Asian Ceramics - September 2015 Edition by Bowhead Media Ltd

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September 2015

OFFICIAL MAGAZ INE:

ASEAN CERAMICS 9TH - 11TH SEPTEMB ER BANGKOK

INSIDE:

• • •

Southern Asian glazes Digital printing: part 2 Middle Eastern sanitary ware demand Province Profile: Liaoning

PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANALYSIS AND MUCH MORE!

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Contents: September 2015

India: the Messe Muenchen view When Unfair and Messe Muenchen tied the metaphorical knot over their joint venture event in India, eyebrows were undoubtedly raised across the industry as to what this would mean for the future of the hugely successful Indian Ceramics brand. This month, Gerhard Gerritzen allays all the fears and concerns over the future, and spells out MM’s bright new vision…

News 8 Inside Asia

White gold in them thar hills.

10 Welcome

Smart cities to drive real estate?

12 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

16 International News Our eye on the international arena.

18 Material Matters

Franck Tarena discusses Imerys’ plans for 2016.

22 Comment & Analysis

Gerhard Gerritzen, Deputy Managing Director, Messe Muenchen GmbH

See us…where?!

Cersaie Bologna, Italy

ASEAN Ceramics Bangkok, Thailand

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

Messe Muenchen: the view on India.

asian ceramics

september 2015

www.asianceramics.com

News

www.asianceramics.com Features 26 Impacts of 3D digi-printing

Jahir Ahmed talks about how the continuing evolution of digital printing to now encompass 3D techniques is changing the face of ceramics manufacture.

38 MENA sanitaryware markets

Yogender Malik assesses current and future sanitaryware demand from the Middle East in the face of increasing optimism from the construction sector.

42 Southern Asian glaze demand

With glaze and colour seemingly under pressure from the printing side of the industry, AC assesses how the sector is responding to the increased competition and creating itself new opportunities.

48 Province Profile: Liaoning

“This will be the largest enterprise for the production of ceramic tiles in the country”, see p.16 “In India, the split between in-house production and the external sourcing of glaze requirements is 70:30”, see p.40 “the first thing you see are these stoneware mugs, IKEA sell these at less than 50 cents US”, see”, see p.60

Your favourite magazine is now available at the App Store…

In the next of our Province Profile, AC turns its attention to the developments taking place in Liaoning.

Anaylsis 60 Talking Shop

Ac talks to Mr Valte Cappellini, General Manager SITI B&T Group, about how the Southern hemisphere continues to prove an increasingly interesting hunting ground for technology players.

62 Insight

Analysis and insight into ceramic output in China in the first half of 2015.

64 Looking forward

The digest of what’s on and in for the next 3 months.

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66 The Hunter And The Hunted

William upgrades to an ipad, but still casts his unsympathetic eye over industry issues: this month he looks at how the tableware sector in China is under cost-cutting pressure.

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Inside Asia WHITE GOLD

merys Ceramics has over 50 industrial facilities in more than 20 countries spanning over Europe, the Middle-East, Asia and Americas. The company extracts and sell kaolin, clays, feldspar, mica and quartz and also prepares formulated bodies (i.e. ready to use products that will become ceramics). This month, Franck Tarena, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new business and marketing director, talks to AC about the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision for the future.

Welcome

Despite the real estate and property market reeling under a slowdown, leading Indian ceramics company Somany Ceramics feels that the industry is poised for steady growth in the coming years, especially with the government focussing on building smart cities. However, they see the dumping of Chinese products, especially in southern states of the country, as a cause for concern.

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September 2015

CONTACT DETAILS EDITORIAL

OFFICIAL MAGAZI NE:

ASEAN CERAMICS

9TH - 11TH SEPTEM BER BANGKOK

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

ADVERTISING AND DESIGN • • •

IN SI DE:

Southern Asian glazes Digit al printing: part 2 Middle Eastern sanit ary ware demand Province Profile: Liaon ing

“The outlook for the industry is very positive in the PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANAL YSIS AND MUCH MORE! long term. With the government focussing on building smart cities and also on large infrastructure projects, the growth will be steady,” Shreekant Somany, CMD, Somany Ceramics, said recently.

Somany Ceramics has two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat and Haryana. Together with additional manufacturing capabilities developed through its channel partners, the company has a total capacity of around 53 million sq m for tiles per annum. The company reported a 22 per cent rise in its turnover to Rs 1,531.32 crore in FY15. “We have set a growth target of 20 per cent. In fact, we have been growing around that level over the past 10 years, while the industry has been growing at around 15 per IN TESTING cent per annum,” Somany said. In the June quarter, the company achieved a TIMES, PEOPLE growth of 18 per cent. “In testing times, people PUT THEIR FAITH put their faith in established brands and that is IN ESTABLISHED helping Somany to maintain its steady growth. At the same time, we have also been constantly BRANDS AND increasing our reach in the retail market THAT IS HELPING because one has to increase the market reach SOMANY to grow consistently. We are not dependent on institutional buyers alone and about two thirds of our revenues come from the retail market,” Somany said.

“We intend to invest about Rs 100 crore over the next two years in beefing up the company’s own capacity and also that of the channel partners.,” he said. Somany further said the company is also looking at establishing a manufacturing facility in south India. However, Somany said the industry is concerned that Chinese ceramic products, especially tiles among others, are getting dumped across the southern belt. “Chinese products are being dumped in all major ports in the south. These are highend products and not lowerend, which is not remunerative for them. Dumping of such high-value products at lower costs is pulling down everything connected to that across the industry. This is causing concern across the industry.” Happy Reading!

Advertising Sales Paul Russell Email: prussell@asianceramics.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 638 0619 Valerie Adamson Email: vadamson@asianceramics.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 133 5273 Production and design Tim Mitchell Email: tim@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

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asian ceramics

september 2015

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

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Kim Him aims high as Johnson benefits kick-in • Xu Zhan to set up tile plant • Roca expansions to fuel sales grow Jingdezhen re-launch loses momentum • RAK acquires 100% of Iranian subsidiary • Royal Stoneware to invest MALAYSIA

Kim Him aims high as Johnson benefits kick-in Ceramic tilemaker Kim Hin Industry Bhd targets doubledigit growth in group sales to RM350mil this year after taking over the manufacturing of an established Australian brand, Johnson Tiles, which the company acquired last year. Executive chairman Chua Seng Huat said Kim Hin’s plants in Malaysia and China are expected to produce three million sq m of Johnson Tiles of various types and sizes this year for the domestic and international markets. He said Johnson Tiles, as premium products, fetched 10% higher selling prices than Kim Hin tiles marketed under the brand name Kimgres. Kim Hin has acquired UKbased Norcros Industry Pty Ltd for about RM6.9mil. Norcros was one of the major importers and distributors of Johnson Tiles wall and floor tiles in Australia, where it has been operating for 50 years through retail outlets in major cities for the past 50 years. Kim Hin also bought the real property owned by Norcros’ wholly owned unit, Johnson Tiles Pty Ltd (JTPL), in Victoria, Australia for RM15.75mil. The Australian firm did not have manufacturing facilities. Riding on the strong presence of Johnson Tiles in the Australian market, Kim Hin is expanding to new regional markets like Vietnam, where it has set up retail outlets. Chua said Kim Hin’s plants in Kuching and Seremban had an installed production capacity of eight million sq m and three million sq m per annum, respecatively, while the Shanghai plant’s annual capacity is 2 million sq m. Together, these manufacturing facilities have a combined capacity of 13 million sq m per annum.

asian ceramics

“The Seremban and Shanghai plants are currently operating at over 90% of their capacities, while the Kuching plant is running at 80% capacity,” he told StarBiz. He said the Shanghai plant exported about 80% of its output, mainly to Australia and America, while the Malaysian plants shipped between 25% and 30% of their total production overseas, mainly to Australia, the Middle East, India and Pakistan. Their remaining production caters for the domestic market. According to Chua, Middle East countries like Qatar had the biggest growth potential due to the huge investments being poured into infrastructure, commercial and industrial development. “There is so much room for us to grow our market share there. The Middle East nations have shifted to buy more ceramic tiles from South-East Asia instead of China because of reliability and quality standard problems.” Kim Hin, which is among Malaysia’s top-three ceramic tile manufacturers, currently has a 20% market share. The company is working to increase it to 25%. Last year, the group’s sales surged by 20% to RM313.4mil from RM261.1mil in 2013. All geographical segments of the group recorded over 7% growth in revenue year-on-year, while group net profit soared to RM26mil (inclusive of a RM5.1mil goodwill from the acquisition of Johnson Tiles) from RM1mil in 2013. Chua said cash-rich Kim Hin planned to further expand the Seremban plant by adding a third production line in the next 12 to 24 months. “Last year, we acquired a piece of land and factory next to the Seremban plant for about RM20mil as part of our

september 2015

expansion plan. The proposed third production line may cost between RM30mil and RM50mil if we go for more sophisticated production equipment. We invested about RM30mil in the second production line last year, which has a bigger installed capacity than the first line. “Our five-year-old Seremban plant, which has the most modern facilities in Malaysia, started to make profit last year following the full operation of the second line,” he added. Chua said Kim Hin was gradually scaling down the operation of the main Kuching plant due to the relatively high operational costs because of the expensive liquified petroleum gas (LPG) as compared to the subsidised piped natural gas in Peninsular Malaysia and natural gas in China used by the group in its production activities. Fuel expenditure made up about 35% of the Kuching plant’s operational cost. “We plan to scale down the Kuching plant’s annual production to five million sq m in three years. The plant’s old machinery will not be replaced.” He said any reduced production output from the Kuching plant would be offset by the expanded capacity of the Seremban plant, adding that Kim Hin would outsource the production of certain types of tiles which are not manufactured by the group. According to Chua, the LPG price has dropped substantially, from RM3.50 to RM2.50 per kilo, following the plunge in global crude oil prices late last year. The reduction, he said, had benefitted the group immensely in an improved bottomline, as the Kuching plant consumed an average of 800 tonnes of LPG a month. This reduction in the LPG price would translate into a

saving of RM9.6mil a year. The increased earnings were reflected in Kim Hin’s first quarterly results ended March 31, 2015, with group net profit jumping by RM6.9mil to RM11.1mil from RM4.2mil in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter, as revenue expanded to RM88.4mil from RM68.9mil. Chua expects the LPG price to stabilise at the current level in the next one to two years, pointing out that the reduced LPG price is still double that of subsidised natural gas. Chua said Kim Hin’s long-term plan was to develop the 100 acres located along a new road linking Jalan Penrissen and Batu Kawa in Kuching. Part of it is occupied by its plant complex for property-related projects. As at Dec 31, 2014, Kim Hin had cash reserves of RM43.7mil and investments of RM53.8mil.

UZBEKISTAN

Xu Zhan to set up tile plant The Chinese company Xu Zhan Investment will commission an enterprise for the production of ceramic tiles in Uzbekistan worth $24.3 million in the first half of 2016, association of leather and footwear enterprises of Uzbekistan, which is the project participant, told Trend. The association said that the company with the design production capacity of 6 million square meters of ceramic tiles per year is being built in the Syrdarya branch of the “Jizzakh” special industrial zone (SIZ). The project is financed from the funds of the association in the amount of $9.3 million and equity of the Chinese company worth $15 million.

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wth • VitrA plans 33% increase in outlets • Golsar goes high pressure •

INDIA

TURKEY

Roca expansions to fuel sales growth Spanish bathroom solutions firm Roca is looking at a Rs 1,500-crore annual sales revenue by 2020 as it expects government schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to boost the demand for its products in Tier II and III cities. The company, which is registering 15 per cent year-onyear growth, is investing Rs 150 crore this year to ramp up its seven production facilities. "We would have sales of around Rs 1,500 crore in the next five years as we are growing almost 15 per cent. This year we would be close to around Rs 900 crore," Roca Bathroom Products Managing Director Pau Abello told media. The company, which follows January to December financial year, had sales of around Rs 775 crore in 2014. "Out of total Rs 900 crore which we are expecting, around 85 per cent of that would be contributed by our leading brand Parryware," Abello added. In addition, the company is also scouting for acquisitions for its inorganic growth here. "We would have organic as well as inorganic growth here," he said. Roca Bathroom, which is targeting to expand its retail presence in Tier II and III cities, is aiming to add upto 100 dealers across all brands including Parryware, Roca and Armani. "We would add around 100 dealers in our retail network, which is 10 per cent of our total existing retail presence of 1,000 dealers," he said. Roca has around 30 per cent share in the bathroom solution market, Abello said. Highlighting the importance of non-metro places, Abello said: "This year 30 per cent of our

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sales would come from those non-metro markets and it is going to increase further in the coming years." Roca's project business segment is currently contributing 30 per cent of its total sales and the company is expecting this segment to grow as many delayed residential projects are going to be completed. Roca has revamped Parryware, its largest contributor, with a new logo, product line, catalogue along with a new website keeping in mind the changing need and taste of the Indian urbanised class. "We are excited to re-launch Parryware in a new avatar in the Indian market. The Parryware collection will cater the dynamic urban life style," Abello said. Parryware, originated from EID Parry in 1981, and its business was later taken over by Murugappa group. In 2007, Parryware entered into a venture with Roca of Spain and in 2010 it became a 100 per cent subsidiary of Roca Bathroom Products Pvt Ltd.

VitrA plans 33% increase in outlets Turkish premium bath and sanitaryware brand VitrA — part of the Eczacibasi Group — is planning to take its number of points of sales in India to around 100 in the next six months, from the current 75. VitrA’s expansion strategy also involves improving the display quality at its existing dealerships, and locating more markets for future growth. “VitrA views India as a strategic market, along with France, Germany, the UK, Russia, and the Gulf. We have established our own liasoning office here for marketing and brand promotion,” VitrA Country Manager Serhan Ates Yagiz told Deccan Herald, implying that the office’s primary priority is to draw potential customers in the form of professionals and architects as part of a B2B push. Where B2C is concerned, the company works under a strong distribution channel with 10 distributors, who import VitrA’s wares and pass them on to dealers. “Around four years ago, we began modestly, spending time to understand the market, its dynamics, what products

IRAN

Golsar goes high pressure Golsar Fars, a leading Iranian sanitaryware manufacturer with a production plant based in Shiraz, has an output capacity of over 1.3 million pieces a year. Once again, it has decided to entrust its future to Sacmi’s cutting-edge technology. Just recently, in fact, a Sacmi ALS150 high pressure casting machine was recently started up at the plant; this can produce twelve different raised washbasin models, which currently constitute the high end of the

Iranian product market. A key aspect of the finished product is that it must fit the bathroom furniture in which it embedded perfectly, and this requires that the piece be manufactured very precisely, a requisite that is ensured by high pressure casting using resin moulds. Other key reasons for this investment choice: the outstanding surface quality provided by the resin moulds reduces the need for subsequent worker intervention and improves

may have demand here, and so on. We had only one distributor then. But with a larger, spreadout distribution channel, we are assured of better product availability, logistics, service and communication in the market,” Yagiz said. As part of its dealership spread, VitrA is seeking favourable locations to set up outlets in shop-in-shop, shop corner, and display store format, among others. These are likely to come up in metros, and even tier-II cities. “Earlier, only in the metros were people willing to invest in expensive sanitaryware, but now demand has sprouted in even in small towns. But we need to find the right dealers who are capable of displaying our wares the right way,” Yagiz said. The company imports its entire range of sanitaryware — water closets, bathroom fittings, vanities, conceal systems and faucets — from Turkey, from where it is also exported to another 74 countries. The overall sanitaryware market in India stands at around €350 million, of which 40 per cent is held by the unorganised sector. working conditions. Golsar is the leading manufacturer on the Iranian market and exports to the Middle East, CIS nations, Europe and Africa. For the fifth time it has won the “Key Iranian Exporter” award on account of its excellent quality standards and European-level product quality, thanks also to the contribution made by Sacmi technology. The start-up of the ALS 150 is just the latest act in a longstanding industrial partnership that has seen Golsar purchase 3 Riedhammer kilns, a tunnel kiln, two shuttle kilns and a Gaiotto glazing robot.

