are confirmed by the final data due to be published in June 2016, this will be the highest figure ever recorded for exports. The Italian market continued to recover throughout the current year. Following last year’s excellent results when domestic turnover

Guidance for tableware standards

grew by 28.2%, the Acimac Research Department is predicting further 8.5% growth in 2015 bringing turnover to 480 million euros. This was largely a result of the tax concessions on the purchase of capital goods granted by the so-called “Sabatini Bis” law. “We hope that the final text of the Stability Law under discussion in parliament will confirm the 140% amortisation for machinery purchases,” commented Acimac’s Chairman, Fabio Tarozzi. “This will support the growth of the domestic market in which many of our SMEs operate.” It’s difficult to make forecasts for next year. “After two years of growth we’re expecting a cyclical slowdown in capital goods purchases and consequently a small fall in turnover,” said Tarozzi. “Next year we will be holding the exhibition Tecnargilla, the most important showcase for the sector where our member companies will be unveiling their latest technological innovations,” he continued. “This means it will be a vital year for our R&D departments and for our industry’s overall image. We’re confident that we won’t disappoint our international customers’ expectations.”

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United Kingdom

ucideon, the international materials and technology company, has released a new guidance document ‘Introduction to BS 8654:2015, Domestic and Hospitality Use Ceramic Tableware Articles Intended for Contact with Foodstuffs – Specification’. The guidance document has been prepared to help industry members better understand the new standard released by BSi. The standard was prepared for BSi by a team of ceramic tableware experts from Lucideon, the UK tableware manufacturing sector and the UK retail sector. The new British Standard contains all the ceramic performance specifications from PAS 54 for

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domestic ceramic ware plus several new performance criteria which have been introduced. These include: revisions to supporting testing standards since 2003, the publication of performance requirements for hospitality tableware, definitions for vitrified stoneware and terracotta, a performance specification and test method for measuring the intrinsic strength of hospitality tableware, non-stick behaviour of ovenware and hobtop ceramic utensils. References to table top glassware and vases have been removed. Nigel Leak, Project Leader, Ceramics at Lucideon said: “This new standard sets a higher level for technical performance

for domestic and hospitality ware which will stimulate manufacturers to drive up quality levels. We are seeing new regulations and definitions being brought in to help standardise some performance areas that have previously had less guidance. The new standard sends out a clear message that the ceramic tableware sector is committed to ensuring that end users are getting a quality product. “We would recommend all persons involved in the manufacture, distribution, retail, testing and use of ceramic tableware, to study the contents of the new standard, in particular, the new testing requirements and test methods.”

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Raw Materials News

Raw Material News TILE STANDARD TO HAVE “LITTLE EFFECT” ON CONSUMPTION China // Zircon On 1 December 2015, the new ceramic tiles national standards was officially implemented. Compared with the standards set in 2006, the highlight in new version is the thickness specifications were set for the first time for dry-pressed ceramic tiles. In the new standards, if ceramic tiles surface area is larger than 6400 sqcm2, its thickness shall not be over 13.5mm; if ceramic tiles surface area is smaller than 3600 sqcm2, its thickness shall be less than 10mm;if ceramic tiles surface area is within 3600-6400 sqcm2, its thickness shall not be less than 11mm. Polished tiles, normally at 600mm*600mm, consume the majority of silicate. Our survey in the market, has shown that only few polished tiles have a thickness over 11mm. Porcelain tiles, as the largest consumer of silicate, are in various specifications, but its surface area are all less than 3600 sq cm2 with thickness less than 10mm. Dimensions of higher-priced fully-polished glazed and vitrified tiles is normally at 800mm*800mm, half of which is thicker than 11mm, some even thicker than 13.5mm. The implementation of new standards might have some effect on the production

process of fully-polished glazed tiles and vitrified tiles. However, little impact is expected to have on zircon market as these two products do not consume that much amount of silicate. The new standards also raised technical requirements for extruded tiles so as to eliminate outdated capacity. Extruded tiles are classified into two types: water absorption rate less than 0.5% and within 0.5-3%. Previous tiles with water absorption rate within 3-10% were eliminated. Nowadays, polished tiles, rustic tiles and interior wall tiles are all dry-pressed tiles, and only split tiles and road bricks, without silicate addition, are extruded. The new standards decrease the thickness of ceramic tiles and promote the development of thin tiles, said Wang Bo, secretary-general of China Building Ceramics and SanitarywareTechnical Committee for Standardization. It is estimated thatthe thin type development itself could save plenty of clay resources and reduce energy consumption by more than 10%. Each year, 17 million tons of standard coals would be saved.

TRIMEX TO INSTIGATE MINING ACTIVITY India // Zircon Trimex Group will invest Rs.2,500 crore on mining beach minerals at Bhavanapadu and Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district. An MoU in this regard was signed by group managing director Pradeep Koneru and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on the second day of the CII Partnership Summit here on Monday. The Bhavanapadu beach sand heavy minerals project is expected to generate 5,500 direct and indirect jobs. It will be executed by Trimex Heavy Minerals Private Limited (THMPL), while the Kalingapatnam project will be taken up under the aegis of Trimex Ores Private Limited (TOPL). The company has been mining beach minerals in Sri Kurmam in an area of 7.2 sq km. since 2008-09. Mr. Koneru said the government had given in-principle

approval for mining lease for beach sand minerals like ilmenite, rutile, zircon, garnet and sillimanite over an extent of 17.88 sq.km at Bhavanapadu. THMPL proposes to develop the mining lease area for mining of 10 MTPA of heavy mineral sand and install a mineral separation plant of 270 TPH for the production of ilmenite, rutile, zircon, garnet and sillimanite. He said the company had received all statutory clearances and would launch construction work in the third quarter of the current fiscal. Mr. Koneru added that the Bhavanapadu project would entail an investment of Rs. 1,500 crore. Mr. Koneru said the government had accorded in-principle approval for the grant of mining lease for beach sand minerals like ilmenite, rutile, zircon, garnet and sillimanite.

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Bangladesh: open for investment

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n a recent interview, Mr. S.M. Mahbub Alam, V. P. of Bangladesh Ceramic Association talked about how Bangladesh was redefining itself as a key destination for technology and material sales. Will it be just China that makes the most of the opportunity? “With China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative (it’s a plan to revive the ancient Silk Road and develop new trade routes), Chinese export enterprises start to shift their focuses from product export to brand export and capital export, and they are also actively preparing to shift their factory from China to overseas, including Bangladesh. Also, nowadays, trading business in ceramics between China and Bangladesh are booming. 30% ceramic tiles and 100% ceramic machinery in Bangladesh are from China. Having the policies for encouraging investment, steady increase of economy, potential domestic market and rich labor resources, Bangladesh attracts lots of Chinese ceramic enterprises to enter its market.” Of course it is known that Bangladesh was one of the first of the export destinations for Chinese machinery manufacturers, but when did Bangladesh start to import Chinese machinery? Compared with other countries, what’s the main comment on Chinese machinery? “In fact, Chinese machinery has come into our country since 2000. The first Chinese machinery company entered Bangladesh’s market was KEDA. Later, MODENA and MEIJIA also expanded their market in Bangladesh. On this basis, now almost 100% of ceramic machinery are imported from China. “Recently, Chinese machinery enterprises have developed quickly in Bangladesh. It is true that now some Bangladesh buyers are leaning towards Chinese products as the Chinese machinery is becoming more and more advanced and is competitively priced. “There is also the advantage of time. Bangladesh is benefiting from the proximity of China in that freight may only take up to

AC 16-1

one month to arrive from there, whereas from other areas it can be substantially longer, and perhaps even as much as 5 months from Europe, for example.” “As for the machinery updating, that’s no problem, because, generally speaking, the machine can be used for 15 years. If we need to expand our production, we only need to replace those machines with low production capacity. So, i think “New for Old”, which means to use the old machine to exchange the new one, will be a new promotion opportunity for technology manufacturers. The “trade-in” element will be an excellent way of releasing older machinery for less-developed markets elsewhere, perhaps Africa, for example.” “In our country, there are now around 50 major ceramics enterprises, including ceramic tile, sanitary and household ceramic. Among them, only 15 enterprises are professional at producing ceramic tile. “The most famous ceramic tile enterprise is RAK from Dubai, which has set the factory here in Bangladesh. As for our local enterprises, such as XMONICA, GRAT WALL and MIR CERAMIC, are also well known in Bangladesh. However, our ceramic production is about 20,000 sq metres per day. Unlike China, even one small size ceramic company may has higher production capacity than ours. In general, the majority of Bangladesh ceramic companies are mediumsized enterprises. “Bangladesh mainly produces interior tile, including wall tile and floor tile, most of which are polished tile and polished glazed tile. The normal sizes of floor tile are 600x600mm and 400x400mm while the sizes of the wall tile are 300x450mm, 200x300mm and 300x600mm.” With such a bright future, the obvious concerns are raised over the effect and impact of imported ceramic tiles in particular. How is Bangladesh coping with that? “Actually, 70% of the ceramic

tiles are produced in our own country and the rest 30% will be contributed by foreign import. For the import ceramic tile, quality and price are the first two important factors. Bangladesh buyers are gravitating towards Chinese tiles, but only those that can marry good quality with a competitive price. The polished tile, full polished glazed tile and wood tile are very popular in our country, especially the tile with the size of 600x600mm. The price and the quality of the import tiles are higher and better than the tiles we produced in our country. “We are also a very attractive destination for setting up a new factory too, and because of our strategic location we do seem to be seeing more signs of inward investment in manufacturing facilities. “As a country, we are very rich in natural gas, water and electricity. Also, we have various raw materials, like white clay, black soil, red clay and sand. In Bangladesh, we don’t need to pay a water fee. The gas charge is RMB 0.50/m3, and the electric charge is only RMB 0.50/kw. They are all cheaper than Chinese charges. “As for the labor cost, it is varied with difference in work type and workers’ experience. The salary of the very experienced and skillful worker can be $2000-3000 per month. For the worker who only has some experience, he can earn about $500 for a month. For the normal worker, the salary is only $150-200 per month. “When we look at Asia’s industry, in particular we notice that that the Chinese ceramic industry is not so good as it was. We read many times that Chinese industry has suffered surplus production and the ceramic market is stalling. I believe many ceramic enterprises are planing to shift their factories oversea, and Bangladesh is a good option for them.” Whether courting the Sinoinfluence or not, this seems to be an open-door invitation…will anyone else pick up the baton?

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Analysis: Guangdong

Southern China tiles feel the pinch The year 2015 proved to be tough one for tile producers across China as markets slowed and investment buckled. AC looks at the prospects for a recovery this year…

ith the rise and expansion of ceramic production regions throughout the country, Guangdong Province still holds the dominant position even though some emerging production regions broke the original industrial pattern. By the end of 2014, the daily capacity of the four production regions including Zhaoqing, Foshan, Qingyuan and Jiangmen (mainly in Enping) in Guangdong all have exceeded one hundred million square meters, ranking top 10 of national ceramic tile production regions. The supremacy of Guangdong can not only be seen in its capacity, but also in its leading role for trends and market in the national ceramic industry. The state of ceramic enterprises in Guangdong forecast the industry so that its every move attracts the attention of the ceramic industry. However, throughout 2015, the whole industry has undergone a great downturn. News about ceramic enterprises shutting down came out again and again, including some Guangdong enterprises. What about the four major ceramic tile production regions in Guangdong Province? Is the situation getting better after the “Golden September and Silver October”?

Sanshui, Gaoming and Xiqiao (Nanhai) in Foshan

At present, there are 16 ceramic tile enterprises in Sanshui, proved by different sources, most of which stop one to two production lines, and some even stop up to 9 lines or all shut down. "Conservatively speaking, over 20 lines are stopped in this region." an anonymous entrepreneur told the reporter. Some enterprises have been underproduction since the beginning of this year and some even have operated only one line, while there is also exceptional enterprise with all production lines working. The stopping production started from August this year. The main reasons are the pressures from the market and overstock. "Now, enterprises in Sanshui attach great importance to the environment protection, on which the government has higher standards and requirements, thus it gives the enterprises a great pressure as well." According to a Guangdong sales manager of a major pigment and glaze enterprise, more than 30% of production lines in Xijiao Town of Nanhai District and Gaoming District stopped production at the moment, which have 100 lines in total. Based on investigation, most ceramic tile enterprises stop some lines more or less, with some enterprises even stopping more than 10 lines. This is mainly caused by common problems: poor sales and overstock.

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

In addition, Haobang Ceramics at Xiaodong Industrial Park in Gaoming District shows no sign of resuming production since it shut down in the mid July. Most of the production lines stopped in Nanhai and Gaoming are polished tile lines. According to a salesman of the pigment and glaze enterprise, "body kilns almost stopped too." Polishing enterprises in Foshan experienced great sales pressure this year and planned to move to other cities for problems on sales and environmental protection. In addition, the price was cut low although there was an increase in the sale in October. Some bosses and sales managers admitted that the margins are narrow with polished glazed tiles and it takes efforts to cover the cost. However, a small number of ceramic enterprises still produce with all of their lines. A staff of Monalisa Group said that all their over ten production lines work well this year and the sales are steady with outstanding sales achievement in ceramic panel. A staff of Xinyuefeng Building Materials said that all their production lines work well.

