Asian Ceramics AC20-6

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AC20-6

LOOKING FORWARD

ASIA GEARS FOR RECOVERY

IN FOCUS: CICA in focus Digital design Heavy clay investment Freight in focus

Plus news, views, analysis and much more!

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News

Contents: AC 20-6 News

Features

4 Inside Asia

36 CICA in focus

Keeping it at home…

6 Welcome Anti-viral tile development.

8 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

Jahir Ahmed looks back over a difficult year for SE Asian manufacturing, and asks what hopes there are for 2021.

42 The digital revolution

AC takes a look at some of the leading technology players in the ever-more competitive inkjet printing market…

52 The heavy price of heavy clay

News from around the raw material sector.

Investment…that’s simply what’s needed to move the majority of the sub-continent’s brick makers from the dark ages to a modern, less polluting and ultimately more economically efficient industry. However, as a major employer, is there enough political will to force through the changes? Yogender Malik looks on…

34 Comment & Analysis

64 The problems of freight

24 International News Our eye on the international arena.

30 Material Matters

Will we ever see a year like this again?

With the trading world in turmoil following the wave of lockdowns this year, the basic underpinning economy of freight that holds the whole system together has been thrown into total chaos. AC looks at how soaring rates are holding back deliveries and potentially changing ceramic buying and sourcing strategies for many countries.

56

Analysis 72 Talking Shop AC talks to Christain Barbier, head of sales and marketing at Iluka Resources about how this raw material titan is facing up to the realities of the ceramics industry in a postCovid environment…

36

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74 State of the Nation: West Bengal The next instalment of our new section in the magazine, analysing the manufacturing bases of India.

76 The Matrix In a return of “the Matrix”, AC looks at how the growing pressure of air pollution and climate change is pressing down hard on the ceramics sectors of the sub-continent.

78 Insight

Analysis and insight into India.

82 The Hunter And The Hunted

William Hunter looks back at a 2020 that no-one had a vision for…

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Inside Asia Keeping it at home‌ India’s move, inspired by government, to manufacture more and more goods for domestic consumption has struck a chord across the ceramics industry there. With growing anti-China sentiment, tile and sanitaryware makers in particular are seeing the chance to hugely reduce the dependence on imported goods and supply from new, and expanded factories. Indeed, could 2021 be a golden year for the sub-continent with investment pouring into revamped, expanded facilities? After a 2020 we all want to forget, the new decade could certainly be one of considerable market shift‌

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W

ell…it’s been quite a year! But as we move into 2021, there is at least some renewed hope on the horizon and a gradual return to normality.

AS IA GEAR S FOR REC OVERY Of course, every situation throws up opportunity, and news this month that Malaysiabased Yi-Lai Bhd has developed an antiviral tile is a clear indication of innovation in the face of crisis.

IN FOCUS: According to the company’s executive director, Mr Au CICA in focus Digit al design Heavy clay investmen Yee Boon, "We are pleased to announce that following t Freight in focus our official launch of Talos Living Tiles -- Malaysia's Plus news, views, analy sis and much more! first negative ion tiles to improve indoor air quality, our Group has gone one step further by now offering the country's first tile with antivirus surfaces."

Notably, it has been demonstrated that Yi-Lai's much-anticipated antivirus tiles could effectively eliminate contagious viruses, with various tests being performed on the H1N1 influenza A viruses have shown a very desirable antivirus activity rate.

According to the analysis and test results by Guangdong Detection Center of Microbiology (Gmicro), an independent product testing and certification company based in China, the infectivity titre value has dropped significantly after contacting with Yi-Lai's antivirus tiles.

As it is, sample and test specimen have also been sent to Germany for further laboratory tests, which will be carried out by HygCen Germany GmbH, an accredited and internationally renowned testing lab for hygiene and biocidal activity. Mr Au expects antivirus tiles to become the next major trend in the property industry for the coming years.

"As people become more health conscious and mindful about their safety and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, we foresee that there will be a huge demand for antivirus tiles in Malaysia in the next few years," he comments.

Mr Au also highlights that antivirus tiles are already gaining traction in many European countries such as Italy, Spain and Austria, as these products can be found in not just residential property, but also hospital and pharmacy, gym and fitness centre, as well as restaurants and commercial property.

Considering that antivirus tiles are materials that could provide enormous health and hygiene benefits, Mr Au believes that the developers, designers, contractors and house owners will make a more forward-looking choices for their buildings.

"Antivirus tiles will be a big selling point for the Malaysian property developers in the future, because every home buyer would want to own a house with residential tiles that are able to destroy all types of harmful bacteria and insidious viruses in an absolutely natural way," he predicts.

Given the anticipated huge market demand, Mr Au points out that Yi-Lai is ready to realign its production lines and resources to mass produce big format antivirus tiles.

"Antivirus tile is going to be one of the most important key product segments for our Group.

In terms of volume, it may not be as high as our existing product offerings. But in terms of value, we expect a very significant contribution because antivirus tile is a premium product which could give us fairly attractive profit margin," he concludes.

Manufacturing facility -- 141,000 sq metres 7 production lines with a capacity of 11,000,000 sq. metres of ceramic, homogeneous and porcelain tiles annually.

The Company's products are primarily marketed across Malaysia and Singapore, and the operations are supported by two showroom and marketing centers in Kulai (Johor) and Petaling Jaya (Selangor) as well as four product centers located in Ipoh (Perak), Melaka, Butterworth (Penang) and Singapore. The staff strength of around 600 dedicated and loyal employees.

Happy New Year…let’s hope so!

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Ceramics looks for post Covid recovery • A Gold medal for System • MITI gets dumping study underway • Investig up • High Court seeks to clarify kiln closures • Kiln owners push for faster loan access • Gas connections to be stopp plans springtime launch for new unit ICA postponed to later date • Brilloca looks for digital outreach...

BANGLADESH

Ceramics looks for post Covid recovery The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the country's ceramic goods manufacturing industry, which had been showing a remarkable prospect in the recent years. The industry is now struggling to survive despite the resumption of economic activities lately, industry insiders have said.

Weak demand for all sorts of ceramic products in domestic and international markets, supply chain disruption, and persistent sluggishness in other associated sectors, particularly the real estate, are blamed for the situation.

Though the sales volume of ceramic products is gradually increasing, still it is well below the desired level, traders said. Umar Faruk, manager of Classic Centre - a ceramic tableware distribution outlet in the city's Elephant Road area, said their sales volume is still very low compared to the preCovid period.

"Sales volume fell below half the usual level," Mr Faruk said, explaining that a large section of buyers are now spending less

for non-essential items.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data revealed that Bangladesh's export earnings from all sorts of ceramic products shrank by 59.45 per cent to $ 27.97 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, from $ 68.97 million of the previous FY. The sector registered a hefty growth of 32.79 per cent in FY 2018-19 from $ 51.94 million in FY 2017-18.

Because of the popularity of Bangladeshi ceramic items abroad, the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA) had expected to earn $1.0 billion through export.

Bangladesh has become nearly self-reliant in producing ceramic products from an importdependent nation just two decades ago.

Currently 68 ceramic producers are operating in the country; of which 20 manufacture tableware, 30 tiles, and 18 sanitaryware, according to data available with the BCMEA. BCMEA General Secretary Irfan Uddin said easing the lockdown

does not mean that all things have recuperated to their usual level.

"Demand for all categories of ceramic products has slogged significantly in the local market amid the pandemic. Export markets are also showing the same trend."

Bangladesh's ceramic goods export destinations include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Most of these countries have been hit hard by the deadly coronavirus, and they are now fearing second and third waves of the pandemic in coming days, he added.

According to any number of reports prepared by any number of analysts, the size of global ceramics market is expected to reach US$ 407.72 billion by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 per cent from the existing level.

Such a potential global market along with the expanding domestic one encouraged several new ceramic producers

to start operations in the country. Unfortunately, the move faced a setback due to the virus outbreak, sources said.

"Several new plants, which were in the pipeline to start operations this year, deferred their plan and will launch production next year," said Mr Irfan Uddin, also managing director of FARR Ceramics.

It became difficult for these units to import their machinery and factory construction materials as well as hire foreign experts in the wake of the pandemic, he explained.

However, the BCMEA leader has expressed his optimism that the local ceramic sector would make a comeback by the middle of 2021.

Insiders said the local ceramic sector had been facing several challenges, including lack of skilled manpower and hike in prices of gas, a vital resource for making ceramic products.

Drawing an investment worth nearly Tk 90 billion, the sector has so far generated employment for more than 0.5 million (5 lakh) people.

CHINA

A Gold medal for System An important supply in the field of pressing and decoration technology has been agreed between Gold Medal and System Ceramics thanks to the work of the subsidiary, System China.

Gold Medal, one of the most important producers of highquality tiles based in Guandong, has chosen the cutting-edge System Ceramics Superfast 19000 pressing system for the production of 1200x2700mm slabs. The customer has also decided to adopt the Creadigit XXL full-digital decoration system

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fitted with Creavision: the powerful vision and self-regulation system that guarantees perfect centering of the print on the substrate, leading to an increase of the qualitative standards of the

final product and a considerable saving in ink.

Thanks to the local presence of the subsidiary and the prompt and efficient service offered to the clientele, a partnership relationship has developed over the years with Gold Medal, validated by this supply contract that confirms the extraordinary work of synergy between the customer, the Italian headquarters, System Ceramics, and System China.

Gold Medal’s decision demonstrates System Ceramics’

role as leader in industrial automation for the ceramics sector, whose processes are chosen by the most important producers at international level, knowing that they can count on the best made-in-Italy ceramic plant solutions.

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gation into alleged tableware imports • ADB supports brick technology takeped outside economic zones • Dumping duty sought as Morbi hit again • MGI MALAYSIA

MITI gets dumping study underway The government is finally undertaking a safeguard investigation on imports of ceramic floor and wall tiles products into Malaysia, said the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and expects to report by early next year.

It said there was sufficient evidence of serious injur y caused by increased imports to do so following a petition from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers — Malaysian Ceramic Industr y Group received on July 16 requesting for a global safeguard

investigation on these imports.

“The petitioner alleged that the increase in imports of ceramic floor and wall tiles products in absolute terms and relative to domestic production from 2017 to 2019 have caused serious injur y to the domestic industr y in Malaysia producing the like products,” Miti said in a statement.

In accordance with the Safeguards Act 2006 and its related regulations, a preliminar y determination will be made within 120 days from the date of initiation,

“If the preliminar y determination is affirmative, the government will impose a provisional safeguard duty at the rate that is necessar y to reduce the effects of serious injur y to the domestic industr y caused by the imports,” the ministr y said.

In connection with the investigation, Miti provided a set of questionnaires to interested parties such as importers, foreign producers, exporters and associations.

Other interested parties were also able to request

questionnaires in writing to the ministr y no later than September 28.

Interested parties had then been able to provide additional evidence to Miti by October 13 to support the investigation and it is now expected to be concluded by late Januar y 2021.

If it received no additional information within the specified period, the government would make its preliminar y determination based on available facts and information, Miti added.

INDIA/CHINA

Investigation into alleged tableware imports It appears that India is kicking up a fuss about China’s efforts to circumvent anti-dumping regulations regarding tableware imports into the sub-continent.

Indeed, the domestic industry has alleged that the items are being exported through Malaysia.

As a result, the Centre has initiated an investigation on alleged circumvention of antidumping duties imposed on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware (excluding knives and toilet items) from China by exporting the items from Malaysia.

“The investigation has been initiated by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies following representations from the domestic industry stating that it has reasons to suspect that ceramic tableware and kitchenware items from China were being routed into India through Malaysia to avoid paying anti-dumping duties that were announced on Chinese items in February 2018,” an official said.

In December 2017, after carrying out extensive investigations on

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imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware (excluding knives and toilet items) from China, the designated authority had established that the items were being sold in India at prices below those in the exporting country market and this was causing injury to the domestic industry. It had thus recommended imposition of anti-dumping duties of $1.04 per kg (over and above the basic customs duty) on imports from China which was notified by the Finance Ministry subsequently.

The domestic industry, however, is apprehensive that the anti-dumping duties are being circumvented or avoided by channelising of Chinese products through Malaysia. In its representation to the DGTR, the Ceramic Tableware & Kitchenware Manufacturers Association, on behalf of the domestic industry, presented a number of reasons or evidence based on which it sought anti-circumvention investigations.

The complainant pointed out that there have been significant changes in the pattern of trade

whereby imports from China of the items have declined and imports from Malaysia have increased significantly from 2017-18. This was the time when the antidumping duties of the items were imposed on imports from China.

Moreover, exports were mostly taking place from Malaysia via exporters that are not producers of the subject goods.

“There is also evidence of non-availment of concessions under both Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) and the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) indicating that the requirement of value addition is not being fulfilled by the exporters in Malaysia,” as per the DGTR initiation notification on September 25 2020.

The industry request also contains sufficient prima facie evidence that the prices of the product under investigation are also dumped, the DGTR noted. The imports are also undercutting the prices of the domestic industry.

“The Authority on the basis of prima facie evidence provided by the applicant notes that there is a change in the pattern of trade wherein imports of products under investigation from Malaysia are increased to significant level since 2017-18 without any sufficient cause or economic justification thereby undermining the remedial effects of the existing anti-dumping measure imposed on imports of product under investigation from China PR,” the notification stated.

The authority, therefore, recommends provisional assessment on all imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware, excluding knives and toilet items from Malaysia till the completion of this review, it added.

The period of investigation for the present investigation is April 2019- March 2020 and the injury period will cover the periods 201617, 2017-18, 2018-19 and the period of investigation.

Wherever this ends up… it’s not great news for the continually deteriorating India-China relationship.

AC 20-6

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News

NEPAL/SOUTH KOREA

ADB supports brick technology take-up Good Bricks System by InnoCSR, a South Korean company, has introduced responsible and sustainable impact technology brick solutions in Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, and Nepal. Using a proven technology, the leading South Korean company says that its bricks are stronger and last longer.

With a $125,000 grant from ADB Ventures, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) venture capital arm, the company aims to reduce the industry’s harmful impact on the environment and health. The grant also gives ADB Ventures the option to make a future equity investment in the Good Bricks System.

An automated non-fired, ecofriendly, labor friendly brick is manufactured with three components: soil (90%), cement

(9.8%), and soil stabilizer (0.2%).

This technology has been successfully adopted in Nepal

by Gorkha Innotech Pvt. Ltd. in Chayanglingtar, Gorkha. Their bricks have the required strength of minimum 8MPa and meet international criteria for ‘A’ grade soil bricks. In an hour, a machine can produce 3,500 bricks and in a month it can easily produce more than a million bricks.

The process emits no pollution since it is produced by machines that run on electricity, and it also requires fewer people; approximately 20 workers per shift in a manufacturing site.

Since the brick is manufactured indoors, the Sun, rainfall and other adverse weather do not impact its production. It can be produced throughout the year.

InnoCSR Nepal has so far tested

more than 200 different types of soil across Nepal, and found that 95% or more of the soil samples fit the Good Bricks feasibility criteria. In a separate drop and lab tests, Good Bricks were found to be stronger, compared to fired bricks. The Good Bricks are sent to the market after 5-7 days of production and curing, as a result the productivity of Good Bricks increases 10 times, considering that it takes normally 28 days to produce a normal brick.

Also, a compressive strength test (CST) report showed that Good Bricks has more than 8MPa strength, meeting the global standard (8MPa) and exceeds the government of Nepal’s standard for fired bricks. “It is cost-competitive compared to traditional bricks and reduces production time

by six-fold with a better quality.

It also cuts greenhouse gas emissions and improves working conditions for employees,”says Professor Prem Nath Maskey of the Institute of Engineering at Tribhuvan University, The cost of production of Good Bricks is about the same or lower compared to the traditional fired bricks. The expected profit, due to productivity increase, is much greater for brick manufacturers.

The yearly average production of Good bricks is 10 ~ 20 million bricks per machine depending upon working hours.

The Good Bricks System hopes to revolutionize the bricks industries in Nepal, and provide safe, strong and reliable bricks to construction projects across the country together with all the brick manufacturers.

BANGLADESH

High Court seeks to clarify kiln closures The Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought further arguments on the viability of a petition challenging closure of brick kilns for curbing smog.

President and secretary of the Brick Kilns Association filed the petition, stating that the Environment Protection Department had graded areas in high and low smog intensity areas. High smog intensity

areas are named as red zones and low smog intensity areas are named as green zones respectively, they added.

The petitioners argued that the department issued a notification in 2018 that banned brick kilns located in red zones only. However, the department, through a recent notification, shut down allconventional brick kilns without differentiating red

and green zones,they added.

They submitted that the step of shutting down brick kilns in high and low intensity areas would badly affect thousands of people associated with the brick kiln industry. They pleaded with the court to set aside the ban on working of brick kilns in low intensity areas and also stay adverse action against them till the final decision of the petition.

Justice Ayesha A Malik heard the initial arguments and turned down the request for interim relief, besides seeking further arguments on maintainability of the petition. The court observed that many brick kiln owners had given affidavit of keeping their kilns closed till December 31.

How, the petitioners approached the court against persons who gave affidavits, it added.

PAKISTAN

Kiln owners push for faster loan access The brick kiln owners of Pakistan have decided that the rates of bricks would not be increased in the coming season and said the government should speed up its loan process for shifting the Kilns to the modern zigzag technology to avoid any shortage of bricks in the winter.

They decided this following an agreement made by Brick-Kiln Owners Association Pakistan President Muhammad Shoaib Khan Niazi who led a delegation

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which met Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal at Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) on Wednesday. The association agreed on not increasing the bricks’ prices. The progress made on provision of soft loans to the brick kilns for their transfer to zigzag technology was also reviewed.

The minister directed the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) to early

start provision of soft loans for transfer of traditional brick kilns to zigzag technology. Soft loans will be provided for upgrade of the traditional brick kilns.

However, increase in the prices of bricks will not be tolerated and action will be initiated against the brick kilns found involved in violation. Further, the brick kilns will be closed if any complaint is reported and the district administration has been issued directions as well, the

minister said.

The minister stated that the Industry Department and administration of various districts are engaged in fixing prices of bricks. He said the PSIC is about to launch the programme for transfer of brick kilns to zigzag technology.

The brick kilns owners will be provided soft loans for the purpose. The association president apprised the minister of different issues.

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News

BANGLADESH

Gas connections to be stopped outside economic zones The government will not provide new piped natural gas connections to industries to be located outside the country's designated economic zones, or EZs, after March 2021.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, or MoPEMR, has decided to provide new gas connections only to industries inside the economic zones after four months to discourage unplanned industrialization across the country.

The designated EZs include all which have been approved by Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, or BEZA, and Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, or BSCIC. The MoPEMR has already issued directives to all staterun gas distribution companies to carry out the energy ministry's directives on new gas connections to industries.

"We have decided not to entertain new gas connections to industries outside the economic zones after March next year in line with the instructions from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," EMRD

secretary Md Anisur Rahman has revealed.

The industries that will receive approval for getting gas outside the economic zones until next March will, however, get gas access, he said.

The decision has been taken to streamline the country's growth of industrialisation in a planned way, he added.

Unplanned industrialisation eats up agricultural land posing a threat to the country's food security, said Mr Rahman.

Haphazard gas connections increase costs of both the government and entrepreneurs to lay down the pipelines and build other necessary infrastructures, he noted.

It will help supply natural gas with satisfactory pressure to industries, the EMRD secretary added.

"BEZA is developing the EZs with smooth utility facilities to woo investments across the globe," BEZA executive chairman Paban Chowdhury confrmed.

He said the BEZA has started works to establish 'one-stop service desk' in the economic zones to provide quality services to investors.

"We have already approved investment proposals worth around US$26 billion from different big business conglomerates across the globe, which are keen to invest in the country's EZs." Supporting the government decision, he said industrialization in planned economic zones will ensure better management, ease time for utility connections and help the sustainable economic growth of the country.

Leader of the country's apex trade body - the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or FBCCI, -- however, termed the government decision too early.

"I think the country is now not ready to take such a decision as the economic zones are not getting readied across the country," said FBCCI vice president Md Siddiqur Rahman.

Halting natural gas connections to industries outside the economic zones from next March will pose an obstacle to industrial growth in the countr y, he said.

Besides, localities around the economic zones have not yet developed to support

residential facilities for the employees of new industries to be located there, said the FBCCI leader.

Currently, new piped gas connections to CNG, or compressed natural gas, filling stations, households and commercial consumers are stopped.

The commercial consumers include restaurants, residential hotels and guest houses, private hospitals, clinics, laboratories, educational institutions, community centres, community clubs, convention centres, snack and baker y item makers.

Traditional glass and ceramic makers, who use hand-operated tools to manufacture their products, also belong to the commercial consumer group.

New gas connections to captive power plants are discouraged, considering the increase of the countr y's overall electricity generation.

Countr y's overall natural gas scarcity prompted Petrobangla to ration new connections to industries, fertiliser factories and power plants since June 2009.

TAIWAN/INDIA

Dumping duty sought as Morbi hit again Trouble seems far from over for the ceramic manufacturers of Morbi, India after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) imposed anti-dumping duty in June this year. Now, the Taiwan government has initiated the process of imposing duty on ceramic imports from four countries, including India, following allegations by local manufacturers there. The other countries are Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Together, these countries account for 70% of ceramic imports into Taiwan.

Though Morbi’s exports to Taiwan are around Rs300

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crore of the total annual export basked of Rs12,000 crore, the manufacturers are worried about more countries following this trend.

Nilesh Jetpariya, president of Morbi Ceramic Association (wall tiles division), said that after the GCC imposed duty ranging from 40% to 106% on Indian ceramic products, the export to the Gulf countries has dropped by 20%.

“We export 500 containers per month to Taiwan, which is a very small quantity compared to the total exports. However, we can’t ignore this investigation by the Taiwanese authority”,

Jetpariya said.

The ceramic industry came to know about the investigation initiated by the ministry of finance of Taiwan through a public letter stating that three Taiwanese companies, along with the Taiwan Ceramic Industry Association, have sought antidumping duty on ceramics from four countries.

The Taiwanese firms raised objections regarding pricing by 34 ceramic exporters of Morbi.

The companies had appointed a local market research company and based on 2019 production of the top ten ceramic

companies and other data, they claimed that the dumping margin was 80%.

Mukesh Ughareja, president of the the association’s vitrified tiles division said that “we don’t want any more countries to impose anti-dumping duty on our products. It impacts our credit in the international market”.

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News

BANGLADESH

MGI plans springtime launch for new unit Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) is investing Tk 400 crore to set up a ceramics factory at the Meghna Economic Zone in Narayanganj as the conglomerate looks to establish its footprint in the country's burgeoning sector.

"We are installing the required machinery at the new unit, which is expected to go into commercial production by next March or April," said Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of MGI. The factory was supposed to begin operations in July but there were delays in developing physical infrastructure and installing equipment as the project's technical experts from Europe, Taiwan and China returned homes following the coronavirus outbreak.

Since most of the experts have come back now, the development work of the new unit has resumed.

Another impediment that delayed the implementation of the project is the lack of gas connection even though MGI has deposited all the necessary fees.

"Industrialists suffer to secure gas and power connections on time and this slows the rate of

investment and production," Kamal said.

The new factory will generate at least 1,500 jobs, the entrepreneur said. The unit will have the capacity to produce 40,000 square metres of ceramic tiles per day.

Through the investment, MGI plans to produce world-class tiles that will cater to the country's ever-increasing demand for standard construction materials.

Kamal said the ceramics sector is rapidly rising in Bangladesh as people from both urban and rural areas use tiles.

The domestic demand for tiles, which is currently about 200 million square metres per year, has increased by 10 to 12 per cent annually in the last 10 years, according to the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA).

The market value for ceramic products was around Tk 35,000 crore in 2019, BCMEA data showed.

Ceramics is a capital-intensive product and setting up of a factory takes about Tk 150 crore to Tk 200 crore.

The industry's total production

INDIA

capacity has tripled in the last 11 years and Bangladesh currently holds 0.14 per cent of the global market for ceramic products. Local suppliers cater to around 80 per cent of the domestic demand.

Ceramic manufacturers in Bangladesh mainly produce three types of products: tiles, tableware and sanitary ware.

Of the 68 ceramic manufacturers currently operating in the country, 20 produce tableware, 32 make tiles and the remaining 16 produce sanitary ware.

More than a dozen new companies are preparing to make a foray into the market.

So far, around Tk 9,000 crore has been invested in the sector, which employs about five lakh workers, including two lakh women.

More than 25 crore pieces of tableware, 20 crore square metres of tiles and 83 lakh units of sanitaryware items were produced in Bangladesh in fiscal 2017-18, according to the BCMEA. In February, MGI flagged off nine industrial units at its economic zone in a bid to meet

the country's growing demand for consumer products and industrial raw materials.

The units are Meghna Sugar Refinery, Sonargaon Seeds Crushing Mills, Meghna Ball Pen and Accessories MFG, Meghna Noodles and Biscuit Factory, Sonargaon Printing and Packaging Industries, Fresh Welding Electrodes and Wire, Meghna Fresh LPG, Sonargaon Ship Builders and Dockyard, and the second unit of Fresh Cement.

MGI invested about Tk 4,000 crore to set up the new manufacturing facilities, which directly employ about 8,400 workers.

The group, which grew out of a trading company set up in 1976, has 48 operational industrial units. Currently, it has 35,000 employees.