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News

CHINA

Jingdezhen re-launch loses momentum Jingdezhen, historically known as China's "porcelain capital" since it has been producing porcelain products for 1,700 years, was denied again the title of "World Ceramics Capital" this year after failing to win the title of "Ceramics Capital of China" in a national evaluation 10 years ago, raising concerns over which direction the old porcelain town in Jiangxi province should pursue for its future development, reports the National Business Daily. One May 31 this year, the World Crafts Council bestowed the "World Ceramics Capital" title to Dehua county in eastern China's Fujian province through a unanimous vote following a two-day investigation by an international expert panel. This follows a defeat 10 years ago, when Chaozhou county in southern China's Guandong province was named the "Ceramics Capital of China" by the China Ceramics Industrial Association. Jingdezhen used to command a 30% share of China's market for household chinaware and

enjoyed the glory of supplying high-end ceramicware for the central government as national giftware. But the rapid development of the ceramics industry in coastal Chaozhou and Dehua dealt a great blow to the veteran porcelain supply center, making it able to maintain a competitive edge only in art ceramic products and high-end handicraft dailyuse chinaware. Accordingly, Jindezhen has to make a difficult choice: greatly industrialize ceramic production or continuing cultivating and passing on traditional handicrafts? Tang Liang, director of the porcelain industry bureau of Jindezhen, said that the city should get on the industrialization track and work out the "4.0 version of ceramic industry," eventually developing Jingdezhen into an important production, processing and export base in China for modern ceramic products. But in the eyes of private handicraftsmen, the history of Jingdezhen has ruled out the

industrialized production of porcelain wares, making way for handicraft production. They said that all the linking industries can be integrated to make Jingdezhen a key collection and distribution center for various kinds of handicraft items. The city hasn't lost its luster, although it was denied the two titles. "In the minds of Chinese nationals, Jingdezhen has been unquestionably an established ceramics capital in China. It's an 'uncrowned king' in this field," a ranking executive at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Association told the paper. Jingdezhen's ceramic production value accounted for over 20% of China's total production value in this sector until the late 1970s. But after the implementation of economic reforms, Jingdezhen focused on art ceramics, with annual production value reaching only 1 billion yuan (US$161 million), the same as that of a listed ceramics company in Foshan, Guangdong province. Many handicraftsmen and workers from the previous top 10

IRAN

ARMENIA

RAK acquires 100% of Iranian subsidiary United Arab Emirates-based RAK Ceramics, one of the world’s largest makers of ceramic goods, said on Wednesday it had fully acquired its subsidiary in Iran, the latest investor seeking opportunities after Tehran’s nuclear deal. As a close neighbour to Iran, the UAE stands to be a major beneficiary of closer trade relations once sanctions against the Islamic Republic are lifted as part of the July 14 deal with big powers mandating limits on its disputed nuclear activity. RAK Ceramics, which has a distribution network covering around 160 countries, said in a statement it had "a long term vision for the Iranian market both domestically and as an export centre in Central Asia as the

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ceramics plants moved to set up their own ventures to engage in development of creative ceramic handicrafts, making the entire ceramics industry enter a stage of recession. Statistics showed that Jingdezhen's total annual production value reached 73.8 billion yuan (US$11.88 billion) in 2014, ranking the last but one among 11 prefecture-level cities in Jiangxi province. Ceramic production value accounted for 39.5% or 29.16 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion), lower than the corresponding figure of 40 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion) recorded by Chaozhou county. As part of its efforts to industrialize, Jingdezhen set up in 2004 a ceramics industrial complex with a land area of 8.2 square kilometers, seeking to attract local ceramics enterprises and large-sized makers from other parts of China, and even Taiwan, to operate there. For the moment, the complex houses 160 makers, with annual output value estimated at 10 billion yuan (US$1.61 billion).

sanctions regime gets lifted". In another example of growing foreign interest in Iran, Italian company Finmeccanica said on Wednesday its engineering unit Fata had signed a 500-millioneuro ($544.05 million) contract to build a power plant there. Iran is the world’s fourth largest ceramics producer after China, Brazil and India. RAK Ceramics also has a plant in India. Financed by the World Bank, RAK Ceramics set up Iran operations in 2003, with a $40 million investment. The plant remained running even as sanctions tightened and the Iranian economy floundered. The facility now has three production lines and an annual production capacity of 9 million square metres, RAK Ceramics

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said. The statement did not disclose a value for the deal, which sees RAK Ceramics acquire the remaining 20 percent stake in RAK Iran that it does not currently own. A spokeswoman for RAK Ceramics declined to say how much it paid until the deal received regulatory approval.

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Royal Stoneware to invest The Royal Stoneware company has been awarded today by the government of Armenia a VAT payment deferment after pledging to invest 1.2 billion drams in the production of ceramic tableware, economy minister Karen Chshmarityan said at a Cabinet session. The minister said the company plans to import 900 million drams worth equipment for the plant from Italy. He said the plant will create 80 jobs with average wage of 180,000 drams for the first year. It will then rise to 200,000 drams in a year and to 240,000 drams in the third year The company plans to produce this year 300 million drams worth products which will be exported to USA, Europe and former Soviet republics.

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News

International News Keraben opts for Durst

Stratos opts for Ancora

Spain

Italy

urst, the industrial inkjet specialist is installing its successful Gamma 98 XD for the leading Spanish ceramic tile manufacturer Keraben Grupo. The new generation of Durst's 8-color ceramic printer will be used to complement an existing Gamma 75 HD for the floor and wall tile production. At this year's Ceramic China trade fair, the management of Keraben Grupo was able to get a handson impression of the innovative construction and performance capabilities of the new printer system. The Gamma 98XD features a modular design for 3 to 8 printing bars and print widths of 319 mm to 956 mm. Equipped with the Durst High Definition Printhead Technology with dual ink circulation and the new ´Adaptive Dot Placement Technology`, the Gamma 98

XD guarantees banding-free printing with a high image quality and color homogeneity. The new printheads are designed to be easily and quickly replaced and re-adjusted by the operator to minimize downtime. In addition, a new printhead cleaning system guarantees a long life cycle for the printheads with long maintenance intervals and without loss of ink due to purging of the ink onto the transport belt. The new Gamma XD Series decorates tiles, with a special Grayscale function, with a native resolution of 300 dpi and print resolutions of up to 300x1000 dpi and printheads with different droplet sizes up to 200 pl. This configuration makes the Gamma 98 XD ideally suited for the wide range of design variations, tile formats and product lines for the kitchen, bathroom, interior and lounge of the Keraben Grupo.

Vaal looks for pressure casting South Africa

he Johannesburg-based company Vaal has invested in improving the quality of its products by choosing Sacmi as its supplier for a topgrade installation of 3 new pressure casting machines. This new installation ensures the highest degree of precise, constant and repetitive casting; the hallmarks of Sacmi’s modern casting technology. The installation includes an AVM casting cell dedicated to producing WCs with stick-on rim, an AVE cell for WCs with open rim and, finally, an ALS cell performs the casting of water tanks and lids. In addition to the casting plant, Vaal has also purchased a new robotized glazing cell supplied by the Sacmi Group company, Gaiotto. This state-of-the-art machinery guarantees constant and optimum glaze application which means the finished product is more

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hygienic since the glaze is applied in a uniform manner throughout all areas of the piece. The production process is completed by the use of a Riedhammer tunnel kiln and shuttle kiln which are a guarantee of maximum distribution of heat and airflow to obtain a glaze with the shiniest finish perfectly and evenly spread over the piece surface. Vaal has recently become part of the Grohe Group and, with these new high technology projects, the company is certainly updating its production and quality standards to match those of the prestigious Grohe brand.

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eramica Stratos is a young, dynamic and fast-growing company that specialises in both traditional products and largeformat panels. Its high-level products cater for a wide range of interior design needs while maintaining a strong focus on quality. Ancora, a company belonging to SITI B&T Group, recently supplied Stratos with a complete finishing line for large-format tiles including innovative scoreand-snap technology, an XXL Polishing machine, an XXL Wet Squaring machine and Hi Coat final protective treatment. The new XXL Deepmotor Cut line, which is equipped with both motorised discs and idle heads, is capable of cutting products with textured surfaces. Developed as an alternative to the classic diamond wheel cutting tool, the high-speed motorised disc performs a preliminary incision up to 2 mm in depth to ensure a more controlled and precise break. “With this patented, innovative technology we have succeeded in bringing the flexibility and precision of score-and-snap cutting to extra-large sizes,” commented Ancora’s CEO Franco Ponsone. “Once again we have proved that we are innovators.” This innovative score-and-snap system brings considerable advantages. It can work with sizes of up to 1600x3200 mm compared to the maximum size of 1200 mm that can be cut with conventional machines. It is highly eco-friendly as eliminating disk cutting allows for complete water savings and minimises energy consumption and maintenance costs. It also stands out for its high speed and efficiency of production, combining product quality with cost optimisation. The line also includes the Ancora polishing machine, which is capable of performing various types of finish, from a simple

brushed effect through to the more complex “full field” gloss finish, and the Hi Coat protective treatment from German company N-Tec, developed entirely with nanotechnologies to ensure precise and lasting protection. The innovation and quality of Ancora technologies will enable Ceramica Stratos to improve its finished product quality, a factor that is particularly important for such complex products as large size tiles and panels.

New plant offers employment hope Namibia

n their quest to supplement government's effort to fight poverty and empower the local community, the UukwiyuUushona Constituency Office is assisting local women to realise their dream of setting up northern Namibia's first ceramic factory. The Oshana Ceramic Manufacturing Project is already at an advanced stage and is expected to open its doors before the end of the year. The Oshana Regional Council is funding the project through the One Region on Initiative (OROI) programme. Construction commenced at the end of June. The factory will produce ceramic pots, plates, cups, toilet units and other ceramic equipment for the local market, especially the northern regions. Control Administrative Officer at the Uukwiyu-Uushona Constituency Office, Abraham Shikoyeni said their market research indicated the project in their constituency is likely to be the first in northern regions. The women acquired the skills from places they once worked at in Windhoek and thereafter imparted the knowledge to the people in the area. The constituency councillor of Uukwiyu-Uushona, Andreas Amundjindi, said the project aims to create employment within the constituency and also to empower the local community.

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GUERROUACHE (Algeria) chooses The innovations of Barbieri & Bongioanni Tarozzi do Brazil Algeria

Brazil

ongioanni has recently signed an agreement with S.A.R.L BRIQUETTERIE G U E R R O U A C H E strengthening its presence in Algeria. The important supply concerns the new plant of 1000 ton\ day, which has been built in Medjana, not so far from the center of Bordj Bou Arreridj, chief town of this province. The Italian Company having seat in Fossano (CN) has equipped the production and extrusion line supplying two refining roller mills TYPE COMPACT LI-810, a mixer TYPE MIX820I, an extruder TYPE TECNO 850 with de-airing mixer TYPE 820D, other than the most state-of–the-art extrusion devices with multi-exits composed by pressure-head and conical extrusion-dies model OMEGA, manufactured both for the traditional products B8 –

B12 and for Hollow Blocks, Wall Blocks and Ceiling Blocks. The extrusion-dies supplied are equipped with frames and cores realized with special materials BST02 having a high resistance to wear and corrosion. All the components of the extrusiondie Omega that touch the clay, are in anti-abrasion material, in particular the stud bolts of the bridge holding cores that have been purposely manufactured with numerical control in order to grant a high precision and to be able to use the most updated materials. Moreover it’s been foreseen a hardfacing chromium plating with strong thickness. Among the equipment supplied by Bongioanni, have to be highlighted also the electrical control boards, the water moisture system, the clay spreaders and the belt conveyors.

arbieri & Tarozzi do Brazil, the Brazilian subsidiary of the SITI B&T Group, attended the eighth edition of Forn&Cer, the international event organized by Aspacer (the São Paulo association of ceramic floor and wall tile manufacturers) from 16 to 19 June 2015 in Santa Gertrudes, in the state of Sao Paulo. Involvement at the Forn&Cer trade fair was aimed at highlighting the latest innovations developed by the SITI B&T Group for the Brazilian market; starting from the Greenfire kilns, equipped with innovative combustion systems and high quality insulating materials that represent the absolute top in energy efficiency. The kilns reduce fuel consumption by up to 30% as well as enabling productivity to be increased by more than 25%. In the field of tile forming, the Italian Group also represents the forefront of cutting edge

technology with EVO, the new generation SITI presses equipped with sophisticated technologies that ensure higher quality pressing and fewer tile defects. The wide range of digital decorating machines made by Projecta Engineering, a SITI B&T Group company, are also available for the Brazilian market. “Our presence at this important trade fair, together with the opening of the new headquarters in Mogi Mirim, dedicated to the marketing of SITI B&T and ANCORA products and technical support provided by experienced local technicians” – comments Marco Ferrari, Managing Director of Barbieri & Tarozzi do Brazil – “represents a strategic choice focused on an important market like the Brazilian one, with the aim of reinforcing the confidence and appreciation that the local customers have for the SITI B&T Group”

XAAR moves to boost American markets United States

n a significant strengthening of its presence in the North American and Latin American markets, Xaar, the world’s leading inkjet technology specialist, has appointed Don Whaley as Director of Sales, Xaar Americas. In addition, the company has also opened a new sales and support office in Texas. Don Whaley joins Xaar from Piksel Inc, the leading provider of SaaSbased video platforms, where he was Vice President, Global

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Channels. He has also held a variety of senior sales management, business development and marketing positions with The Wind Group and Kodak. The new Sales and Customer support office is housed in purpose-designed premises in Grand Prairie, Texas, close to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The facility provides training and demonstration suites and engineering support for Xaar customers in the USA, Canada and

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Latin America. “This is a great time to join Xaar,” says Don Whaley. “There are big opportunities to extend the penetration of the company’s market-leading inkjet technologies in the graphics, packaging and industrial imaging markets throughout the region. It’s my role to realise the potential, and I’m hugely excited at the prospect. The resources of the new Texas office, just a few minutes from the airport, are a big advantage and we expect

the training and demonstration facilities to be busy with customers and prospects.” “We’re delighted to secure Don Whaley to spearhead our drive into the American markets,” says Richard Barham, Xaar’s Chief Customer Officer. “He has a superb track record of driving growth with global technology companies, and his packaging and graphics industry knowledge, experience and enthusiasm will be a huge asset for us in these important markets.”

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Raw Materials News

Imerys: evolution not revolution TALKS TO FRANCK TARENA, IMERYS CERAMICS NEW BUSINESS & MARKETING DIRECTOR AC: Can you outline the current Imerys Ceramics global operations in terms of capacity, output and types of product? Imerys Ceramics has over 50 industrial facilities in more than 20 countries spanning over Europe, the Middle-East, Asia and Americas. We extract and sell kaolin, clays, feldspar, mica and quartz. We also prepare formulated bodies (i.e. ready to use products that will become ceramics). In addition we supply kiln furniture for all Ceramic market segments. AC: Are there any areas of the business, particularly in terms of ceramic minerals, that you feel you need more exposure in, either in terms of product availability or geographically? If so, what would they be? Imerys Ceramics started its operations in Europe 100 years ago and has now a worldwide presence. We therefore do not suffer from any underexposure. We are nevertheless constantly looking at how we can provide a better service to our customers, be it by adapting our product range through innovation or opening mines and blending platforms in new geographies. AC: Would you agree that Imerys is a “growth by acquisition” rather than organically company? On that basis, do you have an annual target for increasing revenues by purchasing other businesses? Imerys has been growing both by organic means and by acquisitions. Both means are part of our model and complement each other. We do not have any targets that would force us to make acquisitions: we only buy a company when it fits with our strategic intent and helps us better serve our customers. In fact, it is more innovation that is our driver: we are constantly introducing new products and new solutions and we have targets with regards to the contribution of new products in our overall sales. We feel this as being really part of our DNA and customers are expecting Imerys to come with innovation. AC: Is it possible for a company like Imerys to become “too big” to react to local market conditions and shifts, or is this just a perception? How do you combat this feeling if and when it surfaces? Imerys is a world leader in many fields it operates in, however it has kept a very decentralized business model where many decisions are made at the local level. We ensure that there are regular, frequent and organized exchanges of information notably to offer the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions to our customers. Our industrial assets also benefit from this global perspective as we can roll out improved processes or equipments in all geographies.

AC: What are your plans for the coming 12 months in terms of expansion and new products, and in which sectors are you concentrating most of your efforts? Imerys Ceramics has enlarged its product portfolio at the end of 2014 by integrating the kiln furniture department. We think this will benefit directly our customers as we can offer them a broader range of solutions: raw materials, formulated products and kiln furniture. We are therefore putting a lot of efforts Franck Tarena training our sales force and presenting those new product lines to our customers who were only buying one or the other product from us. AC: What excites you most about the prospects for Imerys Ceramics in the coming years, and where do you see the company’s direction heading? The Ceramic industry has been experiencing a lot of changes: production processes have been constantly improving (high pressure casting, iso-static pressing in the past, inkjet printing and 3D Printing now, additive manufacturing tomorrow). Ceramic manufacturers are adding new functionalities to their end-products, sustainable development has become a must when operating mines and is also integrated in the way our customers think about their business. Imerys has always been an innovative company willing to improve its operations, its product range and the type of solutions it offers to its customers. What is exciting is that the innovation path is accelerating with many new technologies enabling new solutions to appear. We will therefore maintain and even strengthen, wherever appropriate, our strong focus on innovation: we are creating value when we address customers’ challenges by mobilizing our expertise. AC: Finally, if you could do anything again from the last 10 years, with perhaps a different outcome, what would it be? We have no regret, we could just have been quicker sometimes in implementing new solutions: today we are better organized to go fast on changes.