Yong’an, Jinli and Baitu in Zhaoqing City

Three large ceramic industrial parks including Yong’an, Jinli and Baitu (including Huilong) in Zhaoqing City, have 38 ceramic enterprises and 173 production lines. Among which over 60 lines stopped production and even 3 enterprises are shut down or merged. Situation of 22 production line of 6 enterprises was not available. According to incomplete statistics, at least 6 lines stopped so the estimation is that over 66 production lines stopped which takes up 38% of the total in these three regions. Faced with the unprecedented “sales crisis” of ceramic tile industry in 2015, many enterprises including those from Guangdong chose to reduce or stop production. In particular in Zhaoqing production region, many enterprises, which don’t have their own brands and mainly produce body tile, have poor anti-risk capability. Even though they have steady sales amount, there is low added value, and they cannot digest the ever-increasing management cost. Under such situation, suffering from shutting down constantly turns up. While enterprises with steady production and good sale, usually have rich series of products with steady quality. “Though micro-crystallized tile lite became less popular in recent years, some proportion of the retail market of polished tiles is taken by fully polished glazed tiles, super-white polished tiles and double-firing micro-crystallized tiles are still star products in the market.” Guo Zhixing, general manager of Guangdong Kuok

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Analysis: Guangdong

enterprise Mingjia Ceramics, said. The sales of common ceramic products is hard in the slack market while the sale of products with characteristics is steady and less affected, which indicates that enterprises can keep their sales amount stable as long as they can provide good quality products. “One way to prolong the vitality of traditional products is to take them back to the origin.” Guo Zhixing said. Polished tiles with more than twenty years’ development have become standard products of ceramic tile enterprises as their known technology has been fully mature, for which it was rarely taken as the core product by enterprises. Almost all enterprises would reduce production costs and use the price advantage to win the market and continue to go this way has been clearly in a dead end. The developing trend for polished tiles is to go back to the origin and to make the products thicker and whiter. Micro-crystallized tiles, which aimed at high-end market, fell into a situation where they became single-firing tiles and were used both as wall and floor tiles with low cost, low orientation and low price, which resulted from the joint popularization of the whole industry and fierce competition of first well-known ceramic brands. Under this situation, micro-crystallized tiles lost their advantages and their sacred position. With the best visual effect, micro-crystallized tiles should be high-end market oriented and thicker, with doublefiring, and they should be used for wall other than the floor. If they have to be used as floor tiles, they need special care. Only in this way, can they keep the unique advantage. Doublefiring costs more but it can bring rich colors to the tiles so that the product should go back to its original position for high-end market. Meanwhile, Guo Zhixing believes that enterprises must keep up with the pace of fashion. At present, “Diamond” glazed tiles, marble tiles, wood look tiles, cement look tiles and new ceramic panels with 2cm thickness are the hottest in the industry. Ceramic tile production enterprises must be in product series, sizes and supporting to do the best. “What we really need to think about is how to make appropriate prices for ceramic tile products,” said Guo Zhixing. If the price is too high, fewer customers can afford to buy the products; if the price is too low, it’s hard for enterprises to cover the cost. Excellent enterprises usually make the price 20% higher than that of average price of counterparts, therefore they can cover the high costs and maintain the price advantage, though which to keep the price affordable for most retailers and customers. "For ceramic tile enterprises, the only way out is to shift the focus from output to product quality." In the survey, most enterprises agreed that enterprises with the capacity to resist crisis under current situation are those who value product quality most. In the future, industry reshuffle will be severer and survival law is inevitable. Enterprises should understand that the market demand will no longer expand in large scale, and enterprises should control their production scale, raise product quality and provide customers with more customized and diverse products to survive and develop. Common products with low prices have no future.

Heyun and Yuantan of Qingyuan

Ceramic tile enterprises in Qingyuan mainly gather in Heyun Town

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and Yuantan Town, most of which came from Foshan, but distinct differences can be found in the development of these enterprises in the two towns. Under current market situation, the two main regions have different status. There are 16 ceramic enterprises in Heyun Ceramic Industrial Park, among which Hao Sen Ceramics is the biggest in scale with eight production lines, while most of other enterprises have three to five lines, and several enterprises just have one to two lines. "70% output are body products and OEM service," said Su Shuwen, the secretary general of industrial park enterprise association in Qingyuan. Benefit from the unique development model of ceramic industry in Heyun Town, polishing enterprises and buyers of OEM products broaden the market and share some market pressure, so that at present, most enterprises work well, with less than one line of each enterprise stopping production averagely. Our investigations showed that production lines stopped for sales and environmental protection pressure went back to work in October. Ganglong Ceramics, which was said to be shut down earlier, is under reconstruction now, being proved by staff from the enterprise in the interview. Stopping production in large scale didn’t appear in Yuantan, another gathering region for ceramic tile industry, either. Langu Ceramics, which was shut down for debt crisis, went back to work in early October. The source said enterprises in this production region are relatively large in scale, with over 10 production lines for each enterprise averagely and market their own products themselves. As a result, enterprises with relatively poor sale got huge production pressure in the descending recent two years. Although they didn’t stop production in order to keep the production steady and comfort employees, they slowed down the production to offset the pressure from excessive inventory.

Falling sales?

“Generally speaking, ceramic enterprises in Qingyuan work well,” said a raw material supplier. In following interviews, reporters learned similar ideas from employees of local ceramic enterprises. “We don’t worry much about it. Employees got paid every month and there is no news about excessive debts. We believe that enterprises here are much healthier,” said a staff named Aming. But Mr. Tang, a staff from a ceramic enterprise in Yuantan, is not as positive as Aming, “In good times, nearly 200 trucks waited outside our factory every day for products. But this year, we can only see a few each day. Carriers used to work till early morning while this year they get off work at 5 or 6p.m.” Mr. Tang added that since real estate industry underwent a downturn, the sales of ceramic tiles have been hard. “Comparing with that of last year, the sales have dropped by 50% at least.” He said his conjecture and said that the situation of sales market in turn affected production. When visiting these two industrial parks, reporter saw large quantity of tiles piled up outside the storage or in the open air in the factory, which shows the pressure of excessive inventory. Along the two sides of No.354 provincial road, there are tens of ceramic enterprises with large quantity of tiles piled up outside in the open air. It is said that at present there is no large scale of stopping

AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Analysis: Guangdong

production, but according to many considered that there would be a major cessation of output in December (as AC went to press). According to the analysis of Su Shuwen, comparing to the enterprises in Yuantan Ceramic Industrial Park, enterprises in Heyun are relatively small in scale and their products are body tiles and OEM tiles, with broad marketing channels, for which there is smaller pressure under the market circumstances this year. Meanwhile she pointed out that the scale of stopping production will expand in Yuantan Industrial Park in November and the production recovery will not start soon in the beginning of 2016. “Towards 2016, most entrepreneurs will wait and see,” she said, “there is no possibility of hitting on all cylinders in the beginning of 2016, instead, production lines will be back to operation one by one slowly”.

Price confusion

However, perversely, some tile prices have risen. The source said owing to blind expansion and over competition in ceramic tile industry, enterprises constantly competed with each other on prices to increase their market share, leading to narrow margins. Since the prices touched bottom, many enterprises tried to change their operation model to survive. Hence, last month, there is a rise in the price of body tile produced by Heyun ceramic enterprises, growing by RMB 0.8 to 1 per piece averagely. “Before, the model is delivery prior to payment, now it is payment prior to delivery,” the source said. In order to ensure margins and get dominant position in market, many enterprises in Heyun are seeking transformation and this price rise is a sign of their action. “Although the rise is only RMB1, it can help with paying salaries, and it has significant meaning in this narrow margin time.” Su Shuwen confirmed this and said as some enterprises cut production or closed down, some of the market shares are released, so there is a rising trend in body tile price. "Producing body tile products and OEM tiles is carried out after receiving orders so that enterprises would not produce blindly in large quantity and the production is controlled." But she pointed out that the inevitable problem of this model is the narrow margin. As a result, enterprises in Heyun are working at the adjustment of product structure and gradually draw close to high-end market. In recent years, some enterprises started to develop and produce products with high added values such as polished glazed tiles and micro-crystallized tiles.

Shahu in Enping

From October 26th to 27th, analysts visited Puqiao New Building Materials Industrial Park of Enping. Rough statistics show that there are 14 ceramic tile enterprises in the park, with 79 production lines. At present, except Jiajun Ceramics, which has no lines stopping production, the rest ceramic enterprises stopped production lines in different degrees, some of which even shut down more than half lines. According to a staff of local ceramic enterprises, for the influence of environmental protection and market, more than 50% production lines in Enping region stopped production at present. One ceramic enterprise in this industrial park only started 5 production lines out of a total of 9 lines for the pressure from market and environmental protection at the beginning of this year, and two lines were stopped later, leaving only 3 lines running. Quansheng Ceramics only have two interior wall tile lines and three rustic tile lines in operation and stopped 4 other lines. It is a universal phenomenon that ceramic enterprises stopped production for the pressure from market and environmental protection in the industrial park. Besides enterprises mentioned above, many other enterprises stopped production in different

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

ALONG THE TWO SIDES OF NO.354 PROVINCIAL ROAD, THERE ARE TENS OF CERAMIC ENTERPRISES WITH LARGE QUANTITY OF TILES PILED UP OUTSIDE IN THE OPEN AIR. degrees. Zhengde Ceramics put up a notice on September 7th saying that line No. 5 didn’t pass the environmental protection evaluation and stopped production for adjustment. All staff had a holiday from September 8th and went home for further notice. In the industrial park, Jiahong Ceramics stopped production from 2014 to October 2015 for excessive inventory resulting from poor sales. Reporter learned that recently Jiahong had one production line tested to recover production. A staff from Jiahong said, “The kiln is started and staff are in place.” It is said that for the sales have improved, Jiahong decided to resume a production line. The excessive inventory of tiles in the industrial park is enough for months’ sales even if all the production lines are stopped. Even so, in times of “Golden September and Silver October”, there is a rise in the shipment, with a growth in the market. Taking Baiqiang Ceramics as an example, it is said by a perso in charge of shipment that Baiqiang built product storage at the length of nearly 1,000 meters and at the width of tens of meters, which was equipped with more than 100 employees, including storage keepers, carriers, forklift operators and securities. From October, the daily shipment amounts to some 70,000 cases, which were calculated with 3 pieces 800×800mm per case, and the daily shipment is as high as 130,000 square meters. Another ceramic enterprise originally had 11 polished tile production lines, two of which were combined in to wide hearth kiln for micro-crystallized tiles production last year, while the wide hearth kiln stopped production this year but all other polished tile lines are in operation. Reporter learned that this enterprise is building new storage and polished tile production lines. The reporter can see on site that the base and surface of the road are built and large steel frames are set up. Constructors told the reporter, “This project covers land of 133,0000 square meters for storage and polished tile lines and will be finished in 3 months.” The source said that this enterprise used to focus on production and sales of body tile and had long-term cooperation with many polishing enterprises. The project is located in Enping for the construction of approximately 20 to 30 polished tile production lines, with the figure to be verified. A sales manager of Guangdong branch of a major pigment and glaze enterprise said, “It is absolutely possible for this enterprise to build large number of polishing lines because many polished lines in Foshan are constantly moving out, many of which are former copartners of Xinjincheng, so it’s not strange if they move to Enping.”

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asian ceramics

Chancheng

Foshan

AC 16-1

Sanshui

Nanhai

County/ District

City

5,000m2/d 30,000m2/d 31,000m2/d 45,000pcs/d

38,000m2/d 48,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 10,000m2/d 2 polished glazed tile lines: 2,000m2/d 1 rustic tile line: 5,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d 5 polished tile lines: 25,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 6,000m2/d 2 western roof tile lines: 45,000pcs/d 8 exterior wall tile lines: 72,000m2/d 2 polished glazed tile lines: 4,500m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 38,000m2/d 2 endurable tile lines: 30,000 m2/d; 2 polished tile lines: 18,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 45,000m2/d 5 polished tile lines: 70,000m2/d

Foshan Huashengchang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Huimeitao Border Tiles Factory

Foshan Ryowa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Shuangxi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guandong Grifine Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Hualian Western Roof Tiles Co., Ltd.

Foshan Rongzhou Building Ceramics 2nd Factroy Co., Ltd.

Foshan Gexing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan China Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Yuexiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong New Pearl Ceramics Co., Ltd., 2nd Factory

Guangdong New Pearl Ceramics Co., Ltd., 3rd Factory

3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 45,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile 59,000m2/d line: 14,000m2/d

4 fully polished glazed tile lines: 52,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile 79,000m2/d line: 12,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 15,000m2/d

50,000m2/d 176,000m2/d

2 terracotta panel tile lines: 9,200 m2/d; 7 rustic tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 7 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 10,000m2/d

6 interior wall tile lines: 72,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 23,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 15,000m2/d; 1 rustic small floor tile line: 18,000m2/d 8 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 90,000m2/d; 4 interior wall tile lines: 60,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 6,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d

Guangdong Xinruncheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Xinlianfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Monalisa New Materials ( Group ) Co., Ltd.

Foshan Lihua Ceramic Co., Ltd.

Foshan Homei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Icoto ( Guangdong ) Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Sanfi Ceramics Group Co., Ltd.

Foshan Nanhai Shenghua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 interior wall tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Foshan Bailifeng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

30,000m2/d

130,000pcs/d

Guangdong New Pearl Ceramics Co., Ltd., 6th Factory

2 western roof tile lines: 130,000pcs/d

31,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 2 microcrystalline tile lines: 11,000m2/d

Guangdong Winto Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Rongguan Glass Building Materials Co., Ltd.

175,000m2/d

5 interior wall tile lines: 75,000m2/d; 8 polished tile lines: 64,000m2/d; 3 plaza tile lines: 36,000m2/d

40,000m2/d

128,000m2/d

227,000m2/d

13 polished tile lines: 195,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 14,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 6,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 12,000m2/d

79,2000m2/d

40,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d

Number of inkjet printer

Foshan Jinduo Ceramics Co., Ltd.