MGI's annual turnover stood at $2.5 billion, according to the group's website. It exports products to 25 countries.

"I have a dream that MGI's Fresh-branded products will be found in every household of Bangladesh. MGI is committed to ensuring product quality," Kamal said.

INDIA

ICA postponed to later date Brilloca looks for Indian Ceramics Asia has been postponed in consideration of the coronavirus situation and industry’s feedback.

Originally scheduled from March 3-5, 2021, Indian Ceramics Asia, Indian’s leading trade fair for the ceramic and brick Industry, organised by Messe Muenchen India and Unifair Exhibition Service Co., Ltd will now take place at a later date. The decision is based on the assessment of the coronavirus pandemic and the industry’s feedback received through an extensive survey, conducted by the organising team.

The alternative dates for next year will be announced in January 2021 after reassessing the global pandemic situation as well as the travel guidelines.

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“Considering the COVID-19 situation and the industry’s feedback, March is not a feasible option for organising the trade fair. Although, we assure our exhibitors, stakeholders, and visitors that we are working hard to make this event more successful with many more exhibitors and participations.

“We are hoping for a full revival of Indian Ceramics Asia with international and national onsite participation. The earliest date that can be targeted could be the second half of 2021, as it will ensure maximum international participations.

“We are looking forward to hosting you all next year with a safe and successful Indian Ceramics Asia 2021” said the organisers.

digital outreach

Traditional sanitaryware, faucet, plastic pipe and fittings and tile sectors — cumulatively estimated at about Rs 50,000 crore — have been compelled to embrace the omnichannel approach to reach customers because of the pandemic, said Sanjay Kalra, CEO, bath products and tiles, Brilloca Ltd., the makers of Hindware products.

Industry players have seen a sudden spurt in customer enquiries and visits to their websites. Reacting to this, many manufacturers are eager to adopt a combination of offline and online sales model, as it was the need of the hour, he added.

“An omnichannel system will flourish as most brick-andmortar players in our industry

are increasingly looking at online options today,” said Mr. Kalra.

“Digital will play a key role for us.

Many of us are already engaging customers on various social media platforms,” he added.

Responding to a query on the impact of COVID-19 on the sectors, whose growth is directly linked with real estate development, he said, “Currently, individual customers from small cities and towns are driving our sales.”

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SAUDI ARABIA

RAK shifts focus as domestic market slows RAK Ceramic, one of the world’s largest ceramics manufacturers, will further expand its operations in Saudi Arabia as surging sales in the kingdom offset a sluggish domestic market, the company’s CEO has announced.

Founded by Ras Al Khaimah’s ruler in 1989, RAK Ceramics sells to 150 countries and has manufacturing facilities in several countries including the UAE, India and Bangladesh. Annually, it can produce 123 million square metres of tiles, 5 million pieces of sanitaryware, 24 million items of porcelain tableware and 1 million pieces of faucets, according to its website.

The firm reported a thirdquarter net profit attributable to shareholders of 33.1 million dirhams in November, down from 39.1 million dirhams in the prior-year period as sales costs rose 3.5 percent according to analyst’s calculations.

Quarterly revenue was nearflat year-on-year at 625.7 million dirhams, with the company’s operations largely returning to normal following lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic; third-quarter revenue was 52.1 percent higher than that of the second quarter.

“When you see everything shut down and borders are closed, this is very challenging, but we know there will be an end,” Abdallah Massaad, RAK Ceramics

chief executive told the media.

“Whenever you have a strong foundation you will be able to recover faster. I wasn’t worried about the business because I was convinced it would rebound.”

Massaad declined to provide sale forecasts but said “I’m cautiously optimistic … if things continue like it is, I can see that the impact of COVID-19 is behind us”.

He attributed RAK Ceramics’ rising sales costs to higher transportation expenses as a result of increased sales to Saudi Arabia and Europe, which the company supplies from its UAE factories.

Third-quarter revenue from Europe rose 12.9 percent to 91.5 million dirhams, while its quarterly India revenue rebounded to around pre-covid levels of 66.7 million dirhams.

RAK Ceramic’s nine-month profit fell 63.5 percent to 47.2 million dirhams. Its local production facilities have continued to operate throughout 2020, despite the pandemic, but its factories in India and Bangladesh were closed from late March until early June before operating uninterrupted throughout the third quarter.

The company’s supplies to Saudi Arabia, Europe and Australia were largely unaffected during the third quarter aside from what it describes as intermittent supply chain issues.

RAK Ceramic is the UAE market leader. Over the past few years,

the company opened around a dozen showrooms across the country, while it also supplies other retailers and sells directly to real estate developers. The domestic ceramics market has been in the doldrums due to covid and a sluggish real estate sector where prices have been in retreat since mid-2014.

“There’s no doubt that sales to projects came down, but we opened two new domestic showrooms and a virtual showroom … the sales in retail and distribution increased and offset the drop in the project (sales),” said Massaad, noting has firm has gained market share from its domestic competitors.

He declined to reveal the domestic revenue split between retail, wholesale and real estate projects.

RAK Ceramics’ third-quarter revenue from Saudi Arabia nearly doubled to 137.8 million dirhams, in an increase the company partly attributed to anti-dumping duties on tiles from China and India that came into effect in June.

The sales surge follows a 2018 decision to launch RAK Ceramic retail stores in Saudi Arabia, having previously relied on other retailers and distributors to sell its products in the kingdom. “(We) follow the same model as the UAE,” said Massaad.

The company has opened showrooms in Riyadh and Mecca and will open a similar store

INDIA

Asian Granito returns to profit as gas prices come down Tiles maker, Asian Granito India Limited, reported a sharp recovery in standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2020 at ₹18 crore from a net loss of ₹5.3 crore in the previous quarter ended June 2020.

Company's revenues from operations jumped by 148 per cent to ₹278 crore as against ₹112 crore in the June quarter, which was under the Covid-19-induced lockdown.

The company attributed the sharp recovery in profits to lower gas prices and prevalent anti-China sentiment, which has lifted the

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sales for the ceramics industry, as a whole.

On year-on-year basis too, company's standalone profit for the quarter under review doubled from ₹8.5 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Consolidated net profit for the quarter stood at ₹19.8 crore as against net loss of ₹7.5 crore in the previous quarter and profit of ₹12.6 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Consolidated revenues from operations stood at ₹344 crore as against ₹129 crore in the previous quarter and ₹357 crore in the

same quarter last year.

Kamlesh Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, commented on the results, "We are happy to announce that the Company’s performance has become similar to pre-Covid times. This has been possible by facing the challenges, drawing effective strategies and marching with determination.

The Indian ceramic industry has benefitted from the rising demands of global players. As a result, the large players have improved the working capacity of their plants by a huge margin."

He also stated that "Further

in Jeddah by December-end. It plans to expand its Saudi retail presence further.

“No doubt, this improved our position in Saudi. We positioned ourselves as a premier product, differentiating us from competitors,” said Massaad.

He said he was confident his company can maintain its sales momentum in Saudi. “UAE, Saudi and Europe, plus India and Bangladesh are our focus markets,” said Massaad.

“We will look at other markets, but Saudi is the most important for us.”

Europe is a priority for RAK Ceramics despite the continent’s lethargic economy, because it provides revenue diversification.

The company has units in Italy, Germany and Britain.

“We buy raw material, machinery and spare parts from Europe … it’s an important market to give us revenue and spending in euros,” said Massaad.

In its results announcement, RAK Ceramic warned its tableware business “continues to suffer due to the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality and airline sector”.

Massaad said it was too early to predict when this segment would recover, highlighting renewed lockdowns in Europe.

The company does not intend to raise new debt, said Massaad.

“For the time being, we don’t have major spending, investment (plans),” he added. advantages for the domestic industry have been the reduced gas prices and the anti-China sentiments. With an impressive performance in various sections of the market, we are looking forward to the growth in the coming quarters of fiscal 2020-21."

The company has a good presence in rural and Tier-II cities.

"We will continue to focus on creating value-based products for the middle class, which has been crucial for our impressive numbers in the second quarter of the fiscal.

To manage the challenging times at the beginning of the fiscal, we laid down well-though strategies which are aimed at fixing the semivariable costs.

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News

INDIA

HSIL sees growth in touchless sanitaryware Sanitaryware major HSIL Limited is optimistic about the business in the second half and expects festival season to trigger demand.

Sandip Somany, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of HSIL, said, “While Covid has disrupted businesses, we are on track with our capex plans. Our capex takes 18 months to complete and we feel that in 18 months the pandemic will be behind us.”

“We are looking forward to H2 being equivalent or better than H2 last year. For the whole year across the group, some of our businesses will exceed the preCovid sales, some of them will not be able to catch the sales of last year because of lockdown.

But all the businesses including under performing ones will cover 85-90 per cent or pre-Covid sales which is very good,” he said.

Somany said, “We have significantly expanded our contactless product range. Our sales in this segment are up about 10 times and this will become a norm in future in the contactless product portfolio.

Apart from faucets, we also have a range of water closets which are touchless, wherein one does not have to touch it for flushing.

People prefer them in the public areas,” he said.

“We have increased manufacturing output in this segment and our units are flexible in producing any type of products.

The sanitaryware is manufactured in our Bahadurgarh plant in Haryana and the fittings are manufactured in our Rajasthan plant. So, in Rajasthan plant we have stepped-up the production of contactless products,” he said.

Brilloca, the marketing arm

and a 100 per cent subsidiary of Somany Home Innovation Limited, closed 2019-20 with a revenue of ₹1,160.88 crore. For 2021-22, Brilloca’s revenue are projected at ₹1,700 crore. The current year’s projection will be difficult to give because of Covid, he said.

“Post pandemic, we all are trying to recover and come back to prepandemic sales. July onwards the sale is rising consistently, but he has not yet reached pre-Covid level. We are hopeful that with the upcoming festival season, things should get normalised.

It has been a tough year for the entire industry with April and May registered zero revenue, with June things started pickingup. So, July was better than June, August was better than July and hopefully September will be better than August. So,

these figures showing the sign of recovery with consumers are coming back,” he said.

“There is a complete overhaul in buying patterns of consumers especially during the current situation. Dealers are even sending samples to show the product to their customers.

We continue to learn and as consumer’s point of view, they continue to evolve,” he said.

“The product mix has changed, now consumers want more contactless products not only at homes but also in commercial and public places.

By the time the pandemic is over, the bigger companies with better retail and supply chain management will come out stronger and the smaller once will face tough times as it is not easy to convert customers these days,” he explained.

PAKISTAN

Ceramic sector under pressure from gas prices Major stakeholders including commercial and industrial representatives have opposed increase in prescribed gas prices demanded by the Karachi based Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) to meet its revenue requirements for the current fiscal year.

Instead the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) made a case for cut in the well-head gas price to reduce the cost of gas supply and cover up SSGCL’s revenue gap. This was also supported by the SSGCL. Other key stakeholders including car manufacturers, the ceramics association and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry opposed Rs78.95 per unit increase in tariff demanded by the SSGCL. This was the crux of a public hearing conducted by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on SSGCL’s petition for increasing its prescribed price by Rs78.95 per million British Thermal Unit (mmBtu). Vice Chairman Ogra Noor-ul-Haq presided over the hearing.

Speaking on behalf of Aptma

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Sindh and Balochistan, Razi-udDin Razi demanded that wellhead price of gas should be reduced from around $4.08 per mmBtu at present, under section 5 of the petroleum policy, which will not only help cutting the gas price but will also cover the revenue gap of the SSGCL. In its petition for review of its estimated revenue requirements/prescribed prices for 2020-21, SSGCL claimed that it was facing revenue shortfall of Rs28.24bn for which increase in prescribed price was inevitable.

Mr Razi said the well-head gas price in Pakistan was the highest among the regional countries. At benchmark of $40 barrel of oil, the gas well-head price in Pakistan was around $4.08 per mmBtu. In India and Bangladesh, the well-head price ranged between $1.5 to $2.5 per mmBtu, he added.

Mr Razi who had led Oil and Gas Development Company and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil & Gas Company in the past said the second main contributor of high price was unaccounted for gas (UFG) losses which should

be reduced for better financial health of the SSGCL and also to keep the prices low.

The representatives of the SSGCL also termed the unaccounted for gas (UFG) a menace and contended that the company was working vigorously to scale down losses.

The Aptma representative also termed that Gas Development Surcharge (GDS) claimed by the SSGCL in its petition illegal saying there was no concept of negative GDS and hence it should not be included in the revenue requirement. He contended that by definition GDS was not a fixed tax which was receivable from Government of Pakistan or and not the consumers.

Referring to the original and revised petitions, Mr Razi said the gas sales in terms of mmBtu was changed by the petitioner by almost 36pc which could not be possible and demanded that forecasting models should be improved and calibrated under the aegis of the regulator.

The intervener demanded that the cost of gas sold should be recalculated with average cost

of gas at Rs526 per mmBtu as per previous determination of Ogra instead of Rs548 per unit claimed by the company.

Likewise, the transmission and distribution cost of Rs62.5 per unit claimed by the company should also be set aside in line with Ogra’s earlier decision of July this year.

Representative of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Atif Jameel while opposing the SSGCL demand for higher prescribed prices demanded that the prices of gas should not be changed for next two years. “If Corona has affected the financial position of the SSGCL, so is the entire industry and KCCI members have been affected negatively by the pandemic”, he asserted.

The representatives of the ceramic industry and car manufacturing industry also opposed the tariff hike demand of the SSGCL. The Ogra vicechairman said the regulator will further deliberate over the petition of SSGCL and the points raised by the stakeholders before giving its determination.

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PAKISTAN

Karam looks for post Covid bounceback The whole point of a mall is for the customer to look up. The mall is that place one goes to window shop, to actually shop, to eat: in Pakistan, it is one of the top five places for a family outing. At no point does the customer look down; and yet if they did, they would notice the same tiles over and over again. You can thank one company for that: Karam Ceramics, which makes tiles not just for Dolmen Mall in Karachi, but also Saima Mall in Karachi, the Kidney Centre, Model Town Lahore, and even Bahria Town.

It is an impressive list for a company that has been around for a few decades. Karam Ceramics was established in Karachi as a public limited company in April 1979 under “International Standard Ceramics Limited”. The company changed its name to the more local “Karam Ceramics Limited” in November 1982, undoubtedly realizing that other tile companies also espoused international standards.

The founder and chairman of Karam Ceramics was Shaban G. Kassim, a founder about which very little is actually documented.

Yet despite little press, Karam Ceramics has slowly expanded its business. It has one factory located in Manghopir, Karachi, and another warehouse in Lahore.

It is a manufacturer, importers, exporters, and retailer of ceramic tiles. The company prides itself on being the ‘only company’ to provide a complete range of wall and floor tiles under one roof. It has helpfully categorized all of its tiles as under living room, drawing room, bathroom and house entrance (in order of Pakistani family house priorities), and has a well-established catalogue of over 107 tiles in a variety of colours.

What makes Karam Ceramics interesting is that it is one of only two listed tile companies on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and therefore is one half of the two biggest names in Pakistan in the industry it serves. The other is Stiles, also known as Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Limited. It was founded right around the same time as Karam, in November 1978. (Both companies are outflanked by Master Tiles, which is the undisputed leader in tiles, but alas, Master is unlisted).

Karam Ceramics had sales of Rs1,304 million in 2015, fluctuating below and above the Rs1,000 million mark since, before settling on Rs927 million in 2020. But being a bigger company also means more extreme losses.

From 2015 to 2020, Stiles made a loss in every year except 2018 and 2019 (with the loss in 2020 at Rs220 million); during the same period Karam made a loss only in 2016, 2017, and 2020 (loss: Rs95 million). In general, historically speaking, Karam Ceramics has done fine: between 2011 and 2015, it comfortably made sales above Rs1,000 million every year, and also made a profit (all below Rs40 million).

Karam Ceramics is also an unusual company because it is Karachi based. As a Dawn report from 2018 points out, almost 60% of the market is concentrated in Punjab, with Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa making up the rest.

Now, the company did extremely poorly in 2020. As mentioned before, it made a loss before taxation of Rs95 million, and a loss after taxation of Rs45 million.

Its sales dipped below Rs1,000

million for the first time since 2018, which represents only the second time this has happened since 2011.

What happened? The annual report is blunt: it was the Covid-19 pandemic, plain and simple. Because of the lockdown, the company had to suspend operations on March 23. But other companies had already been briefed that this was temporary, and that in two weeks’ time they could continue, provided they fell under an essential service. This was not the case, it turns out, for tiles. Karam Ceramics was only allowed to resume operations at the very end of May 2020, severely affecting its performance.

Ever since the federal government announced an incentive package for the real estate and construction industry in April 2020, it has become incredibly lucrative to enter the real estate market, especially the affordable housing segment.

Through the scheme, investors will also be granted a waiver of up to 90% on tax, if they are investing in construction projects under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

INDIA

Varmora pushes on with tile expansions Varmora Tiles and bathware maker Varmora Group has confirmed plans to invest around Rs 300 crore for setting up two plants in Gujarat, both of which are expected to be operational by April 2021.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took part in a virtual stone laying ceremony the two upcoming tile manufacturing plants in the state last month.

The two manufacturing units are coming up near Morbi town of the Saurashtra region where the company already operates 11 plants, Varmora Group Chairman Bhavesh Varmora said after the virtual stone-laying ceremony.

In his address, Rupani congratulated the ceramic industry of Morbi for "going ahead of China and capturing the ceramic market of the world", according to a state government release.

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The firm's product portfolio includes -ceramic floor, digital wall, parking, porcelain, digital glazed vitrified, double charge, outdoor and slabs.

"We are now focussing on strengthening the infrastructure so that people come to Morbi instead of China to buy ceramic products," said Rupani.

Morbi is the hub of the ceramic industry in India with over 900 units contributing nearly 92 per cent of the entire country's tile production, which comes to around 6.5 per cent of the entire world's production, Varmora told reporters after the ceremony.

The group would invest Rs 300 crore on both the plants having the capacity to produce 35,000 square metres of tiles per day.

This will add to the current capacity of 1.10 lakh square metres tiles produced in the 11 existing units every day,

said Varmora.

He added that both the plants will become operational by April next year and will generate 1,200 direct and indirect employment opportunities.

The company exports its tile and bathware products to over 70 countries and aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,600 crore in the next 2-3 years, a jump of Rs 500 crore.

Varmora said "Anti-China" sentiment is catching up across the world and it would help Indian ceramic industry to a great extent.

He added that since people are moving away from Chinese products world over, demand for Morbi's tiles is increasing.

Currently, Morbi manufactures 6.5 per cent of all the tiles made across the world.

"We are expecting double-digit growth in the sales in the current

financial year with robust demand from the export market especially North and South America, Europe, Africa and Middle East Countries," he added.

He added that the proposed expansion will help us to meet the growing demand from the export market as well as serve the domestic markets better.

"Due to this anti-China sentiment, we predict that Morbi's share from present 6.5 per cent to 10 per cent by 2025," said Varmora.

He also said the company, having its office in China also, is planning to start its manufacturing plant in Kenya by July next year.

"In the next 2-3 years, the company has set a target of Rs. 1,600 crore revenue, expand the export network to 100 plus countries from 70 currently and increase exclusive showrooms to over 320," said Varmora. www.asianceramics.com

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INDIA

Khurja looks for post Covid-evolution Zaheeruddin has been creating art ever since he can remember in Khurja - an urban hamlet in Bulandshahr district also known as the 'ceramic city'.

When he shows his colourful glazed pottery, his face lights up. He narrates how an artisan shapes the bowl and paints it, but with sales of blue pottery and other ceramic crockery especially pots, vases dipping like never before, Zaheeruddin and many potters in the city fear that their colony will soon become a museum of lost art.

Khurja, potters' town in Uttar Pradesh, 150 km from national capital, which has thrived for over 500 years, is known for its rich ceramic crafts and potters of the city who continued to thrive even during demonetisation. But two months into this unprecedented health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown, many are being crushed under the fear of being unable to pay rent and bills due tozero deals. They are under the fear of losing their businesses and homes. The multiple extensions of COVID lockdown has left traders and businessmen with no money, no workers, and very little hope for a better future.

"It is ironical that we are facing an existential crisis at a time when the BJP led government is promoting artisans and manufacturers under One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. The government talks of promoting ceramic, but it seems like nothing more than lip service,” Zaheeruddin, who has won the prestigious Shilp Guru award by Ministry of Textile, told NewsClick.

He said that the raw material in stock at their homes finished first, then the orders dried up and now, with no idea of when markets will open fully or who will buy their wares, Khurja’s artisans are counting each rupee and scrambling to feed their families.

The city's pottery business employs more than 1 lakh people directly or indirectly including

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entrepreneurs, transport, strawselling farmers, packaging, etc. There are currently around 200 pottery units operating in and around Kurja, which supply a considerable portion of the ceramic cutlery for both domestic consumptionand to export abroad. "A large number of migrant labourers who went to celebrate Holi haven't returned.

The rest of the workers left Khurja after the first phase of lockdown. Although orders have

or any Ceramics Fest in country.

But, first demonetisation and the latest two months long lockdown has forced them to think to opt for other business opportunities.

Many of them claimed that Khurja, considered a paradise of potters, is no more.

At every nook and corner in Khurja, one can find a workshop or a factory with an attached shop of this town but ever since lockdown was imposed, the clinking sound of ceramics and

“There are 404 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Khurja and 25,000 organised and unorganised workers” been given by the government to start the pottery industry on May 3, but due to lack of availability of transport, labour, packaging, raw material etc., the wheel of the pottery industry could not start spinning,” Zaheeruddin said.

The decline in demand has sharply decreased job opportunities.

Huraira, an artisan whose family has been involved in making blue pottery since five generations, sees no hope that his family would take up the hereditary profession. “I cannot ask my children to join a profession that barely keeps me employed for the most part of the year. This is likely to die with me as nobody has taken up this art in my family,” he said, adding with a heavy heart that the lockdown has taken the sheen off blue pottery.

The baked clay pottery is said to have come to India with Afghan king Taimur Lung as he passed through Khurja along with potters from Egypt and Syria during an easterly campaign over 500 years ago. The potters have had several occasions to show their art during annual exhibitions by Delhi Blue Pottery Trust (DBPT)

the puffing of chimneys have fallen silent.

LK Sharma, scientist in charge of Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) said that the industry has suffered a huge blow due to the exodus of migrant labourers, with 60% of them already off to their home states during the first phase of lockdown. “Later, when the government began running train and buses services in Uttar Pradesh again, the rest 10 to 15% left for their home states.

Most of the artisans involved in blue pottery are from West Bengal," he said.

"There are 404 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Khurja and 25,000 organised and unorganised workers associated with this sectors. Khurja's blue pottery industry generates Rs 400 to 500 crore per month and in two months of lockdown, we have incurred losses to the tune of Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore," he added saying that artisan items from Khurja may not have market demands till December.

Till then all those involved in this business will be under severe distress.

He further added, "'Blue pottery is a luxury lifestyle product and it is very costly. Due to economic crisis amid lockdown, people may not expend money on such products but rather choose to spend money on essential commodities."

Explaining how the blue pottery industry suffered due to skilled workers exodus, Sharma said, "While a huge chunk of the labourers have left for their home states, those who stayed back are only getting 50% salary."

Nikhil Poddar, secretary of Khurja Pottery Manufacturers’ Association said ceramic industry has been witnessing a daily loss of Rs 5 crore. "We have trained labourers and they are mostly from West Bengal, Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, most of them have gone to their respective homes. Until the whole market opens, we cannot overcome the loss as our products are known as luxury items. We are fully dependent on opening of markets so that exhibition can take place."

"We are a small scale industry and when our products won't sell, flow of money would be stopped and we can’t work without payment. So the business is closed ever since lockdown wasimposed but government's fixon our expenses has remained same. Fixed charges of electricity, bank loans, etc., need to be paid at any cost as there is no relaxation," he added, saying that both central and state government should promote ceramic artistic items and ceramic tableware and invite exporter and corporate sector so that this industry can keep their hope alive.

Pointing out the adverse impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Poddar said, "The GST, ranging from 12% on wool to 18% on handmade ceramics, has dented our sales and made handmade products expensive.”

Headded hat a single product takes almost two weeks which increases the labour cost exponentially. “The additional 12% GST also takes a hit on our sales,” he said.

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International News

BCT employees band together to form new tile player United Kingdom

E

x-British Ceramic Tile (BCT) employees have joined together to create The Branded Tile Company.

BCT – which was one of the largest tile manufacturers in the UK – ceased production in January 2019, with around 380 employees being made redundant at the time. The BCT name lives on with new owners Al-Murad Tiles, which bought BCT’s intellectual property in August 2019, which included its website, tile designs and customer list.

The Branded Tile Company will focus on branded tiles that will be made in collaboration with UK designers. Currently, the company is working with the Victoria & Albert Museum and producing some of their classic designs. The goal is to expand the V&A collection and introduce other big fashion interior brand names.

John Chater, founder and managing director of the Branded Tile Company, worked at BCT from 2017 to 2018 as commercial director. While at BCT, he saw an opportunity with its branded tiles, which were big sellers for the company, and decided to create The Branded Tile Company.

Chater said: “BCT did a really good job with V&A, but they left it in the box because it did its job.

That’s where I saw the opportunity.