AsiaMin: Focus India The 1st dedicated conference for the non-metallic mineral industries of Asia New Delhi, February 2016 Bowhead Media Ltd is pleased to announce its plans to produce the first of a new series of conferences dedicated to the non-metallic mineral industries of the Asian continent. Covering all consuming sectors, suppliers and processing, this first of this unique series will put the mineral potential of India firmly in the global spotlight. For more information and to join the mailing list, contact enquiries@asianceramics.com 20

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Messe Muenchen: the view on India. Gerhard Gerritzen talks exclusively to AC about the MMI/Unifair tie-up

“

The situation of having two annual exhibitions for the ceramics industry in Ahmedabad was extremely unsatisfactory for exhibitors and visitors alike. So at the request of several customers, we reached out to our competitor and quickly found a common basis for collaborating with one another. We are absolutely convinced that we have achieved more than "1 + 1 = 2" with the co-location solution of "two shows—one date". Now the important Indian ceramics market has THE central marketplace—a win-win situation for everyone involved” says Mr Gerritzen. “Of course, Indian Ceramics always had a clear focus and a unique profile on the Indian market. We don't want to nor do we intend to change anything about that. Exhibitors and visitors can expect the same tried-and-tested concept that they know. However, we do see additional potential that also extends beyond India, and we would like to position the event accordingly. Our partnership with Unifair, which agrees with our assessment about market opportunities, is intended to be long term. Both sides want to continue expanding Ahmedabad as a tradefair venue. “Given this backdrop, we actually expect this partnership to yield synergies. The exhibition will be larger. More space will be needed. Unfortunately, the Gujarat University Convention and Exhibition Centre doesn't have enough exhibition space. At the 2015 fair, we set up an additional tent hangar, which worked out very well. We will continue to pursue this approach and expand outside the hall. Having two organizers makes it easier to deal with the necessary investments and offer exhibitors a show with an attractive priceperformance ratio. But how does the German exhibition giant consider the branding will now evolve for the event? “Brand names are important.

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Indian Ceramics is the kind of brand name that is very well established, and naturally we would like to develop the brand further. But we will evaluate the situation after the fair in March 2016. Ceramics Asia takes place at the same time, but it is also closely intertwined with us. We are looking forward to this collaboration and to the boost that it will give to both events. “You see, when two partners decide to collaborate, each of them must strengthen their strengths to improve the overall result. Unifair is a Chinese company, so of course it is extremely well positioned in China and Asia. As the organizer of Ceramics China, it has outstanding contacts in the industry around the world. Messe München and its Indian subsidiary know the markets in India and Europe, and we have our customer potential there. To establish clear areas of responsibility and, in doing so, give the exhibitors a contact from the region, this breakdown made perfect sense. Beyond that, we don't see any additional influences.“ So, combined forces, but will it be a clash of ideals? Mr Gerritzen clearly doesn’t think so, and emphasises the fact that there will now greater stability in the market:” “When there were two exhibitions on the same topic at the same location, it was an "either or" situation for many exhibitors and visitors. So we made the decision for them. Now there is only one event that will bring all exhibitors and visitors together. Unifair and Messe München are both privatesector organizations. Naturally, both organizers want to earn money by getting involved in India. It is true: Indian Ceramics' price structure was very inconsistent. Add to that strong fluctuations in the exchange rate. Messe München has been the organizer of Indian Ceramics for two years. During that period, we have been working very hard to implement uniform conditions. The positive side of co-locating these two events is that we can offer all exhibitors even better prices that

are in line with the market. “The key point is that, now, we offer a platform for all of the industry's companies that do business in India and neighboring countries. The expenses incurred when a company participates in a trade show depend on size. Particularly in the case of shell-scheme stands for smaller companies, the cost of participating in the exhibition are less than the incidental expenses for flights, hotels and the salaries of participating employees. Many countries also support companies by offering them subsidies when they participate in trade fairs in other countries. “ So that’s the news order of things…what does it mean for future development? “We would like very much to acquire new exhibitor sectors and groups of visitors for the fair. Ceramics is a fascinating material and we are sure that it still has a great deal of growth potential here. The dates in March are due to the late Chinese New Year. Generally speaking, we are aiming at holding the exhibition in mid-to late February, although each year the actually dates will depend on the dates of competing events as well as national and international holidays. “India is one of Messe München's key markets. We have subsidiaries in China, Turkey, South Africa and also in India. That underscores how important India is to us. We organize and develop customized trade fairs for the country and the market in several branches of industry. It is a long-term commitment that makes us one of the important organizers in India. Personally, I am always very pleased when I get the chance to visit India. I like the country a lot—it is incredibly dynamic and its people are extremely dedicated. Our subsidiary MMI India has a strong team and we are proud of how things have developed over the past few years. I am excited and look forward to our ongoing collaboration.“

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Advertiser feature

Colorobbia: dominating the digital space

Tecnargilla 2014 Design Award winner Colorobbia inks with Xaar 001 Since many years now, the ceramic world has started experiencing a total revolution thanks to digital technology, which allows exponentially increasing improvements in terms of graphic design, production and economic efficiency. For this reason, the digital ceramic decoration technology has undergone a rapid growth and its demand by the leading ceramic manufacturers continues to increase. In addition to the many advantages that digital decoration brings to the ceramic production process, Colorobbia offers to its customers, through the products of the Colorobbia Digital Space family, some additional plus points: - Maximum reliability of the inks in inkjet machines and in the ceramic industries context; - Suitable inks for high speed printing that allow to maintain or increase the productivity; - Large color range that allows to reproduce the models of production using digital technology. The Colorobbia Digital Space range is complete and always able to respond to the needs of all customers through four different series of products: Inks EHP (Extended Hydrophilic Properties) Inks ETR (Extended Temperature Range) Inks SPS (Special Particle Size) New digital Glazes HQ (High Quantity), which open new decorative possibilities

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The combination of all these materials endows the tile surface with avant-garde and innovative technical properties, opening up to multiple possibilities in the development of finished products, being these materials combinable among themselves or with ones of different type (e.g. granular frits, pellets, protective glazes, etc..). EHP and ETR Series of Inks Since long time Colorobbia has been offering a wide range of inks already known in the market - comprised in the EHP series, which is characterized by high stability and excellent color rendering. Recently Colorobbia has introduced a new series of inks, the ETR series (Extended Temperature Range), which includes the full range of colors and effects that already existed in the previous EHP series (Extended Hydrophilic Properties), with the addition of the Honey color. This inks set becomes a new reference for the world of digital ceramic printing, both for the width of the color range, and for the quality of the print. In fact, the new ETR series has been developed with the most advanced know-how, which has allowed Colorobbia to create inks with highly improved features, and characteristics that are complementary to the ones of the EHP series. Inside this new ETR series, Colorobbia has also integrated three major product families (C Glaze ETR, C Inks ETR and C Shine ETR).

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The ETR series comprises a total of 9 colors (Blue, Reddish Brown, Yellow, Honey, Black, Beige, Reddish Beige, Pink, Green), offering a full range of colors that allow to perfectly reproduce every kind of material, and to reach very uniform tones and gradations. In addition to the pigmented inks, this series has five products that complete the range with digital effects (White, Matt, Sinking, Silver, Golden) and a cleaner for the cleaning of print-heads (inks change). One of the main innovations of this ETR series, compared to the EHP one, is the ability to clean the print-heads of the digital machine less frequently and more easily. The ETR inks have many other advantages: greater color intensity, excellent color reproduction, uniformity compared to other decoration systems and great physical and chemical stability, which is essential in industrial processes of single-pass digital printing. A further advantage of this new ETR series is the wide operational range which it enables on the coating line, being it suitable even to the most extreme temperature conditions. The greater color intensity of Colorobbia Digital Space inks means both a greater brightness, and a reduction in the consumption of the inks, and as one one hand it helps the customer to produce identical designs with lower amounts of ink, on the other it allows to obtain brighter and more intense tones from homogeneous digital mixes with hardly any pixelation. ETR inks have been specifically developed to function in both Binary and GS (Grey Scale) printing up to 8 levels, ensuring high productivity (up to 48 m / min at 400 dpi) and an optimal drop formation with volumes ranging from 6 up to 84 picoliters. The inks of the ETR series have been approved and tested by all manufacturers of digital machines and print-heads of the ceramic sector. Continuing to use its philosophy and environmental policy for this new ink series since its very initial stage of development, Colorobbia has taken into consideration: - the use of products not classified as dangerous, giving priority to safer products; - the careful selection of products in order to generate the smallest possible impact on health and the environment throughout the entire life cycle - the preference to the use of products without VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds); - the use of products with a low content of impurities in order to minimize the environmental impact during its use.

SPS AND HQ SERIES: A STEP FORWARD TOWARDS THE DIGITAL FUTURE One of the objectives of Colorobbia is the return to the ceramic concept where the creativity and imagination of the potter are central Precisely for this purpose, in addition to a complete family of granular frits that enhances the color performance of digital inks, Colorobbia has developed together with and as a complement to the EHP and ETR inks, an innovative series of materials for digital application, the SPS series, designed to achieve different effects (glossy, hydroactive and multifunction) with inkjet print-heads of medium and high discharge. These inks, in combination with the products of the ETR series and applied through the digital technology, allow to obtain an endless range of effects and surfaces depending on the substrates over which they are applied. The configuration of the digital machine and the type of print-heads selected, are key elements to determine the possibility of obtaining different effects from one material. The binomial glaze and matter allows to reach different surfaces starting from the same configuration and to obtain different types of products starting from the same design. Recent experiences on industrial level have shown to open incredible possibilities, allowing to obtain, thanks to the overlapping of traditional inks (matt, white, sinking, glossy, hydroactive, multifunction, etc.), effects never reached before. Aspects relating to the size of the tile, the optical effect and the reliefÂ´s structure, are key elements to consider when integrating these effect inks with materials like granular frits, pellets and agglomerates. Within this range of possibilities, Colorobbia also includes the HQ Series (engobes and glazes specifically designed for the application through digital systems of high discharge), perfect to develop all kinds of functional ceramic surfaces.

Xaar 001 printhead

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september 2015

asian ceramics

Analysis: Printing

Brave new 3D and digital printing impacts in ASEAN countries

Jahir Ahmed looks at how ASEAN is responding to the revolution in 3D printing and how it could change the shape of tile manufacture forever…

eramic manufacturers in the member countries of the Associations of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are now rapidly shifting to digital printing replacing older roller printing technology. With the shift of technology the industry is poised to a major change in its production to distribution. The digital 3D designed printed tiles have made sweeping impacts on the consumers’ choice, on the other hand, the manufacturers find this cost-plus-time efficient. Many in the industry, however, fear that the digital printing may promote the shipment of white wares to the major distribution hubs for printing and firing customized products instantly for quick delivery to the buyers. Following convenient availability of digital printers from China at cheaper prices, many tableware manufacturers are showing interest for digital printing. Technically, the tile manufacturers are the main users of digital printers. The countries with old manufacturers, such as, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are currently under pressure to replace their older roller printers with digital ones. Industry sources suggested, the digital technology has been changing the face of the ceramic industry in South East Asia since past several years. The intelligent tile manufacturers have installed digital printers in most of their plants by replacing old technologies at earliest possible time. By this time, no significant negative impacts on work environment, professionals, skilled workers, artisans, distributors and retailers were reported, said the manufacturers.

SCC looks to 3D tiles

The leading manufacturers like the SCG Group were faster with time by introducing latest digital 3D designed printed tiles. SCG is also looking for ceramic 3D printing, and waiting for seeing demonstration of mass manufacturing ceramic 3D machines. However, its negotiated deal for heavy clay-3D printer, with a US-based team of cool brick promoters, Virginia San Fratello & Ronald Rael, is expected to be expanded further to exploit the new opportunities opened up in 3D printing.

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september 2015

The Chinese and European machinery manufacturers are currently the major sources for supply of digital printers to tiles factories in the ASEAN countries. The impact of digital printing is far more impressive to the tile manufacturers, because of higher benefits associated with use of 3D-designed printing to attract the customers and reduce production cost and investment on the capital machinery, according to the Vietnam Building Ceramic Association (VIBCA). Many of the VIBCA members who manufacture floor and wall tiles are buying digital printers from China along with European sources, said Tran Can, a Hanoi based Vietnamese ceramic expert and Director of Ceratec Centre for Science and Technology. Relatively new and upgraded tile factories in Vietnam and Philippines have opted for digital printing quickly and enjoying benefits and better competitiveness against imports, particularly, from cheaper digital printed tiles from surplus market of China. “We are able to reproduce natural-looking designs that were impossible in the past,” said Virgilio V. Antonio, Projects and Marketing Manager of Philippines’ Luzon island based Formosa Ceramic Tiles Mfg Corp, located at San Isidro in San Simon of Pampanga province, north of Manila. “The market is excited about it and are embracing new designs that feature

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Analysis: Printing

worlds?

digital 3D printing on tiles in the process,” he told Asian Ceramics. Digital printers can produce custom dishes, dinnerwares, tiles, porcelain figurines, etc, at a cost no other manufacturing or printing system can defeat, said the manufacturers. Digital’s custom designed products, speed and lead time for delivery/shipment are most lucrative and it saves money on inventory and warehousing, they added. According to the digital printing technology, digital printing is used for the application of imagery, pattern or text to the surface of the products by computerized designing and printing to glazing and firing. Besides in-house, a distant computer online also can have command and control on the process. Also a distant digital printer in ceramic ware distribution centres can digital-print on white wares when shipments arrive to cater buyers locally with instant customized printing to firing and delivery directly or through any third party contractor, distributer, dealer or retailer. Together with customers’ demand for digital 3D designed tiles, the production people as well as the manufacturers enjoy diverse comforts and savings by using digital printing, said the sources in the industry. The impact is so strong that many companies which have

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large investment on roller printing are being forced to shift to digital. Philippines’ Formosa Ceramic Tiles’s Antonio said up to 80 of the traditional designs has now been migrated into digital printing, mainly on floor and wall tiles. “We see a future of purely digital printing technology in the Asian ceramic industry. There is no way a manufacturer would like to come back to the cumbersome, expensive, roller printing technology of the past,” said Antonio, who is also Executive Director of Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers Association of Philippines (CTMA) and currently government recognized ‘Industry Champion’ for the CTMA in the Philippines. Taiwan’s Techno Ferrari Digital Printing machines have good markets in the Philippines.

An extra dimension

Meanwhile, SCG is now one of the largest users of digital ceramic printers. Its manufacturing operations in the ASEAN countries are using digital technology in ceramic tiles and sanitarywares both, but digital printing is done mainly on tiles. It has one of the world’s largest 3D design options for printing on tiles in all of its manufacturing countries.

september 2015

asian ceramics

Analysis: Printing

WILL TECHNOLOGY REPLACE THE EXPERIENCE IN THE HANDS OF AN ARTIST WHO HAS BEEN CREATING CERAMIC TABLEWARES OR COOKING POTS FOR 40 YEARS? Ceramic 3D printer

SCG owned COTTO introduced ‘Cotto 3D digital printing technology’ claiming that it is the latest technology that transfers every design detail onto whatever surface of tiles aesthetically. Digital printed COTTO porcelain tiles fulfill the high-end demand of tile usage in the ASEAN countries. ‘COTTO Digital’ is the latest offering introduced in the Thai market for the first time. “This collection is produced by touchable 3D digital printing to bring the reality of natural onto tile surfaces, and later on, it has been used in ‘COTTO Digital HyperBright’, the tempered glass tile with sharp images and vivid colours,” according to a campaign by COTTO. In Thailand, the domestic ceramic tiles market represented an estimated 180 million square meters, in 2014. For sanitary ware it was 4.7 million pieces during year. COTTO is the market leader in both segments, said the Ceramic Industry Club of Thailand (CICT). SCG’s Mariwasa Siam Ceramics Inc tile plant in the Philippines introduced digital printed 3D designed tiles, describing it “Full HD (three dimensional)” effect on tiles. “With the new digital printing technology, marble and other stone designs looks a lot natural and real and wood designs comes out to look like natural woods both in color and texture,” claims Jakkrit Suwansilp, Vice-President for Sales and Marketing of Mariwasa. In Philippines and Vietnam SCG responded to the huge demand for digitally printed and 3D designed tiles. In its Prime Group tiles in Vietnam it is exploring best available designs of images to protect and expand its market in strong competition against high quality 3D designed products from the local quality manufacturers and imported rivals, particularly, from price competitive Chinese products. Vietnam’s VIBCA monitoring showed the domestic markets are being best catered largely with digital printed tiles. “Producers can change the tile designs quickly and there are many choices for them to produce different images on tiles, make it as natural as they desire,” said VIBCA Secretary Vu Thi Kim Dung.” This helps producers to have better competitive edge over others,” she added.

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The 3D printing technology made its way to the technological world in the year 1986 in USA. US based Z Corporation (founded in 1986), acquired by 3D Systems of USA in 2012, pioneered in development and commercial use of 3D printing systems. On a 3D printer the object is printed by three dimensions. A 3D model is built up layer by layer. The whole process is called rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing or 3D printing. For creating an object, one needs a digital 3D-model. One can scan a set of 3D images, or draw it using computerassisted design or CAD software. It can be downloaded from internet. The digital 3D-model is usually saved in STL format. Then sent to the printer. The process of printing a three-dimensional (3D) object layer by layer with equipment is quite similar with ink-jet printers. One of the most important applications of 3D printing is in the medical industry. With 3D printing, surgeons can produce mockups of parts of their patient's body which needs to be operated upon. 3D printing makes it possible to make a part from scratch in just hours. It allows designers and developers to go from flat screen to exact part. Almost everything from aerospace components to toys are getting built with the help of 3D printers. In 3D printing various materials are used as raw material inputs. Many free softwares, sucvh as, Google SketchUp, 3Dtin, Blender, OpenSCAD and Tinkercad can be downloaded from Internet. Commercial software, CAD software AutoCAD and Pro Engineer, and packages Rhino, Maya, and SolidWork, etc, can be used for designing good 3D models. Free models are also available online. Many globally operating companies, such as, Shapeways, i.Materialise, Sculpteo and Ponoko provide online 3D printing service. A common process of rapid prototyping is to apply a fine powder (plaster, bioplastic, polyurethane, polyester, epoxy, metal, etc.) in such a 3D inkjet printers. Printer print out the layer of powder on a bed and form a fixed object. The design is defined by a CAD file. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is another method in which molten polymer is sprayed on a support layer and the model is built layer by layer. Another way is to use liquids, such as photopolymer, by the same inkjet-type head which is also printed each layer by layer. An ultraviolet light is used to activate the print head so that the liquid layer become a solid layer. This process is also well-known as stereolithography. The resolution of the current printers are among the 328 x 328 x 606 DPI (xyz) at 656 x 656 x 800 DPI (xyz) in ultra-HD resolution. The accuracy is 0.025 mm - 0.05 mm per inch. The model size is up to 737 mm x 1257 mm x 1504 mm. All the global majors in manufacturing of industrial, professional and home 3D printers, such as, Objet Geometries, Z Corporation, 3DSystems, Makerbot Industries, Botmill, Fab@Home, Stratasys, Ultimake, etc, have their operating offices or agents in the ceramic manufacturing countries in the ASEAN region and other Asia Pacific countries. Most of the operators are based in USA or have major business interests there. Western companies have their reseller all over ASEAN countries and most of them are based in Singapore. Among them Creatz3D Pte Ltd, with subsidiaries in Vietnam (Hong Chi Vina) and Indonesia (Hong Chek Group), located in Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, respectively. The company’s Singapore based regional operations manager Sean Looi is expecting expansion of industrial coverage in non metal sectors, such as, ceramics and glass.