70,000m2/d

45,000m2/d

4,500m2/d

72,000m2/d

2,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

16,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 16,000m2/d

10,500m2/d

3 exterior wall tile lines: 10,500m2/d

Total capacity

Foshan Golden Globe Ceramics Co.,Ltd.

Tile line & capacity

Foshan Liangjian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Company

1999

2010

2003

1998

2003

1994

1987

2003

1998

1992

1998

1993

2000

1996

2002

2005

1988

2004

1999

1995

1991

2001

1996

1983

1958

Year established

Analysis: Guangdong

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PAV. N2-P3 STAND C3 0

Zhaoqing

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

Dinghu

Gaoming

12 interior wall tile lines: 240,000m2/d; 12 rustic tile 440,000m2/d lines: 120,000m2/d; 8 exterior wall tile lines: 80,000m2/d

90,000m2/d 56,000m2/d 20,000m2/d 90,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

32,000m2/d 424,000m2/d 30,000m2/d 40,000m2/d

6 polished tile lines: 66,000m2/d

3 rustic tile lines: 13,500m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 90,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 21,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 7,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 16,000m2/d; 2 microcrystalline tile lines: 12,000m2/d 3 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d 4 rustic tile lines: 60,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 24,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 9,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 9,000m2/d;1 microcrystalline tile line: 9,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line:9,000m2/d 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 24,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 8,000m2/d 14 polished tile lines: 154,000m2/d; 9 interior wall tile lines: 270,000m2/d 1 polished tile line: 10,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d

2 microcrystalline tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 2 fully polished 40,000m2/d glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d

Foshan Sunshine Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Sanshui New Pearl Ceramic Tile Production Base

Guangdong Kito Ceramic Co., Ltd., Sanshui Jinpeng Base

Foshan Xinhuatao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Oceano Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Huana Ceramic Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Overland Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Gaoming Vigorboom Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Xinyuefeng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Foshan Shuncheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Gaoming Yaju Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Gaoming Huidebang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Foshan Haobang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

69,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 45,000m2/d; 2 microcrystalline tile lines: 8,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 16,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 32,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Guomei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Kwokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mingjia Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Yimeijia Ceramics Co., Ltd.

32,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Qitian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

75,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

45,000m2/d

13,500m2/d

66,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 15,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d

46,000m2/d

1 mcrocrystalline tile line: 4,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 6,000m2/d; 4 polished tile lines: 36,000m2/d

Foshan Sanshui Hongyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 interior wall tile lines: 45,000m2/d

90,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 4 fully polished glazed tile lines: 50,000m2/d

Guangdong Gold Medal Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Hexie Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2002

100,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000m2/d; 3 rustic tile lins: 24,000m2/d; 3 mcrocrystalline tile lines: 18,000m2/d; 6 polished tile lines: 48,000m2/d

Guangdong Bode Fine Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Jinbijia Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2004

15,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 15,000m2/d

75,000m2/d

5 fully polished glazed tile lines: 75,000m2/d

Foshan Ottima Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2007

2006

2004

1999

2010

1999

1998

2001

2013

2004

2002

2003

2004

2002

2009

2003

2006

Foshan Wincun Exquisite Building Material Co., Ltd.

1 (2 ordered)

56,000m2/d

6 exterior wall tile lines: 42,000m2/d; 2 microcrystalline tile lines: 14,000m2/d

1998

Foshan New East Dragon Ceramic Co., Ltd.

18,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 9,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 9,000m2/d

Foshan New Huaxiong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Analysis: Guangdong

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25 th International exhibition of technology and supplies for the ceramic and brick industries

The future of ceramics

26 -30 SEPTEMBER 2016 RIMINI - ITALY th

Organized by

In cooperation with

With the support of

tecnargilla.it

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

Gaoyao

Sihui

Deqing

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 12,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 80,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 45,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 65,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Xinshunxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Xinhe Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Desheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Donghui Ceramics Co., Ltd.

40,000m2/d 40,000m2/d

26,000pcs/d 100,000m2/d

10,000m2/d 56,000m2/d 105,000m2/d 75,000m2/d 88,000m2/d

3 interior wall tile lines: 42,000m2/d 2 rustic tile lines: 40,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d 2 rustic tile lines: 17,000m2/d 1 western roof tile line: 26,000pcs/d 1 microcrystalline tile line: 10,000m2/d; 2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 3 interior wall tile lines: 60,000m2/d 8 polished tile lines: 120,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 105,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 105,000m2/d 4 interior wall tile lines: 30,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 105,000m2/d 5 polished tile lines: 75,000m2/d 1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d 3 rustic tile lines: 24,000 m2/d; 4 fully polished glazed tile lines: 32,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 105,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 45,000m2/d 8 interior wall tile lines: 64,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile lins: 16,000m2/d; 1 mcrocrystalline tile line: 8,000m2/d 7 polished tile lines: 105,000m2/d 22 polished tile lines: 360,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Sihui Xinquanye Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Sihui Kedi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Ryowa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Sihui Qianyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Yingfei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Zhongheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Chunyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Chunmei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Yongsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Lord Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Aomilong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Jinouya Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Xinciyu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Shenghui Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Ruilang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Gubaosi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Tegaote Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Jiatao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Summit Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Guangfu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

30,000m2/d

360,000m2/d

105,000m2/d

75,000m2/d

105,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

105,000m2/d

120,000m2/d

17,000m2/d

42,000m2/d

5 fully polished glazed tile lines: 50,000m2/d

50,000m2/d

65,000m2/d

45,000m2/d

80,000m2/d

12,000m2/d

15,000m2/d

Sihui Zhongzheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Tianmai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 15,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Hengqiu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

45,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 15,000m2/d; 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Jiabin Ceramics Co., Ltd. 60,000m2/d

90,000m2/d

5 polished tile lines: 75,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 15,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Jialian Enterprise Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 interior wall tile lines: 60,000m2/d

70,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Linghang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Zhaoqing Jinshuntong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

120,000m2/d

8 polished tile lines: 120,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Weida Ceramics Co., Ltd.

38,000m2/d

3 interior wall tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 8,000 m2/d

Guangdong Xiejin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2007

2004

1998

2007

2001

1999

2002

2010

2011

2010

2012

2006

2010

2006

2005

Analysis: Guangdong

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Yunfu

1 polished tile line: 15,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed 55,000m2/d tile line: 15,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 25,000m2/d 78,000m2/d

70,000m2/d

45,000m2/d 25,000m2/d

8,000m2/d 25,000m2/d 55,000m2/d

5 interior wall tile lines: 45,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 9,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 9,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 15,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 10,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 10,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d 2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 45,000m2/d 1 rustic tile line: 15,000 m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 10,000m2/d 2 rustic tile lines: 30,000 m2/d 2 endurable tile lines: 30,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 46,000m2/d 2 plaza tile lines: 8,000 m2/d 1 interior wall tile line: 10,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 15,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 15,000m2/d; 1 endurable tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 20,000m2/d

Guangdong Foshan Yijue Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Marshal Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Hongrun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Langfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Yushan Ceramics Industrial Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Xique New Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Jinxiu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Riyuetao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Xingda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Zhepeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Goal New Building Materials & Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Shiwan Hengwei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Jincheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Shunsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

AC 16-1

60,000m2/d 20,000pcs/d; 27,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d 2 western roof tile lines: 20,000pcs/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 15,000 m2/d; 1 exterior wall tile line: 12,000m2/d 2 endurable tile lines: 30,000m2/d 1 rustic tile line: 10,000 m2/d 2 endurable tile lines: 35,000m2/d 2 endurable tile lines: 20,000m2/d

RAK (Gaoyao) Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yunfu New Diamond Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an Yingbang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Luoding Junhua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Luoding Luobao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Luoding Hongzheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an

Luoding

asian ceramics

20,000m2/d

35,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

45,000m2/d

3 endurable tile lines: 45,000 m2/d

46,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

35,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 15,000 m2/d

Guangning Guangtao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

20,000m2/d

80,000m2/d

Guangdong Topbro Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 polished tile lines: 20,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Ougu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

52,000m2/d

4 interior wall tile lines: 80,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Fuqiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

80,000m2/d

120,000m2/d

Guangdong Gaoyao New Times Ceramics Co., Ltd.

4 polished tile lines: 80,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Baolilai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

18,000m2/d

6 polished tile lines: 120,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Jingsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

100,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

3 interior wall tile lines: 45,000m2/d; 1 polished glazed tile line: 7,000 m2/d

5 polished tile lines: 100,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Xiangqi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 18,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d

Zhaoqing Huifeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gaoyao Hongshunda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yuncheng

Gaoyao

Guangning

2006

2008

2007

2009

2003

2005

2011

2010

2000

2011

2006

2008

2005

2011

2007

2003

2008

2004

2008

2009

1999

2010

2011

Analysis: Guangdong

Jiangmen

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

Enping

Yuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nan

Xinxing

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 10,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 20,000m2/d 2 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 16,000m2/d 1 interior wall tile line: 12,000m2/d

Guangdong Huatao Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Xinxing Yinghao Building Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Baiguan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Xinxing Yongli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

70,000m2/d 60,000m2/d 111,000m2/d 50,000m2/d 101,000m2/d 28,000m2/d 55,000m2/d 78,000m2/d

28,000m2/d 190,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 28,000m2/d 8 rustic tile line: 70,000 m2/d 2 black tile lines: 40,000 m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 20,000m2/d 6 polished tile lines: 95,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 16,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 50,000m2/d 5 rustic tile lines: 41,000m2/d; 4 interior wall tile lines: 60,000m2/d 3 rustic tile lines: 21,000 m2/d; 1 endurable tile line: 7,000 m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 55,000m2/d 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 24,000m2/d; 6 polished tile lines: 54,000m2/d 5 polished tile lines: 100,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 36,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 54,000m2/d 10 polished tile lines: 150,000m2/d 3 rustic tile lines: 28,000 m2/d 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 8 polished tile lines: 160,000m2/d

Enping Huachang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Jingpeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Xiangda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Xinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;anma Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Quansheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Rungo Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Junhao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Huidefeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Zhengde Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Xincheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Jiahong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Xinjincheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Jingye Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping Baiqiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

150,000m2/d

54,000m2/d

36,000m2/d

100,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

3 coloured tile lines: 38,000 m2/d

Enping Xiangying Ceramics Co., Ltd.

38,000m2/d

140,000m2/d

12,000m2/d

16,000m2/d

40,000m2/d

Enping Jingyu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yunfu Huideli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

6 polished tile lines: 140,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

4 interior wall tile lines: 45,000m2/d

Xinxing Baoya Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Xinshunjing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

45,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Xinxing Laijiali Ceramics Co., Ltd.

30,000m2/d

130,000m2/d

102,000m2/d

90,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 4 polished tile lines: 90,000m2/d

6 polished tile lines: 90,000m2/d

Xinxing Dongjun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

15,000m2/d

65,000m2/d

Guangdong Xinjiaxin Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 15,000m2/d

Xinxing Rongzhou Building Ceramics 2nd Factroy Co., Ltd.

36,000m2/d

5 polished tile lines: 65,000 m2/d

Xinxing Jinyili Ceramics Co., Ltd.

50,000m2/d

55,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 36,000m2/d

4 rustic tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

Xinxing Jianxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Xinxing Zhisheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 polished tile lines: 55,000m2/d

Xinxing Yuhui Ceramics Co., Ltd.

52,000m2/d

6 polished tile lines: 102,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 52,000m2/d

Xinxing Hongji Ceramics Co., Ltd.

65,000m2/d

Xinxing Yingfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 25,000 m2/d; 2 interior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d

Xinxing Jinmali Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2009

2008

2010

2008

2010

2009

2010

1993

2010

2013

2012

2005

2013

2012

2014

2009

2008

2010

2007

2014

2008

2009

2007

2006

Analysis: Guangdong

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asian ceramics

AC 16-1

Maonan

Yangxi

Qingcheng

Yangjiang

Qingyuan

Dongyuan

Yuancheng

Dongyuan

Maomin

Heyuan

Kaiping

Taishan

100,000m2/d 60,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 35,000m2/d 6 polished tile lines: 80,000m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 15,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 5,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d

Heyuan Becarry Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Eagle Brand Ceramics (Heyuan) Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Hengfu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

55,000m2/d 60,000m2/d 201,000m2/d

25,000m2/d 38,000m2/d 62,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 25,000m2/d; 2 endurable tile lines: 30,000 m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 30,000m2/d 6 polished tile lines: 156,000m2/d; 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 45,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 116,000m2/d 1 interior wall tile line: 25,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile lines: 8,000m2/d 3 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 2 polished tile lines: 32,000m2/d;

Qingyuan Baoshima Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Xinyipai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Haoshen Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Shenghua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Wanhaote Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Juncheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Huixiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

116,000m2/d

35,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 35,000m2/d

74,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 44,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 30,000m2/d

20,000m2/d 24,000m2/d

3 exterior wall tile lines: 24,000 m2/d

Qingyuan Tianyu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangxi Bode Fine Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Maomin Xinmaofeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 20,000m2/d

35,000m2/d

6 microcrystalline tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

Guangdong Gaoweijing Sci & Tech Co., Ltd.

Heyuan Douglas Ceramics Co., Ltd.

28,000m2/d

1 microcrystalline tile line: 8,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 8,000m2/d; 1 coloured tile line: 12,000m2/d

Heyuan Romantic Industrial Co., Ltd. 40,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 10,000 m2/d

24,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 24,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

Kaiping Lihang Building Materials Co., Ltd.