V&A could be four times the size it was at BCT. It was, at the time, just about a £1 million brand at BCT but it could be a multimillion-pound range. Providing it has the right designs and is marketed correctly.

“The plan is to build on what BCT has done and the goal is to be the UK leading supplier of UK designer tiles. We currently have V&A and our next brand signed up, but I can’t reveal the name yet, but they are an even bigger name than V&A. We are in discussions with a couple of other leading fashion-focused brands. We are looking for brands that can cover a wide range of the consumer market.”

The V&A range coming next year will be different from the current Victorian style range. Chater said that he wanted to draw inspiration from the whole of the V&A, which showcases a wide variety of international designs and not just classically British styles. The current focus is on the Asian and Japanese works of the art in the museum.

Chater wants flexibility within the company to listen to the market and change what it offers.

New designs and products will be rolled out year on year, so there is a variety of branded products for customers to choose from.

Chater said: “As we have seen in times of recession, if the product is not different enough, then it

won’t do well. There are people out there who, even in these challenging times, will still want to spend a significant amount of money on products that fit their aesthetic, which are good quality, have a strong design and a story behind them.”

There has been a quality upgrade of the BCT tiles from ceramic to porcelain so the tiles could be used on floors and walls. “We want good quality products, but with differentiation and a story in the marketplace. That is what customers and retailers are looking for,” said Chater.

The current tiles are manufactured in Spain. The Branded Tile Company worked with the manufacture to upgrade and create a better tile. One goal for the company is to use British manufacturers. However, Chater believes that the brand needs to be more established before that is possible.

The Branded Tile Company has an online shop that sells direct to consumers, but it will also work with independent retailers. Chater said: “The independent trade is so important. They can help customers in terms of getting the right fit and the right look for that customer’s project. We want to bring brands to help them sell more and more often. People buy tiles

from anywhere between three and eight years as a cycle, so they have to be sure about what they are buying and independents play a part of that.”

Joining Chater is Claire O’Brien.

She is now head of ceramics design for The Branded Tile Company, and was previously head of design at BCT. Marcus Wilkinson is head of procurement, and he held the same role at BCT. The rest of the team is made up of Clive Daley, who has worked in senior roles in the home improvement sector for 30 years with companies such as Homebase and B&Q. And, Alice Rawson, a printed textiles and surface pattern design graduate from Leeds Arts University, is a junior designer for the company.

Speaking about the redundancies that happened at BCT in early 2019, Chater said: “It was horrendous, a dreadful situation. Around four hundred people people made redundant.

The largest local employer in the area. You had people there who were third- or fourth-generation tilers. If this were Italy or France, we would be making films about these guys about how their greatgreat-grandfather worked on the site in the 1870s. The people at BCT were artisans. That was such a missed opportunity.”

3D printing steps up at MTC United Kingdom

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he UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre is set to expand its ceramics 3D printing capabilities with the addition of a new ceramic stereolithography system from Photocentric.

Installation of the CeraMet 1 machine is already underway at the MTC, home to the National Centre for AM (NCAM), which plans to use machine to explore 3D printing of large ceramic parts such as full-size casting cores. The CeraMet 1 is the second ceramics-based additive manufacturing system to be brought into the MTC following the addition of an XJet Carmel

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1400 machine back in October.

Will Rowlands, ceramic AM technology lead at NCAM, said: “The introduction of the CeraMet 1 at the MTC goes a long way to enhancing the MTC’s capability to support the UK ceramic manufacturing market.

This is an exciting new avenue for the cost-effective manufacture of high quality, complex ceramic components, opening up this technology to a huge range of applications."

The CeraMet 1 was developed

by Photocentric, a UK-based specialist in photopolymer technology and materials, which has been manufacturing

LCD-based polymer 3D printers since 2014. This system is said to benefit from the company’s research intro 3D printing ceramics and a patent-appliedfor dispensing and release system known as "blow peel”, which has resulted in a machine that can build ceramic objects of a large scale with high productivity. Photocentric will also be supplying its ceramic resins to the MTC of which there are said to be a vast number of material options available.

Paul Holt, managing director at Photocentric Ltd added: “We are very excited to launch CeraMet 1 as our first large format ceramic

3D-printer. We are thrilled by the opportunity of custom mass manufacturing ceramic parts that this new machine will unleash.

We believe that our partnership with the MTC will open up new horizons for the adoption of ceramics additive manufacturing in large scale across industries."

Emphasising the technology's ability to scale, earlier this year Photocentric provided TCT with a behind the scenes look at its Magna 3D print farm, consisting of around 36 large-format polymer LC Magna printers, built to manufacture 7 million face shields for the NHS in the fight against COVID-19.

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Look at the difference

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Covid and tariffs boost domestic tile flooring United States

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t’s no secret that China plays a dominant role in the world’s flooring manufacturing. The region currently accounts for billions in flooring imports into the U.S. each year, according to analysts. So, with tariffs on Chinese imports in place and the potential impact that coronavirus could have on the supply chain, consumers, specifiers and end users may look to what’s being made in America with renewed interest.

In recent years, the U.S. has increased its manufacturing profile with significant investments in domestic flooring production, most notably in ceramic tile and vinyl flooring. With the U.S. already leading in carpet production and with its legacy hardwood manufacturing capacity, this growth in domestic LVT and ceramic tile production is tilting back the scales, even as so many industries are moving in the opposite direction, ceding their capacity to Asian imports.

In 2018, the Trump administration began enacting tariffs on Chinese imports, levying duties on hundreds of millions of dollars in products from that country, including almost every flooring type. The impact they have on the flooring industry varies from category to category.

Compounding the problem has been the outbreak of coronavirus around the world. The virus was first reported late last year in the Wuhan province in China, but the country

was at first slow to react, and by the Chinese New Year in early February, the country was still figuring out its strategy. While factories were already closed for a week to allow workers to celebrate the new year, they were forced to stay closed longer once the epidemic hit. Ports in China also closed, backlogging cargo and bringing shipments to a halt. In the weeks since, most factories have worked to reopen, but it’s been a slow process, and they are still far from full capacity.

So far, flooring industry leaders have been optimistic, saying those supply chains have, thus far, remained intact. Among them is Dave Meberg, CEO of Consolidated Carpet, a commercial contractor based in New York. He said in March that his company, which has locations in New York and Chicago, began to prepare early on in the crisis, taking a deep look at the supply chain and assessing their orders. But he and others believe that if the crisis continues, there could be some disruption in the coming weeks and months. He said the outbreak is a good time to take another look at products made in the U.S.. “It’s a good time to be proactive, to look at manufacturers that produce their products domestically,” Meberg said. “I think maybe we could get back into the made-in-the-U.S.-mode, and it might alleviate some headaches down the road.”

When it comes to tiles, despite

global consumption growth, it remains the third-highest flooring category with 12% of the total flooring market. Nevertheless, per capita usage of tile is much lower in the U.S. than in almost every other significant country.

The Asia Pacific region accounted for 63% of the market in 2019.

By comparison, North America production was 2%. Much of what’s consumed in the U.S. is imported.

However, recent tariffs on Chinese tile, which can double or even triple the cost, are hugely impacting global markets and influencing production capacities.

While this could help drive domestic production, it’s worth noting that Chinese tile doesn’t compete much with higher-priced U.S. tile.

In the U.S., ceramic flooring represents about 14% of the flooring market share and is a category that has seen growth in recent years, mostly significantly on the residential side. It now accounts for more than $3.2 billion of sales out of the total U.S. consumption.

Like other flooring categories, tile has made its home in the South, with Kentucky and Tennessee representing 66% of all U.S. tile production. Seven companies-Atlas Concorde, Crossville, Dal-Tile, Del Conca, Florim, GranitiFiandre and Wonder-currently manufacture in Tennessee, making it the country’s tile capital with 46% of the market.

Other states producing ceramic

include Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio.

A major challenge for the category right now is competition from resilient flooring, given that the two compete for the same areas of the home, like kitchens and bathrooms, which benefit from ceramic’s waterproof installation.

But new developments in tile design and changes in consumer lifestyles and styling choices could help give this category a boost. “The technology and trend will continue to grow and new aesthetics using this technology will continue and the technology will evolve, continuing to enhance tile’s growth,” according to industry observer. Also, larger-format tiles and external applications could provide additional growth for the category.

NEWS IN BRIEF Modena-based LB has signed a major supply agreement for its internationally patented Easy Color Boost dry colouring system. The recipient is Polish company Cerrad, which had already chosen LB technology for its complete porcelain slab production plant. This latest investment is due to start up in early 2021 to feed two presses for large size tile production.

Italcer completes Cedir purchase Italy

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talcer Group, a leading player in the Italian ceramic design and high-end bathroom furnishings sector, has acquired 100% of the capital of Cedir, a historic ceramic tile producer founded back in 1968 in Castel Bolognese in the province of Ravenna. Formed over a period of 3 years through a series of mergers, Italcer is now Italy’s sixth largest ceramic group and produces high-quality products for interior and exterior use through a variety of top brands and historic companies (Devon&Devon, La Fabbrica Ceramiche Ceramiche, AVA, Elios Ceramica, Ceramica Rondine and

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Bottega).

Italcer’s acquisition of Cedir, which has a production capacity of 3 million sqm/year of porcelain tiles and 60 employees, fits in perfectly with the group’s long-term strategic goals. It is committed to retaining both the facility and the workforce.

“The acquisition of Cedir marks an important step forward for the Group’s growth plans thanks to its all-Italian creativity and quality and its strong focus on the needs of the various markets,” comments Italcer Group’s CEO Graziano Verdi. “The primary aim of our integrated business model is to create a

high-end cluster in the ceramic floor and wall tile sector, and this is where we are focusing all our efforts.”

Founded in 2017 by Graziano Verdi together with Alberto Forchielli and Lorenzo Stanca from Fondo Mandarin Capital Partners, Italcer Group has 530 employees, total 2019 revenues of more than 200 million euros and 3,000 distributors worldwide. The Group expects to produce more than 15 million sqm in 2021 and aims to reach revenues of 300 million euros in 2024, with an EBITDA in excess of 70 million euros.

Amongst its international

development projects, the Group intends to build a new Industry 4.0 plant for large slab production in Tennessee, USA. In recent years, Italcer has invested more than 25 million euros in Industry 4.0 technologies and expects to make further annual investments of 10 million euros over the next three years.

The group recently launched Advance, its new line of antiviral, anti-pollutant and antibacterial porcelain products with properties certified by tests conducted in the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) research laboratories.

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STAY ONE STEP AHEAD Now more than ever, you need to explore new paths with a leader company in the ceramics sector.

walk with us! https://stayonestepahead.esmalglass-itaca.com

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SACMI and Ceramica Catalano recognized for best practice Italy

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he eleventh Greenitaly report, drawn up by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere, recognizes the achievements of Ceramica Catalano, which - together with its technological partner SACMI – is several years ahead in its creation of the “lights-out factory”. The result is better quality, reduced operating and environmental costs, specialization of workers.

The SACMICatalano project is examined in the eleventh Greenitaly report drawn up by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere.

The analysis took into account 432 thousand Italian businesses that have invested in green products and technologies over the past 5 years.

The partnership between SACMI and Ceramica Catalano was given particular attention since, with the first 4.0 factory pilot plant in the ceramic sanitaryware industry, the project is several years ahead of the most recent international standards concerning the environment and digital automation.

Of particular interest is “Life Cycle Design” (LCD), the system used to design and analyse the life cycle of a product, considering all its environmental and social implications. 7 years ago Ceramica Catalano was the first in Italy to adopt this logic in the sanitaryware manufacturing sector when it started up the first plant completely conceived according to this new approach involving all stages, from the supply chain to design, from production to logistics.

“In 2013 Ceramica Catalano

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had already completed the technological switch-over from traditional casting systems using plaster moulds to SACMI’s high pressure robotized casting systems”, explains Carlo Martino, Professor of Industrial Design at Rome’s La Sapienza University, consultant to Catalano (based in Fabrica di Roma - Viterbo) and co-author with Domitilla Dardi of the volume “Catalano.

Il Design del Bagno nella Cultura

out starting right from the languages of communication in order to be interpolable with the subsequent prototype and p roduction stages”.

The objective was achieved thanks to the partnership with SACMI, top international supplier of technology for the ceramic industry and leader, for the past 30 years, of the “revolution” in sanitaryware production based on high-pressure casting which

d’Impresa”, edited by Sole 24 Ore Cultura.

The keypoint of the strategy, adopted in this first 4.0 factory pilot plant in the ceramic sanitaryware sector, was to “re-think the entire production process including all the various preliminary stages from the supply chain to the design. Then for the actual manufacturing stages – casting, drying, finishing, glazing, firing, logistics and quality control – to bring improvements from an LCD point of view by using measurable indicators.

These same engineering and design stages were re-thought

uses process robotization and replaces traditional plaster moulds with porous resin moulds. “The casting stage is at the core of this new type of factory – explains the professor – because of its ability to keep all the main parameters (mould lifetime, cycle-time, water and energy consumption) under control”.

In particular, the porous resin shows extraordinary properties compared to a traditional casting sytem, due to the longer lifetime of the moulds, which can last for tens of thousands of cycles and then be sent to pre-determined disposal lines. The second aspect

concerns the very idea of the sanitaryware factory: “when I visited Catalano for the very first time, twenty years ago – explains Carlo Martino – I remember a very dusty factory with heavy trolleys handled by workers and with considerable problems related to the disposal of moulds and waste water”.

Today’s factory is completely different, with zero dust levels, servo-assisted handling and production lines, and workstages (such as robotized glazing) during which the operator is no longer in contact with the process but manages it directly from the control room. This revolution has gone hand-in-hand with the fundamental need to increase quality and output, reducing the risk of deformation and breakages.

“With the technological switch-over we have passed from outputs in the range of 70% – with the remaining 30% made up of defective products and tonnes of rejects – to today’s 98%, with residual waste and rejects recycled back into the process”.

From casting to drying, Catalano, together with SACMI, has implemented latest generation systems for recovering the heat developed by the kiln which is then sent to the dryers and to heat the work areas. Another feature is the radio-guided transfer of the product up to the glazing and kiln loading stations. “This is a very complex process which takes into account the very idea of the product. Let’s take the WC bowl as an example: these systems have been developed

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hand-in-hand with the evolution of a new generation of rimless WC bowls and flushing systems which, from the 9 litres of the past, now use not more than 3.5 – 4 litres of water.

Thanks to robotized glazing, it is also possible to apply a layer of glaze with an extremely fine grain size in a uniform and repeatable way, thus reducing porosity of the piece and obtaining more hygienic and easily cleanable surfaces in addition to ensuring a top quality product”.

This is why, concludes the Professor, the implementation of an LCD approach in a sanitaryware factory is related to the concept of “artificial intelligence”, not just that which allows most of the machines to be connected online – for an improved and more punctual process control - but also that

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which enables the sanitaryware piece to be designed considering its “history”, anticipating any possible critical factors for its production and optimizing the use of raw materials, energy and resources.

We refer here to digital modelling development, but also to the actual functional tests (and sustainability tests) which can be carried out even at a preliminary stage guaranteeing a good result during production.

Why is the most advanced

sanitaryware factory in the world located in Europe and, in particular, in Italy? “The entire evolution that we have experienced – admits Professor Carlo Martino – has been facilitated and guided by specific European directives, from health & safety in the workplace, to emissions, from disposal of waste to the need to reduce water consumption both during manufacturing processes and during the whole lifecycle of the product”. Credit

goes to Mario Rossi, Managing Director of Catalano, alongside SACMI, for being 10 years ahead of time (the first of the new generation solutions were installed starting in 2006) in setting a new international benchmark for the industry.

The main challenge for the future? Achieving 4.0 industry through a further increase in capacity for selecting and utilizing the enormous quantity of process data and also re-thinking what happens at the end of the lifetime of the product (for example a washbasin) which could be recovered and restored to use again. This, as an approach, would be a similar development to that which has taken place in the field of the disposal of electrical and electronic devices.

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Raw Material News Andromeda to focus on “shift to producer status AUSTRALIA // HALLOYSITE A total of 34.6 million tonnes of Bright White kaolinised granite is now estimated for Great White.

Andromeda Metals Ltd is well-placed to transition from explorer to producer as the JV with Minotaur Exploration Ltd is on a fast-track to start mining at the Great White Halloysite-Kaolin Project in South Australia, pending approvals.

Chairman Rhod Grivas said at this week’s AGM: “Andromeda is setting to transition from an explorer to a miner, to underpin the expectations of the board and the market alike.

“To achieve this, we will employ a significant workforce to undertake the mining as well as develop the systems to support them.”

At the AGM he highlighted AND’s growth over the preceding 18 months from the signing of a JV agreement with Minotaur in April 2018, to the appointment of James Marsh as managing director, estimation of a JORC 2012 resource at the majorityowned Great White deposit to the completion of a scoping study.

He said: “We intend to continue to work with our JV partner to de-risk the existing Great White pre-feasibility study to bankable level feasibility study level and engage with additional independent experts to ensure the funding of the project aligns with our anticipated mining start date in early 2022.”

The company’s vision is to be a sustainable industrial minerals producer of high-quality halloysite-kaolin and high purity alumina material, thus providing shareholders with a sustainable financial return on their investment.

Grivas said: “Andromeda grew from a tenacious explorer with a market capitalisation at best around $5 million to a reputable market capitalisation of just under $100 million.

“Over the past year we have cemented our strategy to be ‘everything halloysite’, advanced Great White Deposit through pre-feasibility, completed resources at Hammerhead Deposit and 100%-owned Mt Hope Project and expanded our market reach across the world and into different products.”

He said the company had also continued its research support into the nanotechnology industry with 50%-owned Natural Nanotech and a collaboration with the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials.

“With this growth over the past 12 months and shareholder value, the company pushed well through the $500 million market capitalisation level.”

Today, the market cap stands at approximately $614.5 million.

The chairman said the past 12 months had only been possible with three main elements: 1. World-class deposits which we continue to grow and firstclass regulatory standards and improved assessments here in South Australia; 2. An incentivised, experienced and respected Andromeda team; and 3. A supportive engaged shareholder base, helping to encourage the management team and independently promote the company.

He added: “The successes of the past years have set a very strong platform for Andromeda to continue growing and – in the very capable hands of James and his team – we are all fully committed to the task.”

WA Kaolin floats for Wickepin funds AUSTRALIA // KAOLIN Clay mining aspirant WA Kaolin is one of the latest companies to float on the ASX, raising $22 million to fund the development of the Wickepin kaolin project.

Wickepin is one of the world’s largest remaining primary resources of kaolin clay products, boasting a mine life of more than 30 years.

WA Kaolin is already producing kaolin products from Wickepin for its Tier 1 customers.

The company will use the funds raised from its capital raising to accelerate a boost in production to 200,000 tonnes a year at Wickepin by the end of 2022.

The funds will also be used for a staged expansion program and constructing a processing plant at East Wickepin, which will be completed in 12 months’ time.

According to the Wickepin definitive feasibility study, WA Kaolin has explored the option to ramp up production to beyond 400,000 tonnes a year, due to the extensive mineral resource of 109.1 million tonnes within its granted mining lease.

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WA Kaolin has also outlined a probable ore reserve of 30.5 million tonnes and inferred mineral resource of 644.5 million tonnes of kaolinised granite across all Wickepin tenements.

“This world-class resource at Wickepin is one of the largest known remaining premium resources of kaolin globally and is characterised by its purity, quality and brightness, producing kaolin products that typically attract higher prices,” WA Kaolin chief executive Andrew Sorensen said.

“The company developed its proprietary K99 process in a working plant at Kwinana, south of Perth and this technology coupled with the high-quality nature of the Wickepin resource, delivers ultra-bright kaolin with a low cost of production, compared with other processes that use chemical bleaching and multiple wet mechanical and magnetic separation metals.

“We are looking to boost production at Wickepin and funds from our initial public offer will allow us to accelerate that process.”

The Wickepin project is located 200 kilometres south-east of Perth.

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Study into research shows hi-tech focus WORLD // ZIRCON The Zircon Industry Association (ZIA) annually identifies the decomposition, dehydration and dehydrogenation reactions, most popular areas of research relating to zircon and its ethanol conversion, SO2 reduction and H2 production. downstream derivatives.

Other areas of research in 2019 included adsorption and Following a review of over 2,600 peer-reviewed papers immobilisation, electronics, cast moulding, sensing, optical published in 2019, it has now been possible to identify these materials as well as grinding media. areas of research and make an informed assumption as to the The four annual literature reviews between 2016 and 2019 likely potential for industrial application. offer an opportunity to identify research trends. Throughout Specialists at Centro Ceramico, Bologna (Italy) carried this four-year period, the areas of advanced ceramics and out the literature search and categorised the papers into biomedical research have remained popular areas of research, subject areas. Those areas with more than 30 publications each with significant potential for industrial applications. While were considered to have a high potential market demand, the areas of nanomaterials, nanorods, nanostructures and indicating that the interest of the scientific community is high nanofabrication and advanced coating and functional materials and, therefore, the application might merit exploitation at an have both grown in popularity based on the number of peerindustrial level.

Table 1 reviewed publications.

When compared to a similar review of publications in 2018, ZIA Executive Director, Dr Keven Harlow, commented: Advanced coatings, Nanoparticles, Fuel cells and Catalysis all “Zircon and its derivatives play an increasingly crucial role in Op#cal materials 1 in applications ranging from industrial saw their percentage share of research increase in 2019. While today’s modern world Electronics and solid state 3 the areas of Biomedical applications and Advanced ceramics uses to everyday products.

This annual literature review offers Advanced coa#ngs/func#onal 17 into the future potential of zircon to have saw a decrease in 2019. our members insight Advanced ceramics 12 through emerging technologies.

The most popular field of research in 2019 an even greater impact Cas#ng/moulding 2 was nanomaterials, nanorods, nanostructures and “Our work now allows us to see annual trends with nanofabrication. 37% of the 545 papers Grinding were focused on nanomaterials, biomedical applications, advanced coating 1 industrial applications. and functional materials as well as advanced ceramics being Biomedical 18 The second most popular field of research in 2019 consistently popular9 areas of zircon related research. We know Catalysis was biomedical applications, with 485 papers in this field of that zircon is increasingly used in clean energy applications Fuel cells 10 which, 49% focused on industrial applications. where fuel cells and catalysis have also seen significant Adsorp#on 4 The third most popular area of research was within the field increases in research in the last year.”

Sensing 2 of advanced coating and functional Nanomaterials 21 materials. Here 78% of the 444 papers in this area were focused on Areas of zircon research focus (%) industrial applications.

The next most popular area of Optical materials Electronics and solid state Advanced coatings/functional Advanced ceramics Casting/moulding Grinding Biomedical Catalysis research was advanced ceramics.

Fuel cells Adsorption Sensing Nanomaterials Of the 322 papers in this area, 39% focused on industrial applications.

The area of zirconia use in fuel cells saw increased research interest this year with 42% of the 257 papers focused on industrial applications including ZrO2 and ZrO2 composites, anodes for solid oxide fuel cells and Zr compounds, ZrO2 and ZrO2 composites as electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells. Importantly, these have potential applications in clean, efficient electricity generation, renewable fuel production and electricity storage. Catalysis was also an area that saw increased research interest in 2019 with 244 paper published, 72% of which focused on industrial applications.

These included research on Zr compounds, ZrO2 and ZrO2 composites as catalysts and catalyst support for gas catalysis e.g. CO oxidation, methane

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What a year it’s been…

This year, there has been little to celebrate and perhaps nothing underscores the despondency of 2020 than the unsettling quiet over Delhi’s pottery markets in a Diwali festive season normally marked by the bustle of people buying diyas and idols to usher in the festival of lights. In the weeks leading up to Diwali, pottery hubs across the city would come alive with the sounds of cars driving up and scores of people bargaining at stalls overflowing with handmade earthenware – including not just diyas of all sizes but also decorative flower pots, platters and vases.

The bright lights are strung up like every other year to beckon people but the customers are just so few.

Though some people are stepping out despite the continuing fear of contracting COVID-19, the numbers are just a fraction of what they were.

“Earlier, the crowds would begin two to four weeks before Diwali and we barely had time to breathe. We would be so busy we couldn’t take a tea break. But this year the situation is really bad,” said Anita, sitting amid the heap of earthen lamps and pots and quite literally swatting flies.

Her makeshift shop on a pavement in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani market is overflowing. But there are no buyers. And the 60-year-old, who also stocks pottery from places such as Khurja in Uttar Pradesh, is despairing.

“We always ran out of our Diwali stock weeks before the festival, but this year I have barely sold anything,” she said. In fact, she has barely had any customers at her shop since the lockdown was lifted.

And nothing has changed even with Diwali just eight days away.

The fear of the coronavirus has taken over the festive cheer, leaving some of the most popular pottery markets in Delhi struggling to bring in business, even during what has traditionally been the busiest season in the year.

Delhi on Thursday recorded 6,715 COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to over 4.16 lakh. The relentless spread of the infection, eight months on, has taken its toll on millions of livelihoods across the country and in its capital too.

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And Anita, who took over the 30-year-old shop nearly a decade back after her mother-in-law passed away, is just one of them. She said her shop is the only source of income for her family of eight, and the pandemic has made survival very difficult.