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Analysis: Printing

Because of higher demand for digital printed tiles more and more Vietnamese manufacturers are investing in digital tile printing and for large formal tiles, such as, 50x50cm, 60x60cm and 80x80cm floor tiles and also large format wall tiles. “Such tiles are most popular in Vietnam,” Dung told Asian Ceramics. Digital printing machines are now best sold ceramic machinery in Vietnam. Machines are coming mainly from Italy, Spain and China. The suppliers include, Durst System, SACMI, Cretaprint, Tecnoferrari, New King Time, Hope, Karajet and TechnoSystems. At least one third of the floor tile plants in Vietnam are now using digital printers from Europe and China, said Ceratec Director Tran Can. Huge popularity of digital tiles has prompted the manufacturers go with uncontrolled production causing huge surplus in various segments of tiles in the ASEAN countries and also in India, because of over production and unusually long-staying huge inventories. VIBCA said the situation in Vietnam has improved recently. “In some segments of digital tiles surplus is rising steadily in India when domestic and export markets are not growing to cope with it,” said Neha Singh, Director of Imports and Exports, Vanen Group, owner of Vanen Tiles India, which manufactures export grade 3D designed digital printed tiles in India’s ceramic cluster of Gujarat. With expansion of digital tiles, the manufacturers are forced to search for export markets throughout the world for their new digital products. “Vanen Tiles has successfully raised two dozen export markets worldwide for its 3D designed digital tiles by doing extensive research on the global demands,” said Neha. “Our range of digital glazed vitrified tiles in sizes like 60x60cm, 60x120cm, 80x80cm, 60x90cm, 15x60cm, and 20x120cm are shipped to export markets at a price of some UK£15 per sq metre,” she added.

Revolutionary tech

Along with 3D designed digital printing, much talked about 3D printing has also arrived in the ASEAN countries. The ceramic 3D printing is now looming on the horizon to hit the basic of the ceramic production process as the future ceramic 3D printers are being developed as mass manufacturing system to integrate with the existing ceramic plants. Currently, the productions of 3D printed items are limited within hobbyists, professionals and industrial users. The main 3D markets are, aerospace, automotive, dental, jewelry, medical, industrial parts and mold-making. Plastics and metals cover a diverse range of products for the market segments, compared to the smaller segments of non-metal items based on ceramics and glass. Although, still in infancy, the mass manufacturing applications of the industrial 3D printers, now being developed worldwide, appear to be revolutionizing in the manufacturing sectors, including ceramics, according to the industry experts. Many 3D printing service providers are already serving the sectors like plastics, metals, etc, and advancing towards traditional ceramics following distribution of 3D printing machines and materials by the global leaders like the US based 3D Systems Corp. The world’s largest manufacturer in 3D technology, 3D Systems is among the top developers in ceramic 3D printing, although its Asian markets for ceramic printing machines and materials are just on the way of going to pick up. Its China/Hong Kong based Asia Pacific operation is serving all countries of the ASEAN markets. This year 3D Systems acquired largest Chinese 3D printing company, Wuxi Easyway Design & Manufacture Company. 3D Systems’ expansion in the neighbouring East Asian countries of Japan, South Korea, China and Australia were significantly rewarding in the recent years in creating market demands.

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Wasp launches professional extruder for ceramic materials

LDM (liquid deposit modeling) is the name of the new WASP clay kit for ceramic materials that can be adapted to most of the 3D printers on the market, says Wasp. It focused on use of functional materials like ceramics, porcelain, clay, alumine, zirconium and advanced ceramics, to promote digital handicraft and self-production. This new product aims to promote the print of fluid-dense materials and advanced ceramics in the world. After experimenting all the possible combinations of pressure, nozzles and materials WASP has created a model of extruder which is able to interrupt and restart the extrusion flow. This new WASP clay extruder can reach a level of precision which is very close to that of plastic polymers extruders. It combined a screw extruder and a pressure extruder. It can help control with accuracy the flow of material and also to use retraction to interrupt deposition.

CeraJet 3D printer from 3D Systems

The CeraJet 3D printer puts an exciting new shine on artisanal ceramics by adding the intricacy of 3D printing and the convenience of digital design, claims 3D Systems. Designers, artists, consumers and major home décor labels can produce pieces with a previously impossible level of complexity and detail. Users can perfect and see designs before creating them, and ceramic designs come out of the CeraJet ready for firing and glazing. 3D Systems has brought ceramics together with the freedom of 3D printing. Designers need only add their imagination and exploratory spirit to create amazing new kitchenware, tiling, art, decorations and more. CeraJet is expected to be available in 2016, says 3D Systems. Enhanced 3D ceramic printing technique to produce tableware, jewelry Researchers at the University of West England (UWE) Bristol, UK have developed an enhanced 3D ceramic printing technique to produce tableware and intricate ornaments. This will print rapid prototypes in ceramic, with an enhanced 3D ceramic printing process that enabled the production of concept models of new design in ceramic material, printed directly from CAD data, fired, glazed and decorated. The process includes glazing, firing and decorating of ceramic material. Prof. Stephen Hoskins Director of UWE’s Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) and David Huson, Senior Research Fellow, received a fund of over £385,000 in 2012 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake investigation into a self-glazing 3D printed ceramic, inspired by ancient Egyptian Faience ceramic techniques, glazed and vitrified in one firing, to 1200 degrees C. Argillasys became a 3D printing platform for this.

ETH Zürich

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Analysis: Printing

“Our products and services have big demand worldwide,” Avi Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems, claims strongly pointing to expansion in Asia and development of Singapore as a distribution hub. The pioneering company captured the whole Western markets, especially USA, in last three decades. Its Management expects to raise the 2015 sales revenue to US$850 million to US$900 million from 2014’s US$654 million. The company provides 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for both the professional and consumers markets with materials ranging from thermoplastics, metals, ceramics and edible sugar. High-end 3D ceramic products, including advanced ceramics, now have most potential markets in the ASEAN region. Besides 3D Systems, all other global majors from Europe and North America, are also now active in Asia and its ASEAN bloc markets. The companies include, Objet Geometries, Z Corporation, Stratasys, Ultimaker, Makerbot Industries, Botmill, Fab@Home and others. The 3D companies believe, Asia will command an annual market of around a half of the global markets of some US$10 billion by 2020 for the 3D manufacturing machines, scanners, materials, softwares and others, including 3D products. They said, despite slower progress compared to plastics, metals and others, the ceramic 3D printers and materials’ stake would be significant in terms of value for diverse use of ceramic 3D printed products, such as, medical implants, jewelry, specialty parts and items required in industries to aerospace sectors. Of the current half a billion dollar a year medical 3D markets, ceramics have already got a considerable share, according to available industry data. Well known as advanced ceramics, such products are now being 3D-printed by the by medical professionals, specially, surgeons, in the hospitals and clinics, and such services are now well served in the ASEAN countries. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok attract a huge number of patients and other clients from Europe and North America every week for such medical purposes. However, few traditional ceramic manufacturers are thinking about getting involved in the ceramic 3D printing development. ASEAN ceramic leader SCG Group, which owns major ceramic plants in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, is so far the leading traditional ceramic manufacturer which has some definite plans under its building ceramics division for using 3D mass manufacturing machines. Initially it is investing in heavy clay sector for research projects to have plants for making specialty bricks that keep interior, even a whole building, cool.

Booming markets

Among the Asian developers of 3D printers, some Taiwanese

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companies and engineers are showing keen interest to manufacture 3D printing systems for the global marketys. In China, the most successful local manufacturer of 3D printing systems, Wuxi Easyway Design & Manufacture Company, proved the Asian potential. Easyway Group is now acquired by the Americans, but many Chinese 3D companies, such as leading 3D printing operator Beijing Tiertime Technology Co Ltd (Tiertime), are growing fast. Currently, the prices of Asian, including ASEAN made, 3D printing systems ranges from some US$500-2,000 for home desktop type to US$2,000-20,000-plus for professional and industrial types. Higher priced machines are complete assembled types of Western manufacturers who have strong presence in East and South East Asia. Taiwan based Adwii Technology Co Ltd is currently a successful developer and exporter of Composite Powder material based full color inkjet technology. It is a 1200dpi Full Color 3D Printing System and high resolution inkjet printing technology. Support structure is not needed, one can print any shape as wanted. It is a continuous ink supply system and has customized production ability, with applications in art, architecture, interior design, industrial design, rapid prototyping, and education etc. Founded in 2011, Adwii expects to add ceramic and other materials based 3D printers. Malaysia’s Penang based Vagler Technologies Sdn Bhd, an associate of Sweden’s 3D printing technology company, Vagler, is a manufacturer of 3D printing systems and various products and a provider of 3D printing services in Malaysia. It has a machine production capacity of 500 units per month and it plans to add some extra line to increase production to 1,000 units a month. The company currently sells 3D printers only in Malaysia and Singapore, but will reach stores in Europe and USA soon, said the company. Vietnam’s Liem and Quyen developed professional and industrial grade 3D printers, which were demonstrated in recent years, are now emerging as manufacturer of major 3D printing systems for use in industries in Vietnam and other countries. They have option to develop ceramic 3D printers. There are hundreds of 3D service providers in the ASEAN countries. Some of them have large network operations. In Indonesia. companies such as 3D Solution and Rannova have sprouted up to provide a way for these entrepreneurs and hobbyists to bring their ideas to life and share them with the marketplace. Philippines has 3D2Go Philippines, based in Quezon City, with full range of one stop services with stores. Malaysia based Pebble3D Sdn Bhd and Materialise Sdn Bhd, and Thailand’s Protothai (3D 4X100 Co., Ltd.) and Thaigoskate, are a few among many.

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Analysis: Printing

Dutch hope

Many successful individual developers from the West are wooing ASEAN countries for prospects. Olivier van Herpt is one of them. He believes his ceramic 3D printers would attract many Asian investors soon when he will release some futurist machines. His current versions of ceramic 3D printing systems, waiting for production to be sold in Europe and Asia, could be easy to operate, manufacture ceramic pottery, handle glazing and use traditional kilns for firing, all economically. “We've used a regular pottery kilns so far and the results have been great,” the Netherlands based ceramic 3D printing engineer Herpt told Asian Ceramics. “I'd love to make vases for or sell my 3D printer to industrial users in ASEAN countries. Most of the interest I've had so far has come from Europe and the United States. I'd also love to connect with design retailers across Asia,” he said. Herpt claims his printers are capable to manufacture ceramic tiles. “We are at the moment limited to a build volume of 80cm by 45cm. It can be used to make objects of all kinds within that volume however. For tiles I think that traditional methods would be more rapid but for a custom tile or a tile with a unique pattern the printer would be a good solution.” ”The final machine that I will be selling in December will be a machine made for university labs, designers, artists studios and industrial users. It takes only 60 minutes to 3D print a 80cm tall vase so depending on the throughput required one machine or several could suffice,” said Herpt. “The machines would be manufactured in the Netherlands. Reliable 3D printers are quite challenging to manufacture and I want to be in a position to visit manufacturing partners easily and quickly in the vicinity of Eindhoven,” he added.

Local potentiality

Many European and North American 3D printing technology officials and 3D printers and materials marketers are now active in the ASEAN countries. Some of them have mixed thoughts about the negative impacts of the 3D printers on the ASEAN economy. Despite fatal bites from 3D printers the ASEAN traditional and own technology would be able to compete and survive, they told Asian Ceramics. Western 3D printer and material distributors operating in the ASEAN countries are aware that the negative impacts of the 3D printing may be a threat to the local artisans and other traditional skilled workers. Michael Aumock, the key person at Image Transform, based in Singapore, for marketing 3D printing solutions in the ASEAN markets and responsible for MakerBot 3D printing technology

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since past several years, is not expecting total elimination of the Asian handmade art and the artisan families. “Will technology replace the experience in the hands of an artist who has been creating ceramic tablewares or cooking pots for 40 years?” He asked the question and answered himself: “3D printing will take a big bite out of that industry, among others in the coming years, but it won't kill it completely; there is magic in art, and a true artist making something one-of-a-kind in ceramic or tiles will always have a small segment of the market.” Although, the traditional ceramic manufacturers in the ASEAN countries are yet to show commercial interests in ceramic 3D printing, experts in 3D printing suggest that at least some small scale projects could be economically viable. “3D Printing eliminates the need for tooling such as molds; this is a big advantage for small quantities; with casting, the cycle times are a fraction of the forming time required for a 3D printed object,” said US based Benjamin Becker, Managing Director, HotEnd Works LLC, at Cleveland/Akron, Ohio. He said: “Ceramic 3D printing offers engineering-grade ceramic components in 90 percent less time than traditional ceramics. Typical turn around can be in as little as five days depending on complexity of the part. This not only allows for faster time to market, but also allows for more iterations during the design process.” 3D printing engineer Becker confirms Asian Ceramics that some high-end ceramic 3D printed products could have economic feasibility for the manufacturers in Asia. “When coupled with large quantities, traditional techniques are more cost effective because of reduced cycle times and the tooling can be paid back in an appropriate time frame,” he said. Asia has plenty of own resources to develop its own 3D printing technology, suggests US-based Colin Keizer, a 3D Printing and CNC Technician and Designer, at Seattle in Washington. “China, or Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, all have many smart, experienced engineers who understand their industries far better than a Western 3D expert, when it comes to 3D printing,” said Keizer. “The fundamental patents of "3D printing" core technologies have run out or will soon run out. I have every confidence that any Asian industrial group can quickly learn all the essential information and skills needed to create their own porcelain printers, plastics printers, metals printers, etc,” he said. “Once this exercise is completed, as I know it has been for titanium, concrete and other examples, locally produced 3D printers will be available and the biggest questions then seem to me to be economic, technical and education,” Keizer pointed out.

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Advertiser feature

SACMI GROUP PREPARES FOR CERAMITEC Self-recovery EKO burners from Sacmi Heavy Clay Sacmi Heavy Clay points on the European reference event for the sector (20-23 October 2015) to present its range of complete plants for the brick industry, from burners - that will be on display along with a cutting machine - to innovative solutions for rapid drying and handling of the product. Signs of recovery in the bricks European market, with a growing request for technological solutions and complete plants for just in time productions and for manufactures products - such as roofing and tiles – intended for export. A policy line that Sacmi Heavy Clay - a complete building services manufacturer, for years at the global forefront with innovative solutions and targeted technological proposals, focused on optimising production costs and energy saving – has chosen to intercept, by participating with a leading role in the Ceramitec Fair of Munich, Bavaria. The every three-year held exhibition - in agenda from 20 to 23 October 2015 - is the absolute benchmark for the sector in Europe with more than 3 thousand visitors expected and the undoubted presence of all the most important global players of the ceramic and brick industry . Among the major worldwide burner producers - and among the few companies in the industry that stand out from the competition for the direct production of this type of solutions, in most cases assigned to third parties - Sacmi displays in its exhibition space the new range of self-recovery EKO burners. The EKO solution, applied to the thermal machines produced by Sacmi Forni, allows to reduce the consumption of one of the most energy-consumer stages in the brick production process – namely, baking and is part of a wide product range that goes from high-speed side burners to roof burners with automatic ignition system, up to the classical air and gas mixture burners. In addition to the burners on display, specialised visitors from all over the world will have the opportunity to become better acquainted with the complete plant design offer of Sacmi Heavy Clay, which comprises, on the one hand, the innovative plants for rapid drying (the heart of the brick production line) and, on the other hand, advanced plants for handling, developed with Cosmec, the company acquired by Sacmi in 2014, with recognised experience in the brick handling sector and with a well-established customer base on many of the major reference international markets of the Group (from Russia to North Africa and South America). To complete the picture of the solutions on display, there is a cutting multiwire machine, manufactured by Cosmec that stands out for innovation, versatility and reliability of use. Designed to meet

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the cutting requirements of any type of product – from horizontal, vertical or combined multiple cuts; passing through multiple cuts with accompanying rods and on passage, as well as the various special multiple cutting systems - the Cosmec cutting machine can develop with widths up to 1.500 mm without the need for a central support of the cutting wires, by allowing maximum flexibility in the dimensions of the extrusion die and in the production chain. To ensure maximum accuracy during the cutting stage is the innovative tensioning system of the wire, designed to minimise the possibility of breakages, thus reducing maintenance time. Riedhammer: Outstanding quality combined with high energy saving and constant innovation At the Ceramitec exhibition in Munich, Riedhammer will present its newly gained know how in high-product quality, efficiency and energy-saving innovations. Thanks to its more than 90 years’ of experience as well as prompt alignment to market requirements, Riedhammer can offer advanced reliable technical solutions for all thermal processes, which ensure a very high finished product quality. Of special importance are our tailor made kilns for advanced ceramic products where Riedhammer can also provide handlings system and automation solutions. The Riedhammer energy saving system “EMS” has been further optimized and now combines the advantages of a pulse firing system and combustion air preheating to 700°C for the lowest energy consumption in sanitary ware tunnel kilns. The most advanced technology and proven reliability is shown by the new Riedhammer rotary kiln for heat treatment of ceramic powder, “green energy” products and calcination as well as our special high temperature kiln where Riedhammer has developed a “light weight lined” tunnel kiln with a fiber roof for firing up to 1700°C. The newly developed tempering kilns for Mag Carbon and Dolomite bricks allow pollution free production at very low energy consumption due to a highly efficient heat recovery system. For recycling processes, Riedhammer provides complete lines for the production of foam glass gravel. Tradition and experience conjoin here with state of the art development, engineering, construction and commissioning to form a new generation of kilns including all the necessary auxiliary equipment. As a member of the SACMI Group Riedhammer has a worldwide net of agencies and representatives which guarantee a most effective customer service and professional support whenever and wherever required.