3 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d

Guangdong Jinteli New Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Kaiping Guanneng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

3 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d

Taishan Hongwei Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d

Enping Huasheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

30,000m2/d

40,000pcs/d; 11,000m2/d

1 western roof tile line: 40,000pcs/d; 1 small floor tile line: 5,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 6,000 m2/d;

Enping Ganghua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Enping

60,000m2/d

14,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

Taishan Hitom Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Taishan

4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 14,000 m2/d

30,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

14,000m2/d

17,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 30,000 m2/d

Jiangmen Heshi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 rustic tile lines: 30,000 m2/d

Jiangmen Jinruibao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jiangmen Lixin Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

Jiangmen Sunway Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Heshan

2 rustic tile lines: 14,000 m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 17,000 m2/d

Enping Huiying Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jiangmen Huatao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

78,000m2/d

4 polished tile lines: 44,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 12,000m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 12,000m2/d

Guangdong Jiajun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Kaiping

Xinhui

69,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d; 2 microcrystalline tile lines: 9,000m2/d

Enping Jinwang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2011

2010

2011

2010

2009

1993

1988

2013

2001

2005

2002

2001

2010

2003

2010

2011

2006

2000

1999

2007

2009

2002

2004

2011

2000

2011

2010

Analysis: Guangdong

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Qingcheng

Qingxin

70,000m2/d 50,000m2/d 28,000m2/d 50,000m2/d 20,000m2/d 28,000m2/d 60,000m2/d 166,000m2/d 110,000m2/d 70,000m2/d 110,000pcs/d 60,000m2/d 65,000m2/d 25,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 22,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 48,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 50,000m2/d 1 interior wall tile line: 28,000m2/d 3 polished tile lines: 50,000m2/d 1 polished tile lines: 20,000m2/d 2 rustic tile lines: 28,000 m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d 4 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d; 3 interior wall tile lines: 75,000m2/d; 4 rustic tile lines: 31,000 m2/d 9 polished tile lines: 110,000m2/d 6 polished tile lines: 70,000m2/d 1 western roof tile line: 110,000pcs/d 6 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d 2 interior wall tile lines: 35,000m2/d; 4 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d 2 rustic tile lines: 18,000 m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 7,000m2/d 5 lines of 1st phase completed and operation in 2015

Qingyuan Yingchao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Shunchang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Xinjinshan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Qiangbiao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Meibang Ceramics Industrial Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Jianci Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Ganglong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Ouya Ceramic Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Shenglida Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Langu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Huaping Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Tianbi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Qingyuan Dongpeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Guanxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Guangdong Guanxing Ceramics Co., Ltd. （New factory）

G L A Z I N G R O B O T S6

56,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 56,000m2/d

Guangdong Best Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2015

2010

2000

2003

2012

2008

2003

2004

2010

2013

2010

2014

2009

2012

Analysis: Guangdong

F FOUR ARMS CAROUSEL C

SELFF LEARNING SOFFTWARE

OMATIC EXECCUTION AUTO OF PROGRAMS P

MAIN ADVANTA AGES • Easy to use and a to program with the selflearning softtware • Highest possiible productivityy with only one operator • Best glazing quality for the high h movement precision • Maximum production flexibillity for the fast programmingg • Low maintenance costs thanks to the high quality materrials • Advanced tecchnology as carbbon fiber arms for max lighttness • Many accesssories availabble for full customized coonfiguration

SE E.TE.C. srl Via Enricoo Fermi 6/18 010333 Civita Castellaana (VT), Italy Teel. +39 07615406006 Fax.+3907615542022 www.setecssrl.it info@setecssrl.it

AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Analysis: Tableware

tableware takes up the challenge Although Turkey is more renowned for its construction ceramics, the country’s tableware industry has created a major impression, as AC finds out…

t is no secret that these are difficult times worldwide for ceramic tableware industry, especially in Middle East and Mediterranean region. Unstable politics and shrinking economies have had an adverse affect on the entire region economies and their ceramic tableware industries. But difficult times also bring new opportunities; push industry to consider changing perspectives and to find new solutions. The Turkish ceramic table ware industry is establishing a new position in today’s changing world ceramic table ware map.

Turkey’s Position

Turkey is one of the strongest players in the tableware ceramics industry in the world today thanks to abundance of natural resources, high quality of its ceramic products, design vision and the innovative approach of its companies. Besides, a strong domestic consumption, which continues to grow at steady rates, Turkish table ware ceramic producers have been dominant exporters and continue to focus on demand from growing markets and turnaround of USA and major European economies. The competitive edge of Turkish table ware ceramics comes from its high technology production facilities, product quality and strong design. As a typical Mediterranean country, Turkish ceramic tableware segment reflects its cultural values, a mixture of the values prevailing in Europe and the Middle East, in its ceramic tableware business, too. You will observe a unique mix of the Asian and European trends in production and consumption of ceramic tableware in the country.

A powerhouse?

Turkey is rich in ceramic raw materials and the factories have the

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

latest technology and a qualified workforce. With the investments in modernisation undertaken in recent years, the production technology has been brought up to date. Product quality has been achieved through product standards and quality assurance certification. As a result, competitiveness in ceramic tableware production has improved significantly and export volume has increased by manifolds in first fifteen years of the century. Among the major producers in the sector, there are “Kütahya” (the company is among the ten biggest porcelain producer in the world, third largest in Europe) “Güral”, “Heriş”, “Porland”, “Altın Çini”, “Gorbon” “Yıldız Çini” and “Edip Çini”. Except “Yıldız Çini”, all production facilities are in the private sector. The producers not only meet the domestic demand for tableware but also export to European countries, the US, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and Asian countries, and also compete with leading producers from UK, Germany and other leading ceramic tableware producing countries.. Sema Gural Surmeli, President of Kütahya Porselen, a tableware producer who is a leader not only in Turkey but also in the rest of the world sums up the strength of Turkish porcelain tableware sub-segment “As we all know that since the porcelain sector is labourintensive, it has been shrinking in Europe because of high labour costs. But our country is outstanding in this sector. Kütahya Porselen maintains its leading position due to its high quality products and product development pace, as well as to its production flexibility and outstanding delivery performance, made possible by its production capacity, the biggest in Europe.” She further says “We are exporting our products to many countries, including those in Europe. Among them are Latin American countries; we are exporting to Bolivia,

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Analysis: Tableware

Leading tableware companies Kutahya Porselen

Lale Cini

Heris Seramik ( Gural Porcelain)

Elhamra Cini

Altin Cini

Beste Hediyelik Esya san

Ertugrul Cini

Kuthaya Cini Fabrikasi

Bilgic Cini

Tahir Cini Imalathanesi

Porsuk Tabii Kayanaklar

Evliya celebi cini

Tek Cini Imalathanesi

El-sam Cini Seramik

Marmara Cini A comparison of turnover & growth rates of three listed tile producers Product Group

2014 ( Value, in thousands $ )

2013 ( Value, in thousands $ )

2012 ( Value, in thousands $ )

2011 ( Value, in thousands $ )

Major Export Destinations in 2014

Porcelain & Chinaware

61.298

59.177

56.850

74.107

UK (24 %), Germany (11 %), Italy (9 %)

Stoneware and Ceramic Tableware

28.348

27.831

26.190

20.903

Germany (21 %), France (13 %), Italy (11 %)

Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and Mexico. On the other hand, we are selling products to China and Taiwan from where many Turkish companies import huge volumes of porcelain.”

Industry outline

Turkish ceramic tableware industry, which started emerging as a regional production powerhouse during 1980s of last century, made a steady progress in the next twenty years, along with a steady rise in country’s domestic economy. However, best time for country’s ceramic tableware production came in the first five years of next century and later in the five year period of 2010-2015. During these years ( 1980 – till end of 2015), there has been a steady rise in number of ceramic tableware producers and total output. Number of ceramic tableware producers, which stood at 11 ( ignoring small artisian workshops, which produce traditional Turkish ceramic tableware of Iznik style ) have reached to about 35. Out of these eight tableware producers are in large and medium scale, while the remaining twenty-seven could be termed as small scale producers. Besides, meeting a major share of steadily increasing domestic dmenad, Turkish tableware industry exports a sizable portion of total production. Since, Turkish tableware production fetches a premium value in international market due to its technical strength and design superiority as compared to most of the Asian producers, it is not surprising to find tableware products from the country in the shelves of most of the reputed retail stores in Europe and Americas. These producers meets a lion’s share of the total domestic demand, besides this, Turkish ceramic tableware is exported to more than 100 countries including the most quality conscious and premium consumers based in West European countries, the US, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and cost sensitive Asian countries.

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It is not that it has been rosy all along for Turkish ceramic tableware industry all along the years. There have been many a tough times for domestic tableware producers. The most recent was in late 2005 , which continued for about five years. In 2005, ceramic table ware demand plummeted due to the huge overvaluation of Turkish currency and sudden increases in energy prices and raw material prices. Tableware sub-segment, which was badly hit due to these situations began its revival. However, global economic crisis of 2008 hit the revival of the sector and Turkish producers were forced to cater to a limited domestic market till the end of 2010. However, last five years have been relatively smooth for the producers, barring a forgettable 2012.

Industry info

Asian Ceramics carried out an extensive research of consumption, production, domestic sales and exports of ceramic tableware in both the categories (porcelain and stoneware) during 2010- 2014 period. We have presented the data by considering year 2010 as base year.

Consumption of Porcelain and Ceramic Tableware ( Years 2010-14)

Except for the decrease in 2012, consumption of porcelain tableware had a tendency to increase in the period 2010-2014. While consumption index was 100 in 2010, it increased by 35 points in 2014 compared to 2010. On the other hand, consumption of the ceramic tableware increased in the period 2010-2014, except for decrease in the years 2011 and 2012. While consumption index was 100 in 2010, in 2011 and 2012 it went down to 90 and 66 points respectively. In 2013 and 2014, consumption index increased to 79 and 99 points respectively.

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Analysis: Tableware

Porcelain tableware consumption Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

109

101

110

135

Ceramic and stoneware tableware consumption Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

Porcelain tableware exports of Turkish producers regularly increased during the period 2010-2014. Compared to 2010, exports index increased by 61 points in 2014 and reached to the level of 161 points. Except for 2011, exports of the ceramic tableware a increased during the period 2010-2014.Compared to the base year, in which index was 100 points, export quantity index increased by 133 points in 2014, and reached to the level of 233 points. Porcelain tableware exports

Production

Except for the decrease in 2012, index on domestic porcelain tableware production increased during the period 2010-2014. Production index, which was100 in 2010, increased to 126 points in 2011 and reduced to 121 points in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, production index increased to 124 and 132 points respectively. Compared to 2010, production index increased by 32 points in 2014 Domestic production of the ceramic tableware and kitchenware increased in the period 2010-2014. Compared to 2010, production index increased by 123 points in 2014 and reached to the level of 223 points. Porcelain tableware output Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

126

121

124

132

Stoneware output Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

122

198

206

223

Domestic sales

Domestic porcelain tableware sales of increased during the period 2010-2014. Compared to the base year 2010, in years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, domestic sales quantity index increased by 12, 14, 21 and 28 points respectively and reached to the level of 128 points in 2014. On the other hand, domestic ceramic tableware sales quantity index, which was 100 in 2010, increased to 376 and 398 points in the years of 2011 and 2012.In 2013 and 2014, index decreased to 361 and 326 points respectively. Porcelain tableware sales (domestic) Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

112

114

121

128

Stoneware sales (domestic) Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

376

398

361

326

Exports of Porcelain & Ceramic Tableware from Turkey

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Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

110

151

156

161

Stoneware/ceramic tableware exports Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Index

100

187

207

233

Kütahya Porselen

Established in 1970, in the Kutahya Province of Turkey, Kütahya Porselen San.A.Ş.was a multiowned company in its initial years and the major share was owned by the public. In a major change, current majority holder Güral family bought the majority of the shares and owned the company in 1984. Kutahya Porselen is a public company where the major share belong to Güral Family and 25% is owned by public. With a total of six factories spread over an area of 160.000 sqm, Kutahya is in the production of hard porcelain, Naturaceram (short name of Natural Ceramic – ceramic tableware), ceramics and packaging industries. With an installed capacity of 50 million pieces per year and 150 different pattern choices, the company is among three top ceramic tableware producers in Europe. The company is continuing its stress on exports, a move, which it started Kütahya in 1990s. Currently, Kütahya Porselen has customers in 52 countries and 114 point of sales all over the world. Kütahya Porselen mainly exports to the European Union countries - where the quality expectations and purchasing power is high - together with US, Canada, Japan, North European countries and North African countries. Kütahya Porselen offers its products to sale in hypermarket chains like IKEA, Carrefour, Auchan, El Corte Ingles and Hipercore. Sema Gural Surmeli, President of Kutahya Porcelain says, “Durable and long-lasting features of porcelain is the most significant factor that make porcelain gift. In today’s world, our company has a prior position thanks to modern production way and modern designs. In addition, our company cares and protects the cultural heritages and represent our country especially in international area”. In Dec 2015, for a likely expansion in 2016, the company bought a factory building, 3,384.98 sqm land and an industrial storage together with machines, equipments and raw materials in Kutahya for a total price of 20.0 million lira ($6.84 million).

Gural Porselen

Founded in 1989, Güral Porselen is one of the largest ceramic tableware producers in Turkey and wider Europe. Starting with a modest capacity of 3900 tons /annum ( 10 million pieces) its capacity

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Analysis: Tableware

has been increased twice, first in 1995, when it was upgraded to 12,000 tons /annum( 33,334,000 pieces) and later on in 1999, when it was increased to produce 25,275 tons/annum or 64,800,000 pieces per annum. The company claims that it blends centuries of experience and generations of craftsmanship from the region of Kütahya with the latest technology, to create the perfect porcelain. The company is considered one of the highest quality producer of ceramic tableware because of its production capacity, state-of-the-art technology and product differentiation. Güral Porselen occupies a unique place not only among Turkish manufactures, but also globally. According to Gural’s management “ We have achieved this status through creative designs that closely follow changing trends, in combination with successful research and development efforts, sound marketing strategies and loyalty to ethical values.”