Located a stone’s throw from the Malviya Nagar metro station, the Hauz Rani market is essentially a row of nearly 30 shops running along the footpath, selling all things earthen and beautiful.

Anita’s neighbor, 38-year-old Seema who runs her shop in the same market with her husband, is frantic.

“Business is not even 25 per cent of what it used to be,” Seema said.

The shelves are lined with beautiful items of ceramic crockery in shades of blues, pink and yellow and rows of Ganesh-Lakshmi idols, screaming to be picked up, admired and purchased. But there are just too few takers.

She added that she buys all the items on loan from wholesale shopkeepers in places such as Khurja, Jaipur and Kolkata and pays them back once she has made the sale, keeping the profit for herself.

“This year, it looks like we will barely make enough money to pay the shopkeepers back, forget about earning anything ourselves. There are so few customers coming in that we have to sell items at prices lower than what we bought them for,” the mother of three said.

Livelihood in the aftermath of the lockdown has been hand-tomouth. The Diwali season, which is when they make the most sales, was the sliver of hope but that too is receding.

“We dipped into our savings to survive through the lockdown and months after that, hoping that business would be better during the festive season. But we just manage to make enough to run the household on a daily basis,” Seema said.

While those like Anita and Seema face an unprecedented crisis because their shops are the mainstay of their earnings, there are some who are better off – if only marginally.

Like Pankaj and Rahul, who own shops at the Sarojini Nagar pottery market a few kilometres away from

Hauz Rani but also have jobs. While Kumar works at a leather export company, Rahul is a mechanic.

As in Hauz Rani, here, too, the small, makeshift shops sell a mix of earthenware and ceramic stuff ordered from other vendors.

The Sarojini Nagar market is a lane of 50 odd shops that sell pottery items like flower pots and earthen pots for water throughout the year and bring in additional supplies before Diwali. Many said they had preempted the possibility of low sales by just ordering less.

Pankaj, 45, a third generation owner of a shop, said he was always expecting a poor turnout of customers. Business is bad but some of his loyal customers have returned.

“For us, the festive season starts from Dussehra. Business has been at least 50 per cent less that previous years but I think it’s still good considering the current circumstances. I ordered only half the stock that we usually get for Diwali,” he said.

Rahul, 30, too, adopted the same strategy and brought in only half of his stock from West Bengal, Gujarat and Agra.

“It used to get so crowded here before Diwali that one could barely find a spot to stand.

This year, I am lucky if one customer stops. No one wants to touch the products in the shop,” he said.

Standalone shops face the same fate. Madan Lal Yadav, 64, who has been setting up his shop of Diwali items at the Green Park market in south Delhi since the late 1980s said business couldn’t be slower.

“I have been opening shop everyday since Dussehra but there’s really no one stopping by."

While potters count their losses, customers are just looking at the rising trajectory of the disease.

Aditi Khandelwal, for instance, has decided to go online for all her Diwali needs, including diyas.

"I have been buying diyas and candles from local/roadside vendors, but this time, I have shopped for things online and have begun preparing handmade decorative items. I am just avoiding stepping outside,” the 25-year-old said.

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ENDLESS INNOVATION SINCE 1919

Analysis: ASEAN

CICA in bouncing back in the New Year?

Jahir Ahmed looks back over a difficult year for SE Asian manufacturing, and asks what hopes there are for 2021‌

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he meeting of minds of the ASEAN ceramic manufacturers is impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The virus has led the CICA (Ceramic Industry Club of Asean) to shift its council meeting, to be held in Bali, Indonesia, to a suitable date in the first half of 2021 from the scheduled second half of 2020.

The pandemic situation that destabilized the entire human activities on the earth has forced the production and trade of ceramics including its front and backyard linkages to a halt in lockdowns and shutdowns for weeks to months since March and still has continued restricting movement preventing normal manufacturing and consumption of building ceramic products.

The yearend is fast approaching, yet, the return of normalcy is slower than the expected in the region. However, in some countries the impact was less damaging. In Vietnam and Thailand, the situation remains comparatively better, while three other ceramic producing CICA member countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines are expecting improvement soon.

Ceramic tableware trade is less affected by pandemic compared building ceramics, such as, tiles and sanitarywares.

Indonesia and Thailand are the major producers, consumers and exporters of tablewares in the ASEAN region.

However, according to ASAKI (Indonesian Ceramic Industries Association) and CICT (Ceramic Industry Club of Thailand), the ceramic tableware manufacturers in Indonesia and Thailand are faced with cheaper imports from China, which has huge surplus while its major export markets in the Western countries have in recent years imposed various restrictive measures against it on alleged dumping.

CICT said Thai tableware production has declined to 176 million pieces in 2019 from 235 million pieces of 2016. It said the Thai domestic markets of local products have squeezed to 69 million pieces from 96 million pieces of 2016, while imports from

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China have been rising.

The export oriented Thai tableware manufacturers suffer from the adverse impact of the slower global and domestic markets.

The manufacturers under organized sector have a considerable part of the production capacity unutilized. The Thai tableware production capacity is estimated to be about 300 million pieces under organized sector. The rising rivalry by the Chinese tiles and sanitarywares have also affected the tile and sanitaryware industries of Thailand and Indonesia where demand for the local products are in the declining trend.

Support mechanisms

To support the domestic manufacturers, the Indonesian government is taking various steps and has already reduced gas prices. ASAKI Chairman Edy Suyanto lauded the Indonesian government's decision to provide a stimulus and recovery program for the national economy, which pushed up demand, specially, for tiles and sanitarywares, in the market. However, ceramic companies have been struggling to market their products as Indonesia has been hit hard by the Covid pandemic.

This has weakened people's purchasing power in the country, according to Lukito Wanandi, treasurer of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).

CICA chapters reported that the rising cost of production is currently posing a threat. They said the costs are continuously rising making ceramic production less competitive for catering domestically or exporting to the world market. Imported Chinese tiles, sanitarywares, tablewares, insulators and others are sold in the ASEAN market at much lower prices. As a result, all the sectors in traditional ceramics are currently going through a stagnating situation.

The sanitaryware production in Thailand has increased in 2019 to 9.3 million pieces from 8.6 million pieces of 2016. However, domestic market continues to remain stagnant with sales of

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Analysis: ASEAN

focus 4.5 million pieces in 2019. Thailand sells the surplus output to the export markets, mainly to Europe and North America, as a major exporter of sanitarywares. Thailand exports about US$200 million, plus-minus, worth of sanitarywares a year, while its import is limited within around US$40-50 million.

Thailand’s tile production has reduced to an estimated 120 million sq metres in 2019, from 180 million sq metres in 2016.

However, the domestic tile markets have expanded to an estimated 173 million sq metres in 2019 from 162 million sq metres of 2016. Thailand imports about US$200 million worth of tiles per year to meet the domestic demand. However, Thailand exports about US$70 to US$100 million worth of tiles annually.

Vietnam is less affected by the pandemic, yet the country continuously suffers from oversupply of ceramic tiles and sanitarywares, causing hard competition among manufacturing enterprises, while many large companies continue to invest for expanding capacity, even to set up new facilities.

Philippines’ tile industry has increased production by 8.5 percent to 86.2 million sq metres

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in nine months, during January-September, 2019. The full year’s production is expected to rise to around 120 million sq metres.

Malaysian tile industry suffers from under-utilisation of production capacity. There are 8 ceramic tile manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Out of their total production capacity of some 100 million square metres, only 59 percent is utilized.

In September this year, the Malaysian government has agreed to initiate safeguard. Currently the authority is investigating and is expecting to have the outcome in the first week of January or latest by February, 2021, according to FMM MCIG (Malaysia Ceramic Industry Group).

In Malaysia, the growth of traditional ceramic production continues to remain stagnant since past several years. However, the existing production units of tiles, sanitarywares and tablewares are operating with high segment products. The industry is now being forced to switch to automation. MCIG said tiles and sanitarywares are still doing business, in spite of limitation following higher production cost.

The increasing cost of labour, natural gas and rawmaterial in tile, sanitaryware and

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Analysis: ASEAN

ceramic industry from the impacts of rising imports. Although, the rise in imports from China was contained, India and Vietnam have largely increased their ceramic exports to Indonesia.

In 2020, Indonesia is expecting to sustain its growth amidst slowing down of the global economy as the government continues to pursue expansion on infrastructure projects and other economic activities. It has tried to resolve the Covid pandemic problem by providing relaxations and stimulus so that the economy remains less affected.

In its move to protect home industry from dumping, Indonesia has reimposed a duty on ceramic tiles shipped from India and Safeguards Vietnam with effect from September this year, said Febrio Nathan According to the industry sources, Indonesian ceramic industry’s Kacaribu, head of the fiscal policy office under the Ministry of installed capacity utilization increased to an estimated 76 percent Finance. in 2019 from about 68 percent of 2018. The safeguard measureThe tile importers would be liable to pay a 23 percent import duty or safeguard imposed by the government since safeguard measures import duty, known as BMTP, for the next 12 months, while the duty would drop to 21 percent and 19 percent October 12, 2018 helped to some extent protect the domestic in the second and third years, respectively, Febrio stated officially. Under WTO Vietnam ceramic tile industry’s installed production capacity agreement on international trade provision, Year 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 a country can impose safeguard import 2015 duty when the imported products' market Ceramic tile (million m2) 452.0 463.0 537.0 553.0 608.6 share exceeds three percent of the market Granite tile (million m2) 73.5 166.5 169.5 169.5 182.0 in the country. “In Indonesian market, Cotto tile (million m2) 22.0 31.0 31.0 31.0 31.0 India and Vietnam have far exceeded that Total tiles (million m2) 547.5 660.5 737.5 753.5 821.6 threshold,” said Febrio.

According to the evaluation of the Trade Source: VIBCA, Vietnam Ministry in December 2019, imports of Vietnam’s domestic consumption of ceramic tiles ceramic tiles from India and Vietnam in Type of tiles 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 the 2018-2019 period jumped by 22.72 In mn sqm percent and 6.58 percent, respectively, said Ceramic tiles 199.5 214.2 223.5 242.8 244.2 262.6 306.0 365.0 398.0 341.0 Febrio. He said the government intended to protect domestic ceramic tile makers Granite tiles 34.2 50.5 50.5 56.9 56.9 79.9 85.0 108.0 122.0 107.0 and see them meeting most of the local demands. Indonesia removed ceramic tiles Cotto tiles 42 9.3 13.6 15.3 15.3 15.8 20.4 23.0 22.0 25.0 from India and Vietnam from the BMTP list Total 275.7 274.0 287.6 315.0 316.4 358.3 411.4 496.0 542.0 467.0 several years ago, since than imports from the two countries have grown to pose a Source: VIBCA, Vietnam threat to local ceramic tile manufacturers.

After years of struggles to revive its Vietnam’s sanitaryware production capacity, production and domestic consumption competitiveness in the domestic and world markets, the Indonesian ceramic industry is Ceramic 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 now poised to rebound as the government sanitarywars in million pcs has taken a restrictive move against the imports and returned to support the Production 14.16 14.16 15.31 15.65 18.20 19.55 20.6 23.25 24.75 25.5 energy intensive industry like ceramics by capacity reducing price of natural gas to US$6 per Domestic 12.0 12.4 13.0 14.4 15.3 15.8 16.4 18.5 19.8 19.0 mmBtu, with effect from April, this year. production Gas is supplied by the state-owned gas Domestic 9.6 9.9 10.4 11.5 13.0 13.4 14.0 15.87 17.8 19.0 utility, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN). consumption ASAKI fought fiercely against the Source: VIBCA, Vietnam government’s price increase, and demanded a reduced rate of US$6 per Malaysian ceramic tiles sector in 2019 mmBtu of gas/LNG with the aim of reviving Ceramic Production Import Export Domestic Unit the competitiveness of the ceramics product (million) (million) (million) Market industry which plummeted due to 50 (million) percent increase in gas prices in 2013.

Tile 59 28 13 74 m2 A sigh of relief is leading the ASAK to Source: FMM MCIG, Malaysia renew its efforts to boost up utilization of tableware sectors have reduced the sectors’ economic viability.

MCIG noted resistance to invest in the new technology lead to low productivity, and rising cost of doing business-especially on compliance cost remains challenging on the back of a prolonged weak property market and excess capacity led slow demand in the local market. This leads to decline of production volume, capacity utilisation and capital investment.

People experienced in ceramic manufacturing and trade are now more interested in importing ceramic products in bulk from other producing countries, such as, China, and then re-ship to the third countries, as well as to distribute locally.

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Analysis: ASEAN

production capacity and attract new investment in the sector.

“The safeguard and the restrictive import duty against the alien lower priced products will ensure the benefits of the reduced gas price,” said ASAKI chief Edy. ASAKI said the import figures from China did not drop as expected after similar safeguard imposed in October 2018, which was also valid for 3 years and is now scheduled to decrease to 19 percent in October, 2020, to affect further competitiveness of the local products. But imports from India and Vietnam have increased tremendously. The production cost in India is much lower because of lower energy prices, cheaper wages and local raw materials, including minerals and chemicals. “Even in current Covid pandemic period, Indonesian imports of ceramic tiles from India have increased by 57

percent,” said Edy. The government was also under mounting pressure from ASAKI to impose import restriction and put into effect a heavier safeguard measure against China, India and Vietnam. After outbreak of Covid, the government has imposed a restrictive import duty on ceramic products from March. By this time the government has gradually allowed reopening of factories and retail sales outlets under certain Covid pandemic related social distancing and health regulations to increase production, domestic sales and exports.

According to ASAKI, entering the era of New Habit Adaptation, the national ceramic industry in Indonesia is slowly starting to increase its production utilization again from the previous drop to 30 percent in April due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.

“Until the end of July, utilization began to increase to a level of 56,” said Edy. "ASAKI INDONESIA projects that the capacity utilization will return Indonesian ceramic tile sector with production capacity, production and consumption to 65 percent, its pre-pandemic normal level Indonesian ceramic tile industry by the first quarter of 2021," he added.

Tablewares, kitchenwares and gift Descriptions Volume Year 2017 Year 2018 Est. 2019 products with a stable export earning of well Capacity million m2/year 510 510 537 over US$100 million every year are still a comfort zone in Indonesian ceramic sector, Production million m2/year 307 308 352 (estimated) mainly due to its labour intensive production Trend % -0,97% 0,33% 14% process, while despite increase of labour Total consumption m2/year 381,088,178 398,157,143 426,756,789 wages, the cost of production in tablewares and kitchenwares and their demand in the Consumption per capita m2/capita/year 1.49 1.54 1.57 world market still remains lucrative and offers Source: ASAKI, Indonesia opportunities for expansion to the stagnant capacity and production in the organized Indonesian sanitaryware and roofing tile production factories.

Indonesian ceramic sanitaryware and rooftile industry outputs Ceramic products

2017 (Production)

2018 (Production)

Est.2019 (Production)

Sanitarywares

5.2 million pcs

5.6 million pcs

5.4 million pcs

Rooftiles

75 million pcs

75 million pcs

72 million pcs

Tableware improving?

Source: ASAKI, Indonesia

Indonesian tableware production Indonesian ceramic tableware industry Ceramic 2012 2013 2014 tablewares Tableware output in million pcs Tableware production capacity in million pieces

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

275

275

290

290

290

290

290

300

275+

275+

290+

290+

290+

290+

290+

300+

Source: Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association (ASAKI) Asian Ceramics note: ASAKI does not monitor non-organised tableware sector of SME (small and medium enterprises), which has substantial production, domestic market and exports.

THAILAND Thailand’s ceramic production and domestic market

2016

2017

2018

2019

Tile production in million sq metres

180

132

125

120

Domestic tile market in million sq metres

162

182

170

173

Sanitaryware production in million pieces

8.6

8.6

8.9

9.3

Domestic sanitaryware market in million pieces

4.6

4.4

4.3

4.5

Tableware production in million pieces

235

223

186

176

96

91

73

69

Domestic tableware market jn million pieces Source: CICT, Thailand

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Along with Indonesia and Thailand, Vietnam’s organized tableware sector is, however, marketing porcelain dinnerwares successfully. Vietnamese’s Binh Duongbased porcelain tableware manufacturer, Minh Long I Co Ltd, is leading the country tableware exports.

Ly Ngoc Minh, the CEO of Vietnam’s largest and national award-winning prestigious porcelain tableware manufacturer, Minh Long I, with a monthly production capacity of about three million pieces of tablewares, is expanding Minh Long I’s markets globally for its highly impressive products with style and conviction.

The current trend of rise in capacity expansion, real production and domestic consumption has been leading Vietnam’s ceramic tiles to a new height. In 2019, the production capacity has increased 822 million sq metres, with usual utilization rate of 80-85 percent and consumption of 80-85 percent of the output domestically, where prices are favourable compared to the export markets, according to VIBCA (Vietnam Building Ceramic Association).

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The brand you can trust

Takahama Industry Co.,Ltd. Head Office 2-2-1 Hashiman-cho, Takahama-city,Aichi-Pref,444-1302,Japan TEL +81-566-52-5181 FAX +81-566-52-5960 E-mail info@takahama-ind.co.jp URL http://www.takahama-ind.co.jp

Analysis: Digital printing

Tech Focus: innovation leads the way

AC takes a look at some of the leading technology players in the ever-more competitive inkjet printing market…

I

nkjet technology has truly transformed the ceramic tile industry in last two decades. Most of the industry stakeholders term it as the most important innovation in ceramic tile industry. Not only has it made possible more realistic reproductions of surfaces like wood, stone or brick, but it has also made it possible reproductions also feel real because the printing includes texture.

This is an incredible achievement for an industry that for many years traditionally produced either plain or very unsophisticated patterned tiles using screen printing and had little use even for computers. Inkjet printing has of course been used successfully in many other industries over the years, including graphics (advertising), packaging and textiles. In the packaging and textiles industries over the same period, the penetration of inkjet has risen to only around 2%, compared to the ceramics sector where it has reached around 40%.

Slow starts

Digital printing was not an instant hit in ceramics even though the potential was recognised. The first inkjet ceramic decoration printers appeared around the year 2000, and these early printers suffered from poor reliability with blocked or deviant nozzles causing unwanted white and dark lines on the tiles. The printers required frequent maintenance to clear blocked nozzles making them unsuitable for full-scale production and printheads had to be replaced repeatedly at high costs. In addition the images were very grainy and not very attractive.

Over the years, this technology has undergone many changes

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to achieve the best results. Fewer and fewer errors arise in use, the staffs are highly qualified and experienced, and the design process is faster, more efficient and has a greater amount of applicable designs.

Inkjet technology occupies a privileged position in the evolution of ceramic technology sector, which marked a radical change in the sector. It has created a technological revolution that has broken with the traditional decoration systems tiles, considered one of the greatest technological innovations of recent years. There are still many improvements and new functionalities that inkjet technology can generate, in the ceramics sector, as in others.

Xaar

Xaar, one of the leading inkjet printing technology groups, has launched the ImagineX bulk printhead platform which will deliver new product capabilities. Xaar has invested around GBP 70 million in R&D in recent years for developing the ImagineX bulk platform which will drive a step change in performance enhancements including printing at resolutions up to 1440dpi and speeds of 150kHz, as well the capability to operate at temperatures over 200 degree celsius and viscosities above 100cP. Xaar’s new printheads will also be able to handle all ink types, including aqueous, ensuring they meet the latest demands from new applications. Alongside the launch of the ImagineX printhead platform, Xaar has and unveiled a new forward looking brand identity to emphasise its renewed focus on product development and growth, with a clear ‘go-to-market’ strategy based around strong collaboration with its global partners.

According to John Mills, CEO of Xaar, “ Xaar has led innovation

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Analysis: Digital printing

Digital Printing in inkjet technologies over the last 30 years. ImagineX will power this for the next 30 and provide the basis for the next significant chapter in our history, enabling industries and our OEMs to push the boundaries of what’s possible with powerful, reliable and efficient inkjet technology. This partnership approach, combined with the expertise of our committed, creative and passionate team of world-class colleagues, will allow us to further demonstrate the huge capabilities of inkjet technology and create a world where if you can imagine it, you can print it. In this way, we will help to transform entire industries. We have great technology, great people and a large market opportunity. Together we will be successful – and we now have a strong printhead platform and brand identity that truly reflects this. These are exciting times.�

EFI Cretaprint

EFI is a global technology company born in Silicon Valley (USA) that leads the transformation from analog to digital technology in printing.

This mission is carried out in different industry sectors and with solutions that cover digital printers, inks, color management and productivity software. In addition to ceramics, EFI operates in

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various sectors where image is an essential part of the product, such as textiles, packaging and signage, among others.

End user and the environment are at the core of EFI Cretaprint's innovation for tile ceramic inkjet printing EFI Cretaprint offers the world's tile industry the first complete digital decoration solution based on water-based fluids. Together with eco-solvent inks, they constitute a proposal fitted to ceramic tile manufacturing providing sustainability, connectivity and great user experience.

EFI Cretaprint inkjet printers are well known because of its robustness and productivity, now they propose a renewed offering that has a positive impact in three areas: environmental, technical and economic.

EFI Cretaprint Hybrid was Alfa de Oro awarded for operating both with the new water-based ceramic inks and the current eco-solvent based ones. Hybrid includes both digital glazing and decoration with water-based fluids to do Full Digital ceramic decoration. This technology improves the environmental impact of the ceramic manufacturing process by reducing the resources used (glaze, water and energy) as well as by reducing emissions and other waste.

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Analysis: Digital printing

Printing with water-based inks and glazes reduces VOC emissions by more than 90%. In addition, water-based inks and glazes require less drying time and offer a more homogeneous application of the glaze, guaranteeing high quality in the manufacture of large format parts.

The new EFI Cretaprint hybrid printers have improved ink and cleaning systems, have a new electronics able to maintain humidity while avoiding ink sedimentation in the print heads and they are the only inkjet printers that can operate indistinctly with water-based and eco-solvent inks and glazes.

In the words of Fernando Tomás, global product manager for EFI's packaging and building materials: "From a technological R&D perspective, it is essential for us to present proven solutions for the highly demanding environment of tile manufacturing industry". He emphasizes: "The Hybrid approach is based on making it easier for our customers to adopt the new technology in a comfortable, safe way and with a learning curve on demand".

EFI Cretaparint printers provide connectivity with various solutions in an Industry 4.0 environment that help monitoring remotely the printers, generate and download productivity reports and also communicate with inplant systems.

Printer usage statistics are always accessible on the press and can also be accessed on line using the IQ Cloud solution or EFI Go mobile app. This application provides info about printer status, ink consumption, models manufactured, meters produced, productivity, alarms, etc.

Also, the Communication 4.0 application included in the software, allows data sharing with MES systems or Scada applications.

Finally, the printer software interface is user-friendly and very intuitive. It includes many applications that facilitate the daily operation such as: automatic color adjustment, density fine tunning, nozzle out compensation, etc.

EFI Cretaprint Hybrid was initially validated in Spain and successfully launched at the last edition of Cevisama. During 2020, and despite the crisis caused by the coronavirus, EFI Cretaprint's hybrid technology has been successfully welcomed in China and other European countries, representing already 11% of the total equipment sold.

Image quality of EFI Cretaprint inkjet printer results from: • Mechanical robustness: which guarantees centering accuracy and optimal registration.

• More grayscale levels, for a better definition.

• Configurable printing qualities for each design, that provides great flexibility to the user.

• Multi-head offer on a thermostable plate for a better printing homogeneity.

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• EFI's color management software, Fiery proServer, offers color fidelity, definition and lower ink consumption.

• Bar-to-bar aspiration removes steam and particles for optimal performance of the printer and its components.

Durst Ceramics

The complete digitalization of the glazing lines has long been a wish of all tile manufacturers in order to make the entire production process more flexible and cost-effective. On the one hand the optimization and reduction of batches to optimize sales and storage with guaranteed repeatability, while on the other hand new possibilities for the development of innovative products in the tile sector with an unlimited number of structures in perfect match with the decor to imitate nature.

What is still missing is a technology for the digital printing of structures that are created in a fully synchronized way following the decors. This would allow the entire production process to be controlled digitally without exchanging or adjusting mechanical parts when changing products, regardless of batch size. A development that Durst has been working on and will soon digitalize this missing, traditional part of tile production.

The future True Digital Tile Manufacturing process includes the following essential digital production steps: Flexible, variablesize, variable-thickness slab and tile pressing equipment used in combination with a flat mold, full digital control and production of the desired tile size. This technology has already been in use for several years.

Single Pass Digital glaze printing system with print heads for digital printing of variable structures on the tiles using ceramic glazes with particle sizes >45 micron and high viscosities. This is currently in the final stage of field test at two well-known Italian tile manufacturers.

Single Pass Digital Decor Printer with standard piezo print heads for printing the graphics with pigmented ceramic inks in perfect match and synchronized to the variable structures printed with Gamma DG. This allows manufacturers to create new innovative products with a naturalness not possible up with traditional production technologies. This can be especially important with wood or stone decors.

Ceramic color management system designed and optimized for the special conditions and requirements of the tile industry.

This offering facilitates high flexibility, long-term repeatability, and a strong reduction of downtimes during product changes and the ongoing reprinting of the product collections over time.

Current commercial piezo print heads are designed to handle

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Cretaprint

Choose Hybrid

Hybrid Ceramic Ecosystem

HYBRID PRINTERS AND DIGITAL APPLICATIONS

WATER FRIENDLY INKS AND GLAZES

FIERY COLOR MANAGEMENT

Tel: + 34 964 340 264 · cretaprintsales@efi.com

CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE PROGRAMS

Analysis: Digital printing

Is digital for everyone?