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Riedhammers engineers and technicians are trained to optimize the progress of projects to achieve minimized project run-times, minimized production costs and shortest return on investment. Our special team of senior engineers and experienced commissioning engineers provide “Revamping” solutions for the customer to modernize older equipment to reduce energy consumption, increase output, improve quality, install/optimize automation and handling systems, update control and regulation technology incl. sophisticated visualization systems. SAMA: innovative wet foot grinding, pressure casting and isostatic pressing solutions SAMA, the leading provider of machines and complete plants to the tableware and technical ceramic industries, offers extrusiontype shaping machinery, plastic shaping units, isostatic pressing, high pressure and tape casting solutions, machines for surface grinding, polishing and glazing plus factory automation solutions. Visitors to Ceramitec 2015 are in for a treat as SAMA is showcasing an array of new solutions that meet a host of modern manufacturing needs. First up is the new F0714.50 wet foot grinder, a versatile finisher for cups, mugs, plates, both round and non-round. Here, flexibility is everything: it can grind articles in the upside-down position, makes product changeovers easy, can soft or hard-grind rounded or flattened article feet and has a water-removing blower. What’s more, it can be integrated into production lines with ease and it will reduce the grinding costs per article. On the casting front, the stand will also display the PCM 150 E/D automatic pressure casting unit. The former are powerful (150 tons) hydraulic casting solutions for solid or hollow casting in two-part moulds. The key word with these is ‘easy’: no cooling water is needed, execution can be single or double-head, they are easily incorporated on automatic lines and the slip pump can handle pressures up to 40 bar over the entire mould clamping surface of 900 mm x 900 mm and the electric consumption is reduced by 70%! The LPP 1S-38/OFM isostatic pressing plant offers power (450 tons) and versatility: it can handle a full range of complicated

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shapes and is also suitable for making very thin, highend bone china and porcelain items. Flexibility is optimal (universal rim finishing/sponging OFM unit), it requires no programming and is self-adjusting. Alternatively, it can be equipped with a universal ROF 4 finishing robot. In short, three fast, high-quality, solutions for the table ware industry. Also on show will be the SAMA isostatic pressing tool system. Used to press thin, light articles, these offer a full array of practical advantages that include minimisation of flash, highly flexible output thanks to user-friendly changeovers and adjustment, no need for adapters and much, much more besides. LAEIS: responsible resource use, for a greener environment Worldwide, the name LAEIS stands for efficient, highly developed and cutting edge pressing technology. At Ceramitec 2015 in Munich the company presents the HPF 1000 high performance press, one type of the latest generation of the LAEIS HPF presses, which continue to define the state of technology for the production of shaped refractory products. They convince through their reliability, flexibility and their high degree of automation. At Ceramitec one can get an impression of the well proven LAEIS product range for the production of refractories and various other applications. Conventional hydraulic presses are characterized by a high energy consumption. Thanks to their trend setting technology, LAEIS HPF presses prove otherwise and are thus the international reference for highest efficiency and best product quality. In spite of increased connected load the LAEIS state of the art electronic and hydraulic system guarantees higher press speed and reduced energy cost per ton of pressed material. That is quality that pays! Founded in 1860, LAEIS has been a world leading supplier of high performance hydraulic presses for the production of refractories for decades. LAEIS presses are also successfully used in other industries, e.g. for shaping of fine ceramics, technical ceramics, salt blocks, special types of building materials, anodes for aluminium smelters and other carbon based products, and numerous other applications.

september 2015

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Analysis: Sanitaryware

Building the future

for

sanitary ware demand in the Middle East

Yogender Malik looks at how changing political and economic conditions are affecting the demand for sanitaryware, and assesses the sector’s future demand.

he Middle East has been one of the most interesting battlegrounds for regional and international ceramic sanitary ware producers for a number of years due to scale and scope of constructions in the oil rich countries of the region. While, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have been the largest demand drivers for sanitary ware industry in the past, other Middle Eastern countries too have started to register impressive growth in sanitary ware consumption due to commencement of large scale residential and commercial construction activities in recent years. Though, it would be difficult for the other Middle Eastern countries to register the similar numbers as those of KSA or UAE due to their size (as compared to KSA) and scale of commercial activates (as compared to UAE), but by the recent numbers it is certain that these countries will post the similar (in some cases even more) growth figures of sanitary ware consumption. With a cumulative sanitary ware demand of 15 million pieces in the six Middle Eastern countries ( KSA, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman) in 2014, the region provides one of the best opportunities for sanitary ware producers. With the current spate of constructions, it is expected that sanitary ware demand in these countries will surpass the past records and will achieve a target of 20 million pieces in the year 2018. Besides, the numbers, the most heartening fact from sanitary ware producers point of the view is the demand of premium and luxury sanitary ware products from the residential and commercial construction. Nowhere, on the globe, the proportion of premium sanitary ware products is higher than that coming from these oil rich, well to do states. In addition to domestic sanitary ware producers, most of the large sanitary ware producers are present in one or more Middle Eastern countries through distributors, liaison offices or agency arrangements, to cater to one of the most unique sanitary ware market on the globe. With a record decline in crude oil prices in last one year, there are apprehensions in and around the Middle East that construction projects and sanitary ware consumption will have to face drastic slowdown, if the oil prices didn’t recover soon. Vish Natrajan, CEO, Oman Ceramics Co SAOG, who is very candid about the economic situation in the region says “I am

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not saying that the construction activities will not slow down. There could be a slow down as the excess oil money was going into construction activities. Till now there hasn't been any impact but in the second half of the year there could be a decline in activities. All I am saying is that there are still enough avenues available to us. We are supplying to many ongoing projects and my view is that these projects wouldn't be stopped.”

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Analysis: Sanitaryware

Ceramic sanitaryware demand Country

2014

2013

2012

2011

Saudi Arabia

7.6 million pcs

7.4

7.1

6.8

UAE

3.5 million pcs

3.3

3.1

2.9

Kuwait

1.2 million pcs

1.1

1.02

0.94

Oman

1.1 million pcs

1.05

0.96

0.90

Qatar

1.2 million pcs

0.95

0.85

0.74

Bahrain

0.6 million pcs

0.55

0.5

0.52

Country Analysis Saudi Arabia

Home to an estimated 15.9% of the world’s proven oil reserves; Saudi Arabia is the single largest economy in the Middle East region. Saudi Arabia's rapidly-growing and urbanizing population is creating a near-insatiable demand for sanitary wares in the kingdom. Buoyed by prolonged government stimulus, Saudi Arabia’s construction industry, the second-largest sector in the economy after oil, is experiencing rapid expansion in housing, utilities, commercial and institutional constructions, thus driving the demand of sanitary wares in the country. Central parts of the kingdom (Medina, Mecca and Riyadh), which are densely populated and are experiencing large scale development are currently accounting a lion’s share of total sanitary ware demand in the country. In terms of the major end user, the residential sector accounts for largest volume share in the market, followed by the commercial and institutional sectors. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the biggest sanitary ware market in the Middle East on the back of above mentioned sustained construction and remodeling activities. In fact, the Kingdom is largest importer of sanitary ware in the Middle East region due to huge domestic demand and limited installed capacity of domestic players. The market for sanitary ware products in Saudi Arabia is projected to grow significantly in the coming years, thereby offering immense growth opportunities to both domestic and international players. More than 70% of the sanitary ware products demand in Saudi Arabia is currently being fulfilled by imports. Domestic sanitary ware producer, Saudi Ceramics, which is currently undergoing a capacity expansion, meets the most of rest 30 % demand. Owning to its proximity to Kingdom, RAK Ceramics is a dominant exporter of ceramic sanitary wares in the country. Some other major brands, which have a significant share in the Saudi market, are American Standard, Japanese Toto and Egyptian sanitary ware leader, Lecico. In the mid range segments, Chinese and Indian sanitary ware producers have been trying to outdo each other for a number of years. Chinese producers still have a dominant share of total Saudi sanitary ware market. Currently estimated to have a 28- 30 % share of the total Saudi sanitary ware market, Chinese producers have been trying to push in the premium range of sanitary wares for last two years.

United Arab Emirates

Though, Saudi Arabia is the largest market for sanitary wares in the region, but United Arab Emirates is and has been the most exciting market from sanitary ware producers’ point of view. Though in terms of volume, UAE forms about 0.46 ( based on 2014 sanitary ware demand figures) of the Saudi market, but when compared on value basis it is at 0.70 of total value of sanitary ware business, owning to the usage of high value sanitary ware pieces.

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Never stopping construction and remodelling activities, establishment of new commercial hubs and off late brisk construction in Abu Dhabi and other five emirates kept the sanitary ware demand steady in past few years.

Qatar

The Qatari sanitary ware demand has exhibited an explosive growth (though from a smaller base as compared to UAE or Saudi Arabia) on the back of brisk construction activities in last three years. Sanitary ware demand growth has been driven by private and public investments in infrastructure, and residential and commercial construction projects. Future demand in sanitary ware in the country will be driven by the country’s National Vision 2030, its economic diversification policy, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, resulting in increased government focus on infrastructure and commercial construction. In the absence of domestic production, entire sanitary ware demand is sourced via imports. The other Middle Eastern countries account for 40 % of the sanitary ware imports in the country, whereas other Asian and European producers share the rest 60 % imports, of the country’s demand.

Oman

Sanitary ware demand in the Oman is in good health on the back of steady construction activities in the sultanate. Bearing in mind Oman’s relatively small population of only 2.8 million people, the scale of the construction and infrastructure development projects that have already been committed or are under construction is impressive. Sanitary ware industry is likely to benefit significantly from the expansionary investment program outlined for the construction industry in the budget 2015-16, which at just over OR14bn is nearly 5% higher than that budgeted for the previous year. Over the next five years, 6 new airports are to be constructed throughout the country and expansions of current airports are also expected. The rapidly increasing population is driving demand for necessary housing and infrastructure. The recent announcement of USD 8bn expenditures on commercial and residential developments indicates a halcyon time for sanitary ware producers, which coupled with heightened interest from developers in tourism projects such as luxury hotels and resorts is attracting both regional and international players is likely to push demand for sanitary wares by a few % points. Currently, Sohar based Oman Ceramics, the lone producer of ceramic sanitary ware in the country meets a large share of total domestic demand. However more than 50 % of the country’s sanitary ware demand is met via imports from other regional Middle Eastern countries and Europe.

Bahrain and Kuwait

Record decline in crude oil prices has had some impact on sanitary ware demand in some of the countries of the region. However, low oil prices have not affected sanitary ware demand very much in Bahrain. The government has announced that it is going ahead with the project to provide free houses to all of its citizen. Though, Kuwait has been affected by low oil prices, it has huge reserves and construction activities in that country could continue at least for the next two years ( assuming that crude oil stays at current prices) , which will continue to lead to a steady demand of sanitary ware in the country.The sprawling manufacturing site on the edge of

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asian ceramics

Analysis: Sanitaryware

the RAK free zone is the base from which Abdallah Massaad, the chief executive of RAK Ceramics, leads a company with nearly US$1 billion in global sales.

Hotel Construction in the Middle East

Hotels and commercial constructions are one of the largest demand drivers of premium and luxurious sanitary ware in the Middle East. Hotel construction in the Middle East region rose by 44.3% in June 2015 compared to figures for June 2014, with 96,162 rooms in 366 hotels under construction during the month. Currently, a total of 659 hotels are under construction, comprising 168,361 rooms in the MEA region. This is a 17% increase in rooms under construction, compared to 2014. Dubai leads the regional market, with 17,358 rooms under construction in 68 hotels. In Saudi Arabia, about 12,000 rooms in 47 hotels are under construction. Doha in Qatar is constructing 6,119 rooms in 25 hotels. The under contract data includes projects in the in construction, final planning and planning stages but does not include projects in the unconfirmed stage.

Major Producers in the Region

Twenty years ago there were two small sanitary ware producers in the region; today the region is home to two of the world’s largest ceramic sanitary ware producers. Imports still play a major role – some 40% of total demand is still met through this route. However, with the current undergoing expansions by both the major producers, this figure is likely to reach to 35 % or less in a couple of years from now. Despite strong sales, challenges facing ceramic sanitary ware manufacturers have made manufacturing in the Middle East slightly difficult for some companies. The cost of manufacturing has continues to escalate ( although slowly in comparison to other parts of the world) , due in large part to labor and tapering off of subsidies on energy in some of the countries. Chinese and Indian producers low priced products in particular has posed challenges in low and mid priced sanitary ware products for the Middle Eastern producers. Despite, their best efforts, the Middle Eastern producers have not been able to ebb the flow of these products from these two countries, significantly.

RAK Ceramics

The sprawling manufacturing site on the edge of RAK Free Trade Zone has given UAE one of its genuine market leaders in the form of RAK Ceramics. Company’s slogan “ Make sure it’s RAK” is not alone founded on the most luxurious sanitary ware pieces from Dubai to London, but also on the mid range sanitary wares, which have a dominant market share in the Middle East. With an installed capacity of 2.7 million pieces of high quality sanitary ware, the company is currently one of the top two producers of sanitary ware in the region. A spartan industrial zone in Ras Al Khaimah is about as far as

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you can get from the designer chic of Turin, Italy, but both are central to the long-term strategic plans of one of the UAE’s genuine global market leaders. RAK Ceramics offers an extensive range of sanitary ware for the Middle East market ranging from designer bathroom sets, wash basins, bathtubs and urinals. Around 40% of the company’s sanitary ware sales from UAE operations account from the regional market of the Middle East, 35% originate from Europe and the rest 25% is spread across all the other countries. Currently, RAK Ceramics is in the process of exiting its noncore business and will use the proceeds from these businesses to expand scale and scope of its ceramics business in UAE and India. The company has exited its business in Sudan ( ceramics), sold some of its stake in Laticrete building material business and Bangladesh ( Pharma). Soon it is likely to make a decision of its ceramic business in China. In UAE, RAK Ceramics is adding a capacity of 500,000 pieces of sanitary ware to its existing facility of 2.7 million pieces. The new capacity is expected to become operational by the end of current year. RAK is also undergoing a capacity expansion at its sanitary ware plants in India and Bangladesh. In India, it is expanding its capacity by 500,000 pieces, which will take its overall capacity to 1.2 million pieces per year. RAK Ceramic’s revenue for sanitary ware increased by 0.7 per cent to Dh110.9 million ($30.19 million) in line with the company’s focus on expanding its sanitary ware business across the UAE, India and Bangladesh. In UAE, sanitary ware sales increased by nine per cent to Dh83.4 million ($22.7 million) compared to Q1 2014 figures. RAK has supplied its products to some of the iconic projects in the region such as Atlantis, The Palm, Burj Al Arab and Ferrari World Theme Park in the UAE and Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University, Al Jawharah Tower and Najran University, in Saudi Arabia. Projects in the pipeline include: 21 world-class hotels, 23 residential towers and 18 villa projects including Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Housing (1,209 villas), the Arabian Ranches extension (945 villas) and Dubai Silicon Oasis Complex Phase II (1,047 villas).