Keramika Seramik

Keramika Seramik was established in 2007 by UNSA Mining Company, which has been operating in the field of mining since 1972. Keramika, even today, is one of the main companies that manufacture colorful kitchenware from ceramic. Keramika Seramik claims that It entered into this sector with a catch phrase of “We are coloring your kitchens.”, draws attention with its models and designs, but especially with its colors. The company has put special attention on exports in last few years and is aiming to raise its export share by placing emphasis on customer satisfaction and quality. Keramika’s sister concerns like Kütahya Outlet, Kütahya Otogar, Eskişehir Cengiz Topel Caddesi, Balıkesir Susurluk Outlet, Bursa Haşim İşcan Caddesi and Bandırma Liman AVM, are enabling it to promote and reach its products in the domestic market. According to Keramika’s General Manager, Emin Yuce, “The most important features that distinguish Keramika from other companies are designs and colors that coalesce into designs. The products that will energize you and color your tables will accompany you on the tables set with Keramika. Therefore, the more different colors and designs we provide the more the buyers are.”

Paşabahçe Porcelain

One of the largest glass producers in Turkey, Sisecam Holding, is also one of the leading premium ceramic tableware producers. Operating under the brand name “Paşabahçe”, the Sisecam subsidiary also produces crystal glass both by manual and automatic production. Company’s tableware line, Pasabache Porcelain, claims to use special high alumina and highest qualiyu raw material in the production for extra strength, durability and resistance against chipping and enhancing the aesthetic appeal of its offerings.

Marmara Cini

the interior decoration needs of the Ottoman Palaces. “Yıldız Çini” produces reproductions of the traditional porcelain and china objects which are found in the “Porcelainware Collection of Turkish National Palaces” Collection.

Safeguard Measures

On the lines of European Union, which imposed anti-dumping duty on ceramic tableware imports from China, Turkish authorities initiated a safeguard investigation on imports of porcelain tableware and kitchenware as well as on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware in April 2015. The investigation was as a result of an application lodged by the two of the largest ceramic tableware producers, Heriş Seramik ve Turizm Sanayi A.Ş. ( Gural Porcelain) and Kütahya Porselen A.Ş., both of which account for a significant part of domestic production of ceramic tableware. According to the UN Comtrade Database, in 2014 the following countries exported ceramic tableware to Turkey with a trade value over USD 1 million: China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Poland, Thailand, Tunisia, Portugal, Indonesia, South Korea and France. Ceramic tableware imports by origin 2013 Quantity (kg)

CHINA BANGLADESH

USD

26.149.626

98.770.959

39.495.318

153.164.426

2.689.947

8.763.982

1.615.561

7.180.724

EGYPT

867.815

1.873.973

887.444

1.861.093

UAE.

343.256

1.557.852

514.249

2.197.363

TUNISIA

312.864

942.292

374.432

1.412.965

POLAND

512.695

2.652.796

323.815

1.754.180

THAILAND

185.041

1.546.633

299.346

2.154.880

GERMANY

256.908

3.220.883

194.813

2.799.277

U.K.

163.874

1.561.750

184.307

2.059.435

IRAN

421.097

848.761

133.088

264.403

INDONESIA

63.258

1.022.697

116.762

1.274.711

S. KOREA

72.024

952.047

78.923

1.026.942

MALAYSIA

938.955

2.559.010

59.080

238.568

FRANCE

63.011

750.479

53.453

775.603

INDIA

24.112

158.610

50.415

250.303

ITALY

45.848

329.996

50.377

407.027

PORTUGAL

34.683

298.939

31.999

285.326

CZECH REP..

28.644

239.145

30.854

250.732

SRI LANKA

10.421

193.223

24.165

235.362

JAPAN

5.975

79.669

19.798

311.217

33.190.054

128.323.696

44.538.199

179.904.537

110.095

865.690

24.969

302.063

33.300.149

129.189.386

44.563.168

180.206.600

Country

Established in 1993, Marmara Cini could be best described as a producer of tableware in ethnic style. Though over the years , the company has enlarged its products portfolio of classical dishes, plates, vases, jugs, jars and bowls. The products of Marmara Cini has also serve as a cultural attaché through the activities in Europe, the USA, the middle East Countries and Turkish Republics, aiming at popularising this art throughout the world.

Total

Yıldız Porcelain

Other Countries

One of the oldest ceramic tableware producers in the country, “Yıldız Porcelain Factory” was established by Sultan Abdulhamid II to meet

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2014 Quantity (kg)

Grand Total

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Inks - Water Inks

I N C O I N D U STR I A C OL OR I SPA V ia Mont e bone llo 19/21 - 41026 Pa vul l o (MO) T. + 39 0536 51021 - w w w.inc oc olours . i t

Analysis: Pakistan

Pakistan: now decision time for the ceramics industry

Yogender Malik looks at why despite all the advantages that should propel Pakistan’s ceramic industry to the frontline, it continues to lag its regional neighbours.

espite, the many positives it has in its favour, such as a huge population, a sizable middle class on the consumption side and availability of most of raw materials, cheap labour and proximity of gas/ fuel supplying region on the production side, ceramics industry in Pakistan has not been developed in as it must be. Country’s ceramic industry has great potential to serve domestic and some neighbouring countries (particularly Afghanistan, which doesn’t have any production currently) , but unfortunately it has failed to achieve its true potential. However, things are slowly changing and if we track the developments in ceramic industry in two years, it appears the Pakistani producers are realizing their potential. Even the government has taken various steps in right direction for the development of domestic ceramic industry and curtailing imports of ceramic products, which have driven out some producers out of the market in last few years.

A promising market

There is no doubt about Pakistan emerging as one of the key ceramic markets in the South Asian region. As the country’s economy is gradually moving towards sustainable growth phase owing to its improved foreign exchange reserves, rising workers’ remittances and controlled fiscal deficit. Country’s ceramic industry growth potential depends on the ability to capitalize on this recent optimism. The prime driver of ceramic demand, country’s construction industry is exhibiting great potential for growth. With one of the lowest per capita ceramic tile consumption in the Asian region, Pakistan tile producers have more than a handful of opportunity to cater to the vast domestic market. In an interaction with Asian Ceramic, CEO of Shabbir Tile, Raza Ansari summed up the state of Pakistani industry in best possible terms. He says “Pakistani ceramic industry has both, comparative and competitive advantages due to abundant availability of indigenous raw material and cheap skilled and unskilled labor. If supported, the sector can emerge as a major foreign exchange

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earner for the country and will also provide employment to thousands of families in the most underdeveloped areas of Pakistan.” He further says “Pakistani ceramic industry has not been able to cash the benefit due to many reasons for instance Energy issues, out dated technology, law and order but top of all I would say it is very much depends on government support that was not available in term of incentives, supportive import/exports policies and grants for the development of the industry. “ Despite many hardships, it has faced , Pakistani ceramic tile industry has posted consumption growth of more than 5 % in each of the successive years. Yet, the ground situation of ceramic industry is far from healthy. Last year a major manufacturer from the ceramics industry had to shut down its plant due to losses. Secondly smuggling of tiles has reached 50 per cent of local production capacity, much to the chagrin of local industry which says it has left with little room for survival. Around 30 million square metres (sqm) of tiles (mainly from Iran and China) found way into the local market during March 2014 and February 2015, while Pakistan’s current capacity is 60 million sqm.

The year that was…

With an installed capacity of 60 million sqm of ceramic and porcelain tiles, Pakistan ceramic tile manufacturing is controlled by these manufacturers- Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics, Master Tiles and Ceramics, Karam Ceramics, Sonex Tiles and Ceramics, Swat Tiles and Ceramics and Frontier Ceramics. Pakistani ceramic industry had a great 2015. Demand was stable ( if not very brisk) on the back of steady growth of domestic economy, low inflation and revival of construction sector. On yearly basis, the industry ( based on January – October data) registered a growth of 7.6 % in ceramic tile consumption. Porcelain tiles have started to penetrate in the tier II and III cities and strongest growth was registered in this sub-segment. Despite growth in market demand, against last year, the local tile industry is facing a challenging environment both amongst the local players as well from under invoiced imported ceramic and

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Analysis: Pakistan

w or never

porcelain tiles. The tile industry has made representations to the concerned authorities ( Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and National Tariff Commission) to take corrective measures. While some of the tile producers were satisfied with the counter measures initiated by the authorities recently against the grey imports from Iran, some expressed their concern of under invoicing by a section of importers of tiles.

Import opposition

All the ceramic producers in Pakistan are unanimous that cheap imports and improper import policies of imposing low import duties on tile imports has hurt the domestic ceramic industry most. A recent study by the Pakistan’s National Tariff Commission has also indicated that there is a serious injury to the local industry and recommended that dumping duty be placed on ceramic tiles imports from China and other countries. “The government should exclude tiles from the FTA with China which is being renegotiated,” Pakistani Tiles and Ceramics Manufacturers Ass¬o¬c¬iation (TCMA) in a recent communique to the Pakistani commerce ministry. According to TCMA, “Policymakers should und¬er¬¬stand vulnerable condition of local tile industry while making policies or negotiating trade deals. The industry has already invested around Rs40 billion so far despite

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facing stiff challenges.” According to the Association, rampant under-invoicing/misdeclaration of imported tiles and lower ITP with China and other countries is endangering livelihood of some 10,000 families who are directly or indirectly depending on growth of local tile industry. Local ceramics and tile industry consumes raw material produced in the country and supports the development of other indigenous sectors while in contrast imported tiles not only eat up share of local tile industry, but also pushing the entire ceramic sector to wall. Another industry association, Pakistan Ceramic Manufacturers Association (PCMA) says that the tile production capacity in Pakistan is over 60 million square meters while capacity utilisation is far below due to the influx of smuggled tiles and abnormally low import trade prices (ITPs). The association cites, a study done by the Pakistani National Tariff Commission ( NTC), which also indicated that there is serious injury to the local industry and dumping duty should be placed on tiles from China. The PCMA asked the government to remove anomalies in ITP for imported tiles to save the local tiles industry from complete destruction besides imposing anti-dumping duty on Chinese tiles.

Counter claims

Pakistan Ceramics Importers and Traders Association (PCITA) Chairman Amin Lasania and Customs and Taxation Committee Chairman Jawed Tar muhammad, have a different take on state of the ceramic industry and domestic producers claim of low import duties on ceramic tiles.

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Analysis: Pakistan

According to Amin Lasania “ Domestic producers do not have the capacity to meet the demand of ceramic tiles as they manufacture less than half the production as compared to the demand in the local market. While, Taxation Committee’s Jawed Muhammad says “The local manufacturers lag far behind in design and quality of the tiles as compared to China, Iran, Malaysia and other countries,” Jawed said, adding that as far as price is concerned. India offers $2 to $5.5 per square meter as compared to Pakistani manufacturers who sell their tiles at a high price of $5 to $10 per square meters.”

Challenges

Power & Gas Shortages Despite, the Pakistani government claims of energy being a high priority for the government, the country is facing a serious energy crisis for sometime, which has adversely affected the ceramic industry production and profitability. The Govt claims that shortfall will be overcome within next 3 Years, but there is little to show for its efforts. Pakistan is in the midst of a serious energy crisis that is seen in country-wide electricity and Natural Gas shortages and daily cuts in power. Power shortages have had a severe negative impact on ceramics industry, forcing many production units to operate at only 50–60 per cent capacity. Increasing the energy supply would lead to an immediate jump in the growth rate without any need for additional capital investment as industry could utilise the idle capacity.

Technology

Use of obsolete technology for ceramic production in the country is among top three reasons for the slow development of ceramic industry in Pakistan. Most of the producers are still using age old technologies, which results in production of inferior quality products, high production cost and less variety of products. According to CEO of Shabbir Tiles, Raza Ansari , “To a large extent, Pakistani ceramic industry in general is still using out dated technology. For instance most of the manufacturers are still focusing on small sizes like 20x20cm, 30x30cm, 25x33cm, 40x40cm on the other hand due to imports buying trend is being diverted toward bigger sizes 80x80cm including rectangular sizes 30x60, 30x 90cm, 30x120cm etc.”

Government’s Apathy

Another top ranking executive from a rival ceramic tile producer told Asian Ceramics on the condition of anonymity, “ A key factor behind A comparison of turnover & growth rates of three listed tile producers Company

Indicator

2014-15

2013-14

the lackadaisical development of ceramic industry in the country is lack or non-existence of Government support. Govt. has shown no interest to present incentives to ceramic industries and its exporters to increase the export. Government can support by giving incentives, duty free import of raw material, establishing Inspection laboratories and training centers, soft loans and tax relaxation.” He further says, “Ceramics industry in Pakistan has not been developed in as it must be. There are many barriers in the successful transfer and upgradation of technology in Pakistan in the ceramics industries. Due to a number of factors, ceramic producers are not very keen to develop indigenous or foreign technology. They do not cooperate with the R&D in the foreign and within their organizations to develop indigenous technology.”