Well, like all technologies, perhaps not. There are a number of areas that need to be addressed for companies such as: • the human factor in maintaining these machines at their peak avoiding “banding” (clogging of the nozzles due to change in temperature or size of the drops) • the human factor in selecting just the right design • the human factor that combines traditional technology with digital one for optimal outcome • the human factor in running the production at just the right color intensity to allow optimal production speed (it can reach 10.000 sq.ft. each hour) without compromising look , nozzles heads and ultimately the price of the tile. the human factor of picking the right machine for its production plant, peoples' skills and market share/strategy ones want to be in.

The problem of reproducing accurate and original tones is a constant issue for those who have the task of doing it in a repeatable way.

For ceramic tile manufacturers (unlike printing on paper) the task it's even harder since this decoration is fired at abt. 1200 c which means constant different chemical reaction.

The most important aspect of using digital inkjet decoration is not in the mechanics of it on the glazing line itself. It's the rationalization that must occur to set up the printing process so that it faithfully reproduces the original digital picture despite all of the complex machine setup, ink, pigment, glaze and firing issues.

Therefore it is no surprise that in a manufacturing facility a comprehensive mix of specific expertises are needed: software, hardware, graphics, ceramic production and ceramic engineering specialties.

inks with particle sizes below 1 micron, and some large drop print head can go as high as 2 microns while maintaining a reliable jetting behavior.

However, jetting fluids with even larger particles (>3 microns) with the limitation to have those inks formulated with relatively low viscosities – required by such piezo print heads – becomes difficult to assure a reliable operation due to the sedimentation behavior with larger particle sizes.

Essentially, the current design of piezo print heads cannot be scaled up to work with large particle sizes in combination with the needed much higher viscosities to keep such “heavy” particles in suspension, and to hold up printed structures on the media.

Therefore, this part of the ceramic tile production process has still remained traditional due to the non-availability of a print head technology designed for jetting fluids with large particle sizes (> 45 microns) and high viscosities.

In order to digitize this large portion of the ceramic tile business, several years ago, after revolutionizing the ceramic tile decoration by introducing the first single pass digital printer, Gamma 60, Durst started a development project to develop and manufacture such a revolutionary print head for dimensional printing (digital structures) for water based ceramic glazes with large particle sizes (> 45 microns) and high viscosities not available before.

Innovative and seen as the next big revolution in ceramics Durst currently has two installations of Gamma DG single pass printers with this print head technology in operation.

as the next and even more important revolution in the tile sector after digital decoration.

At the heart of this innovative production process is the print head technology developed and built by Durst specifically for Durst Gamma DG. The Durst Gamma DG is the first high performance single-pass printer for digital glazing/printing of structures on flat ceramic tiles instead of creating the very limited and repetitive structures that do not follow the decoration by means of press molds.

Thanks to the waterbased ceramic glazes with large particles (> 45 microns), high viscosity, and application rates of up to 1kg/m2 it is possible to produce even very strongly emphasized structures.

This revolutionary technology with a very high resolution and richness of detail, proving high reliability and production flexibility in industrial applications, is very impressive.

Gamma DG has a modular design and can be configured in width and number of glaze printing series according to customer requirements with the possibility of being further expanded later.

To create structures digitally and precisely in perfect match with the décor is a long-cherished wish of the tile manufacturers. This technology allows one to imitate wood, stones, and marble to be even more lifelike, and thus to achieve a decisive added value in the products and to develop and produce new, unique and so far not possible, innovative designs with visually captivating and tactile effects. In addition to the impressive print quality, the tiles can also be printed simultaneously with two different glazes, for example matt and glossy.

Speaking to AC, Norbert von Aufschnaiter, Durst Phototechnik AG Brixen, Italy said:

Digital Durst Structure Printing

True Digital Glazing technology for printing ceramic glazes is seen

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Analysis: Digital printing

“ History shows us that crises often inspire innovation. Tectonic shifts in demand and supply spur the emergence of new technologies and changes in behaviour. Innovative companies will emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis.

“Therefore innovation is more important now than ever. New business models and products must be brought to market even faster to remain successful in the future. Since important ceramic tile exhibitions have been canceled or postponed several ceramic tile manufacturer are not planning to introduce new tile collections in the coming months as the last product innovations presented at Cersaie 2019 could not be sold as planned due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

“On the other hand with the same current technologies used by all ceramic companies it is has become more and more difficult to come up with something really new and innovative to diversify from others, attract more customers and get out of pure price negotiations and maintain margins.

“Also the current discussions about differentiation through more colors ending up to working with as many as 12 to 14 color bars in a printer will not help to differentiate and to get out of the current product flattening (appiattimento), as this is all based on existing technologies every other ceramic tile company can adapt and copy very quickly within few weeks.

In addition it only adds costs to thefinal product without that the end user recognizes a clear and immediately visible added value. At the end this will only complicate the whole product development, file preparation, color managment and production and if these additional colors are not used on a regular basis, the inks will expire and possibly damage the print heads additing unexpected costs.

“Therefore to really differentiate you from other ceramic tile companies and keeping up with the aesthetical and haptic of other alternatives, such as LVT, it is now the right time to look at really innovative technologies offering new important design possibilities with a clear added value such as synchronized digital structure printing with Durst Gamma DG to create new innovative & stunning tile designs.”

From the frontline…

Kamlesh Patel, CEO of one of the largest ceramic tile producers in India, Asian Granito says, “ Inkjet Technology has truly transformed the global and Indian ceramic tile industry in multiple ways in last twenty years. In case of India, the technology has made rapid progress in last twelve years. In fact, Indian ceramic tile producers are one of the largest users and beneficiaries of this technology. Today, we can produce innumerable designs and shapes due to this technology, an option which was unthinkable twenty years back.”

According to Tarun Kapupara of Italica Tiles, “ Thanks to Inkjet technology, a number of Indian ceramic tile producers have become leading exporters of ceramic tiles. Efforts of technology suppliers to invest in high quality R & D has made it possible for a number of innovations in the inkjet technology in a short san of time.”

Established in 2004, Italica has developed into the largest supplier of tiles in India and has become one of the leading distributors in large format wall and floor tiles in India. Along with supplying tiles to independent and national retailers across India, the company has emerged one of the leading exporters of ceramic tiles in India.

Printing comparisons A little bit like the television or the camera industry, digital porcelain has basically improved three- dimensionality, sharpness and depth of colors but also: • Decoration up to the edges of the tiles (even when distressed) • Decoration in the shallow and high end of the tiles (avoiding lack of color and cheap look) • Huge graphic variation (40/60 different faces) VS limited variability of max 1440 mm (4 3⁄4 ft) • High definition normally abt. 300 dpi (dots per inch) VS the 80 dpi of screen and roller system • Digital technology can reach up to 1000 dpi but it's generally not needed for tile/stone reproduction, usually needed for pictures reproduction.

• Since non-contact printing technology, it allows decoration on top of frits/glazes for amazing translucent effects.

• • • • • •

48

and then again from the manufacturer's standpoint: flexible work-flow production runs more consistent production less storage space for rollers, screens, etc. less storage for glazes, pigments, etc. simulation of production outcome shorter times btw. Product idea and industrialization for

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instance: With traditional work-flow, there were the following steps: • acquisition of the image/design (marble, travertine, modern etc.)

• create color separation for Rotocolors/silk screen • engraving test (silicone in the rotocolor) 4 to 8 (one each color) • correction design, colour separation • engraving final cylinders (4 to 8 one each color) • mount cylinders • fill each module with ink • fine tune color registration and tones (20/30 tiles) • prepare glaze line • Monitor contamination, cylinder abrasion, viscosity etc.

• replace cylinders, glaze, etc.

• decorated tile ready to be fired With inkjet technology: • Image acquisition and possibly modification • Load file and prepare job • Fine/tune color and intensity (2-3 tiles) • Digital printing • Decorated tile ready to be fired.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Luxury: the high glossy technology

by Ancora A new technology at the service of the aesthetics offered by the SITI B&T Group’s Sassuolo company Ancora has developed a new technology at the service of aesthetics. The Sassuolo-based company of the SITI B&T Group that deals with end-ofline solutions, thanks to continuous Research & Development, presents Luxury, the shiny and glossy surface treatment finishing machine.

Luxury is a technology that enhances the graphics of the tile through a surface treatment that guarantees high gloss and protection, in response to a growing market demand for new glossy collections.

This effect creates an appearance of unique depth, applicable to a great variety of sizes and thicknesses.

For this purpose, Luxury has the possibility of being implemented and customized according to specific needs, in order to obtain maximum flexibility and therefore be able to work on sizes up to 1800x3600 mm and thicknesses from 6 to 25 mm.

Lapping becomes a fundamental phase in obtaining an optimal result. This phase of surface abrasion processing on glazed products and porcelain stoneware allows for a facilitated very high-glossy finish.

Following lapping, Luxury works through two process phases: one for finishing and one for treatment.

This technology, through a combination of machine tool and product, allows the slab to be brought to a degree of finish

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up to 110 gloss. Luxury is therefore based on a mechanical-physical process created between the tool, the slab and the applied product, the result of which allows super gloss to be obtained.

This effect, in addition to giving the tile a high degree of gloss, creates an appearance of greater reflection and depth thanks to the considerable reduction in roughness, elevating the digital graphics of the slab and further enhancing it.

After this first phase aimed purely at aesthetics, Luxury then works on the morphology of the surface, giving the finished product technical features: by filling the pores typical of the material, in fact, Luxury makes the surface resistant to abrasion and acid stains.

The treatment guarantees maximum protection to the finished product and consequently a wider range of its applications.

Thanks to the development of new technologies large slabs are increasingly used as furnishing accessories, such as kitchen tops and tables, and in this specific case the demands on the level of gloss are much wider, up to a matt finish.

In addition to guaranteeing great flexibility on sizes, if previously prepared, Luxury can also create different processes, up to a matt effect, using a degree of finish from 20 to 30 gloss instead of 110 for glossy.

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Analysis: Digital printing

SPOTLIGHT ON: GIS GIS talks to AC about its unique offering for the digital printing sector…

AC: Who is GIS? GIS: GIS was founded in November 2006, and since then the company has grown steadily to become a global leader in the delivery of software, drive electronics and ink delivery systems for a wide range of industrial inkjet printheads. Customers include major OEMs, machine builders, system integrators, fluid developers and large end users. GIS technology can now be found in thousands of printers worldwide - and in a wide range of applications.

The software, drive electronics and ink delivery systems have been designed with flexibility in mind, meaning that they can be configured for many different types of applications and markets - from highspeed, single pass variable data to high quality graphics printing to 3D printing – and of course ceramics.

AC: What products/ technology do you offer?

GIS: GIS has three main product areas: The Atlas® Software Suite offers a range of software solutions designed for use in digital print systems. From individual software components and integrated RIP solutions through to configurable Digital Front Ends (DFE), GIS Atlas software can be used to enhance existing – or build new – systems.

Atlas software is designed to deliver the performance, stability, and flexibility to meet the requirements needed by different customers and print applications.

GIS Drive Electronics offer comprehensive, high performance and flexible datapath solutions, supporting a wide range of printheads from major manufacturers including Fujifilm Dimatix, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, SII Printek, Toshiba TEC and Xaar – with support for Epson in development. Working closely with the printhead manufacturers means that GIS has a continuous development programme to support new printheads coming to market.

GIS also offers a comprehensive range of Ink / Fluid Delivery Systems components supporting all flow modes. GIS has the capability to rapidly configure and customise systems to meet customer requirements for a wide range of applications. GIS can also offer design and development of tailored systems for specific applications and printheads, providing the flexibility to integrate complementary components into the final system.

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AC: Why should ceramic tile system manufacturers consider GIS technology?

GIS: GIS has a reputation for providing stable, robust products - proven in industrial applications. Our products are feature-rich offering improved productivity and print quality with an open architecture allowing enhancement and control.

GIS was successful during the initial growth of the ceramics market supporting Xaar 1003 and TTEC CF1 using our first- and second-generation USB platforms. We have proved that systems using USB can be robust and reliable in heavy-duty production environments, but we understand that some machine builders prefer Ethernet based systems.

So, a few years ago we introduced our third generation Ethernet platform for datapath electronics on which we now support a growing range of printheads, including FujiFilm StarFire SG1024, SG600 and SII RC1536 - which are popular in the ceramic market.

Our products are also now very modular: we offer an electronics only option; the Atlas software can drive any electronics; and the ink delivery system is also fully standalone.

This offers a new level of flexibility in GIS technology that we think system builders will find attractive.

AC: What’s special about GIS inkjet printhead electronics?

GIS: For those readers who may be familiar with our USB platforms, perhaps it important to mention what is different in the Ethernet platform. Instead of the Print Manager Board (PMB) and Head Interface Boards (HIB), the Ethernet platform uses a Head Management Board (HMB) with a choice of encoder / product detect solutions, which works with standard 3rd party network switches – and we have moved from a proprietary interface to an industry standard HTTP 2.0 Restful interface.

Each HMB has Ethernet connectivity, and we run a mix of gate level FPGAs and a Linux operating system with a very rich interface for greater functionality and faster development. It is even possible to interface directly with the HMB using your smartphone over a network browser and interrogate it (e.g. check voltages, temperatures, read PROM data) in parallel with the board printing.

The aim is to monitor the system in detail for greater system reliability and productivity – and potentially anticipate failures in

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Analysis: Digital printing

the system before they occur e.g. amplifier, printhead or board overheating, connection status of cables and much more.

We offer two options for product detect and encoder management – the SM-200 and the SEB. The SM-200 is a highly flexible centrally distributed encoder and product detect technology; and the SEB is an expansion board that can be plugged directly onto the main HMB. The HMBs are designed to be very compact, supporting multiple printheads per board, and customers can scale arbitrarily large systems using multiple network switches and multiple PCs – to increase bandwidth as large as the system requires. One important final point is that we select high quality amplifiers and components on our boards, which means that waveforms are stable even under heavy loads, which is very important for maintaining reliable, highquality printing in demanding production environments.

customers that help them manage print quality in their systems.

Print density correction can run in real time with variable data - and can work with 3rd party RIP technologies. The standard product provides offline correction and can work with GIS electronics or 3rd party electronics. It is a standalone tool for use with any datapath.

GIS has also developed its own Screeners (ordered dither and error diffusion) for high performance and high-quality printing. The screeners are designed to convert contone data into screened grey level data. Features include nozzle out correction, flexible greyscale drop separation, per nozzle density correction curves, hard and soft stitch support, high precision linearisation and ink limiting. The screeners are also available as standalone products that customers can purchase whether they are using GIS electronics or 3rd party electronics. So, another example of the new modularity of GIS technology.

AC: And GIS software?

GIS: GIS Atlas software can be used with any datapath and is split into two key areas – user interface (UI) and the server technology.

The UI has many options in terms of look, feel and access levels depending on the end user. It is highly modular, customisable and extensible. Customers can add their own logo, colour themes, set different languages (including Chinese) and even add their own software components. Atlas Professional is the richest UI option providing access to a huge range of tools for developers and sophisticated users; and Atlas Production is designed for operators, limiting access to just the tools that are required for greater simplicity in touchscreen environments.

We offer multiple options for integration: Customers can develop their own client to interface to Atlas Server via HTP 2.0 Restful API; or drive GIS electronics directly interfacing directly to the HMBs via HTTP 2.0 Restful API; or customers can write their own UI tools that plug into the Atlas UI using an SDK; and they can write and add their own modules to Atlas Server to increase or change functionality using an SDK. By giving this level of access, GIS is putting a lot of power into the hands of the customer to develop highly capable systems, customised as required to suit the target application and positioning in the market.

GIS also offers Atlas Image Quality tools including missing nozzle compensation; stitching strategies; printhead density correction; and dynamic registration. We provide a full suite of tools, training and advice to

AC: GIS ink delivery systems?

GIS: GIS offers a comprehensive range of Ink / Fluid Delivery Systems components supporting all flow modes (end shooter, low flow, intermediate and very high flow rates). The control cards are Ethernet based and can control up to six inks in parallel (multiple cards can be added to support more fluids), degassed or heated as the system requires. We also have user interfaces that provide primary functions and diagnostics including pressure monitoring, purge control, temperature, and recirculation control. We offer a wide range of header tanks for different printheads, size of machines, and flow rates. Components are pre-mounted and pre-tested before shipping – and we have hundreds of systems in the field running in production environments.

The components are all modular so that we have the capability to configure and customise systems to meet customer requirements in a wide range of applications. Everything has been designed for accessibility, reliability, and maintainability – and the technology and components are standalone, completely decoupled from GIS datapath electronics.

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AC: If you could sum up the offering, what would you say?

GIS: GIS is well placed to offer the expertise and flexibility to help customers succeed in ceramics and also move into new application areas. System builders can choose what they need – software only; software and datapath electronics; electronics only; ink system only – the key is the high quality, flexibility and modularity of GIS technology.

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51

Analysis: Bricks

Boom an brick makers profit whilst planet loses

Investment…that’s simply what’s needed to move the majority of the sub-continent’s brick makers from the dark ages to a modern, less polluting and ultimately more economically efficient industry. However, as a major employer, is there enough political will to force through the changes? Yogender Malik looks on…

H

ome to nearly 1.85 billion people, the South Asia Region is the second largest brick producing and consuming region after China. As the economies of different countries in the region have grown steadily at an average rate of more than 6% over the last 20 years, the region has witnessed an unprecedented process of fast urbanization. Both economic growth and urbanization lead to increase of demand for living and business space, and therefore, construction materials.

Brick is one of the major building materials in the region. After China, which produces more than 1 trillion bricks per year, South Asia region is the second largest brick producing and consumingregion in the world, producing more than 380 billion bricks annually.

Four major countries of the region- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal- collectively accounted for nearly 21 % of the global brick output in the year 2019.

Among the various sub-segments of construction materials, bricks production and consumption has outpaced all the other sub-segments in the region. Brick consumption in the region is expected to register steadiest growth rates in the current decade as compared to other major brick consuming regions in the world and in the next ten years it is expected to be one of the highest growth rate period for brick consumption in these countries on account of urbanisation, impact of rising disposable incomes of last decade and rising living standards.

On the negative side, the brick industry in the South Asia region is considered to cause high degree of pollution. All the four major countries have enacted legislations to minimise the menace of pollution due to brick kilns.

Huge consumption of agricultural resources by brick kilns in the region is also a major source of concern in these countries.

Most brick kilns in South Asia have been constructed on fertile agricultural land, usually in the low-lying areas. The clay-based

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brick production method uses topsoil from agricultural land, usually up to a depth of 1 meter, as the primary raw material. The topsoil is generally the most fertile and productive layer of any agricultural land and thus its removal causes huge economic loss in terms of lost agricultural productivity. A recent study conducted in India estimated that a ton of soil loss leads to productivity decline of 12.5 kg per hectare for wheat.

Overall though, South Asia is home to nearly a quarter of total global brick production. There are over 7000 brick kilns operating in Bangladesh, producing an estimated 27 billion bricks annually that contribute 1% to the national GDP and employ nearly 1 million people. India is the second largest brick producer in the world, with an estimated annual production of 250 billion bricks through about 144,000 brick kilns operating in the country, and employs approximately 15 million workers. In Nepal, there are approximately 1700 brick kilns operating with an annual production of 14 billion bricks. In all three countries, traditional kiln technologies namely the Fixed Chimney Kiln (FCK) and Zigzag Kiln (ZZK) are the most dominant ones. In India and Nepal, however, there are still a good number of Movable Chimney Kilns (MCKs) operating despite their ban by the Government.

Standardisation

In Bangladesh, the first-class bricks are required to have a minimum compressive strength of 3000 pounds per square inch (psi), maximum water absorption of 20% of dry weight after five hours of soaking in water, minimum weight of 3.5 kg per brick and the dimensions of 240 mm x 115 mm x 70 mm. The dimensions, weight and other parameters slightly vary among three countries covered by this study. For instance, in Nepal, the average weight of first-class bricks was found to be approximately 2 kg with great variation in height of the bricks. Similarly, in India, standard brick size is 190 mm x 90 mm x 90 mm as per the recommendation of Bureau of

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Analysis: Bricks

nd bust Indian Standards (BIS). The first-class bricks are well uniformly burnt, homogenous in texture, uniform in color (generally copper or deep red), free from cracks, nodules of free lime and other flaws, have plane rectangular faces with parallel sides and sharp straight rightangled edges.

The second-class bricks have non-uniform color and are less uniformly burnt than the first-class ones. Similarly, the third-class bricks are inadequately burnt, have deformed shapes and surface cracks. There is another category of bricks called picked bricks that are over burnt first class bricks with deformed shapes and black color.

Standardisation

Clay is the most commonly used input material for the production of bricks in South Asia. There are six major determinants of a good quality brick – shape, size, color, surface finish, compressive strength and water absorptivity (Biswas, 2013; Civilblog, 2014). A good quality brick should have bright and uniform color, uniform shape as per the national/local standard, sharp and straight edges, and free from cracks or holes or any surface defect. The compressive or crushing strength is an important attribute that is tested in a laboratory by applying pressure under a crushing machine. A good quality brick

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should have a minimum compressive strength of more than 35 kg/ cm2 although in practice, bricks used in load-bearing structures have a compressive strength of more than 100 kg/cm2. Similarly, a good quality brick when immersed in cold water for 24 hours should not absorb water more than 20% of its dry weight. Based on the quality and strength of brick, which varies among countries, there are three classes – first, second and third.

The first-class bricks are usually used in load-bearing walls, outer walls, water handling constructions, brick soiling, etc. Similarly, the second-class bricks find their use in inner walls, partition walls and roads. The third-class bricks are generally crushed for masonry and concrete applications. The picked bricks (low quality, over-burnt ones) are not used for construction. But nothing is wasted in Bangladesh, they are particularly used in road construction as aggregates because of their high compressive strength. It is expected that although the general consumption trend is positive for all classes of bricks, there is a gradual shift of consumer preference from price sensitivity to quality sensitivity. This might lead to greater demand for first- and secondclass bricks in the coming years, projecting an eventual elimination of third-class bricks. The demand for picked bricks will likely continue because of their high compressive strength and specialized application in road construction.

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Analysis: Bricks

India

India is the second largest producer of bricks globally after China.

The country accounted for an estimated production of 267 billion bricks in the year 2019.

After the brisk construction activities and steady growth rate of more than 9 % during the last decade 2011- 2019, building construction in India is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 8.6% during the period 2021 to 2030 that would ramp up the annual demand of walling material to approximately 500 billion brick equivalent masonry units by 2030, an increase of 46% relative to current demand. The alternate building materials such as solid/ hollow concrete blocks, Fly Ash-Lime-Gypsum (FaL-G) blocks, Cement Stabilized Soil Blocks (CSSB), and Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks have successfully penetrated Indian market, but their usage has remained very limited.

Conventional firing technologies still dominate the brick market.

FCK is the most widely used technology for brick production in India, contributing to 70% of the total production, followed by clamp kilns (20%) and other firing technologies, such as VSBK, HK and ZZK (less than 5%). The Gangetic plains of North India, consisting of the states of Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal account for India’s 65% brick production, the rest 35% is concentrated in the peninsular and coastal India that consist of the states of Gujarat, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Automation and investment in state of the art technology by Indian brick producers have been slow. Barring a few isolated cases, modernisation and automated plants in the country’s brick production sector has not progressed smoothly. A few months back, one of the leading automated brick producers, Wienerberger India switched to natural gas from conventional solid fuel for the brick kiln firing process at its factory operations in Kunigal, (70 kms North of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka). Company’s Kunigal factory is perhaps the most automated and modern brick production plant in South Asia. The factory is also highly equipped with a full-fledged inhouse laboratory and product development facilities.

Conversion to natural gas fuel followed the commitment made by the company in December 2019 on the occasion of its 10th anniversary in India. One of the key investment plans outlined was the conversion to natural gas as a fuel to enable manufacturing of porotherm perforated bricks. Porotherm bricks are 60% lighter than conventional walling material, thus allowing substantial savings on structural cost due to reduction in dead load. This also allows for faster construction and ease of handling.

According to Monnanda Appaiah, Managing Director, Wienerberger India, “We are extremely delighted to announce the commissioning of natural gas fuel at our Kunigal factory, which was achieved in a short period of time, despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic. This change in technology will almost eliminate the particulate matters emitted from the kiln during the firing process. We are certain that our Kunigal factory emission norms will match world class norms in emission and would be substantially better than the emission norms laid out as per the Indian environmental standards."

Brick production and consumption in the country in the last few years has retained steady growth rates on account of construction sector in urban and rural areas. In fact, rural area has been a major contributor of brick demand in last few years. Considering the fact that a large part of rural India is migrating towards brick houses, this segment will be one of the most important factors towards driving the demand of bricks in the country.

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COVID FORCED US TO USE LOCAL LABOUR, OFTEN UNSKILLED AS A RESULT Major new initiatives by the Government of India, like “Housing for All” and “Smart Cities” are also expected to increase the demand of bricks in the country by significant volume in the short and medium term. If the present rate of economic growth is maintained over next few decades, it is projected that India’s building stock will increase by around 3.5 times between 2021 and 2047. Under this scenario, the annual demand for bricks is also expected to increase by around 3 times and reach a peak during 2032-37.