Saudi Ceramics

Saudi Ceramic Company is a leading manufacturer sanitary ware producer in the region. Saudi Ceramics has achieved a reputation for high standards and high quality sanitary wares. With an installed capacity of 2.5 million pieces of sanitary ware Major Ceramic Producers in the Middle East from its Second Industrial City Company Country Location Installed ( South East of Riyadh), the Capacity company is counted among the RAK Ceramics UAE Ras- Al- Khaima 2.7 million pcs two top producers of sanitary Saudi Ceramics Saudi Arabia Second Ind. City 2.5 million pcs wares in the region. General Ceramics UAE Sharjah 1.2 million pcs Currently, Saudi Ceramics is in the process of expanding Oman Ceramics Oman Sohar Ind Area 600,000 pcs its sanitary ware capacity. The new plant is expected to start Sanitary ware production in the Middle East production in December 2015 Country 2014 ( In 2013 2012 2011 adding an additional annual Million pieces) production capacity of 1.2 million Saudi Arabia 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.4 pieces. Earlier, this plant was to become operational in July 2015 UAE 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.2 ( The project was first launched Kuwait 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.24 in May 2013, and was initially Oman 0.55 0.60 0.60 0.55 scheduled to be completed during first half of 2014, but it was delayed Qatar due to economic and labour Bahrain issues), but shortage of labours

september 2015

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Analysis: Sanitaryware

and reduced working for contractors forced the company to delay its plans by several months. Saudi Ceramics, which haven’t had best of the financial results in recent one and half years commented on the development, “About 95 % of the work on the project has been completed. Costs related to the delay are limited and will not affect financial results.” This expansion will make Saudi Ceramics, the largest sanitary ware producer in the region with an installed capacity of 3.7 million pieces per year. RAK Ceramics, even after its ongoing expansion ( mentioned under RAK ) will have an installed capacity of 3.2 million pieces at its UAE plant, about 500,000 pieces less than that of Saudi Ceramics.

Oman Ceramics

Oman Ceramics Company SAOG is a high-quality sanitary ware manufacturer that boasts a significant market share in Oman, U.A.E., and other GCC countries. The firm’s WAVE brand enjoys excellent international recognition and strong customer loyalty, two factors that have fueled its impressive growth. Though, for some time , the company is not operating at its full capacity of 600,000 pieces per annum due to non availability of gas. The company’s plant in Sohar currently operates at 60 per cent capacity, and to function at full capacity, gas supply has to go up from the current 9,000 standard cubic meters (scm) per day to 16,000 scm per day. According to Oman Ceramics management, “We are optimistic of working at our full capacity in 2016, as gas availability will become sufficient by that time”. “We are planning to be a global brand by the year 2020

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and we have all reasons to aspire for more”, according to Vish Natrajan, CEO, Oman Ceramics Co SAOG. “We are quite ambitious about it because of our wide presence in the GCC, Middle East and the west where the demand for our products is on a steady rise”, Vish further says. In January this year, Oman Ceramics obtained ISO:14001 certificate for its Environmental Management System and OSHAS:18001 certificate for Occupational Health and Safety Standards. Oman Ceramics, which received the ISO: 9001 quality management certificate in 2008 is the only company in country’s ceramics industry that has been certified with three accreditations.

Future Prospectus

Next few years will offer great opportunities for domestic as well as international sanitary ware producers in the Middle East market. Huge investment in housing, utilities, institutional and commercial constructions is expected to lead to an overall growth of more than 5 % in next four- five years period. Continued focus by the governments of the region to diversify their economies on non- oil sectors might lead to more investments in more commercial establishments, which will further lead to sizable demand of sanitary ware in residential sector, as these activities will lead to more migrant population working in these countries. From individual country point of view, a large portion of future demand will originate from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

september 2015

asian ceramics

Analysis: Glazes

Covering the b issues mount for glaze suppliers

As tile production continues to soar, and the impact of digital printing becomes ever more important, AC looks at how Southern Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glaze suppliers are picking up the cudgelsâ&#x20AC;Ś

ultifold increase in installed capacity of ceramic tiles in Southern Asian countries in last decade has led to the establishment of a host of ancillary industries in the region. Ceramic glaze production, which used be a largely in- house activity till the last decade of the century has evolved significantly in the intervening years and has become a specialist exercise for ceramic industry. Glaze production for ceramic industry, which used to be predominantly in-house activity around the turn of century has become a full scale industry in South Asian countries. Glaze production, which used to be controlled by a small and semi skilled team of workers has become one of the most specilaised activities in our industry. Imitating glaze production of European countries, dedicated and specialized multinationals and domestic companies who produce and supply glaze to ceramic producers at their door-step have become the norm in the industry. Though, this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that ceramic producers have altogether stopped producing their glaze requirements for their captive needs. Many of the larger and organized sector players still meet a big share of their glaze requirement through in house production. Though, a clear trend is emerging, wherein, these producers have increasingly started to source their requirements from specilaised glaze producing companies. In India, the split between in-house and external sourcing of glaze requirements is 70:30 in organized sector of ceramic industry. For unorganized sector this proportion is at 25:75. In Pakistan the figures stand at 60: 40. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka stand at 70 : 30 in favour of in house production. Despite, the apparent self sufficiency of glaze production in their domestic markets, all the South Asian countries import a small part of their glaze requirements from Europe, China and Taiwan.

Indian expansions

Rapid development of Indian ceramic glaze industry on the back of huge ceramic tile production in domestic ceramic industry has enabled organized sector players to depend on the glaze demand

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september 2015

from these dedicated glaze producers and suppliers. It has also enabled small ceramic producers to focus on their core activities, instead of worrying for this critical input. Whereas, existing established players have added capacity considering the huge intake from organized sector based ceramic producers and huge demand from Gujarat. About a dozen new players have come up in recent years in and around the ceramic clusters of Morbi, Himmatnagar and Khurja to take advantage of huge glaze demand from the

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Analysis: Glazes

bases Principal glaze suppliers

tile and tableware producers in these regions. Nahar Colours and Coatings, Chandigarh based Floorex tiles, Belgium Glass and Ceramic Industries, Sahaj Cerchem, Bhanu Cerglaze, Hopewell Ceramics, Endura Ceramics and Futura Ceramics are some of the leading names in Indian ceramic glaze industry. Most of these existing players have added capacity and have differentiated their products on regular intervals in order to meet the challenges of dynamic nature of

Company

Location

Capacity (in Tons per month)

Nahar colours and Coatings

Udaipur

4500 tons

Chandigarh

4800 tons

Vadodra

5200 tons

Futura Ceramics

Kheda

2400 tons

Prime Ceramics

Vadodra

400 tons

Excel Colours and Frits Limited

Jaipur

3000 tons

Ganguli Ceramics

Kolkata

400 tons

Hopewell Ceramics

Jaipur

1600 tons

Vadodra

2000 tons

Sahaj Cerchem

New Delhi

1800 tons

Bhanu Ceraglaze

Hyderabad

1400 tons

Supreme Glazes Private Limited

Bharuch

400 tons

SVM Cera Tea

Ankleshwar

1400 tons

H & R Johnson

Mumbai

2000 tons

Floorex Tiles Belgium Glass & Ceramic Industries

Gibraltar Glass & Ceramics

Colorobbia Chemicals India Limited Endeka Ceramics

todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ceramic industry. While, coming up of a significant number of ceramic glaze producers in and around Morbi is most obvious step in the light of huge demand from tile producers from the ceramic capital of India, a number of glaze producing units have also become operational in other ceramic clusters of Himmatnagar, Thangadh, Khurja and Jaipur, which enable small ceramic producers in these smaller ceramic clusters to meet their glaze requirements. Currently, India has an installed capacity of

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Ahmdabad Jhagdhia

2000 tons

about 58,000 tons per month. About 54,000 tons per month was the estimated consumption of glaze in the country in 2014. This figure includes the glaze produced by specialized glaze producers and captive production of glaze by leading established ceramic players such as Kajaria, Nitco, Orient and Himmatnagar based Asian Tiles. Despite significant capacity additions by Indian glaze and frit producers, the country still import a significant volumes of glaze requirements from China. Though, there are no official figures of import but top four producers are unanimous in the import figures from China. According to these producers, on an average Indian ceramic industry imported 4400 tons of ceramic glazes every month in year 2014. Indian glaze industry has made marked improvement on quality and diversity of the offerings in recent years. Though, import still form a significant part of the total demand, but these imports are taking place due to price differential and not because of lack of choices. In last few years, a number of ceramic glaze producers have set up their operations in state of Gujarat. Existing ceramic glaze producers in the state have scaled up their operations and those not present in the state have either set up a dedicated warehouse or appointed agents

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asian ceramics

Analysis: Glazes

in the region. Since, about 70% of country’s glaze is consumed in the state, setting up or augmenting the production facility in the state gives these glaze producers a significant advantage over producers from other states. Availability of natural gas at one of the lowest prices is another factor, which has spurred the migration of ceramic glaze producers to the state.

Other production

Besides, the regional powerhouse, India, ceramic industries in other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka has made significant progresses in recent years. Bangladesh’s ceramic industry, in particular has made one of the most explosive growths in recent years. Renowned for its ceramic tableware production ( which consumes comparatively lesser and specialized glazes and has remained largely an in house activity), the country has added significant capacity in ceramic tile production. With a current installed capacity of about 70 million sqm of tiles, Bangladesh consumed about 71,000 tons of ceramic glazes in 2014. Led by few domestic producers, a couple of Sino Bangla JVs and RAK Ceramics, tile production in Bangladesh is growing steadily over the years. However despite the scale of production, in house production and Chinese imports of ceramic glazes still account for about 80 % ( 70 % in house production and 10 % imports) of total glaze consumption in the country. Specialised glaze producers, like those in India have failed to make their presence in country’s ceramic industry. Pakistan, which consumed about 62,000 tons of ceramic glaze in 2014 doesn’t have major specilaised glaze producers. In house production of glaze, which accounts for 60% of the total glaze requirements, imports ( 20%) and production by small unorganized units ( 20 %) meet the glaze requirements of ceramic industry of the country. China and Iran are major importers of ceramic glaze in the country. Sri Lanka, whose ceramic industry is considerable small as compared to the rest of three South Asian countries is largely dependent on imports and in house production of ceramic glazes needed for ceramic tile and tableware production in the country.

Price movements

Like elsewhere, South Asian glaze producers are under great pressure from ceramic industry players to minimize the cost and offer better quality. Shorter lead times demanded by ceramic industry have only added to total costs. Speaking to Asian Ceramics, BS Ganguli from Kolkata based Ganguli Ceramics, a mid scale producer of glazes for ceramic industry for the Eastern part of the country told “ Wafer thin margins for ceramic glaze producers have become a norm in the industry. Whereas, larger glaze producers have been able to cut the total production cost of glaze due to economies of scale, but mid and smaller producers, who are often unable to cut the costs are suffering because of the cost pressures imposed by ceramic players.“ Vikram Khosla, owner of a newly set up glaze manufacturing unit, Rajasthan Ceramics at Neemrana, whose company supplies glaze to small units in and around Rajasthan told “ Smaller glaze producers are a disadvtaged lot due to nature of glaze industry.” However, two of the smaller glaze producer in Morbi and Khurja has a different story to tell. Amit Patel of Morbi based Cera Colours, a small glaze unit engaged in supplying the needs of Morbi’s ceramic industry is quite upbeat about the scope of industry in the ceramic capital of India. “ We have been able to almost double our production in last two years, despite the slowdown in tile industry of the region.” On a query about the cost pressures on glaze producers due to cut

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Glaze consumption (2011-2014) Company

2014

2013

2012

2011

India

540,000 tons

526,000 tons

533,000 tons

528,000 tons

Pakistan

62,000 tons

60,000 tons

57,000 tons

56,000 tons

Bangladesh

71,000 tons

70,000 tons

68,000 tons

69,000 tons

8000 tons

7500 tons

7400 tons

Sri Lanka

throat competition and pressure exerted by buyers, he says “ In Morbi, there is a huge demand of glaze from the small players and new entrants. Though, there are some cost constraints, but cost pressures are nothing new in the current cut throat environment of business.”

Challenges ahead

Increased competition, ever increasing raw material prices has put enormous pressure on glaze production in recent years. The situation has become more severe in the face of slack in demand ceramic tiles in these countries in last two years. Ceramic producers, which are on a relentless spree of cost cutting are putting enormous pressures on glaze producers to reduce the costs. Quality raw material, its availability and pricing continue to haunt South Asian ceramic glaze producers. Prices of raw materials and fuel account for 70% of the total glaze production costs. Cut-throat competition, which has increased significantly due to pressure exerted by ceramic companies and the proliferation of glaze suppliers in the market has depressed the profitability of glaze producers. For the tile producers this competition has led to improvements in the quality of products and services, but for glaze producers it has caused reductions in real prices and margins. Increased competitive pressure and regulatory problems on the lines of European countries are also likely to pose challenges for the South Asian glaze producers. On an average, ceramic glaze producers spend about 60 % of their total cost on acquiring raw materials. Huge cost dependence on raw materials, whose prices have risen despite the slowdown has put these producers in a catch 22 situation. This has led to sever loss in profitability of glaze producers in last few years. Chinese glaze producers, who have increased their presence in these markets have also put pressures on the glaze producers in these countries. Despite, all the noises of higher raw material and labour costs in China, these producers are selling their products at a lower price as compared to domestic producers in each of the countries. Expected slowdown in Chinese ceramic industry in coming days is also expected to pose a major challenge to ceramic glaze producers in South Asian countries, as a significant part of excess Chinese glaze capacity is expected to flow in these markets shortly.

Nahar Colours and Coatings

Nahar colour and coatings is one of the best known ceramic glaze and frits producers and suppliers in Indian ceramic industry. Established in 1986, the company operates two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat ( Bharuch and Kheda). Orient Glazes Limited, its group company is also a leading name in Indian glaze industry. Cumulative capacity of both the manufacturing units is about 4500 tons per month. A few years back Nahar Colours entered into a technical collaboration Italian company Kerafrit to expand its product portfolio. Leveraging on the technical strength of Italian partner, Nahar Colours introduced several special frits for the Indian market.

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Analysis: Glazes

Besides meeting the glaze demand of several key layers in Indian market, Nahar exports about 9000 tons of ceramic glazes to Iran, UAE and South Eastern countries. According to Manish Nahar, Executive Director of Nahar Colours and Coatings “By virtue of low per capita tile consumption, India holds great potential for tile manufacturers for many years to come. Glaze production and consumption is bound to increase manifolds in the country. Besides domestic market, there is a great potential for glaze producers to export glaze to SE Asian and the Middle East region.”

Floorex

Floorex Tiles was established in 1989 and is engaged in manufacture of a variety of glazes and frits which include silky satin matt variety (both transparent and opaque) and special frits. The firm has an installed capacity of 30000 ton per annum. Apart from frits and glazes, the firm also manufactures zinc oxide which is used in production of glazes and printing powder which is used in printing designs on tiles. The installed capacities for zinc oxide and printing powder are 300 ton per month and 10 ton per month respectively. Most of the zinc oxide is consumed internally for glaze production. The manufacturing facilities of the firm are located in Chandigarh and Panchkula. The Panchkula facility commenced operations in the month of 2011. According to Manu Khosla, Managing Director of Floorex Tiles “ Most of the leading ceramic players namely Kajaria Ceramics, Somany Ceramics, Orient Ceramics and H&R Johnson are our customers. We have a locational advantage in terms of North India based customers from our manufacturing facility based in Panchkula, For ceramic players based in Morbi and Gujarat, we have a dedicated warehouse in the immediate proximity, which enables us to cut the lead time for these producers.”

Endeka Ceramics

Leading Zircon opacifier and floor producer, Endeka Ceramics is a leading producer of glazes and frits in India. The company has an installed capacity of about 2000 tons of glazes and frits from its Jaghdia, Gujarat based plant. Known for its technical strength and high quality standards, Endeka has been able to garner a significant share of glaze market from leading ceramic tile producers in its brief history of five years in the country. According to an executive ( on anonymity) from the company “ Earlier, we were exporting a sizable proportion of our production from our Gujarat based operations, but from this year we have been concentrating on Indian market.”

Belgium Glass and Ceramic Industries

Vadodra, Gujarat based Belgium Glass and Ceramics is a leading supplier of ceramic glazes to some of the biggest tile producers in India. Equipped with eleven continuous frit kilns, fully automatic batch house and computerized kiln feeding & distribution systems, the company claims to have an installed capacity of 200 tons of ceramic glazes per day, making it one of the largest ceramic glaze producers in India. Proximity of its operations to Morbi and Himmatnagar enables the company to meet the ever increasing glaze demand from Gujarat based tile producers. “We are equipped with the latest technology and most advanced weighing and batching plant and one of the most technology advanced continuous frits kiln with an installed capacity of 200 TPD, which makes us one of the largest glaze producers in entire Asia,“ according to Mr. Vachhani Managing Director Belgium Glass and Ceramics Private Limited.

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Prevailing glaze prices in the South Asian countries Type

Lower range (USD/ Kg)

Upper range (USD/ Kg)

Transparent (Double Firing)

0.50

0.65

Opaque (Double Firing)

0.50

0.85

Transparent (Single Firing)

0.40

0.55

Opaque (Single Firing)

0.37

0.55

Special Glazes

1.5

4.5- 5.0

Futura Ceramics

Located in the neighbourhood of Endeka Ceramics, Jagadhia based Futura Ceramics is counted among the leading producer and suppliers of ceramic glaze in Indian ceramic industry. Equipped with four state of the art natural gas based continuous furnaces, the company is a leading suppliers of some of the Tier I and II players in the state. In order to supply the specilised product, Futura Ceramic has also installed a batch furnace.

Gibraltar Glass & Ceramics

A sister concern of Belgium Glass and Ceramics, Gibralater Glass and Ceramics have created a niche for itself in Indian ceramic glaze industry since its inception in 1994. Located at Padra inVadodra, the company owns state of the art tilting continuous furnaces and rotary furnaces, which runs on natural gas. Auxiliary facilities like ball mill for captive grinding purpose, shuttle kiln for calcination process aids the company to achieve these goals. Process of weighting and batching, which are critical success factor in glaze production are fully automated and works on SCADA based system which helps Gibraltar in achieving consistency in its products.