Huge Imports & Rampant Smuggling

If shortage of gas and usage of obsolete technologies have had an adverse impact on the production side, huge imports and smuggling of tiles have had hit the ceramic producers on the demand side. Imports and smuggling of tiles has reached 50 per cent of the local production capacity, around 30 million square metres (sqm) of tiles (mainly from Iran and China) found way into the local market during March 2014 and February 2015, while Pakistan’s current capacity is 60 million sqm. Domestic ceramic producers have expressed great concern over the heavy influx of Iranian tiles and on several occasions have urged the government to take effective measures to check the inflow of smuggled tiles which have posed a great threat to the local industry. According to the All-Pakistan Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers Association (APCTMA), Iranian tiles worth Rs12 billion are been dumped in the local market per year. The association further says “The local industry was already struggling to survive in the presence of Chinese tiles while heavy influx of Iranian tiles has threatened it further.” The APCTMA cited Customs’ documents which reveal massive arrival of Iranian tiles every month. Iranian traders offer a cheap rate of various types of Iranian tiles to local traders which are almost 25 to 35 per cent cheaper than local products due to lower cost of production in Iran. APCTMA says a number of tiles manufacturing units have been closed down and a few others are considering closing down their tiles making plants. Besides, the association, local tiles manufacturers say the importers were bringing 10 truckloads of Iranian tiles via Taftan border every day and pay duty on one truck only while the rest of the truckloads were 2012-13 2011-12 being warehoused in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, 4,898.217 4,630.257 Gujranwala and other cities.

Shabbir Tiles

Turnover

4,098.691

4,779.969

Shabbir Tiles

Growth

-14.25 %

- 2.41 %

5.78 %

5.24 %

Karam Ceramics

Turnover

1304

1278

1156

1187

Karam Ceramics

Growth

2.03 %

9.54 %

-2.61 %

-5.65 %

Frontier Ceramics

Turnover

371.70

278.79

302.9

329.2

Frontier Ceramics

Growth

33.02 %

-7.5 %

-8.3 %

-2.4 %

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Import Duties

Pakistan Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers Association (PCTMA) has urged the government to immediately remove the anomalies in Import Trade Price (ITP) for imported tiles to save the local industry. “Imported tiles are coming into the country at low rates at a time

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By EBI Ltd & HIMG速

Analysis: Pakistan

when ITPs have been reduced which is adversely affecting the local industry,” according to an office bearer of the association. “We do not want undue favours from the government. What we demand is just the logical implementation of correct valuation in tile imports,” he stressed. Local industry stakeholders argue that the price of the process of production like transportation and energy has increased during 2010 to 2015 but the government has reduced ITPs for tiles. For instance, the ITP for Iranian tiles was fixed in March 2014 but it was reduced by 20% in December 2014 that is giving a hard time to the local industry.

Shabbir Tile

Major manufacturers Company

Sub Segment

Location

Capacity

Shabbir Tiles & Ceramic Industries

Tile

Karachi

13 million sqm

Karam Ceramics Limited

Tile

Karachi

6 million sqn

Frontier Ceramics

Tiles

Peshawar

6 million sqm

National Tiles & Ceramics Limited

Tiles

Karachi

8 million sqm

Master Tiles & Ceramic Industry

Tiles

Gujaranwala

7 million sqm

Makkah Tiles

Tiles

Gujaranwala

600,000 sqm/ year

SWAT Ceramics Tiles Jahangir Pura NA Founded in 1978 by a Pakistani business family ( House of Habib) in technical collaboration with Sonex Tiles & Ceramics Industries Tiles Gujaranwala 4000 sqm/ day German company, Agrob Anlagenbau GmbH, Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Limited claims that it was Elahi Ceramics Tableware Shekhpura 60 TPD the first private sector enterprise to enter in ceramic production in in Pakistan. 2,25,000 pieces/ Shabbir’s brand STILE enjoys leading position in Supreme Asia Ceramics Sanitary ware Lahore annum the domestic ceramic and porcelain tiles industry . 30,000 pieces/ The company offers a wide range of sizes, colors, and Al Jamal Ceramics Sanitary ware Gujranwala annum designs in its tile offerings. Besides domestic market, Shabbir exports its products to Netherlands, KSA, 40000 pieces/ Bajwa Ceramics Sanitary ware Gujranwala annum Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. 55,000 pieces/ Brite Ceramics Sanitary ware Gujaranwala annum With an installed capacity of 13 million sqm of ceramic and porcelain tiles, STCL manufacturing 40,000 pieces/ General Asia Ceramics Sanitary ware Gujranwala annum plant is based in Karachi. Incorporated with the latest European technologies & techniques to manufacture 45,000 pieces/ Master Ceramics Sanitary ware Gujaranwala annum high class products that conform to European standards, the manufacturing plant is accredited with most of the quality standards. production plant at Gujaranwala. For FY 2014-15, sales volume of Shabbir Tiles dropped by 11% According to Sheikh Mahmood Iqbal, Chief Executive at Master as compared to last year. Production volume too decreased by 8.6% Tiles & Ceramic Industries Limited, “ The greatest challenges faced compared to the same period last year from 8.56 million square by ceramic tile producers is in meeting the constantly changing meters to 7.82 million square meters. demand of end users. I believe, only those producers will survive in On a query on his company’s future expansion plans, Raza Ansari, the marketplace that will cater to these legitimate demands of the CEO of the company says “Few years back 2009-2010 we have consumers. Going beyond survival, maintaining one’s leadership installed our second plant having capacity of around 6 million sqm edge calls for even more – going many steps ahead of the and currently we are utilizing around 70%-80 of our total installed customer’s expectations and keep on surprising them with products capacity, therefore the first challenge is to improve utilization up to and services designed to make their life and lifestyle easier, 90% then we will definitely consider capacity expansion again as comfortable and valuable.” market has continuous growth.” When asked about the challenges for domestic ceramic industry, Frontier Ceramics he says “Power and Gas shortages are resulting in a lot of hardships Frontier Ceramics, with its manufacturing located at Peshawar is for the ceramic industry. As a company we believe it is one of the among the leading tile producers in the country. biggest challenges of its time and we are responding to this by In financial year 2014-15, Frontier Ceramics sold 1 million 85 installing coal plants as an alternate energy source.” thousands sqm of tiles vs. 925,144 Sqm, increased by 17%, as compared to corresponding period and on the other hand sales Master Tiles & Ceramic Industries prices of tiles has been increased by 8% in September 2014. Company also introduced new sizes 10” x 13”, 12” x 12”, 10” Master Tiles & Ceramic Industries, which started production of x 10” & 12”x18” in the market to cater for customer’s demand. ceramic tiles in a small workshop in 1982 has become one of the Commercial production of new floor plant has also been started in leading tile producers in Pakistan. In real terms, the company December 2014. However Company could not achieved its targeted started production of ceramic tiles by installing an automated line production of floor tiles due to rare technical issues in plant, in 1995 and quickly ramped up the capacity in coming years. After introduction of new digital designs from competitors and arrival of its expansion in 2010, Master Tile has an installed capacity of 11 smuggled tiles. million sqm of ceramic and porcelain tiles from its state of the art

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Analysis: Vietnam

Vietnam ASEAN no longer the only future

When the Ceramic Industries Club of ASEAN meet each year, only one magazine is allowed access… Asian Ceramics. Jahir Ahmed files his first of a series of reflective reports from the event which highlight once again the emergence of SE Asia as a ceramic major.

e are often talking about the potential of Vietnam, but in recent years the excitement has been more muted as aggressive expansion has caused a glut of capacity that has severely restricted the profitability of many of the country’s sectors and hindered investment. However, things are on the turn. Trade agreements with overseas blocs and an improving domestic market seem set to propel Vietnam right into the front line. This relatively understated manufacturing base could indeed at last be the “Tiger” that so many of us anticipated many years ago.

EU involvement

The Vietnam-EU free trade agreement will bring benefits worth billions of dollars to Vietnamese manufacturers. The deal will open the door wide for more Vietnamese goods, like textiles, fisheries and furniture, to enter the 500-million-strong

Export values by destination (US$'000m.)

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EU market when the import tax rates levied on them fall toward zero percent, said Luong Hoang Thai, director of the Department for Multilateral Trade Policy under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The EU will cut the import tariffs imposed on all of those products, which Vietnam has comparative advantages in making, to zero percent during a maximum time frame of seven years, Thai said, adding that this is a result which no other trade partner of the bloc has ever achieved. On August 4, Vietnam and the EU reached an agreement in principle for a free trade deal after concluding many sessions of negotiations from June 2012 to August 2015 with a view to ensuring an effective environment for trade and investment relations. The in-principle agreement includes the elimination of nearly all tariffs, at over 99 percent, for the two sides, in which Vietnam will liberalize tariffs over a 10-year period and the EU will do so over a 7-year period.

Growth rates, year-on-year (%)

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Analysis: Vietnam

rising The agreement also covers non-tariff barriers to trade and other trade-related aspects such as public procurement, regulatory issues, competition, services, investment, intellectual property rights and sustainable development. Vietnamese firms will gain benefits worth billions of U.S. dollars after the free trade pact is signed, director Thai said.

The roadmap

Some types of Vietnamese shipments, including vegetables, processed fruit and fruit juice, handbags, suitcases, plastics, ceramic and glass products will immediately be exempted from import taxes when the agreement takes effect. Particularly, with certain kinds of Vietnamese goods, the EU will cut tariffs from the benchmark rates of its Generalized System of Preferences, not from the higher rates of the Most Favored Nation currently applied to all other countries, Thai said. Some categories of Vietnamese goods exported to the bloc in relatively large volumes, such as textiles and footwear, will have a tariff reduction schedule of up to seven years, while many tariff lines will be lowered to zero as soon as the pact becomes effective. However, the rule of origin for such products when exporting to the EU is also tight, he said. For garment and textile products, the rule applies to two stages, including that the fabric must be made in Vietnam and the sewing

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process must take place inside the Southeast Asian country. This is easier to meet than the “yarn forward rule of origin” that the U.S. requests in all negotiations with Vietnam for the TPP, Thai added. The “yarn forward rule of origin” means that all items in a garment from the yarn stage onward must be made in one of the countries that is party to the TPP agreement. The TPP is a proposed regional free trade agreement aimed at eliminating tariffs and lowering non-tariff barriers that is being negotiated by 12 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S. and Vietnam. Currently the textile and dyeing sector in Vietnam is still undeveloped, so the country has to import a lot of materials, especially from other nations in the region. So to develop the industry, Vietnam needs to have a large market size, as many foreign businesses will channel their investment into the Southeast Asian country. In addition, with a commitment to open markets for investment facilitation, Vietnam has the opportunity to become a regional hub connecting commercial and investment activities of European firms, Thai predicted. Regarding agriculture, the EU has consented to grant Vietnam a quota equivalent to about 80,000 metric tons per year at a tax rate of zero percent as soon as the agreement takes effect, more

AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Analysis: Vietnam

than triple the current level of 25,000 metric tons per annum. Particularly, there are no quotas for broken rice, and the tax will be zero percent. With this commitment, particularly in terms of rice, except broken rice, the tax reductions will help Vietnamese businesses save nearly 17 million euros (US$20 million) a year. For other items, like cassava, the EU’s quota for Vietnam will be 25,000 metric tons per year, whereas now they import about 33,000 metric tons worldwide annually. As regards seafood, many items, such as tropical fish, will see the import duty reduced to zero percent as soon as the agreement takes effect. For other items it will take longer, a maximum of three years, for the tax rates to be dropped to zero.

Key economic indicators Indicators Population (million people)

2011

2012

2013

2014

87.84

88.78

89.71

90.73

5.89

5.03

5.42

5.98

Per capital income ($US)

1,300

1,749

1,899

2,028

Inflation (%)

18.12

6.81

6.04

4.09

Labour force (million people)

46.48

51.69

52.4

54.48

Unemployment (%)

2.27

1.99

2.2

2.08

Total export ($US billion)

96.3

114.6

132.2

150

Total import ($US billion)

105.8

114.3

131.3

148

GDP growth rate

Manufacturing capacity Year Ceramic tile (million m2)

The economies of Vietnam and the EU are complementary to each other, with only a few items remaining in direct competition. A number of southern European countries still produce textiles and footwear and Italy and Spain currently grow rice, so both parties must attempt to resolve all the differences when negotiating. For Vietnam, the garment and textile sector is important, so Vietnam has worked to promote high levels of liberalization, including the zero percent tax rate as soon as the pact kicks in. Commenting on the fact that the taxes on beef, milk and pork imports from the EU will be at zero percent in three to seven years, which will hammer the Vietnamese livestock industry, Thai said that as Vietnam is committed to opening the market for beef following the free trade agreement with Australia - New Zealand, the Southeast Asian country will apply the same policy to European products. As to pork, the time frame for the European meat is a roadmap lasting seven to nine years. For chicken, it will take 10 years, the longest time for a European product to be fully exempted from tax when entering Vietnam. Meanwhile, in seven years the EU has to basically drop all taxes for Vietnamese goods. Some have voiced concerns that Vietnam is on the weak side

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2013

2014 -2015

350.2

358

452

Porcelain tile (million m2)

73.5

Cotto tile (million m2)

420.7

425.2

435

547.5

13.1

13.6

14.7

15.05

Sanitaryware (million pieces)

Win-win solutions

2012

345.7

Total (tile – million m2)

Only the quota on canned tuna is much tighter, as this is a particularly sensitive product in the mindset of the EU. However, the grouping’s quota is still higher than the rate Vietnamese firms are currently exporting their products to the market.

2011

Actual manufacturing output Year

2011

2012

2013

2014 -2015

Ceramic tile (million m2)

295

245

260

361

Porcelain tile (million m2)

40.6

Cotto tile (million m2)

Total (tile – million m2)

340

285.6

302

440

Sanitaryware (million pieces)

10.7

9.5

12.5

when opening the market for high-value EU products like cars, motorcycles and pharmaceuticals in exchange for much lower value-added Vietnamese products. But Thai rejected these opinions. Presently Vietnam is shipping to the EU about $27 billion worth of goods, most of which are products from agriculture, forestry, fisheries, furniture and garment-textile. Over 40 percent of the export turnover of Vietnam to the EU enjoys a zero percent tax rate. So when the free trade pact kicks in, the rate will rise to 100 percent in a maximum of seven years. Currently, the average import duty for Vietnamese shipments to the EU is 6.5 percent, so with $27 billion in total exports to in 2014, Vietnamese firms can save over $1 billion in tax exemption when the pact is reached, Thai said. Coming along with the tax cut is the rising competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and the probability of expanding in the EU market, thus resulting in the development of domestic production, he added.