Pakistan

Much like India, Pakistani brick production sector is dominated by small scale brick kilns. The country has about 42,000 small and mid-scale brick kilns. Many of these are located around urban areas to cater to the demand from urban centres. Pakistan's brick sector is highly unregulated and uncoordinated but is responsible for 1.5% of Pakistan's gross domestic product (GDP).

Brick production and consumption in the country has registered a CAGR of 6.1 % during the last five years. Stable economic growth of last two years and mild impact of Covid 19 on the Pakistani economy in the current year are expected to give a new push to brick consumption in the coming years.

There has been increasing pressure from the regulator authorities on brick kiln owners to shit to cleaner technology in last few years.

State of Punjab in particular has enacted a slew of legislations to deter the use of obsolete technology in the brick production for new brick kilns.

Brick-Kiln Owners Association Pakistan President Muhammad Shoaib Khan Niazi recently led a delegation to meet Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade at Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) to discuss the liquidity crunch faced by brick producers in the country. The association also discussed about the provisions of soft loans to the brick kilns for their transfer to zigzag technology.

Indeed, progress is being made. As many as 49 brick kilns, out of 290 have been converted to zigzag technology in one district.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Headquarters Arshad Wattoo said the remaining 241 kilns across the district were being shifted to zigzag technology, adding the kilns functioning with traditionally way had been closed under anti-smog ordinance.

He said that 5 out of 30 kilns in Bhalwal Tehsil, 10 out of 40 in Bherah Tehsil, 4 out of 27 in Kot Momin, 1 out of 30 in Sahiwal, 6 out of 77 in Sargodha, 20 out of 52 in Shahpur Tehsil and 3 out of 34 kilns in Sillanwali tehsil were converted to zigzag technology.

Arshad Wattoo said that due to modern technology, the profit rate of owners had gone up more than ever while the quality of bricks had also increased.

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Analysis: Bricks Table 1

India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal

However, elsewhere in the country, brick kiln owners have decided that the rates of bricks would not be increased in the coming season and said the government should speed up its loan process for shifting the Kilns to the modern zigzag technology to avoid any shortage of bricks in the winter.

They decided this following an agreement made by Brick-Kiln Owners Association Pakistan President Muhammad Shoaib Khan Niazi who led a delegation which met Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal at Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) on Wednesday. The association agreed on not increasing the bricks’ prices. The progress made on provision of soft loans to the brick kilns for their transfer to zigzag technology was also reviewed.

The minister directed the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) to early start provision of soft loans for transfer of traditional brick kilns to zigzag technology. Soft loans will be provided for upgrade of the traditional brick kilns.

However, increase in the prices of bricks will not be tolerated and action will be initiated against the brick kilns found involved in violation.

Further, the brick kilns will be closed if any complaint is reported and the district administration has been issued directions as well, the minister said.

The minister stated that the Industry Department and administration of various districts are engaged in fixing prices of bricks. He said the PSIC is about to launch the programme for transfer of brick kilns to zigzag technology. The brick kilns owners will be provided soft loans for the purpose. The association president apprised the minister of different issues.

143,000 42000 7700 1700

Number of brick plants

Table 1

India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal

1,280 197 165 30

Popula4on sta4s4cs (million)

Table 1

India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal

267 71 33 14

1

Number of bricks produced (billion)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is third largest brick producing nation in South Asian region. Thousands of chimneys punctuate the horizon in cities and towns across Bangladesh — including some 1,000 in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, Dhaka. Rising urbanisation and living standards of country’s vast population has driven the demand of bricks in the country at a steady rate in last two decades.

According to the Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association, 7,707 brick kilns produce around 30- 33 billion bricks every year in the country. Geographically 366 of these brick kilns are located in Barisal division, 1,529 in Chattogram, 256 in Sylhet, 2,295 in Dhaka, 873 in Khulna and 1,176 in Rajshahi division of the country.

According to Abu Bakr, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Brick Manufacturers Association, “Brick industry in the country is growing by about 10 % every year. The USD 2.53 billion industry accounts for approximately 1 percent of GDP and generates employment for more

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1

than a million people. It consumed 3.350 billion cubic feet of clay and uses 5.68 million tonnes of coal every year.”

The Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners’ Association (BBMOA) and Association of Auto Brick Manufacturers (AABM) are two key brick sector associations in Bangladesh. With 4100 members, BBMOA speaks for almost 90% of brick enterprises in Bangladesh. Similarly, AABM is a newly formed association of

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Analysis: Bricks

Population percentage in Tier 1

HHK and TK owners that already represents 41 brick enterprises.

Formed in 2014, AABM works on behalf of medium to large-scale automatic brick technologies in Bangladesh and strives towards creating a favourable policy and regulatory framework for auto brick industry. AABM has been actively pursuing with Ministry of Industry to declare HHK and TK technologies as an Industry.

Last year, Bangladesh’s parliament passed the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, aiming to make the existing law stricter. The proposed law is a modified version of the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013 which came into effect in July 2014, clearly prohibiting conventional technologies in the brick-making industry. As per the bill, the establishment of brick fields in residential, protected, commercial and agricultural areas, and also in forests, sanctuaries, wetlands and Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) is prohibited.

Nepal

Smallest of the four countries in South Asian region, Nepal has a vibrant brick production sector, which has flourished in recent years due to spate of new constructions. The construction sector is the sixth largest economic sector in Nepal after agriculture, trade, transport/communications, real estate, and education.

According to the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN), the construction industry contributes 10-11% to national GDP, and uses approximately 35% of government budget.

The brick industry has grown steadily in the aftermath of 2015 earthquake, due to huge demand for new and reconstructed buildings. In an economy where brick has been the preferred building material, this surge in demand for buildings is certain to increase the demand of bricks in the coming years.

There are approximately 1700 brick kilns operating in Nepal with an annual production of 6.5 billion bricks. Around 8% of the total brick kilns operate in Kathmandu Valley. MCKs and FCKs are the most widely used technologies in Nepal, although efforts are now underway to switch from MCKs to FCKs and/or ZZKs with technical support from bilateral agencies, international NGOs and private sector experts. VSBK has not succeeded much despite technical assistance from Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC).

After the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015, there has been an increasing trend towards reinforced concrete structures in Nepal. Many believe that these are much more resilient than the conventional brick structures. The ones particularly suitable for earthquake prone areas (with medium to high earthquake resistance) are ferro cement wall panels, rat trap bond brick masonry, autoclaved aerated concrete blocks, hollow and solid concrete blocks. There are, however, only a handful of concrete block manufacturing plants – ten in Kathmandu Valley and six outside. Concrete blocks have relatively lesser market penetration in Nepal as compared to prefabricated wall panels, for instance. Much of concrete blocks, prefabricated wall panels, ferro cement wall panels and autoclaved aerated concrete blocks are imported to Nepal from India and China.

1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2021

3 4 5 6 9 11 12 13

Popula4on percentage in Tier 1 Indian ci4es

Table 1

Clamps/DDK MCK FCK HDK/ZZK VSBK HK TK

100,000 100 40,000 3,000 100 500 4

Brick kilns by type - India (no.)

1 Table 1

Clamps/DDK MCK FCK HDK/ZZK VSBK HK TK

50 0 180 15 0 2 0

Output by kiln type - India (billion bricks)

1

Covid impact

Covid 19, the most disruptive force in the recent history has had a deep impact on the brick production and consumption

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Analysis: Bricks

in the South Asia region. The impact of lockdowns and lull in construction has been different for the different countries of the region.

India, which has the second highest number of Covid 19 cases globally imposed a strict lockdown for a period of more than two months was the worst affected country from bricks industry point of view. Brick production and consumption in the other countries of the region was also impacted for a period ranging between one to two months period.

Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, a former office-bearer of Brick Kiln Association of Amritsar, Punjab, “Covid 19 induced lockdown has impacted brick industry in India in a very adverse manner. If before the lockdown, we produced ten million bricks in a season, the capacity sharply declined to just 1 million for a period of more than 4 months (April- July).

Without the required number of labour, we had to make do with the local labour, which limited our output. Also, since most of the brick-kiln owners had to support their units during lockdown, the finances required for increased manufacturing were not available. The brickkiln industry might take at least two to three years to be back on track as the amount of financial losses incurred by the owners are huge. Banks are not supportive and restructuring of loans will further add to the debt of owners. People who have made huge investments in setting up kilns have already lost all their surplus resources and are looking to just survive post lockdown.”

Technology

The technologies widely used for brick making in South Asia have not changed much for more than a century and are very inefficient, unproductive and highly polluting. The dominant technologies being used are Clamp Kilns (CKs), Mobile Chimney Kilns (MCKs), Fixed Chimney Kilns (FCKs) and Zigzag Kilns (ZZKs).

The relatively advanced technologies like Hoffman Kilns (HKs), Hybrid Huffman Kilns (HHKs) and Tunnel Kilns (TKs) are in limited number despite both domestic and international push towards adopting cleaner brick producing technologies.

The adoption of cleaner brick technologies in South Asia is impeded by various overlapping barriers. Some are specific to a particular country while the others are generally true for the entire region.

Modern brick technologies are complex in operation and

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require sophisticated maintenance, traditional brick operators must rely on external service providers for technical assistance, training of workers and other post-sales services. There are, however, not enough service providers in the market who are competent in advanced technologies for brick production.

Major issues

Substitutes of bricks such as concrete blocks have started to make their presence felt in the South Asia region in last few years. Though, usage of these substitutes has been observed in some niche segments in the major metro cities in these countries. But, speedier and quality construction with the assistance of these blocks is expected to pose stiff competition to brick usage over wider geography in coming years.

In India, bricks and blocks made of fly ash has also emerged as major substitutes, particularly in flooring applications. In particular government and private institutional users have emerged significant users of these products for flooring in last two years.

Manoj Kumar Pillai, Managing Director – Forest Press Machineries Limited says, "There is a considerable market for fly ash bricks in India primarily because of the fact that fly-ash is the cheapest construction material and is available in enormous quantities in the country on account of 200 thermal power plants. In a market like India there is space for everything, whether it's a product or machinery. But the word sustainability means a lot for different divisions of the society. Definitely the quality and price play a vital role. To sustain, we need to offer best quality products with affordable prices and to achieve the quality we need good technology."

High pollution emitted by brick kilns in the region has been a major deterrence for the growth of brick production in the region.

For example, Indian brick production sector is one of the main causes of environmental pollution due to high usage of coal and degradation of top soil. If we compare coal consumption by the brick sector in the two largest brick producing countries globally, we will see glaring gap in the efficiency of India’s brick production sector. China’s advanced 80,000 kilns manufacture around 1 trillion bricks annually using only 50 million tonnes of coal. On the other hand, almost 143,000 kilns in India burn 60 million tonnes of coal to produce 270 billion bricks.

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Analysis: Bricks

Puri in focus

Brick-kiln units have been fighting the battle of existence in the lockdown. Rakesh Mohan Puri, owner of Puri Brick Kiln Industry, established in 1992, says the lockdown has put brick-kiln units on the verge of closure and a shortage of labour will have a longterm effect on the industry. In an interview with Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi, Puri, who is also the general secretary of the Brick-Kiln Industries' Association, Hoshiarpur, throws light on ways to keep the units functional amid testing times.

How has lockdown affected brick-kiln units?

The lockdown has badly hit brick-kiln units. In most of the units, there is no production. Migrant labourers are not available as most of them had not returned after Holi. Some labourers who are present here are also ready to leave as the government is facilitating their movement to their native states.

Do you expect resumption of work in near future?

It seems to be an impossible task in near future. We have not been able to operate brick-kiln units. Besides, labourers, specialised in kiln operations, are not available. If the current scenario remains for some more time, most of the units won't be able to resume work even in the winter season.

Has your any investment or major order been cancelled or deferred?

Most of the orders have been cancelled for the time being. There are no buyers as the construction work has come to a halt.

How are you dealing with the issue of paying salaries to workers?

With zero income, we have used our bank credit limits. Besides, we have also spent the amount reserved for raw materials and coal and personal savings. In some cases, we have to borrow more money for some necessary things.

Is the lockdown an opportunity or a challenge?

There are multiple challenges in front of us, including retaining labourers and arranging liquidity to meet the expenditures. The overall challenge is to survive in these testing times.

What should be done for the growth of the industry?

There is a need for more projects. Efforts should be made to generate sufficient demand for bricks. Labour movement should be facilitated, but migrant labourers should not be sent to their native states. They should be encouraged to stay and work here.

It is completely a labour-oriented industry and without sufficient labourers, we can't operate.

What do you expect from the government?

We don't seek any special packages or financial assistance, but the government should consider decreasing the interest rates on credit limits and loans. The existing bank credit limits should be extended and interest rates be lowered to somewhere around the interest paid upon savings by the banks.

Emissions regulations - India Type of brick kiln

Standard (maximum permissible emission limit) for total PM emission (in mg/Nm3 measured at stack port17)

FCK (Production capacity < 15,000 bricks/day) FCK (Production capacity > 15,000 bricks/day) DDK18

1000

VSBK

250

750 1200

Distribution of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban population Year Class -1 cities ( Class- II towns population more than ( population 100,000) between 50,000100,000) 2021* 11 % 4% 2011 10 % 4% 2001 8% 3% 1991 7% 3% 1981 6% 3% 1971 4% 2% 1961 2% 2% 1951 1% 2%

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Class- III towns ( Population between 20,00050,000) 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%

Class IV, V and VI towns ( population between 5,000 and 20,000) 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 4% 5%

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Analysis: Bricks

kilns found that the retrofitted fixed chimney kiln (IFCK) fared competitively against newer technologies VSBK and HHK in terms of private profit, but lagged far behind in terms of net There are two options for improving energy and emissions social profit. On average, the retrofit approach improved energy (both CO2 and SPM) performance in the brick sector without efficiency by 20% and reduced PM emissions by 50%. The newer changing the type of fuel used: (i) retrofitting existing kilns, and technologies, however, demonstrated 30% greater reduction (ii) replacement of existing kilns by construction of new kilns in PM emissions and 20-30% greater energy efficiency than that use superior technologies. Each option differs in investment retrofitted kilns. needs as well as energy efficiency and emission improvement.

Before drawing any conclusions on retrofitted vs. newer Retrofitting refers to upgrade or improvement of different technologies, one should also look into respective country aspects of the current kiln design and structure, and includes contexts. In Bangladesh, for instance, most FCK owners but is not limited to interventions such as design improvement operate in lowlands where land prices are cheaper, and to create additional recirculation zones, redistribution of heat operation of newer technologies requires flood-free highlands supply, widening of the drying yards, improvement of the roof that are comparatively expensive or completely unavailable. structure, addition of better preheat combustion system and Furthermore, newer technologies such as HHK and TK typically larger cooling air systems, mechanization and automation of require much greater investment capital, and financing options kiln operation, and better kiln insulation. Retrofitting does not may be limited for traditional brick sector operators. Other require kiln relocation. Larsen (2016) has found that retrofitting barriers such as limited know-how or unproven demand provides no substantial production benefits, but offers significant for different brick types may also dissuade technology energy savings and thus cost reductions. switching versus retrofitting. In many cases, this is also A World Bank report (World Bank, 2011) found that both because entrepreneurs are not even aware of financially and retrofitted and new technologies provide pollution reduction environmentally profitable technology options available in and energy efficiency gains, but the gains are moderate in case the market. In such circumstances, and others where market of retrofitted ones and considerable in case of new ones as and non-market barriers may impose limiting parameters compared to the traditional FCKs. For instance, HHK reduces on technology choices, retrofitting might be the most costCO2 emissions effective option, Comparison of emissions and specific energy consumption of different brick kilns by almost double or simply the only the amount and Kilns Average Emission Factor (g/kg of fired bricks) Average Average SEC viable option. The PM emissions SEC Coal (MJ/kg fired adoption of newer SPM PM10 PM2.5 SO2 NOx BC consumpt brick) multiple times technologies will be ion (tons of than by retrofitted shaped by a number coal/100,000 technologies. of interventions bricks)* From the labor such as associated 1.6 1.6 0.97 3.6 0.069 0.29 42 2.9 Clamp/D perspective, economic DK although both incentives (e.g.

2.2 0.36 0.21 3.6 0.069 0.17 21/24 1.3/1.5 green subsidies), retrofitted and new FCK/ MC K technologies reduce technical/ 0.31 0.20 0.12 0.88 0.061 0.035 17 1.3 technological ZZK/HD labor hardship K by introducing support and 0.13 0.18 0.11 0.54 n/a 0.002 13 VSBK mechanization assistance from 0.8 features, only the the government 0.31 0.24 0.029 14 1.2 as well as brick newer technologies HK 0.15 0.62 0.003 such as HHK and sector associations, TK, unlike FCKs, effective 0.23 0.15 0.15 14 1.2 enforcement of TK IFCKs and IZZKs, 0.09 0.67 0.001 operate yearexisting regulations *for a 3kg brick with a size of Bangladeshi brick in South Asia round, eliminating and policies (e.g. the issues of ban on FCK in A comparison of different types of brick production technologies seasonal migration Bangladesh), Different Brick Coal Particulate Co2 emission Annual and allowing the and introduction kilns technology consumption/ Matter mg/ cm3 ton/100,000 production workers and their of regulations 100,000 bricks bricks (million) families to receive and policies 20.22 > 1000 47-52 3.5-4 Fixed Chimney social benefits that incentivize Kiln ( FCK) guaranteed by the adoption of 16-18 600-900 38-43 3.6 Zig zag kilns the employment. cleaner forms 65 33 5.4 Improved zig zag 14 A cost-benefit of brickmaking analysis done by the Hybrid Hoffman 12-14 technologies, 20.3 28-33 24 World Bank (2011) including non-fired kiln for Bangladeshi ones.

18-22 16 50 24-48 Tunnel kiln

Retrofitting vs. adoption of newer technologies

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

CAMERAS, AUTOMATION, DIGITIZATION AND REMOTE PROCESSES FOR BMR LINES

The evolution of the ceramic sector towards solutions capable of complementing high aesthetic and functional levels has led to the creation of new sizes and the need for new processes, which companies specialized in production technologies have interpreted with foresight.

BMR has once again shown that it has a strategic vision of the market, characterized by an international and futuristic perception of the sector, by a DNA strongly focused on research and innovation and has further developed its 4.0 technologies according to a digital approach that allows a process automation capable of guaranteeing complete remote efficiency, the most advanced production standards, with the collection of diagnostic and predictive data.

TopSquadraDry 4.0 with camera system is the first direct example of this evolution and presents new features and numerous advantages.

The new generation and fully automated dry squaring machine, in addition to the camera system, has an optical unit for each spindle, complete with protection and cleaning system, measuring laser units, and a control station complete with PC and management software. This set-up allows switching from a purely electromechanical context to one that is also computerized and interactive.

One of the main benefits is the ability to make all the tools work in the best way: in fact, their annual cost - according to BMRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s findings with the camera system - is on average 25% lower than that found with the traditional squaring machine.

In fact, fewer resin grinding wheels are used and also,

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thanks to the camera system, it is possible to use almost all the grinding wheelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abrasive, thus also reducing the problem of disposal. Then tile chipping and breakage decreases markedly and production downtime decreases thanks to the predictive maintenance function and real-time planning and tracking tools for the intervention of the technical teams. This allows a greater continuity and a consequent increase in production, a greater size change speed, with the right sized material from the first piece, and a reduction in processing waste.

Furthermore, the operator can have full control of the process, working from the workstation outside the cabin or even more remotely: he can view the flames coming from contact of the tools with the passing tiles - and therefore check the correct removal function - and intercept any defects. In this case too, compared to traditional technology, the camera system has allowed BMR to record an average increase of 2% of the first choice tiles, getting closer to 100%.

And it is precisely the possibility of working totally remotely that is the real plus of BMRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new digital evolution, an upgrade that allows a reduction in the need for on-site operators in favour of streamlining resources and a better quality of work.

In fact, the possibility of working remotely is a great advantage for the current market, which has been able to witness its enormous benefits, especially during the recent health difficulties. It can take place both during installation and start-up, and during actual production.

Thanks to stateof-the-art learning technologies and software platforms, the machines can communicate with each other and with operators in natural language,

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

making the start-up of the line installed anywhere in the world easy to do via remote-control. In this way, in addition to cancelling the problems and the timing dictated by distances, it is possible to intervene at any time and from any location immediately, addressing the processing dynamics - from installation to startup, in fact - just in time with qualified technical staff, able to support the customer from start to finish. This is a new way of managing production and company that aims at optimizing resources to guarantee ever better quality: in support, production, efficiency.

In the traditional squaring process, each line requires the presence of an operator, situated in a soundproof cabin with ear defenders. From here micro-adjustments to the positioning of the single spindle are made, while looking at the ammeters. This procedure hardly allows full processing efficiency since these operations require simultaneity.

• display / set production data of the connected machines; • alarm signals and list of alarms present in the department; • display / save alarm history and statistics, which can be recalled by date and / or production batch; • display the list of maintenance work to be carried out in the department; • remote access to the system through various access channels.

Thanks to the synergy of these digital solutions, BMR's TopSquadraDry 4.0 squaring line is completely automated, with the possibility of remote management and data control. It can be connected to cutting and splitting machines in order to minimize production waste and raise production to the highest levels.

Intelligent warehouse management is a logical consequence.

Then, as the lines increase, the number of personnel employed per shift increases proportionally.

The squaring machine with cameras, on the other hand, requires just one operator per shift, regardless of the number of active lines (or in any case up to 5/6 lines), who can work outside the cabin or even remotely from any location. All micro-adjustments are performed by a fully automatic system and without stopping the line, and can be implemented more frequently and quickly than the traditional system.

The operator becomes an expert process technologist who, based on his experience, is able to programme the processing recipes and delegate ordinary control activities to the system.

The system also allows having machine diagnostics and a predictive ability on production thanks to the ability to record and save all information regarding the consumption, duration and efficiency of the grinding wheels.

The same process can be applied to BMR lapping and polishing lines, thanks to the improvements that have been made recently BMR strongly believes in this technological implementation and in the development of production strategies that focus on the digital approach, in order to guarantee the highest performances, and believes that it can be a lasting response to the needs of ceramic production to guarantee maximum efficiency, the reduction of waste and data management.

For further information: BMR S.p.A. – via G.Fattori, 6 - 42019 Scandiano (RE), Italy – Tel. +39 0522 857868 – 985123

• Several operations can be performed with BMR software:

bmr@bmr.it

• department operational status display;

www.bmr.it

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Analysis: Freight

Fretting ov "buy local" to soar in '21?

With the trading world in turmoil following the wave of lockdowns this year, the basic underpinning economy of freight that holds the whole system together has been thrown into total chaos. AC looks at how soaring rates are holding back deliveries and potentially changing ceramic buying and sourcing strategies for many countries

T

his year, more than ever, freight has had a massive bearing on financial viability for much of Asia’s manufacturing industry. China and India in particular have seen competitive edges eroded by soaring shipping rates, particularly in light of availability.

When you couple this with the fact that a rising “make it at home” feeling is seeping through ceramics manufacturers globally, then it might be that some of the biggest suppliers in the world are going to be squeezed even harder in the next six months.

It works both ways of course. Shipping machinery, and bulk raw materials, has also become more expensive, pushing companies to potentially re-examine their sourcing needs. On the one hand, this could be good news for domestic support industries, giving them the confidence to upgrade their offerings. However, for Europeans, and suppliers of high tech equipment and advanced grades of raw materials this has eaten into profit margins.

As we said in these very pages right at the start of this pandemic, there will be long-term effects on the ceramic supply sector and this rise in freight prices is undoubtedly one of those compounding factors that is going to have a big effect. Indeed, governmental pressure – as we will see – is already coming to bear on shipping companies by authorities fearful of losing their pre-eminence as a global supplier and being priced out. Add to that a growing, but still nascent, isolationist-approach by countries now determined to not be reliant on imports (many fingers have been burned because of that this year), and the imposition (and re-imposition and enlargement) of anti-dumping duties and it seems that the ceramic industry is, on one level, heading for a time of less co-operation and globalisation.

Quite what this means for the “Silk Road” concept in China one can only guess. Certainly, influence in emerging economies is going to be hindered for the immediate term as freight rates to

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those destinations essentially make the reasons for shipping there pointless. We are seeing change, that is certain.

Locking down recovery?

China’s world-beating economic rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is being blunted by a global shortage of shipping containers, sending cargo costs to record highs and hampering manufacturers in filling fast-recovering global goods orders.

Exports from China surged 21% in November from a year ago as the country’s mammoth industrial engine cranked out mountains of appliances, toys, clothes, personal protective equipment and other items currently in high demand around the world.

But due to China’s lopsided trade balance - exporting three containers for every one imported recently - and delays in containers returning to China due to the pandemic overseas, a severe shortage is now starting to pinch export flows. Roughly 60% of global goods move by container, and according to United Nations trade data there are close to 180 million containers worldwide.

“We have so many orders but just cannot ship things,” said one ceramic exporter in the export manufacturing hub of Yiwu in Zhejiang province who supplies U.S. retailers such as Walmart and Home Depot.

“Boxes are piling up at our factory and we don’t have much space left. It’s just hard to book containers, and everyone is bidding for them with high prices,” he said.