Sahaj Cerchem

Tracing its history to 1976, when there was no specialized glaze producer in the country, Sahaj Cerchem is one of the oldest and leading manufacturer of ceramic frits and glazes in the country. With its head office in Delhi and manufacturing facilities in neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, Sahaj caters to ceramic glaze demand of Northern India based ceramic producers industry of Northern part of the country. The company is credited with introducing local production of ceramic frits, colours in India and had an alliance with Ferro Corporation. In 1993, Sahaj bought Ferro’s stake in Indian operations. According to Pardeep Jain of Sahaj Cerchem “ Indian ceramic glaze industry is in a transforming phase. Quality of ceramic glaze would be a deciding factor in coming years. We supply around 60% of our production to the three top notch producers in and around Delhi region, Somany, Kajaria and Orient Ceramics. Meeting the quality standards of top notch producers is often a factor , which differentiates between a quality frit producers and other aspirants in the category”.

Bhanu Cerglaze

Located at Hyderabad in the newly create state of Telengana, Bhanu Cerglaze Private Limited is among the top five ceramic glaze producers in the country. The company meets a sizable demand of ceramic glaze of leading tile producers of Southern India.

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Analysis: Liaoning

Faku the bell tolls… Liaoning grows market awareness In the next of our Province Profile, AC turns its attention to the developments taking place in Liaoning…

he ceramic industry in Liaoning province mainly located in 4 counties of two cities including Shenyang and Chaoyang. While Faku County in Shenyang and Jianping County in Chaoyang are centralized in industrial distribution with accumulative effect, 4 ceramic enterprises in Kalaqin Left Wing of Chaoyang are under construction, which are planned to be put into operation next year, and 1 western roof tile enterprise in Lingyuan of Chaoyang has stopped production for a long time. The total capacity of ceramic tiles in Liaoning has reached 1,575,500m2/d (excluding western roof tile). Among which, there are 49 interior wall tile lines with capacity of 924,000m2/d, 21 polished tile lines with capacity of 317,000m2/d, 5 exterior wall tile lines with capacity of 81,000 m2/d, 5 rustic tile lines with capacity of 59,000m2/d, 7 fully polished glazed tile lines with capacity of 94,000m2/d, 1 microcrystalline tile line with capacity of 12,000m2/d, 9 other ceramic tiles (including small floor tile, panel, endurable tile, border tile)lines with capacity of 88,500m2/d, as well as 5 western roof tile lines with capacity of 500,000pcs/d. As we go to press, some seven more production lines are planned to be built with 143 inkjet printers likely to be in commission in Liaoning.

Faku: completing at pace

Started in May 2002, ceramic industrial cluster in Faku has a planning area of 30 square kilometers, which is the largest base in ceramics production, R&D and marketing in Northeast. In June 2002, Shandong Cuijun Group Corporation invested and constructed Shenlong ceramics in Faku economic development zone, marking the first ceramic enterprise there. It is said that 4 months busy construction contributed the successful construction in October that year, which opened the gate of forming ceramic cluster later. In 2005, Faku created overall planning of “Ceramic Capital in Northeast China”; In 2006, with the rapid expanse of ceramic industrial cluster, the construction in “Four Regions” was launched comprehensively, which further expanded and elevated production scale and level; In 2008, Faku further quickened its pace in the construction of“Four Districts and Five Parks” and in the same years, ceramic enterprises invested by Fujian merchants settled down there. In 26th August, 2010, Faku was crowned as “Ceramic Capital

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september 2015

in Northeast China” by China Ceramics Industrial Association and “Building Ceramics Industrial Base in Northeast Asia” by China Building Ceramics & Sanitaryware Association in 12th September, 2010. A month later, Faku received an honor as one of “ China Top 100 Counties in Industry”. In September 2012, Faku ceramic industrial cluster was officially awarded an honorary title as “China Ceramic Valley”. At present, China ceramics valley big market has 7 submarkets, including Northeast ceramic market, Zhongguan market, Hengda international market, Heitman integrated market, Cheong building materials market, Chaozhou ceramic building materials market and Tian hongji ceramic market, in which 715 companies settled down gathering high-quality products from hundreds of building ceramics and sanitaryware enterprises. For several years, ceramic industry has made great successes in driving industries such as mining, transportation, electriciy, construction and tertiary industry, which speed up the pace of opening up, boosting Faku through industry, and help ceramic industry become pillar industry in Faku. Through over ten years’ elaborate building, Faku production region, starting from scratch and from small to big, become one of five largest ceramic production regions in China. Up to now, there are 39 ceramic enterprises with its production covering interior wall tile, polished tile, rustic tile, fully polished glazed tile and microcrystalline tile. Statistics provided by related departments of Faku show that by the end of 2013, RMB55 billion value of industrial output had achieved there, with financial contribution of RMB810 million, creating 75,000 jobs. At present, Faku has introduced in 212 ceramic enterprises, with production area of 20 square kilometers, forming 27 types of modern ceramic production system with 12 categories, including architectural ceramics, household ceramic, art ceramic, electroceramics and ceramic sanitaryware. Their markets cover northeast China, Russia, Mongolia and South Korea, making Faku become the biggest ceramic base in production, R&D, and sales. According to the survey, at present, there are 39 ceramic enterprises and 73 production lines, with capacity of 1,178,500m2/d. Among which there are 5 rustic tile lines, 32 interior wall tile lines, 19 polished tile lines, 7 fully polished glazed tile lines, 1 microcrystalline tile line, 4 exterior wall tile lines, 5 other lines and 3 western roof tile lines, with 112 inkjet printers in commission.

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Analysis: Liaoning

Regional advantages

Faku boasts rich nonmetallic mineral resources of great variety, which can meet all demands of ceramic body. Mineral reserves in porcelain clay, kaolin, bentonite, perlite, wollastonite, calcite, feldspar and siliceous stone are large, which can meet long-term demand for ceramic production. As high-quality raw materials in producing ceramics, porcelain clay and kaolin are characterized by low iron content, good plasticity and high whiteness. What’s more, whiteness and aspect ratio of wollastonite are the best nationwide. All these have made Fufa “China First-class Mineral Resources County” and “China Porcelain Clay County”. “Faku has abundant raw materials, and the three Northeast provinces of China are of bright future with large population, with low cost in labor and transportation. With expansion of production region and complete supporting industries, Faku has the biggest advantage in ceramic development in the three northeast provinces of China” , Li Deren, sales dirctor of Shenyang Ririsheng Ceramics told the correspondent. With the expansion and improvement in capacity and quality of ceramic products, the annually “Shenyang Faku International Ceramic Fair”, which started from 2007,attracts more and more attention. As a result, Faku ceramic industrial cluster is named “Ceramic Cluster International Cooperation Base” and “Ten city cards of Shenyang”. Faku ceramic industry has pursued scientific outlook on development and the path of sustainable development for years. It is said that Faku is taking advantage of reforming pilot site in new industrialization and urbanization in Liaoning province, as well as upgrading national level demonstration pilot project in circulation, to change ceramic developing pattern worldwide. Insisting the theory of “Boosting the county by industry”, promote industrial cluster and upgrading, brand building, enterprise elevation, and speed up the construction of five special industrial parks, including modern building materials, sanitarywares, ceramic market, art ceramics and commercialization of research findings. According to the plan, by 2015, try to make 1,000 producing and supporting enterprises settle down in the park, with 100 famous ceramic brands beyond provincial level, 10 listing enterprises, over 100,000 employees and sales revenue of over RMB100 billion. Faku will be built into modern building material industrial base in Northeast Asia combining building ceramics, original ceramics, art ceramics, industrial ceramics, special ceramics and new types of building materials, whose function covers R&D, marketing, exhibition and logistics distribution, becoming circulatory economy demonstration park and ceramic capital worldwide.

“Green” development

Feng Shouquan, Secretary CPC Committee of Faku, reiterated that developing ceramic industry must initiate development ideas of ecological, green and environmental-friendly environment with low-carbon, develop the circular and low carbon economy and utilize land intensively and economically, walking on the green development road of low pollution, low emission and low consumption. It is said that with the concentration and expansion of ceramic industry, Faku actively introduce cyclic economy theory and establish cyclic transformed garden so as to upgrade industrial structure, promote cyclic transformation, build cyclic economic industrial structure, realizing production process coupling and multi-generation, multipurpose use of waste so as to maximally transform economic growth pattern in development zone, reduce running cost, raise resource output capacity, improve regional

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ecological environment and promote overall competitiveness of the development zone. Data from relative departments in Faku show that in 2003 there are 17 cyclic transformation projects in development zone including the utilization of abandoned ceramics in producing foam glass, lightbody block, handicrafts, coal gas, circulation pilot base, sewage treatment, reclaimed water use, wastewater treatment of ceramic slurry, road, power supply and water distribution networks, with a total investment of RMB2.02 billion.

Optimal structures

In recent years, to develop ceramic industry, Faku constructed 12 platforms, including first-class hospital, first-rate kindergarten and vocational-technical school, ceramic school, public research center, convention center, supporting commodity house, star hotel, logistics center, financing platform, ceramic museum and recreational tour center. It is said that while strengthening the intensity of work and constantly promoting transformation and upgrading of ceramic industrial park, government adopt measures like capital and policy support to promote technical transformation and product upgrading and phase out obsolete manufacturing technique so as to further promote the level and added-value of ceramic products. Works should be done to enhance management skill, urge enterprise in building modern management pattern, speed up the transformation from seller’s market into buyer’s market, weeding out enterprises which cannot adapt to industrial development so as to make room for high-quality project. R&D must be intensified to develop ceramic products with high and refined quality and increase technology content and develop new products, speeding up the transfers in key fields, crucial technologies and R&D achievements so as to quicken enterprise’s pace for listing. In addition, the government further completes functions of ceramic technical research center in economic development zone of Faku and promotes its role in chemical analysis of ceramic raw materials, advanced ceramic research, development of ceramic materials for spaceflight, product testing and ceramic waste usage, improving technology level and added-value of ceramics in Faku. Nowadays, Faku production region persists in quality improvement and ceramic market expansion. There are already 20 advanced ceramic projects with 15 applications of invention patents. This year, 38 enterprises carry out technical reform, which effectively promotes product level and quality, with 70 self-owned brands, which makes Faku ceramics with complete category and environmental quality take the advantages in new urbanization construction. Next step, Faku will speed up the construction of 5 special industrial parks, including modern building materials, sanitarywares, ceramics market, art ceramics and commercialization of research achievements. By strengthening key works such as infrastructure construction, technology and research innovation, technical training, market cultivation, brand promotion, enterprise financing, create enjoyable environment in the development of ceramic cluster to attract more leading enterprises and capitals from home and abroad. Meanwhile, Faku County will further strengthen element guarantee, elevating carrying capacity, for instance, complete public service platform and speed up integrative development of production and the city to support sustainable development of the industry; optimize ceramic structure to form competitive advantages, raising industrial profits; carry out self-owned brands projects and encourage highquality products, promoting popularity and influence of “China ceramic valley Faku”.

september 2015

asian ceramics

Analysis: Liaoning

Chaoyang City: an extra 24

There are 15 ceramic tile (excluding western roof tile) enterprises and 24 production lines with capacity of 397,000 m2/d. Among which, 11 enterprises with 19 lines are located in Jianping County, 4 enterprises with 5 interior wall tile lines in Kalaqin Leftwing and 1 enterprise with 2 western roof lines in Lingyuan city which has stopped production. There are 31 inkjet printers in commission in Chaoyang, Jianping Industrial park, located in Wanshou Street in eastern county, was launched in June 2003, whose total planned area was 19.19 square kilometers, with 3.5 square kilometer developed. After more than ten years’ construction, infrastructures in the park are improved, with 14 square kilometer of road network being built, among which 3.5 square kilometer of main road was lighting and greening, being equipped with facilities such as water, electricity, road, gas, message, mail, and cable television. Ceramic Testing Service Center with the overall floorage of 3,200m2 was constructed, whose test has covered industrial cluster and over 50 surrounding enterprises. At present, 39 enterprises settled down in Jianping new building materials (ceramic) industrial cluster, which has 5,500 employees and ceramic tile production capacity of 100m.m2/y. Presently, in the industrial cluster,leading industries are building ceramics and microcrystalline jade panel, with leading products such as exterior wall tile, interior wall tile, floor tile, Hongshan jade panel, new types of color bond, thermal insulation material, resistance castings and mining machines. Ceramic enterprises leading by Jinzheng Ceramics increase investment to introduce the advanced technology of 3D inkjet printing, improving product level, whose products are exported to South Korea, North Korea, Middle East countries and other regions, with export volume accounting for 70% of the total volume. Xinruide Ceramics, Longsheng Ceramics and Lianhe Lihua Ceramics have great business performance depending on technological renovation in large scale and new products development. It is said that ceramic products made in Jianping mainly be sold to regions like Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Inner Mongolia. To speed up ceramic cluster development, management committee of Jianping industrial park will take inviting investment and project construction as top priority, promoting infrastructure construction and introducing enterprises with high scientific and technological content, as well as strong driving ability and large contribution portion, through which to achieve the sales revenue of RMB14 billion in 2015, with rapid expansion in ceramic industry, building Jianping County into provincial level major park.

Lingyuan City: roof tile only

At present, the only Longfenggou glazed roof tile Factory stopped production for years and its main product originally was western roof tile with capacity of 20,000pcs/d.

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september 2015

It is said that Lingyuan has abundant clay resource, providing quality natural materials for western roof tile and panel.

Kalaqin Leftwing: a new entrant?

Kalaqin Leftwing Mongolian Autonomous County nicknamed Kazuo Banner is located in Chaoyang city of Liaoning province. In recent years, ceramic industry of Kazuo in western Liaoning region develops fast depending on rich ceramic raw materials including red stone, kaolin, bentonite, as well as its rich culture and nearly 100 years’ ceramic production history, forming ceramic cluster represented by redware and Liao celadon. During “the 12th five-year plan” period, ceramic and building materials industry in Kazuo Banner will develop building ceramics represented by terracotta panel, splitting tile, exterior wall insulation board so as to construct new building ceramic production base in the North China. In the end of November, 2013, Chaoyang Rongfu Ceramics

settled down in metallurgy and foundry industrial park of Kazuo, which demonstrated the beginning of ceramic industry in Kazuo. Rongfu Ceramics, with a total investment of RMB300 million, is being built two interior wall tile lines with capacity of 12m.m2/y. The expected foreign exports accounts for 50% of the total sales volume, whose mainly destinations are South Korea, Middle West, North America and Australia et al. It is expected to start production in the Spring of 2015, with the annual sales revenue of RMB500 million, profits of RMB33 million and taxes of RMB18 million and will create 750 jobs. Chaoyang Heyuan Ceramics, which officially settled in industrial park of Kazuo on 30th April, 2014, with total investment of RMB300 million and area of 116,750m2, built two interior wall tile lines, with capacity of 12m.m2/y. Once started production, the annual revenue would be RMB500 million with profits of RMB33 million and taxes of RMB18 million and will create 750 jobs. Up to now, there are 4 ceramic enterprises under construction in Kazuo, including Rongfu Ceramic, Minlong Ceramic, Heyuan Ceramic and Shuncheng Ceramic. It is said that infrastructure of these 4 enterprises are all in initial shape, planning to be put into operation in March, 2015.