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Analysis: Vietnam

Viglacera float shows confidence

The growing confidence in Vietnam’s ceramic industry and its investment potential has been borne out by the announcement that the Hanoi Stock Exchange has approved the listing of 264.5 million shares of Vietnam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation (Viglacera), coded VGC, but without giving a specific timeline for the shares to be publicly transferred. The listing process has been stalled for several months, as Viglacera had planned to start trading its shares earlier in 2015. According to the stock exchange, the cap for foreign ownership in Viglacera is 49 per cent. Post IPO, the state, represented by the Ministry of Construction, still holds 91.5 per cent in the company As of June 16, 2015, Viglacera had over 1,800 shareholders, including 33 overseas individuals and companies, as seen in its shareholder structure report. Established in 1974 and equitised in 2014, Viglacera’s charter capital has increased to nearly VND2.65 trillion ($118.3 million) over the years. The company said, in a meeting on Friday, that it will increase the registered capital to over VND3 trillion and reduce the state holding to 78 per cent. Viglacera is Vietnam’s largest producer of ceramics and tiles for construction, owning 10 factories, 22 subsidiaries and five affiliate companies.

Domestic consumption Year

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ceramic tile (million m2)

272

253.9

250.5

360

Sanitary ware (million pieces)

9.3

8.5

8.6

9.2

Export value Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ceramic tile

110

185.14

179.29

219

270

Sanitaryware

46.5

64.3

77.8

107.2

130

9.113

11.45

Tableware

Ceramic imports Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Ceramic tile

46.4

57.48

270

Sanitaryware

12.54

13.17

10.5

130

Tableware

1.899

6.37

year-on-year, Viglacera said without releasing the profit figures. However, according to the company’s financial report for the first half of 2015, its profit after tax touched VND64.3 billion.

Challenges ahead

Of course, it is not all plain sailing. As VIBCA revealed at the CICA meeting, the vast majority of imported ceramics still come from China, and because of illegal smuggling it is believed that the actual amount penetrating the market is far higher than that which is released in the official figures – perhaps by as much as 20%. However, the country is prepared to meet all of these issues head-on and make a progress. Throughout 2015 there have been a number of highlights: • A shift towards more advanced printing technologies and techniques • Increased investment in the northern part of the country • An active programme on reducing Chinese tile imports by co-ordinating efforts through state bodies and governments • Increasing the value of exported ceramics by upgrading processes and improving the products on offer. In addition, Viglacera is also a real estate investor. Its Viglacera Land unit is currently the largest investor in the social housing projects in Hanoi, with more than 5,000 apartments for low-income people, reported the ministry of construction’s publication Bao Xay dung. However, the total investment in low-end condos was not recorded. Viglacera has also built several industrial parks across northern and central provinces of Vietnam, besides owning four office and trade centre projects. Last month, the Hanoi-based firm partnered Hoang Thanh Investment and Development Company, Japan’s Sankei Building Management Company, and Ho Chi Minh City-based OWI Joint Stock Company to launch the real estate project management joint venture Visaho JSC. Viglacera is believed to own 36 per cent of the JV. After an year of operating as a joint stock company, its profit before tax during the first nine months of 2015 jumped 52 per cent

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AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Talking Shop

The Dumping debate AC looks at how the continued instigation of anti-dumping (AD) duties on Chinese ceramic exports is causing a re-think in strategy.

Ceramics is an important traditional Chinese staple export product. Foshan is a renowned international ceramic centre in Guangdong province of China. Indeed, Foshan ceramic has five thousand years of history and is famous for hosting the largest ceramic cluster in the world. Foshan, Jingdezhen, Zhuxianzhen and Wuhan are known as China’s four major towns of the ceramic industry. The Foshan industry along with major ceramic facilities concentrated in Chaozhou accounts for 70 per cent of exports to the EU, a place for 30 major ceramic enterprises who are involved in OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) production for European buyers. Post anti- dumping duties settlements, most of these industries are facing a threat of closure. In October 2012, the European Commission proposed to impose anti-dumping duties against Chinese exports to Europe in order to strengthen trade defences. The imports of ceramic tableware and metal fittings are put under the scanner. European Commission announced to levy 17 to 58 per cent tariff on Chinese tableware and kitchenware products. As per the new EU regulation, porcelain export tariffs will range between 36.1 per cent and 13.1 per cent for more than ten Chinese Companies. This duty will be exercised equally on all porcelain products irrespective of its category. However, for those companies, which are not listed, the duties will vary between 17.6 per cent and 58.8 per cent, depending upon the category of porcelain tableware product. Laotian Ceramics Co., Ltd, a major ceramics maker in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has lost a number of European clients and almost half of its overseas sales (Xinhua 2013). As a result, the ceramic industry in China is working to tap into emerging economies, including South Africa and South America (CIRN 2013; CBMN 2014). Innovative techniques to create a brand value are adopted, including developing lowcarbon products, improving craftsmanship and making high-level products (CIRN 2013). The ADs on ceramic and porcelain products are the microeconomic safeguards, which have been covered by certifications or product standardization rules. European countries have adopted stringent technical standards to bar imports from China and save the domestic industry in the wake of international economic slowdown, national debts and financial crisis (ECIA 2012; CISH 2012). In fact, in the European market, high-end ceramic products are sourced from Italy and Spain but products, which are sourced in bulk quantities and at cheaper prices, come from China. The ADs have deprived Chinese exporters of the price advantage as

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AC 16-1

THE ADS HAVE DEPRIVED CHINESE EXPORTERS OF THE PRICE ADVANTAGE Chinese manufacturers and exporters will be exposed to fierce competition from the European manufacturers. Consequently, Chinese ceramic enterprises are relying on technological innovation to meet the international industrial standards and beat European manufacturers’ USP and consumer bias towards quality and standard. Liu Yuelun, Mayor of Foshan - China’s ceramic city, said that for Chinese companies, building reputable brands in the face of anti- dumping duties would prove the most effective way to counter AD and CDs (Gd.people.cn 2014). These brands may help the Chinese industry in highlighting its history of ceramic production, cultural uniqueness and the quality, which will pave a way in the European market. Chinese ceramic enterprises are also actively participating in developing professional ceramic certification and gaining access to international high-grade ceramic market permits. The Chinese ceramic industry is adjusting its trade priorities: for example, in order to improve the competitiveness of local manufacturers, the areas of product structure are adjusted, brand promotion activities are undertaken and products with competitive pricing are gradually transferred to the non-EU regions as means of surviving strategies.

New markets?

The Chinese ceramic industry has to look out for new markets as the ADs in Europe have pushed them to an edge to prepare for an exit plan or an alternative survival plan. Unlike the PV industry, there is no room left for the ceramic industry in the domestic market.

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Talking Shop

Chinese real estate stagnation and an already high use of ceramics in the daily life have further narrowed the domestic market. The domestic market is shrinking, most domestic enterprises looking for foreign export channels and as a result, Chinese are accelerating expansion in South America, Africa and other emerging-markets. Ministry of International Trade Guangdong Dongpeng Ceramics Regional Director Huoqian Ting said that since the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in South America, the infrastructure development prospects are impressive and may open new markets for Chinese manufacturers (CNTV 2011). Consequently, the shrinking EU market share in China’s exports is being replaced by emerging South American market. Ouyang Huangjun, foreign trade manager of Hunan Hualian Industry Co Ltd, one of the country’s biggest ceramics manufacturers, confirmed that the duties have significantly changed company’s outlook and brought a strategic shift in its export structure. He explains that the company is now working to tap into emerging economies, including South Africa and South America. It is also developing low-carbon products with higher added value (China Daily 2013). Similarly, the president of Laotian Ceramics Co Ltd, a major ceramics maker in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Tian Zhenhua explains that his company is developing new models, hoping that updating its products will enhance its competitiveness in the international market (China Daily 2013).

Quality and brand

Against the backdrop of anti-dumping duties from EU, the Chinese ceramic industry is now undergoing overcapacity, oversupply, fierce competition, continuous fall in industrial profits, while leading enterprises lack the capability of independent innovation. In addition, Chinese ceramic products mostly come from middle and low value-added brands in the international market where the price is not high. In addition, Chinese ceramics exports work mostly through the export division. Ceramic dealers sell containers across the world, and further the distributor sells the merchandise to local consumers. This business model did not prove sustainable for Chinese ceramics because this does not allow the industry to establish its own brand image and help improve independent space for Chinese ceramics. Hence, Chinese ceramic industry’s urgent need is to establish a high-end brand image, boosting the ceramic industry by upgrading. Chen Liehan, Vice president of China National Arts and Crafts Import and Export Corporation and Prof. Wang Yaoling, an Associate Professor with the Department of Ceramic Art Design of Tsinghua University, believe that the Chinese manufactures had no choice than pulling out of the EU market or upgrading the quality and capturing the market based on high standards and branding. He argues that the Chinese ceramic companies must enhance the standards of domestic ceramics production in light of the duties, for instance, improving craftsmanship and making high-level products. The low-cost, low-price competition means companies may be subject to EU anti-dumping cases against large, but up-scale brand enterprise operating in EU. As a result, brand awareness and persistent quality measures were seen essential to widen the market scope in EU irrespective of bearing the tension of heavier duties. Developing the brand value would play a critical role and give Chinese industry a balanced approach to develop various markets around the world, not relying on EU only. For example, all important destinations including the ten ASEAN countries and

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other Asian countries and regions, will be directly affected by the quality assurances and standards. A must to mention, a group of institutions and local governing bodies initiated effort known as ‘Ceramic Lab’ to steer support for this innovation drive in the ceramic industry. In Sept. 2012, Shandong Province Industrial Ceramics Industry established Innovation Strategic Alliance in Zibo (CHTH 2012: c6). The core intention behind the move was enhancing the level of China’s industrial ceramics and international competitiveness, assisting to develop engineering technology, integration and standardization of construction and providing a talent training service platform. The alliances brought up varied industries together to serve the purpose. This included Shandong University, China Ocean University, six universities and Ceramic Research Institute Co., Ltd. Shandong, Sinoma Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. and number of Chinese ceramic enterprises. This alliance was primarily intended to understand and promote the establishment of a new business & market-oriented technological innovation system. Originally, the State Key Lab of New Ceramic and Fine Processing was approved by the National Planning Commission and financially sponsored by the loan from the World Bank in 1991 (SMET 2012). This State Key Lab has been devoted to the development of the science and technology of advanced ceramics and exploration for the frontier in the area of materials science. Over the past years, with the ADs threatening the existence of Chinese ceramic industry, the lab has carried out research works on fundamentals, engineering applications of new ceramics and fine processing. The lab made a lot of pioneering and distinctive achievements in many aspects of ceramic science, including toughening mechanism, composite technique, ferroelectric fatigue, phase transition, defect chemistry, sintering kinetics, nanoceramics, materials synthesis and colloid forming techniques (SMET 2012). The quality measurements are seen crucial for the survival of the industry in China.

The future

The ADs have been critical in deciding the fate of Chinese industry and these duties have come in different forms. Although, normally the criteria of ‘dumping’ has been used to prevent Chinese products from entering the domestic market, sometimes several macroeconomic measures – measures such as product standards and quality - have also been used to slow down the influx of cheaper products from China. From the aspect of technological progress, China’s enterprises are facing increasingly complex and demanding global technical barriers. In recent years, the three major trading partners of China i.e. EU, U.S. and Japan are emphasizing on improving technical standards. As a result, it becomes mandatory for Chinese enterprises to adopt industrial upgrading, to improve and optimize the domestic supply chain and to develop services related to manufacturing. This is apparently proved in the ceramic industry. By technological standards, emphasis is put on innovation-led upgrading. Moreover, the industries are taking efforts to avoid price wars and duplicity. The improvements in the product standards will help Chinese industry to create space in the overseas market. This not only means that the export structure will not remain limited to a certain region, but also reflects in efforts of gaining access to multiple foreign markets. The Chinese state is assured that if the standards are raised, innovation is brought in, and export markets are diversified, the industry will be able to absorb the shocks of ADs and Chinese brands will flourish further.

AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Insight

ZIRCON Hainan Wenchang Zircon Price, RMB/Ton

Vietnam Zircon Price, RMB/Ton

Specification: (Zr.Hf)O2≥65%, TiO2≤0.15%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

7,400-7,700

6,700-7,000

Early December

7,300-7,500

6,600-6,800

7,300-7,500

6,600-6,800

7,000-7,300

6,400-6,500

7,320

6,640

Early December Mid-December

7,400-7,700

6,700-7,000

Mid-December

Late December

7,100-7,300

6,400-6,600

Late December

7,454

6,760

Average Price

South Africa Zircon Price

Australia Zircon Price Suppliers

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

Specification

CIF Price

Remarks

South Africa Tronox (Former: Namakwa)

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66% TiO2<0.12%, Fe2O3<0.06%

1,040-1,050 USD/Ton

2 tons bag/ Bonded Warehouse

RBM-ZUG Premium Sand

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66% TiO 2 <0.15%, Fe2O3<0.1%

1,050-1,080 USD/Ton

2 tons bag/ Bonded Warehouse

Bulk/ CIF

RBM-ZSG Standard Sand

(Zr.Hf)O2≥65% TiO2<0.30%, Fe2O3<0.25%

1,020-1,040 USD/Ton

2 Tons bag

Specification

CIF Price

Remarks

Iluka-MB Premium Sand

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66% TiO2≤0.1%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

1,050-1,080 USD/Ton

2 tons bag/ Bonded Warehouse

Iluka-Eucla Premium Sand

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66% TiO2≤0.1%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

1,050-1,080 USD/Ton

Australian Tronox (Former: Tiwest)

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66% TiO2≤0.1%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

1,055-1065 USD/Ton

Suppliers

Indonesia Zircon Price, RMB/Ton

Zirconium Silicate Price in Fujian (RMB/t) Specification: (Zr.Hf)O2≥63.0%, D50=1.2μm

(Zr.Hf)O2≥64.5%, D50=1.1μm

Specification: (Zr.Hf)O2≥66%, TiO2≤0.1%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

2 tons bag/CIF (USD/ ton)

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early December

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,500

8,600-8,900

Early December

1,020-1,040

Mid December

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,500

8,600-8,900

Mid December

1,020-1,040

Late December

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,500

8,600-8,900

Late December

8,500

7,900

9,350

8,750

Average Price

asian ceramics

AC 16-1

EXW Price (Incl. Tax) EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Average Price

1,030

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Zirconium Silicate Price in Foshan (RMB/t)

Fused Zirconia Price (RMB/t)

(Zr.Hf)O2≥63.0%, D50=1.2μm

(Zr.Hf)O2≥64.5%, D50=1.1μm

(Zr、Hf)O2=98.5% 、D50=6-10μm

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early December

8,500-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,500-10,000

8,800-9,400

Mid December

8,500-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,500-10,000

Late December

8,500-8,600

7,800-8,000

8,550

7,900

Average Price

Henan

Fujian

Anhui

Early December

20,000-20,500

8,800-9,400

Mid December

20,000-20,500

9,500-10,000

8,800-9,400

Late December

20,000-20,500

9,750

9,100

20,250

Zirconium Silicate Price in Yixing (RMB/t)

Zirconium Silicate Price in Shandong (RMB/t)

(Zr.Hf)O2≥64.5%, D50=1.0μm

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early December

9,800-10,000

9,100-9,300

Mid December

9,800-10,000

Late December Average Price

Average Price

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early December

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

9,100-9,300

Mid December

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

9,800-10,000

9,100-9,300

Late December

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

9,900

9,200

9,550

8,950

Average Price

Finished Zircon Import Data (November. 2015)

Concentrate and Tailings of Zircon Import Data (November. 2015)

Quantity(t)

Amount (USD)

Unit Price (USD/t)

Total

55,151

58,099,584

1,053

Australia

34,871

38,498,552

1,104

South Africa

13,564

12,811,833

945

Indonesia

3,392

3,368,410

993

Kenya

2,139

2,050,082

959

Senegal

664

765,153

1,152

Ukraine

280

287,000

1,025

Thailand

200

181,200

906

Russia

72,000

59,526

Italy

3,525

2,712

0.6

1,537

2,562

0.005

9,200

France India

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Quantity(t)

Amount (USD)

Unit Price (USD/t)

Total

42,278

16,654,717

394

Australia

23,379

6,412,346

274

Mozambique

7,004

3,160,125

451

South Africa

3,928

2,433,564

620

Thailand

2,000

1,504,500

752

3,600

Madagascar

1,600

1,036,600

648

3,119

Vietnam

1,470

1,038,900

707

Pakistan

1,403

510,164

364

Nigeria

957

390,094

408

AC 16-1

asian ceramics

Hunter and the hunted

Everyone Unlimited. Dear Diary,

Big Company With a Significant Logo; this If I haven't mentioned before I used to be employed by a memories of my time with them. was some years ago now though I still have mostly fond for a Big Company. For sure there can be g There are disadvantages and advantages with workin cracy but on the whole there is a lot of bureau of levels g irritatin destructive politics and sometimes departments that specialise in the various comfort being in a large organization. They have multiple and be a business success. Or they don't tick things duties and disciplines that are needed to make had a new product launch then all of the and they fail. I used to be impressed with the fact that if we trials, presentations could be sent to firings, , samples, the technical data, material safety data sheets Japan to Brazil could receive the from ers custom major the and the regional offices all over the globe ch and development people, resear the the new products and prices in the same day. All of this after all of their work never mind the done had groups s costing the production departments, the logistics and ting had come out with some wonderful workers filling products into sample pots and bags and marke it's amazing what a big multinational stuff, sive gold embossed labels that really caught the eye. Impres it. to company can do when it puts its mind of the industry only about four or five other Whilst I worked for the Big Company there was in our part European and the others American albeit were l Severa similar companies that we had to compete with. meant that we were very familiar with the with factories and facilities over the globe. It pretty much it was not unusual for people to have worked competition and their strengths and weaknesses. Indeed cozy. rather things made It for two or more of these companies. ers and suppliers though no doubt custom both for well work to d seeme tition This limited compe things weren't too competitive. It isn't imes somet meant some 'gentlemen's agreements' existed that n each other too. surprising as the companies also bought and sold betwee nies and not so long ago that was mostly compa al region and l nationa other course of were There you pretty much knew what you were up stable, were things while Japanese and Taiwanese but for a was less about dropping price but about against and what you could do to overcome it. Mostly this products and helping customers to grow new ping providing better service and adding value, develo their business too when possible. lous when I found that a relatively minor These things don't last. I remember feeling somewhat incredu ny so that they could use a cheaper compa ese Taiwan a with red national company from UK had partne were another 'international' they seemed manufacturing base for their products. All of a sudden it become very strong regional to Asia hout throug ts competitor. And the Taiwanese used their contac dous jump in the amount of competition as competitors. It seemed that abruptly there was a tremen ed their supply chains into neighbouring Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese companies extend international partners to further with imes somet kinds countries and forming alliances of various big international companies started to look advance the products and services they could offer. The day they just weren't looking as efficient cold a on urs cumbersome, expensive and slow. Like dinosa kinds of take overs, joint ventures and sell offs or effective. Naturally things had to give â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we've seen all of the business and in the location of nature as the major players have adjusted to both shifts in the unavoidable. We also saw the rise was it but means any by s the business. This has not been painles has generally meant prices which India especially of new and big players from China, Vietnam and have fallen. negative effects and not Such competition and pressures on revenue though has and marketing are pment just on salaries and bonuses. Budgets for research, develo much can we afford How ned. questio are ents questioned. Caution prevails and investm

*The views expressed in this piece reflect those of the author, and not of the magazine or its staff

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Hunter and the hunted

st s o f t h e s e o c s e l a s d n a g n i t e k r a m y s m a ll r e v y l e v i t a r a p m o c e r a b u s i n e ss e s

s t h g h ou

ing more on a new product range that will to spend on training and developing staff, do we risk spend purchasing departments at our customers the when t produc er cheap face competitors offering simply are fixated on cost rather than value? nies are in distress or exit the industry Certainly the situation is more volatile now, some compa completely. snowballing. But plenty of others appear to enter the challenge. And its been made redundant that new have that people of r numbe Its not surprising really given the that new people come into the industry with competitors from this pool of talent should increase. Nor workplace now and things are becoming – the in are tion fresh ideas, but the eBay and Alibaba genera dare I say – chaotic? going to start the article by claiming that Now I don't mean this to sound wholly negative – but I was was going on, but taking a step back it is ng dumpi price though as – we were facing unfair competition changing; whether it is for better or for worse. worth considering what's happening and how things are we all use them to a lesser or greater extent. and new hardly Alibaba, eBay and other similar sites are even though I've regularly written about its I know I've found several very good suppliers on Alibaba ble suppliers. The thing is though these unrelia weaknesses especially with regard to scammers and , something I've mentioned in the past before than reach r greate a with sites are now very powerful and when considering how Alibaba has gone global. ny, can very quickly set themselves up What is happening though is that anybody, not just any compa a decision maker at a potential customer as an international supplier and get a direct connection with ting and sales costs of these businesses marke The and they can do this very quickly and very cheaply. hing. Anyone that can source any astonis is spent dollar per reach the are comparatively very small and . of course product is a potential competitor, or a potential customer there was a change in the nature of The thing is even if we look at the situation before, when ned needed to invest a certain amount of competition or the region it came from the companies concer didn't happen overnight and there was It rt. time and money to develop products, services and suppo was time to address the competition, there quently Conse e. achiev a limit what each company could ting, arrange for testing and analysis observe where they visited, what products they were promo hing about it. The very nature of somet do to able be to and with a reasonable degree of certainty from improved products, services and prices. competition in the market – the customer should benefit The adding of value. more questions with potentially bigger However this new model of business, the opportunists, raises will be accepted and what investment outcomes; if one can trade product so cheaply service levels a few dollars on materials or saving costs cut to r can be risked? With companies looking foreve possibly provide the services that equipment is attractive. But the new potential suppliers can't disciplines can offer. Thus the question and s established companies that have comprehensive facilitie return for a greater number of suppliers in s service in ion reduct accept is will customers be prepared to or a disadvantage to them if they tage advan offering cheaper products? In consequence will it be an t cost? It has been noted before produc to in built was sly have to start paying for support that previou suppliers is relatively poor (or nonexistent) , I and it still holds true that after sales service from low cost so low that testing, service visits and so on are s don't really think it could be anything else if the margin businesses how will the industry have to cost no the ce embra does t are not included. But if the marke in companies offering service and support change to compete. Or will we see a corresponding growth 'cozy'. at a cost? Certainly I don't expect it will be See you next month, Your humble servant William Hunter

*The views expressed in this piece reflect those of the author, and not of the magazine or its staff

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IN D IAN AGAZINE: CE RAM IC S OFFICIAL M 016 O F F I C IOAFFLICIAML AMAGGAAZZINIEN: E I N D IAN IC A2 I N D IAN INDIA CE RAM SHMEDABAD,I N DIC AN C EA RM A MIC ER ICSS 6 201 DABAD, INDIA IN S ID E21 : 061 2 0 AHME 6 AHMEDA S e eI NUSs IaDtE: BAD, INDIA Sri Lank a in focus Bangladesh: a land of opportunity? Cost savings in heavy clay Gao’an: a provoince pro file focus in a nk La PLU ri S S NEWS, VIEWS , AN ? ALY ity SIS un AN rt D MU po CH MORE! a land of op Bangladesh: in heavy clay Cost savings nce profile ovoi Gao’an: a pr

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EXHIBITION PREVIEW EXHIBITION PREVIEW EXHIBITION REPORT EXHIBITION PREVIEW

The 27th China International Ceramic & Bathroom Fair, Foshan (CeramBath) Awaits Your Participation The 26th CeramBath, Foshan International Ceramic & Bathroom Fair, held in Foshan from Oct. 18-21, 2015, was attended by over 46,632 visitors, 1.37% more than last session. These include international attendees, who accounted for 9.8% of the total (a decrease of 1%); of which, Asia accounted for 64.3%, Europe accounted for 10.3%, Africa accounted for 8.9%, North America accounted for 5.8%, South America accounted for 3.5%, and Oceania accounted for 2.5%. visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decrease reflects the continued weakness of the global market. On the other hand, the numbers of Chinese visitors remained stable, 43.4% of which applied the gate pass via Wechat self-help registration. China International Ceramics & Bathroom Fair, Foshan (CeramBath) will enter its 27th session in April, 2016. The biannual CeramBath is regarded as the most prestigious and influential ceramic and bathroom exhibition in China. Having 700 leading manufacturers of ceramic tiles and bathrooms, CeramBath is the most professional exhibition of the sector in China, with most famous brands, largest scale and strongest aggregation effect. It has been seen as the market vane of the section in China. For 13 years, CeramBath has retained its position as the first ceramic exhibition in Asia and the second ceramic exhibition in the world. Its domestic exhibitors covered districts of Foshan, Guangzhou, Qingyuan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Heyuan, Zibo, Linyi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Anyang, Hebi, Gaoan, Jingdezhen, Guangxi, etc. International exhibitors mainly came from America, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Brazil, etc. For 13 years, CeramBath has attracted visitors of over 2 million person-times, constructing an important platform for distributors from over 50 countries to know about China ceramics and helping establishing over 2500 ceramic and sanitary ware trading companies. By far, it has become the bridgehead of China ceramic industry connecting China and the world. CeramBath covers three venues. China Ceramics City serves as the top trade window for import and export; China Ceramics Industry Headquarters focuses on domestic market, gathering famous brands from home and abroad; Foshan International Conference & Exhibition Center is orientated to boost the development of new brands. With various orientations, three venues rely on and coexist with each other, constructing an important platform for ceramic & bathroom enterprises to exploit the market and upgrade brand value.

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The 27th China International Ceramic & Bathroom Fair, Foshan Organizer: Foshan China Ceramics City Group Co., Ltd Date: April 18-21, 2016 Exhibits: 1. Building Ceramic (wall & floor tile, mosaic, plaza tile, roof tile etc.) 2. Bathroom (Toilet, bathtub, shower room, bathroom cabinet, bathroom accessories such as faucet, hanger, etc.) 3. Others (Stone, art ceramic, ceramics technology, and media etc.) Venues: > China Ceramics City Add: China Ceramics City, No.2, 3rd Jiangwan Road, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong, China > China Ceramics Industry Headquarters Add: No.68, West Jihua Road, Foshan, Guangdong, China > Foshan International Conference & Exhibition Center Add: Taobo Avenue, Nanzhuang Town, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong, China Visitor Registration Please apply the E-ticket at: http://en.cerambath.org/

Contact Us: Mandy Liu International Market Department Tel: 86-757-82525961 Fax: 86-757-82525996 E-mail: fair@eccc.com.cn Web: en.cerambath.org

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