Average container turnaround times have ballooned to 100 days from 60 days previously because of COVID-19-related handling capacity cuts in Europe and the United States, according to the China Container Industry Association (CCIA), and that has exacerbated the shortage. U.S. importers already reported problems with shipment delays in November.

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Analysis: Freight

ver freight

The grounding of much of the global international passenger air fleet - which often also carries cargo - has also boosted demand for maritime freight.

With little change in prospect before coronavirus vaccines are rolled out globally, changing the dynamics of trade and freight, shipping rates have spiked as a result. The cost of chartering a 40-foot container from China to the U.S. East Coast scaled a record $4,928 in December, up 85% since June 1, according to Freightos data in Refinitiv Eikon.

Rates to Europe have jumped 142% over the same period, and by 103% to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

The rates for some shorter-haul - and lower-margin - routes have jumped by even more. The Ningbo Containerised Freight Index from China to Singapore/Malaysia soared nearly 300% between early October and early December as a bidding war for shipping space broke out among Southeast Asian exporters.

Container manufacturers have expanded shifts and boosted capacity to try to keep up with demand, but are still falling short.

Monthly output in China - which accounts for 96% of global production - hit a five-year high of 300,000 units in September, according to CCIA data.

Output has stayed high since, but shortages of steel, floor

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timber and qualified welders are seen capping further gains, CCIA said. Unless exactly sized to precise specifications and securely reinforced, containers risk splitting in the process of being loaded aboard ships.

Distorted trade flows in and out of consumer markets which are importing more and exporting less than normal due to the pandemic have also led to a record build-up in containers outside China.

The Port of Los Angeles, the top U.S. container port, imported 3.5 containers for every single one it exported in October, and shipped a record 326,000 empty containers that month, according to shipping organisation BIMCO.

The “undercover” market

Still, reduced overall outbound processing rates mean suppliers across Asia continue to struggle securing passage for their goods.

Sensing a profit-making opportunity, some private Chinese firms have been stockpiling containers which are made available to the highest bidder.

“Now there is a mafia. You pay extra to get access to containers from private yards, not shipping yards,” said a Yiwu-based vendor of household goods, toys and stationery.

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Analysis: Freight

“Each container can cost 3,000 RMB, which is almost $500, and the freight is already three times higher than normal. Everyone’s making money, but we aren’t making money,” “Right now waiting time for container is two to four weeks. I still don’t know if I will have container or not,” said the vendor, who would not give his name as he was not authorised to speak to media.

Some lament they can’t buy their way onto vessels, no matter the price.

“Sometimes, carriers won’t book shipping space even when you’re paying them double,” said a freight forwarder at Ningbobased Southwest Logistics Group.

“In the past, shipping rates on a container to South America, for example, at most cost $3,000, and that’s a sky-high price.

But now even if you’re paying $6,000, shipping companies can’t guarantee your spot,” said the official, who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to media.

As a result, shipping associations in South Korea, Malaysia and elsewhere have requested government support in offsetting surging freight costs, while others are opting simply to try to sell more goods at home.

Still, others have little choice but to pay up.

“Sometimes, it’s just an endless wait until you run out of patience and ask them ‘how much do you want?’,” said Hill Xiao, who runs an export business in southern China’s Guangdong province that helps factories sell tiles and sanitaryware overseas.

“If you can’t get a container, you cannot ship things, and you can’t get the money. It really weighs on our cash flows,” Hill said.

Industry observers expect the container tightness to persist until coronavirus vaccines are rolled out widely and more global travel resumes.

“We’re seeing an unusually high demand for goods globally, which is likely to cool as we move into 2021 because of the (expected) service-led recovery, particularly in Western economies,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economics Research at HSBC. “At the same time, some of the logistical bottlenecks, namely a lack of passenger aircraft that can carry cargo, should ease as well once we have a vaccine rolled out.”

Government pressure

China is putting pressure on CMA CGM, one of the world’s biggest shipping companies, to keep a lid on record container freight costs, which have been driven up by a recovery in demand following the coronavirus pandemic. “The market is so strong that they feel, the Chinese authorities, that at one point in time there needs to be a ceiling,” said Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive of

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Marseille-based CMA CGM has said recently. “And that is why they are saying you cannot do whatever you want, there are rules that need to be followed.”

The Chinese transport ministry is particularly concerned that higher freight rates would slow exports to the US and “watching extremely carefully what is happening”, added Mr Saadé, without saying if he would cap or cut rates. The cost of shipping goods has jumped worldwide in the past few months as factories in Asia reopened and cargo capacity was quickly used up, forcing up transport costs to western shores.

This followed the cancellation of hundreds of trips at the outset of the pandemic. Freight costs on routes between China and the west coast of the US began to increase over the summer as American companies bolstered heavily depleted inventories caused by shocks to supply chains earlier in the year, and as people stuck at home shopped online.

“Usually in the US when people go to work, they will stop by a Starbucks, buy a muffin and a coffee . . . But now they cannot go to the office, they are staying at home, they need to have breakfast, they need toasters,” said Mr Saadé.

“So they are buying heavily from China, I mean, millions of toasters via Wal-Mart, via Amazon, via Costco, via whomever. And we ship them,” added Mr Saadé, who has co-opted ships from other routes to try to meet demand.

Overcrowding combined with occasional bad weather has also caused serious delays at ports.

“If I take China or Asia to north Europe, usually we would spend two days in a Chinese port to fill up cargo. Now, we are spending maybe six, maybe seven days,” said Mr Saadé. Rates from Asia to Europe had been increasing more gradually until last week, when prices jumped by 21 per cent as global capacity shortages worsened.

Prices into Australia and Brazil are also on the rise, with the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index, which tracks container spot rates out of Asia, up by about 150 per cent on this time last year. Lars Jensen, chief executive at SeaIntelligence Consulting, said: “There is such a shortage of vessels and empty containers now that there is no ceiling to how high these rates could go. It is down to how much shippers are willing to pay.” Yet higher freight rates were unlikely to be passed on to consumers, said Mr Jensen, since the cost of transporting goods accounts for a sliver of their final retail price.

The soaring rates have been a boon to companies such as CMA CGM, which was facing intense scrutiny from investors at the start of the summer — the value of the privately held company’s debt had plummeted as bondholders worried about losses. Those fears faded after CMA CGM won a €1bn state-backed loan from banks in May and the group is generating significant free cash and able to pay back $700m in debt ahead of schedule, including $100m of

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

THE DIGITAL FREEDOM IS BORN! SITI B&T Group presents INNOVA by Projecta Engineering

SITI B&T Group, manufacturer of complete ceramic systems, presents INNOVA: the FULL DIGITAL LINE by Projecta Engineering. A modular and flexible line, capable of opening new graphic frontiers in digital printing, thanks to the most innovative technologies for any size.

INNOVA GLAZE

Innova Glaze is the first solution of this digital printing process. A combined technology for glaze (smaltobbio) and protection, with Seiko 360 dpi definition heads with a laydown of 75 g/m2 at 25 m/ min, which guarantee a more uniform application offering greater versatility.

The digital application of the glaze (smaltobbio) through Innova Glaze 200 is 60g/m2 without any loss of material. This result significantly affects consumption, so much so that it has a 1:5 ratio compared to traditional application. There is also the possibility of a further reduction in emissions with the use of water-based technology, with low environmental impact.

INNOVA - From today the digital decoration has a new name.

Projecta Engineerging set new standards for the digital printing. There are no more limits, nothing is impossible. Anything can be fixed on the ceramic surface with resolution up to 720 dpi and 3D digital structures on layers, to invent new forms of decoration in full creative freedom and with a flexibility never seen before.

This technology allows to realize high definition graphics thanks to the stabilized transport, which ensures maximum precision and stability to the slab transit.

The workflow is managed by a next-gen software (SMART DROP) which allows for the optimal distribution of the dots and the automation of the printing registration.

The new alignment system allows independent adjustment in positioning each individual head within the colour bars, thanks to a dedicated optical device, to obtain micrometric precision and achieve even higher definition.

Thanks to INNOVA by Projecta Engineering, Siti B&T Group achieved and important technological goal concretized by the total absence of banding and by the extraordinary depth of dark and uniform hues.

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INNOVAFIX

Innovafix allows the application of adhesives for grit, innovative and complementary additives to complete and enhance the range of decorations that can be carried out on multiple layers.

This opens up new graphic frontiers on the digital structures, thanks also to the double glue application that allows the structure to be increased and new 3D effects to be explored This technology has a glue consumption control and a new feeding system (double PIAB) on reverse call, with a pressure gauge to control the pressure and the vacuum switch, capable of discharging over 1000 gr/m2 of grit. This allows a high amount of grit application to obtain the graphic effect called "mirror effect".

And not only: using Innovafix allows for less deformation and less breakage of the panel, thanks to the lower water content, and the reduction of the wear rate of the polishing discs.

Also in this case, the use of waterbased glue translates into a significant reduction of emissions into the atmosphere and odours due to combustion, which completely disappear.

THE SMART FACTORY OF INTERCONNECTED SYSTEMS

The FULL DIGITAL LINE embraces the concepts of smart factories: in fact it can be fully integrated into the bt-TUTOR supervision software, the solution developed by SITI B&T that allows monitoring, data collection and control of the entire system, interacting with production planning, preventive and predictive maintenance, as well as being equipped with a compatible cloud support for mobile devices and a user friendly operator interface.

THE AESTHETIC EXCELLENCE OF THE PANELS

Thanks to the aesthetic contribution of the Full Digital Line and thanks to the innovative SuperaÂŽ technology, SITI B&T Group is able to offer a new generation of panels never before seen on the market.

Panels with through veins, structures, thicknesses up to 30 mm, glossy products and digital finishes are just some of the aesthetic excellences that can be made. The only limit is fantasy.

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Analysis: Freight

the lower-cost state-backed loan. Mr Saadé said the $30bn revenue group is focused on growing its logistics business, which brings in $8bn a year after the acquisition of its Ceva logistics arm in 2018. It is also pushing to make itself carbon neutral by 2050 and recently launched the world’s largest containership powered by liquefied natural gas. And although CMA CGM still has to carry about $18bn in debt, with roughly half related to ships that have been chartered for more than one year, Mr Saadé is optimistic: “Volumes are up. We expect the year 2020 to be a good year.”

Overland options

The sea freight cost increases have also affected Wang Xin, a sea freight export manager at Kuehne+Nagel, who helps clients deliver products around the world by sea. His days have become even tougher during the past few months.

The problem is that shipping containers usually move back and forth along the same route, but interruptions to international trade caused by COVID-19 now mean that Table 1 many containers ship off to one port and then get stuck there. Many containers are being found on the wrong side of the ocean.

West and America 3.8shortage "It's booming carriers push up rates … equipment is everywhere.

Volume is suddenly booming and carriers East America 4.6 are not prepared Australia/New well," said Wang.Zealand 37.1 The imbalance between Composite indexthe rising demands of exporters 54.3 and the tight supply of containers is causing a worldwide challenge.

Middle East 74.8 Freight rates between Shanghai and the UK rose nearly four times East Japan 108 between March and November while rates from Shanghai to Los West Mediterranean 109 Angeles more than tripled.

Europe "I'm in the sea freight industry for almost 25 years.136.9 I've not seen Thailand/Vietnam such a situation before because there were times in232.5 the past where it was isolated to a single trade link," said Wong Siewloong, Singapore/Malaysia 297.2 president

of Asia Pacific at Kuehne+Nagel.

"During the European crisis, we saw the freight rate dropped to double-digit. But this time, the big difference is we are seeing the push of demand and supply imbalance across all trade links," said Wong.

Wong added that there's been a migration of orders from Southeast Asia to China as other countries within Asia were still in lockdown.

Traders suffer

The heaviest impact is being felt by China’s trading firms, such as Shanghai-based exporter Orient International Holding Shanghai Textiles Imp & Exp (Orient International).

The company said that its orders had doubled or tripled as of September. But the sudden rise in freight rates has turned the seemingly good news around. Mainly exporting fabrics to Europe, Africa and the U.S., the company has seen its freight rates more than triple since September. Currently, more than 50 percent of the company's deliveries are delayed, meaning big potential losses.

"We were planning to goods to Sudan”, said the company, “but unfortunately, when the goods were ready, we were informed by the shipping land that no space was available," said Jin Bo, a department manager at Orient International. "Until last week, they had hardly given us any space to let us ship the container."

He Wei, a business manager at Orient International, said a potential solution is to shift to land transportation.

"We are thinking of switching from sea to inland truck transportation. This will save us a lot of time. Although the price of inland transportation is double the price of sea freight, it will save time and especially help our factory catch up with their production plan," said He.

Change in container rates from China since October 2020 (%)

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Analysis: Freight

Though he said this is just a short-term solution as sea freight is irreplaceable for the large volumes and low costs that modern trade requires. He predicts that this round of rises in freight rates will continue at least until the spring of next year.

Raw materials squeezed

The combination of fewer vessels on the water, an imbalance in trade flows to and from China and competition between cargoes has kickstarted a rapid increase in shipping costs, making it harder for sellers to offer and for buyers to assess final prices.

One of the main routes affected by the disruption is the China to Europe sea route for container freight. Rapid increases in freight costs for destinations closer to China, such as India and Southeast Asia have completely imbalanced the market.

“We have seen a significant [increase] in freight rates from China to many seaborne markets. The latest freight to India was [quoted] at $2,000 per 20-foot [(6.1-meter)] container, while for the United States it was $4,000-5,000 per container,” a graphite producer said, adding that these prices were more than double previous costs.

“Freight rates are changing on a weekly basis, and sometimes faster. Even carriers don't know what to quote,” one mineral trader in China said.

At the heart of the disruption is a lack of shipping and the availability of container space at Chinese ports, which are leading to delays in shipments, longer lead times and soaring freight costs.

China’s material exports grew 11.4% in October, marking their quickest monthly increase in more than a year, with the country’s economy continuing to recover from the pandemic-induced weakness. In comparison, imports into China are growing at a slower rate - less than 5% in October.

This is creating is an imbalance in the distribution of containers, with many more container ships leaving China than are returning.

As a result, over the past two-three weeks the availability of empty containers at Chinese ports has tightened, sending costs and lead times soaring.

A raw material trader in China said: “For our shipments, the freight rates seem to change about three times in the same day. And even when the container is all set for shipping, there could be the risk of container being rolled over because of the heavy weight. We have never seen such a crazy shipping market.”

Heavy cargo issues and bulk shipments

Adding to the uncertainties for minerals and metals sellers is the competition between types of cargoes, which can lead ship operators to favor lighter products over heavy minerals or metals.

“It’s something that happens all the time when you have high demand for ships – your cargo, because it’s heavy, goes down in the priority queue,” one mineral trader said.

Another distributor added: “The ship operator will prefer to load a container full of TVs than one full of heavy raw materials. We have to

China's exports (all products, year on year, % change)

Jan-Dec 2019

Feb-Nov 2020

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Analysis: Freight

deal with that too, which causes further delays.”

In some instances, sellers have opted to ship their material in bulk carriers which, according to sources, have not experienced the same degree of disruption as container ships.

One trader said its bulk rate was fixed until Chinese New Year (the year of the Ox starts on February 12, 2021), so that gives them some clarity on short-term costs.

Another importer of refractory raw materials said: “Luckily, I have loaded a bulk vessel and it will be here in December.

Containers are impossible, it is not even just a question of price.

We have severe problems in supplies of everything for the rest of November and the first three weeks of December.”

Moving over to bulk vessels is, however, not an option viable to everyone. Small Handysize carriers - among the smallest dry bulk ships available - take 15,000-20,000 tonnes, which means the seller must have sufficient volumes to spread the cost.

“The problem is that you need a minimum of 8,000-10,000 tonnes just to fill a single hold. Not everyone has that,” the importer said.

The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) is backing India’s push for “all-inclusive” ocean freight rates, claiming carrier surcharges disproportionately impact cargo owners in developing countries.

Last week, Indian carriers and forwarders criticised the government’s plan to remove carriers’ ability to levy surcharges, arguing it would be unlikely to reduce costs and could put local

exporters at a competitive disadvantage.

However, the GSF claimed all-inclusive rates would bring “great benefit to Indian exporters and importers”, and vowed to “promote the concept widely among other maritime states that depend on exports and imports for economic growth”.

GSF secretary general James Hookham added: “Surcharges are the scourge of shippers’ budgets and 2020 has seen a dramatic increase in their scope and magnitude around the world.

“For years, shippers in developing countries have been bringing to the attention of their governments the fact that surcharges often surpass the quoted freight rates. They point out that surcharges have effectively become a hidden rate increase that is avoiding the normal processes of commercial negotiation and agreement.

“It is mostly developing nations and their SME exporters and importers, that are most impacted by this unbundling of freight costs.”

Mr Hookham argued that, while the EU and US had strong competition rules, many African and Asian states “lack equivalent mechanisms” to monitor and regulate anti-competitive practices.

He said Sri Lanka’s legal framework on “fair freight rates” was the example to follow.

Colombo-based Rohan Masakorala, a former secretary general of the Asian Shippers’ Council, said the law, effective since 2014, had been “very effective, as all hidden charges

China's imports (all products, year on year, % change)

Jan-Dec 2019

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were taken out”. telling The Loadstar: “Today we don’t have ‘plus-plus-plus’ freight rates.”

“We have no issue with carriers recovering costs, Sri Lankan law doesn’t interfere in the market process, and market forces decide the best prices – as long as it is an all-inclusive price without hidden and unfair fixed surcharges.”

He had some choice words for freight forwarders, too, claiming many operating in Asia and Africa had “gotten used to adding their own surcharges, as it was lucrative extra money until the law caught up with them”.

However, Sunil Vaswani, executive director of the Container Shipping Lines Association (India), claimed breaking freight rates down into separate charges was, in fact, the more transparent option. For example, he explained how the advent of containerisation had led to ports and other agencies formulating their own landside charges, which were at the time included in carriers’ all-in rates.

He added: “In the 1990s, therefore, importers and exporters expressed their desire to the shipping lines to see more transparency in their all-inclusive rates, by separating the shoreside costs from the ocean costs. Thus, these various other charges came into effect.

“Now, with the Draft Merchant Shipping Bill 2020, the situation would go full circle, back to earlier times and create less transparency rather than more.”

Nonetheless, he suggested, one option would be for carriers to consider displaying surcharges on the bill of lading instead of only on their respective websites – “if it helps the trade”.

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Credit crunch to come?

Eleanor Hadland, a ports analyst at the maritime consultancy Drewry, said "the whole global container supply chain is basically out of balance".

The system stopped working properly when economies in various parts of the world shut down and re-opened at different times, as they dealt with Covid-19, she said.

She warned the end result could resemble the credit crunch of 2008 when importers' lines of credit dried up.

"If the time it takes to receive goods at your shop is lengthening, you're having to find the cash to pay your suppliers sooner," she said, and that could have huge ramifications for global trade.

"What we're seeing is a trend away from globalised supply chains and people looking to buy goods regionally," she said.

Using the UK as an example, one paving importer said it would be “2-4 months” before things were “normal” or at least near to normal again.

"We're a start-up company, we've only been running a year, we've had Covid to contend with, and now we've got this," he said.

He says he is paying about £1,200 more per container in increased shipping costs which adds up.

The company also operates on a credit system, where suppliers in India are paid 30-60 days after the stock arrives in the UK but the delays at Felixstowe are making cash flow a problem.

"Ultimately it's [all] going to get passed on to the end consumer and landscaping companies who buy from us down the line," the company said.

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Talking Shop

Talking Shop In focus:

Iluka hopes for a brighter tomorrow AC talks to Christain Barbier, head of sales and marketing at Iluka Resources about how this raw material titan is facing up to the realities of the ceramics industry in a post-Covid environment…

AC: Thanks for talking to Asian Ceramics, Christian, perhaps you can give us a round-up of current Iluka zircon operations?

Christian Barbier: No problem – a pleasure. We presently operate in three principal locations, namely South Australia, Western Australia and Sierra Leone. Iluka’s Jacinth-Ambrosia operation in South Australia is the world’s largest zircon mine and produced around 260,000 Christian Barbier tonnes of product in 2019. Comprising two contiguous deposits, Jacinth and Ambrosia, the mine is located approximately 800 kilometres from Adelaide and 270 kilometres from the Port of Thevenard. The JacinthAmbrosia operation encompasses mining and wet concentration activities with heavy mineral concentrate transported to Iluka's Narngulu mineral separation plant in Western Australia for final processing. The operation is capable of processing up to approximately 1000 tonnes of ore per hour which equates to approximately 120 tonnes per hour of heavy mineral concentrate.

In Western Australia, we have a number of sites as this is the mineral processing hub of our Australian operations. The Narngulu mineral separation plant, near Geraldton, produces zircon and rutile final products. Iluka's operations at Capel, in south west Western Australia, produce synthetic rutile, an upgraded ilmenite product.

Narngulu and Capel also host the bulk of Iluka’s metallurgical expertise – an important aspect of the company’s technical development activities.

Cataby is a large predominantly chloride ilmenite deposit located approximately 150 kilometres north of Perth, in the Shire of Dandaragan. The operation (which commenced in Q2 2019) has an anticipated mine life of 8.5 years, with the possibility to extend this by a further four years.

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Finally we have our operation in West Africa, Sierra Leone to be exact. Employing more than 2,700 this is a major contributor to the economy there and runs as “Sierra Rutile”, a subsidiary of Iluka Resources. This is a multi-mine operation located in the south western districts of Bonthe and Moyamba. Sierra Rutile has the world’s largest natural rutile deposit and encompasses two operations at Lanti and Gangama; a mineral separation plant; and a dedicated port facility.

Sierra Rutile's main product stream is natural rutile but it also produces smaller quantities of ilmenite and zircon (in concentrate).

AC: How important is ceramic industry for Zircon miners/ producers. Approximately what percentage of global zircon production is consumed by ceramic industry?

Christian Barbier: The global ceramic industry consumes approximately half of the zircon produced in the world, so as a consequence it is the most important end-use segment for zircon producers. However not all zircons have the same ceramic performance, due to a variety of reasons, some linked to the geology of the deposit and others to the processing technology applied.

AC: Does the other important sub-segments- sanitary ware and tableware consume significant volumes of zircon or is it tile segments which accounts for bulk of the consumption?

Christian Barbier: Most of the zircon used in ceramics is applied in the production of ceramic tiles. Less than 10% is used in other segments of ceramics, sanitaryware and tableware.

AC: As mentioned by you in one of the recent presentations that Chinese ceramic tile industry share has decreased from 49 % in 2016 to 43.5 % in 2018. Do you see China’s share of ceramic tile reducing in coming years? Which countries do you see taking the China’s share in coming years?

Christian Barbier: China’s demand for ceramic tiles is underpinned by urbanisation, which is expected to remain an important socioeconomic trend in the country’s development goals. Although at lower growth rates than in previous years, China’s urbanisation rate has remained stable over the recent years. On exports, China’s tile exports

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Talking Shop

represent only ~10% of its production, but have decreased by about 17% between 2016 and 2018. This is being replaced by tile production from South Asia, Asean, Brazil and Turkey, and sometimes by Chinese “transplants” in these countries.

AC: How and to what degree has thrifting and substitution affected the Zircon consumption in ceramic tile industry. Is the thrifting and substitution pattern same in Asian countries (China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia) or the degree differs?

Christian Barbier: Thrifting, being the continued but reduced usage of zircon in formulations, is a natural option available to producers to overcome economic challenges. Substitution, as the complete replacement of zircon by another material in the formulation, has occurred in the past in some applications but not in ceramics, where the functionalities provided by zircon can’t be replaced completely.

The intensity of thrifting can be slightly different across the different production regions, in particular depending on the tile produced and the technologies used. Some thrifting examples are shifting the decoration to less-vivid and less-white designs (applied on lowmargin products, not on mid-to-high-end); use of whitening powders containing alumina (but still containing significant amounts of zircon) and use of lower-grade zircon (a form of slight dilution, with greater contaminants, again for lower quality end products).

AC: What has been the impact on zircon consumption in ceramic tile industry on account of digital printing and increased production of thinner tiles in recent years?

Christian Barbier: The digital printing technology has brought a lot of exciting changes to the ceramics industry as it has made creative and attractive decorations possible. On one hand it has allowed a more efficient usage of pigments and glazes that has reduced waste of materials during production and allowed the layer containing zircon to be thinner, hence allowing a thrifting of raw materials, including zircon. On the other hand, the digital printing technology has expanded the possibilities of new designs, more attractive ceramic tiles, and the development of new products, which opened new applications, such as on kitchen tops, furniture and decorative walls. These trends have made ceramic products more attractive to consumers, especially in the high-end segments, where greater definition of designs require greater intensity of zircon. So overall our observation is that the digital printing technology has in fact made the role of zircon in ceramic decoration even more important.

AC: Alumina suppliers have been claiming that it can be a good substitute for zircon in ceramic tile industry. What is your take on this?

Christian Barbier: Alumina has been used as one of raw materials in most ceramic formulations for a long time. It can be used as an additive whitener, but does not have the same performance as zircon.

Typically tile producers need to add substantially higher amounts of alumina (minimum 50% in weight), compared to zircon, in order to reach about a similar whiteness. However alumina’s opacifying power is quite limited and restricts its usage. In fact many forms of molten alumina are transparent, which brings the opposite outcome to an opacifier. This is why whitening powders based on alumina still contain a lot of zircon.

Another issue is the environmental footprint of alumina; a study undertaken by ThinkStep, an environmental consultancy, Centro Ceramico, the Italian ceramic institute, and the Zircon Industry Association, has shown that zircon-containing ceramic formulations exhibited substantially lower environmental impact (20% to 50% lower)

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WE ARE MONITORING VERY CLOSELY THE DYNAMIC MARKET CONDITIONS in all but one of the nine studied impact parameters.

AC: Covid 19 has been the biggest disruptive force in the recent memory. How has the pandemic impacted Iluka’s operations?

How do you see global ceramic industry faring in this year?

Christian Barbier: The lockdowns implemented as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have substantially affected the consumption of zircon in the markets that we serve, including ceramics, first in China during Q1 2020 and subsequently in Q2 2020 in the main markets of Europe, India and the Americas. Iluka implemented some changes in our operational settings in response to the market uncertainty, such as changes in mining sequence and mineral separation plant settings. All of these changes enable us to adapt to the new demand profile and to optimise our cash.

We are monitoring very closely the dynamic market conditions and managing our operational response accordingly. While the drop in ceramic production has been sudden, we’ve observed in the last two to three months a modest but gradual improvement in all the main ceramics clusters. We are cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue for the rest of the year, although Covid-19 has shown that we can’t take anything for certain at the moment.

Making the Grade Iluka’s zircon product range includes different qualities of zircon as well as zircon specifications to target specific intermediate and end market sectors. This is consistent with Iluka’s approach to utilise its well-developed logistics and distribution capability to efficiently deliver “fit for purpose” products to a wide range of customers around the world.

The main categories of zircon products are as follows: Premium – typically used for ceramics manufacturing (for example tiles, sanitary wear) but also for high tolerance casting/ foundry applications and additive manufacturing.

Universal and standard grade products – used for a range of applications, including digital printing, lower quality ceramics, zirconium chemicals, casting, foundry and other applications.

Zircon in concentrate – this typically residual non-magnetic material accumulated over time from Iluka operations that has been difficult or uneconomic to fully recover. Iluka monetises this product by selling directly to processors that market the product or by having the material toll-treated through off-shore facilities and then Iluka selling the product.

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Once

, a sizable force in Indian ceramic industry, state of West Bengal has lost much sheen with the emergence of Gujarat as ceramic manufacturing powerhouse in the country.

Situated on the eastern part of India stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south, state of West Bengal has a total area of 88,752 square kilometers (34,267 sq. mile). It is bounded by Sikkim and Bhutan on the north, by Nepal on the North West, by Bangladesh and Assam on the east, by Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa on the west and south-west and by Bay of Bengal on the south.

Once pioneer in the country, the state is now lagging behind others due to lack of modernization and technology upgradatiion in this sector. However, the state enjoys command in respect of some products over other states in the country. The important among them are ceramic insulator (LT & HT), fire clay & china clay on the raw material side and heavy clay products.

Leading ceramic, technology and ancillary suppliers Company

Location

Product Line

Salasar Tile Pvt Limited

Kolkata

Tirupati Wall & Floor Tiles

Kolkata

IFGL Ceramics Pvt Ltd

Kolkata

Ghosh Metal Works

Kolkata

Allied Ceramics Pvt Limited

Kolkata

High Duty Tiles Wall and Floor Tiles Technical Ceramics Technology Supplier Insulators

Arco Ceramics

Kolkata

Insulators

Associated Porcelain Private Limited

Kolkata

Insulators

Diamond Ceramics

Kolkata

Stoneware

GMB Ceramics Industries

Kolkata

Stoneware

India Potteries Limited

Kolkata

Insulators

Ceramic insulator production units are concentrated in Belghoria, Beleghata in Kolkata, North & South 24-Parganas, Howrah, etc. China clay beneficiation units are located in Birbhum and Bankura. Brick production units are located in most of the districts of the state.

Jaya Shree Insulators

Rishra

Insulators

Kamal Potteries Kumar Ceramics Private Limited

Kolkata

Artefacts Technical Ceramics

The state is a large base for the production of ceramic insulators.

Accounting for more than 30 % of the domestic ceramic insulators production, the state is home to Aditya Birla Insulators. The company is Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest manufacturer of electrical insulators and among the top four insulator manufacturers globally. The company has a total installed manufacturing capacity of 56,400 TPA. Out of this, a capacity of 36,000 TPA is located at Rishra in the state of West Bengal.

Reliance Potteries

According to Mainak Das, CEO, Reliance Potteries, "It is sad to say that West Bengal has not realised its true potential in ceramic manufacturing in the country. The Indian insulator market looks very promising and is likely to grow at 25-30 per cent for the next five years. Ceramic insulators are ideal for our weather conditions as they can withstand the high temperatures in various parts of the country and also endure pollution. Though the initial cost is higher compared to polymers, the rejection rate is lower. The lack of raw material is becoming a problem. Another challenge is the high prices of oil and diesel. It would be good if

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Kolkata

SG Chemicals

24 Paraganas Kolkata

Insulators

Santi Ceramics

Kolkata

Insulators

Satavisha Ceramics Private Limited

24 Paraganas

Tableware

Kolkata

Insulators

Kolkata

Insulators

Techno Ceramics Private Limited Uco Ceramics

Insulators

Ganguli Ceramics Kolkata Glaze and Frits the government promotes natural gas which would also be more environment-friendly."

Based in Kolkata, Reliance Potteries manufactures and exports high tension electro-porcelain insulators and has a plant that manufactures a wide range of ceramic and ESP insulators to handle different voltage capacities.

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St ate of We st Be n ga l Sudhakar Sampat, CEO of Sampat Ceramics Private Limited, a leading producer of ceramic insulator says, “ With one of the lowest labour costs in the country, state of West Bengal can again emerge as a leading force in country’s ceramic manufacturing industry. However, government must make a number of enabling policies to promote the development of industry in the state.”

In addition to ceramic insulators, West Bengal is also one of the major heavy clay producing state in India. India produces an estimated 250-260 billion bricks (word estimated and large range is due to the fact that a substantial part of total production goes unreported) from more than 140,000 small, medium and a few large scale brick kilns. West Bengal accounts for about 15 % of the total bricks produced in the country. Low labour costs in the state is one of the major reason of flourishing of heavy clay industry in the state.

Indian brick industry is known for high usage of obsolete technology in brick production. However, brick production in the state of west Bengal is in stark contrast with the brick production in the rest of the country. Brick kilns in West Bengal started shifting to high draft zig zag model more than two decades ago. According to ,Vice-president of the All-India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation and president of the brick manufacturers’ federation in West Bengal, Ashok Kumar Tewari, “Currently there are nearly 7,000 brick kilns in West Bengal.

Brick producer in the state have adopted to newer and modern technology in the recent years. In fact, brick producers in the state are able to produce 90% good quality bricks, which is far higher than the other states. This also helped us get better price since there were more good quality bricks.”

Aditya Birla Insulators

Aditya Birla Insulators is India’s largest manufacturer of electrical insulators and is amongst the top four insulator manufacturers globally. It produces the widest range of insulators in India including insulators for transmission lines & substations up to 1200 kV voltage level, as well as equipment & railways. Its total installed manufacturing capacity is 56,400 TPA with specialisation in both ceramic and composite insulators. In addition to Rishra plant, the company set up Aditya Birla Power Composites Limited (ABPCL), a joint venture with Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbH of Germany in 2019 to set up a state-of-the-art CHCI manufacturing plant at Halol, Gujarat.

Ganguli Ceramics

Based in Kolkata (West Bengal, India), Ganguli Ceramics is a producer of ceramic and vitreous enamel frits, glazes, bonding frits and inorganic pigments.

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West Bengal is also one of the major heavy clay producing states in India Ceramic insulator capacity/output Company 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Ceramic insulators 93,208 98,100 101,200 101,200 101,200 installed capacity (tpa) Actual 82,200 84,100 87,000 86,600 86,200 production Number of 26 25 25 25 25 producing units

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THE

TRADE M COUNTING THE COST: PROFITS OR PLANET?

In a return of “the Matrix”, AC looks at how the growing pressure of air pollution and climate change is pressing down hard on the ceramics sectors of the sub-continent Consumption of one fossil fuel over another will, on its own, not offer a long-term solution to climate change, but employing less emission-intensive fuels can reduce pollution significantly As the winter approaches, Delhi-NCR is under its annual envelop of smog. Caused by an unhealthy combination of low wind speed, change in wind direction, dip in temperatures and stubble burning in parts of North India, air pollution is back in the headlines and our daily lives. According to a study of 28 cities by IQAir and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, air pollution in Delhi-NCR was linked to the loss of an estimated 24,000 lives and 5.8 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first two quarters of this year, despite a strict COVID-19 lockdown since March. In fact, the linkage between rising air pollution levels and increase in COVID 19-related cases and deaths is being confirmed by several studies from around the world.

A recent study published in Cardiovascular Research, which was the first of its kind to distinguish between fossil fuel-related and other human-generated sources of air pollution, estimated that long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

The study estimated that about 15 per cent of deaths worldwide from the virus could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution. In Europe, the proportion was about 19 per cent, in North America it was 17 per cent and in East Asia about 27 per cent.

A recent study by Harvard University indicated that an increase of only one microgram per cubic metre in PM2.5 is associated with an eight per cent increase in the Coronavirus death rate. Long-term exposure to chronicallyhigh PM2.5 levels weakens the ability of the lungs to fight off infections, therefore making people more susceptible to COVID complications.

In 2016, the national Capital ranked third on a list of cities around the world reporting close to 15,000 deaths due to air

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pollution. Shanghai was ranked first among the cities with most premature deaths at 17,600, followed by Beijing with 18,200 premature deaths due to PM2.5 pollutants. A study undertaken by Lancet Planetary Health the following year stated that Delhi had recorded the highest annual populationweighted mean PM2.5 levels in its air. Further, in 2019, the World Air Quality Report, compiled by IQAir, listed Delhi on top of the list of the capital cities with most polluted air for the second consecutive year with annual PM2.5 levels nearly 10 times the limit prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Other prominent NCR cities were also listed among the top 10 cities in the world with most polluted air.

Source apportionment studies, such as the ones conducted by IIT Kanpur (2013-2014) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (2017), have pointed out that secondary particles are a significant contributor to PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in DelhiNCR, with industrial point sources being the top four major contributors to PM2.5. Polluting fuels such as coal, diesel, pet coke and heavy fuel oil used by industries in Delhi-NCR are a major reason for this.

In such a dismal scenario, natural gas provides a good alternative to not only meet the energy needs of industries, but also as a less polluting option that can contribute to addressing environmental problems. The burning of natural gas for energy results in lower emissions of green house gas (GHG), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and nearly all types of air pollutants in comparison to burning coal or other fossil fuels to produce an equal amount of energy. However, natural gas has not seen much penetration in industries, especially those situated in Delhi-NCR. According to British Petroleum, India’s share of natural gas in the energy mix is lower than many large economies. It had reached a mere 6.2 per cent in 2019; this when the Government aims to raise the share of natural gas in the country’s energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030.

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News

MATRIX Lowering emissions

Switching to natural gas and displacing polluting fuels has contributed to lower GHG emissions and improved air quality in New York, Toronto and Beijing, according to a 2015 report by the International Gas Union (IGU). The benefits of increasing the use of cleaner-burning natural gas in the industry were acknowledged and put into force by policymakers in Northern China in 2017 where the shift from coal to natural gas in industries led to extensive reduction in GHG and air pollution.

In Turkey, the industry around Istanbul, too, witnessed a reduction in air pollution as a result of switching from coallignite to natural gas in the early 2000s.

According to the 2019 World Energy Outlook special report analysis, an estimated 98 per cent of natural gas consumed today has lower life cycle emissions intensity than coal, when used for power or heat. The analysis incorporates both CO2 and methane emissions and indicates that, on an average, coal-to-gas switching reduces emissions by 50 per cent when producing electricity and by 33 per cent when used for heating purposes.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in 2019 had assessed the potential and impact of a switch to natural gas from heavier polluting fuels among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) units operating in Delhi-NCR. Data collected showcased the presence of thousands of MSME units operating in this region and using a variety of fuels ranging from coal to low sulphur heavy stock, light diesel oil, wood, bagasse, rice husk, other biomass fuels, high-speed diesel and natural gas. By and large, MSMEs were found to be disinclined to migrate to natural gas owing to high upfront costs such as connection costs and security deposit, limited access to natural gas and economic viability in terms of increased unit price compared to other fuel options. To add to this, end users were also charged a conversion cost and had to bear the cost of internal piping infrastructure.

Obtaining the right of way and other clearances from State/ local Government to lay natural gas pipelines also contributes to delays in setting up adequate pipeline infrastructure.

Notably, micro units among MSME clusters in Delhi-NCR were found to be located in non-conforming areas and were especially not in favour of switching to alternative cleaner fuels as this would entail putting themselves under the ambit of regulatory compliances.

However, a switch to natural gas in MSMEs is not without precedent. The case of Uttar Pradeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Firozabad glass bangle industry is a prime example of how switching from coal and wood to natural gas, coupled with the adoption of energyefficient technologies, can reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. Similarly, the Morbi-Wankaner area in Gujarat

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witnessed immediate reduction in air pollution as a result of the local ceramics industry shifting from coal to natural gas in 2019, following an NGT order the same year. The area recorded a 75 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels, 72 per cent reduction in PM10 levels and an 85 per cent reduction in sulphur dioxide (SO2).

Further, in case of a shift to natural gas at a metal casting unit in Faridabad, Haryana, the learnings have highlighted that along with fuel switching, there is also scope for further reduction in energy consumption if MSME units follow best operating practices to improve energy efficiency. This requires understanding of technological best practices and their assimilation and adaptation to meet the needs of individual MSME units.

Disparate thinking

The provisions for upgrading and introducing new clean technologies in MSME regulations can be capitalised in favour of natural gas augmentation in their energy mix. However, the diverse Government departments that have programmes and schemes related to enhancing clean energy measures in this sector are working in silos. It is important to achieve proper coordination among departments and link related programmes and schemes on clean energy, energy efficiency, technology upgradation, database generation, reporting and monitoring and capacity-building. This could ensure effective targetting and a confluence of actions at the intended delivery point.

There is an opportunity for natural gas penetration in the MSME sector provided the prices are rationalised, energy efficiency measures are put in place and proper regulations imposed to restrict consumption of polluting fuels. A policy directive from the Central Government to enforce the ban on usage of non-clean fuels like coal, wood and so on could be introduced in a phased manner. The city gas distribution companies could also be mandated by the Centre to completely erect the gas pipeline infrastructure in urban areas.

With the overall objective of increasing the adoption and usage of natural gas in the MSME sector, adopting a clusterbased approach would make natural gas penetration more effective. The Central and State Governments can play an important role in this area by facilitating the creation of necessary infrastructure and greener investments to ensure reliable and affordable supply of natural gas to MSMEs. Unabated consumption of one fossil fuel over another will, on its own, not offer a long-term solution to climate change, but employing less emission-intensive fuels such as natural gas can result in significant reduction in both CO2 emissions and air pollution.

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Insight

INDIA Table 1

2016 2017 2018 2019

Table 1

34,606,685 181,402,303

2016 2017 2018 2019

273,980,558

358,675,838

Total tile exports (sq metres)

4,297,439

Total tile imports (sq metres)

Table 1

Table 1

2016 2017 2018 2019

10,563,030 8,105,639 4,985,530

2016 2017 2018 2019

1774503 2163669 2315011 2485802

Total sanitaryware imports (no. items)

3,385,682 3752204 4,250,201 4,882,744

Total sanitaryware exports (no. items)

1

1

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Be part of the international sector reunion of the year

Supporter of: Organised by:

Table 1

Cameroon Germany Ghana Iraq Japan South Africa UAE Saudi Arabia Tanzania USA

Table 1

China Germany Italy Vietnam Spain Thailand Turkey

1893680 50485 59236 25798 44191 76472 103657

Leading sanitaryware import sources (no. items)

Leading sanitaryware export destinations (no. items)

Table 1

Table 1

2016 2017 2018 2019

75524 177204 64174 120,029 531,440 122,842 247,466 267,918 112,682 1,273,040

2016 2017 2018 2019

1572205 1728663 1782990 1893680

Sanitaryware imports from China (no. items)

639402 949952 703574 1273040

Sanitaryware exports to USA (no. items)

1

1 Table 1

2016 2017 2018 2019

Table 1

4409059 4837904 6667902 8689495

2016 2017 2018 2019

Total tableware exports (Kg)

Total tableware imports (Kg)

1

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15047916 12060134 11523237 11408322

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Hunter and the hunted

s r e l i a t e r f o s e p y t e s e h t e b y a “M e r a y e h t t a h w n o s e t a r t t n ce n h o c d l u o g c u o th u su a lly good at" 2020, That Went Well, What Next?

Dear Diary, themselves to extended debt and everyone wants to be ‘With the global uncertainty no one is in a rush to expose the economies will grow? think to reason any there cash-rich rather than risk poverty. Is recession or suffer another huge financial crisis that could On the contrary, if anything we seem more likely to enter because fundamentally – nothing has changed.’ equal the chaos caused by the sub-prime mortgage sell-off, I couldn’t have remotely predicted the reason would be Lord good but So, I said this time last year. I was kind of right, appearing as a then-unknown disease in Wuhan, P.R. China a new Coronavirus which in late November 2019 was just At a unique year that threw challenge after challenge at us. back look can we 2020, As we stagger towards the end of s had to factorie Next all. at re anywhe travel t couldn’ we that first, we were worried we might miss Indian Ceramics, then there needed to get PPE and temperature testing. We realised close as their staff needed to go into lockdown. Then we t governments differen and s countrie t Differen away. years two or year a was no cure and vaccines could be more than l impacts differently and with various degrees of handled (and continue to handle) the pandemic and its financia family and colleagues to it. friends, lost now have us of competence or hopelessness. Many have gotten some control on the disease in a few months Like many, I naively assumed that ‘we’ (the world) would inconvenience and after that we would have learned enough at most; that we could just about handle 3 or 4 months of Well, that hasn’t happened for various reasons and I’m now ted. eradica to be able to live with the virus until it could be and able to travel again to visit customers, attend exhibitions looking at 2021 and wondering if, never mind when I’ll be in the first half of next year ment improve great any see can’t y honestl I ons. restricti have a holiday from lockdowns and 2021 will be much like 2020. and that’s me being optimistic. At my most pessimistic I worry better than others. Globally whilst the high street retail done have ies compan some and on So, we have to struggle g behemoths have done exceedingly well as have the shoppin online and food and beverage have suffered greatly the pinch due to furlough or having to take pay cuts there home delivery companies and even though we are all feeling ses ticking along. Some countries such as South Korea busines many keep to obviously still is cash and credit enough seem very resilient. ts that have been made of the tableware companies by So, I’ve been surprised at some of the requests for discoun s. their customers. Requests which are frankly ludicrou 10 to 20 per cent discounts for materials as their customers Several companies have sent requests to me asking for and porcelain. Yeah, as we all sit on fat comfy cushions china bone of price the in are requesting 20 to 30% reductions the bad times, like now where employee costs have In thin. of huge margin; even in the good times' profits are pretty efficiency of staff having to work remotely or poorer the or PPE provide to need d entione increased due to aforem etc the chances of reducing prices are nearly ries laborato testing open suppliers of services not being able to travel or have cancelled flights and air freight airlines so many impossible. Freight rates have skyrocketed – air freight, as sea freight prices have risen for several Whilst globe. the around PPE getting to ed companies have the capacity dedicat in fuel, increasing costs and used be could that sulphur reasons. In 2020 new legislation came in reducing the % of demand some routes are very pattern the d change has crisis 9 Covid-1 the as , Further environmental surcharges. are ers not being available when needed. Freight companies busy whilst others have declined which has led to contain d receive ay yesterd I . sailings & space find to struggle even increasing charges to cover their costs and we find it is a and the trend is set to continue. Rail freight has increased December sea freight rates and there is another increase demand means increased rates. So, employee costs and in volume but it isn’t always suitable or available and higher dropped significantly they are slowly recovering – but crude freight are if anything higher. Fuel? Well though oil prices ers are notoriously slow to pass on reductions to end custom ies compan oil isn’t what is needed by the industry and oil cut to try ies compan these as even , tions. Anyway given many suppliers are state-controlled or massive corpora sources – they want to preserve their cash for these projects processing costs and move into more sustainable energy es – well obviously they are just as affected as the other industri & dividends. Which takes us to materials and equipment g shippin and drying ing, process g, ing materials, washin – Covid has meant prices have gone up, not down. Extract aren’t going to see a fall in price. from?

So where are these requests of 20 to 30% discounts coming and Hong Kong-based vendors of Chinese tableware I’d After talking to tableware manufacturers, tableware traders suggest there are several sources. traditional retail business model. She is seeing her Firstly, the most obvious is the opportunistic buyer, from the sites and apps. To try to stimulate demand and exploit web delivery business under threat from the online and home

*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

off can make enticing special offers. I’d suggest she’d be better the lower footfall customers she wants discounts so she in the short term. prices r cheape get to wants she if designs year’s last and buying up old stock that has last seasons shifting.

There is plenty of old stock in warehouses that really needs and the budget stores in Europe. They expect that US the from lly especia chains, Secondly the aggressive retail any order just so the supplier can keep his factory get to prices suppliers are desperate to make a sale and will drop in this together’ and whilst some factories are desperate open and his workers employed. This flies in the face of ‘being g prices by large amounts won’t help us to stay solvent Droppin profit’. for ‘not for business the industry isn’t a charity nor if help good companies have gone to the wall trying to chase and when we do come out of ‘corona crisis’ it won’t be any there will be less choice. Maybe these types of retailers as too future the in more cheap orders. It’ll hurt the retailers new designs and fashions into the market to stimulate get and could concentrate on what they are usually good at see something new and interesting – even if they are buying some interest amongst shoppers who might be eager to put more effort into their online shopping experiences rather should they less of it through traditional stores. Or maybe than let Taobao and Amazon reap the profits. t and needs to be considered for the future and the inheren There is a third group and this is a little more complicated wars and trade to due now but China of P.R. the from source to unfairness in the global economy; companies that used tariffs are looking at other countries for product. the greatest volume of tableware to the world simply For over 20 years the PRC (China) has been able to sell factories. This volume is also extraordinarily cheap because it had the largest number of very large (groups of) Chinese state controls the economy and can direct and the e becaus simply is that and compared to other countries market economy. It is not governed by the free market social interfere in the way companies operate as it is a planned to achieve is keeping Chinese workers employed and paid – ONLY by what the CCP wants to achieve. What it wants governance of the CCP. Don’t take my word for it – the EU the n questio not so they remain placid & compliant and do imposed the ADD on Chinese tableware back in 2013 (https:// investigated this when it investigated price dumpling and 019R1198&from=EN), check articles from 63 onwards.

LEX:32 ?uri=CE T/PDF/ t/EN/TX eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten in nearly any other country. Take article 47: cturers manufa Chinese companies receive severe advantages over ant distortions are those distortions which occur when ‘(47) Article 2(6a) (b) of the basic Regulation defines ‘signific energy, are not the result of free-market forces as they and ls materia raw of reported prices or costs, including the costs ing the existence of significant distortions regard shall be are affected by substantial government intervention. In assess g elements: — the market in question being served followin the of more or one of impact l had, inter alia, to the potentia hip, control or policy supervision or guidance of the owners the under to a significant extent by enterprises which operate firms allowing the state to interfere concerning prices or costs; authorities of the exporting country; — state presence in domestic suppliers or otherwise influencing free market forces; of favour in — public policies or measures discriminating ment of bankruptcy, corporate or property laws; — wage — the lack, discriminatory application or inadequate enforce ns which implement public policy objectives or otherwise institutio by granted finance to costs being distorted; — access of the European Union 15.7.2019 (22) Journal Official not acting independently of the state’. L 189/14 EN taken advantage of distorted if not deceitfully have buyers major now s decade two over for is this The net result of in 2019 decided to continue to enforce the EEC the as day this to es continu cheap Chinese tableware prices and this than 30 Chinese companies that had more ned sanctio ADD for another 5 years as nothing had change. They also offered lower duties. (https://trade. which s countrie third through rting transpo by ADD attempted to circumvent the Commission’s largest anti-circumvention the is ‘This nt stateme this ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2092). Note investigators carrying out on spot ssion with 20 Commi investigation to date. It involved very significant resources, verifications at 50 Chinese companies.’ twenty odd years is only used to buying cheap products So, any buyer familiar with buying from China for the last actual costs of making ceramics. Now, when they go to Sri the of TIVE SENTA REPRE NOT from China – prices that are points for ware that in most instances is technically a price similar Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia – they expect to get Chinese tableware to the EU starts around...30%. higher performance product. Notice that the ADD tariff on as to how tableware is made and what the real costs buyers of ce ignoran This illustrates a couple of things – the currently, customers are rewarding the CCP which is are and ignorance of why China can offer such low prices; cturing capability and self-sufficiency of other manufa the ing destroy policy ted systematically by its own manda countries. This can not be allowed to continue. vital for the Asian Ceramics industries to address.

In 2021 – whatever happens with Covid this issue will be Happy new year…may 2020 rest in peace Your humble servant William Hunter CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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

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