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Shenyang

City

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september 2015

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Ririsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Ririshun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Feiaomei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Xinghui Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Jiahe Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Qiangsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Wangzhe Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Tiancheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Location

Shenyang Tianyulong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Company

Ceramic tile companies in Liaoning

1 floor tile line: 10,000m2/d1 floor tile line: 10,000m2/d1 floor tile line: 10,000m2/d1 floor tile line: 10,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 12,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 10,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 12,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 10,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 12,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 10,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 12,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 10,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 48,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 48,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 48,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 48,000m2/d

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 13,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 16,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 13,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 16,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 13,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 16,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 13,000m2/d; 1 polished tile line: 16,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d

2 rustic tile lines: 18,000m2/d2 rustic tile lines: 18,000m2/d2 rustic tile lines: 18,000m2/d2 rustic tile lines: 18,000m2/d

Tile line & capacity

10,000m2/ d10,000m2/ d10,000m2/ d10,000m2/d

18,000m2/ d18,000m2/ d18,000m2/ d18,000m2/d

22,000m2/ d22,000m2/ d22,000m2/ d22,000m2/d

11,000m2/ d11,000m2/ d11,000m2/ d11,000m2/d

48,000m2/ d48,000m2/ d48,000m2/ d48,000m2/d

29,000m2/ d29,000m2/ d29,000m2/ d29,000m2/d

54,000m2/ d54,000m2/ d54,000m2/ d54,000m2/d

18,000m2/ d18,000m2/ d18,000m2/ d18,000m2/d

Daily output

Number of inkjet printer

Water gas

Main fuel

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia

Main Market

2004

2008

2006

2005

2004

2005

2006

2004

Year established

Analysis: Liaoning

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

The future of ceramics

26 -30 SEPTEMBER 2016 RIMINI - ITALY th

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asian ceramics

september 2015

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Xindadi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Qiangli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Xindongfang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Yiyou Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang New Jiadebao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Jiadebao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Xindongyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 22,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 22,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 22,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 22,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Wanshunda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 coloured roof tile lines: 480,000pcs/d

2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 14,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 14,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 14,000m2/d

3 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d3 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d3 interior wall tile lines: 54,000m2/d

3 polished tile lines: 44,000m2/d；1 interior wall tile line: 24,000m2/d3 polished tile lines: 44,000m2/d；1 interior wall tile line: 24,000m2/ d3 polished tile lines: 44,000m2/d；1 interior wall tile line: 24,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 36,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 36,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 36,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 38,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 38,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 38,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 38,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 17,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 17,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 17,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 17,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Hejiale Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 floor tile lines: 20,000m2/d2 floor tile lines: 20,000m2/d2 floor tile lines: 20,000m2/d2 floor tile lines: 20,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 41,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 41,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 41,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 41,000m2/d

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 11,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 12,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 11,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 12,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 11,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 12,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 11,000m2/d; 1 microcrystalline tile line: 12,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Dajun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Tianqiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Longsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

480,000pcs/ d480,000pcs/ d480,000pcs/d

30,000m2/ d30,000m2/ d30,000m2/d

14,000m2/ d14,000m2/ d14,000m2/d

54,000m2/ d54,000m2/ d54,000m2/d

68,000m2/ d68,000m2/ d68,000m2/d

36,000m2/ d36,000m2/ d36,000m2/d

38,000m2/ d38,000m2/ d38,000m2/ d38,000m2/d

22,000m2/ d22,000m2/ d22,000m2/ d22,000m2/d

17,000m2/ d17,000m2/ d17,000m2/ d17,000m2/d

20,000m2/ d20,000m2/ d20,000m2/ d20,000m2/d

41,000m2/ d41,000m2/ d41,000m2/ d41,000m2/d

23,000m2/ d23,000m2/ d23,000m2/ d23,000m2/d

Water gas

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia

2007

2006

2008

2007

2012

2008

2006

2005

2000

2005

Analysis: Liaoning

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asian ceramics

september 2015

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Shunxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Jinmeida Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang New Wangzhe Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Yihao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Lanwei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Wanghao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Liaoning Jindiyang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Xinhengfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Xingfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Hongtaiyang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Wuzhou Zhenyao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 26,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Taiyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 12,000m2/d1 rustic tile line: 12,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 18,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 26,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 26,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d

2 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 1 small floor tile line: 12,000m2/d2 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 1 small floor tile line: 12,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 14,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 14,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d1 fully polished glazed tile line: 14,000m2/d; 3 polished tile lines: 60,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 44,000m2/d

1 polished tile line: 14,000m2/d1 polished tile line: 14,000m2/d1 polished tile line: 14,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 23,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 23,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 23,000m2/d

2 exterior wall tile lines: 28,000m2/d2 exterior wall tile lines: 28,000m2/d2 exterior wall tile lines: 28,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Xinguangdi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 polished tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 14,000m2/d

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 15,000m2/d2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 15,000m2/d2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 15,000m2/d

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Datang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Haosong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

12,000m2/ d12,000m2/d

18,000m2/ d18,000m2/d

26,000m2/ d26,000m2/d

50,000m2/ d50,000m2/d

52,000m2/ d52,000m2/d

44,000m2/ d44,000m2/ d44,000m2/d

26,000m2/ d26,000m2/ d26,000m2/d

74,000m2/ d74,000m2/ d74,000m2/d

44,000m2/ d44,000m2/ d44,000m2/d

14,000m2/ d14,000m2/ d14,000m2/d

23,000m2/ d23,000m2/ d23,000m2/d

28,000m2/ d28,000m2/ d28,000m2/d

54,000m2/ d54,000m2/ d54,000m2/d

45,000m2/ d45,000m2/ d45,000m2/d

Water gas

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia

2004

2008

2009

2012

2005

2008

2010

2009

2008

2010

2008

2006

Analysis: Liaoning

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Chaoyang

asian ceramics

Jianping Ceramic Industrial Park

Kalaqin Leftwing Ceramic Industrial Park

Pingdicun, Sihedang Town

Jianping Jinzheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Xinxiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Xinruide Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Minghao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Jiamei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Linuo Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Lianhe Lihua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Longsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Fada Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Zhengxinci Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Rongfu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Minlong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Heyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shuncheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Longfenggou Glazed Roof Tiles Factory

Jianping Ceramic Industrial Park

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Hongyun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jianping Hongye Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Faku Economic Development Zone

Shenyang Aorui Art Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shenyang Jinmingjia Ceramics Co., Ltd.

september 2015 2 western roof tile lines: 20,000pcs/d

1 interior wall tile line: 40,000m2/d

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

2 interior wall tile lines: 9,000m2/d

1 exterior wall tile line: 13,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 13,000m2/d

2 endurable tile lines: 15,000m2/d2 endurable tile lines: 15,000m2/d

2 polished tile lines: 24,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 24,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 13,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 13,000m2/d

1 exterior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d1 exterior wall tile line: 11,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 36,000m2/d2 interior wall tile lines: 36,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 20,000m2/d1 interior wall tile line: 20,000m2/d

4 interior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d4 interior wall tile lines: 50,000m2/d

1 small floor tile line: 13,000carton/d

1 rustic line: 14,000m2/d1 rustic line: 14,000m2/d

1 other tile line:7,500pcs/d

2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d2 polished tile lines: 30,000m2/d

20,000pcs/d

40,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

9,000m2/d

13,000m2/d

15,000m2/ d15,000m2/d

24,000m2/ d24,000m2/d

13,000m2/ d13,000m2/d

11,000m2/ d11,000m2/d

36,000m2/ d36,000m2/d

20,000m2/ d20,000m2/d

50,000m2/ d50,000m2/d

13,000m2/ d13,000m2/d

14,000m2/ d14,000m2/d

7,500m2/ d7,500m2/d

30,000m2/ d30,000m2/d

2 planned

Water gas

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia, export

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia, Hebei

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia, Hebei

Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, East Inner Mongolia

1995

2015

2002

2010

2008

2010

2004

2006

2004

2005

2003

2006

2014

2005

2007

Analysis: Liaoning

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Exhibition feature

26th CeramBath: October 18-21, 2015 As China’s economy has entered a period of normalisation, the ceramic industry is confronting with the opportunities and challenges of transformation and upgrading, raising new requirement to the organization of Foshan CeramBath. After 13 years of development, CeramBath has attracted more and more international buyers from all over the world as its internationalization has further enhanced. The exhibition period of internationally renowned fairs is normally four days, therefore adjustment of CeramBath’s exhibition period will be more beneficial for international buyers. Besides, as more manufacturing enterprises from Shandong, Fujian and Zhejiang join the fair, with over 120 exhibitors at the previous two sessions, the adjustment of CeramBath period will help to cut down the exhibition expenses of industrial enterprises. Meanwhile, shortened period will make positive contributions to both centralized demonstration and procurement, while at the same time strengthening the innovation of CeramBath. Therefore, Organizing Committee of CeramBath did a research among 700 exhibitors and over 6000 visitors in total during the 24th and 25th session. More than 60% of them suggest reducing the exhibition period from 5 days to 4 days. In addition, after receiving the feedback, Organizing Committee continues to launch a vote in the Wechat Official Accounts named Foshan China Ceramics City Group to do in-depth investigation aiming at adjusting the exhibition dates. Eventually, 65% of respondents are in favor of tightening the date limit to four days after over a month of voting. Both incorporating opinions from all sides and combining with the actual situation of CeramBath, the exhibition period of the upcoming 26th CeramBath has been decided to adjust to October 18th to 21st.

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As the core part of the exhibition, analysis of audience data indicates the path to provide better organization of Foshan CeramBath. In previous session, CeramBath relied on manual input and analysis, putting in huge human and financial resources but outputting the less accurate data. Therefore, Internet channel like WeChat pre-registration had been introduced in the last session, enormously decreasing manual input. In the 26th CeramBath, the registration system will be upgraded by further connecting Internet with messages, website, WeChat and mails. In this way, the audience data will be accurate enough to promote the interaction between buyers and exhibitors. According to the Director of CeramBath Organizing Committee, the Organizing Committee hope to combine the exhibition theme of “New Exploration” with the new registration system to further explore the trend of “Internet plus” of exhibition. Besides, procedures of pre-registration, exhibition services and buyer research will also be completed by the Internet. In particular, pre-registration will be based on online registration while artificial registration will be supplement. In order to strengthen the promotion of pre-registration, Organizing Committee launched a preferential activity that if audiences apply for e-tickets via the “China Ceramics City Group” WeChat account or via official website, they can enjoy a 60 percent accommodation and catering discount of Hilton Foshan and Swissotel Foshan with receipts of their e-ticket. Moreover, more and more discount information of moon cakes, accommodation and catering will be posted on the WeChat account and the official website, through which the buyers not only experience the convenience of the Internet but also receive attentive service from CeramBath. It is expected that the 26th CeramBath will reach a good result of 70% to 80% of pre-registration.

september 2015

asian ceramics

Talking Shop

Talking Shop South America calling? AC talks to Mr Valte Cappellini, General Manager SITI B&T Group, about how the Southern hemisphere continues to prove an increasingly interesting hunting ground for technology players… AC: With the exception of Brazil, amongst Mr Valte Cappellini the emerging economies, Chile and Peru are reported as having major building development programs in both the public and private sectors. Is South America therefore one of the most attractive markets? VC: “South America as a whole is certainly a rapidly developing market. Brazil, which is a traditionally very dynamic country from the point of view of ceramics, is currently experiencing a slump in the building industry, especially in the private sector and particularly for new developments. This could affect the demand for ceramics. Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are all countries that have major development programs and are therefore certainly areas of great interest to us. SITI B&T is therefore ready to seize any opportunities that may arise in these areas in the future. Our presence with the new Brazilian branch, Barbieri & Tarozzi do Brazil, in Mogi Mirim, in addition to the existing Mexican branch, both of which are dedicated to sales and provide technical support for the Group’s products, are staffed by very experienced local personnel. Our companies, Ancora for finishing treatments, Projecta Engineering for digital decorating and B&T White for sanitaryware - represent a strategic choice focused on consolidating our presence in an important market like the South American one, with Brazil in the forefront. Through our cutting-edge technologies for the optimization of production costs, constant search into increasing the quality of the finished ceramic products and an unparalleled service excellence, our aim is to further reinforce the confidence and appreciation that local customers have for our Group. Also according to Acimac data, in terms of exports of Italian ceramics machinery, South America is a strategic market, the fourth largest in the world, with a turnover of 172.1 million Euros (12.3% of the total) for 2014, even if has shrunk by almost 6% compared to 2013". AC: Whilst the Russian market seems to be experiencing a downturn, the Polish and Hungarian markets are reported to be expanding, especially because of the expected increase in building work. Is there also growth at production level and therefore a demand for technology in Eastern Europe?

asian ceramics

september 2015

VC: "Hungary, Romania and Poland are the countries with the highest growth rates. In Ukraine, however, political unrest is still a major concern. There has been a slump in the Russian market but it is now picking up again. It’s a market that is currently importing fewer tiles in order to give higher priority to local producers. In this area, the demand for technology is aimed at improving the quality of the finished product and we are seeing a definite shift from the production of porcelain stoneware to that of large sizes. We feel that these areas, which have seen a significant growth in demand for Italian technology, are very interesting. According to ACIMAC data, Eastern Europe is the fifth largest market for Italian ceramics machinery. In 2014 it accounted for more than 166 million Euros (11.9% of total exports), an increase of 5.4% compared to the previous year. We are confident that this trend will continue during the current year." AC: What are the requirements of the new South America and Eastern Europe markets that are beginning to show signs of increasing interest? VC: “The markets are demanding high-tech, latest generation machines. Production efficiency, energy saving, emissions reduction and large sizes are the current issues in mature markets, but are also becoming increasingly important in emerging markets. As a provider of complete systems the SITI B&T Group is the undisputed leader in technology because it is also able to offer ceramic manufacturers cutting-edge solutions and specialized installations for large slabs; and for all stages of the production process from pressing and firing to cutting to finishing and digital decorating and is increasingly oriented towards achieving material effects and textured surfaces. Always with a strong focus on product quality and the optimization of operating costs. " AC: What, in your experience, is the level of technology that manufacturers in these countries require? VC: “To meet the requirements of the manufacturers in these countries it is necessary to offer a high standard of technology and to always focus on innovation and quality. The priority is to achieve excellent performance and higher quality products, with the objec-

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Talking Shop HER_AsianCeramics_254x86_08_15_print.pdf 21.07.2015 13:41:34

tive of better serving local demand and, in the case of the most important production facilities, to become even more competitive internationally. In particular, the issue of energy saving technologies is felt strongly in emerging markets. In some areas of South America, for example, it is extremely important to promote dry grinding, also taking into account that in some countries there is a significant shortage of water. Other technologies requested are: digital decorating printers, with the application of new material effects, finishing and wet / dry squaring machines and surface treatment machines."

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AC: What are the most interesting new technologies for these emerging markets? VC: "The issue of energy efficiency and productivity is becoming more and more crucial in every market. For this reason, the SITI B&T Group focuses on complete, flexible lines for every size of tile up to the large slabs, to the new generation EVO 3.0 presses, to Supera®, the new frontier in pressing technology for large sizes that is versatile, flexible and highly energy efficient. The Greenfire® XXL kiln for large sizes - the absolute top in energy efficiency, enabling a reduction in fuel consumption of 30% and an increase in productivity by more than 25% - and a range of ‘Greenburners’ of which the Titanium® heat recovery burner stands out amongst all the latest models. On the digital decoration front, Projecta Engineering has recently presented G5, the first completely modular decoration system, tailored to meet any possible requirement the end user may have. The new solution is designed to accommodate up to 14 colours due to it being equipped with individual and independent modules that can be easily removed and repositioned as needed. G5 enables the maximum freedom of expression and represents a collection of all the main successful features of the EVOLVE series and has a major impact on existing lines that can take advantage of the advanced techniques and be integrated with the G5 to produce even better results. For the end of line solutions, Ancora, the company that has recently become part of the SITI B&T Group, offers the highspeed dry squaring machine, Speed Dry. Again, in relation to the finishing stage, Ancora proposes a line for large sizes that includes the new incision and splitting machine, XXL Deepmotor Cut, which uses motor driven cutting discs, and the squaring machine (XXL Wet Squaring). The system is completed by the lapping machine (XXL Polishing) and the innovative protective treatment system Hi-Coat®. The new line will also enable textured surfaces to be treated for sizes up to 1600x3200 mm with considerable advantages in terms of energy savings and the reduction of maintenance costs."

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september 2015

asian ceramics

Insight on

CHINA H1 2015

Exports H1: Construction ceramics The month

Month February

Exports H1: All ceramic products The month

1,417,831

-3.37

-13.71

2,020,078

-18.82

April

784,818

-15.92

2,807,379

-17.96

May

822,009

-11.22

3,672,285

-15.63

June

703,946

-16.65

4,169,678

-18.24

Exports H1: Daily ceramics The month

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

6,193,370

8.34

February

March

4,080,992

-1.98

10,389,243

3.38

April

4,257,451

-4.39

14,708,915

May

4,731,921

2.15

19,476,053

June

4,833,384

-3.79

24,325,993

Growth rate (%)

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

2,158,480

8.07

March

1,398,713

-2.93

3,560,497

2.97

0.95

April

1,461,617

-0.85

5,018,392

3.45

1.64

May

1,724,230

3.49

6,752,748

3.39

0.13

June

1,734,891

-3.75

8,493,150

1.86

Month

Exports H1: Special ceramics The month

Cumulative

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

February

953,077

1,527,537

10.53

February

March

932,934

-9.28

2,572,388

0.07

March

April

989,198

-7.71

3,505,540

-1.64

April

May

969,329

4.51

4,494,703

-0.33

May

-0.66

June

4,833,384

asian ceramics

-2.72

september 2015

Cumulative

RMB”000

Exports H1: Ceramic sanitarywares

Month

Growth rate (%)

Cumulative

The month

RMB”000

776,005

Growth rate (%)

February

Growth rate (%)

March

RMB”000

Month

RMB”000

Cumulative

5,467,701

Month

Cumulative

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

RMB”000

Growth rate (%)

828,971

-3.26

602,791

-1.03

1,436,064

-1.72

500,377

-11.76

1,937,353

-8.26

550,361

-8.1

2,488,445

-6.29

549,555

-18.41

3,045,385

-11.21

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Leading porcelain tile output sources (H1, 2015; sq metres)

Leading sanitaryware output sources (H1, 2015; no. items)

Leading fine earthenware tile output sources (H1, 2015; sq metres)

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Leading fine earthenware tile output sources (H1, 2015; sq metres)

september 2015

asian ceramics

Hunter and the hunted

Where Next Tableware? Dear Diary, Do you know what the colour of the year is? If you don't why not – it is the colour of 2015 after all, it's important – it's fashion and if you aren't making fashionable tableware how are you going to survive? So do you know it? 'Pantone announced Marsala, an earthy wine red, as its Color of the Year for 2015. The rich shade is refreshingly wearable (we're looking at you, Radiant Orchid and Emerald) and functions almost like a neutral, so why wait until after the new year to try it out? We rounded up eight gorgeous ways to incorporate Marsala into your makeup bag and closet right now.' Well you can probably see that I didn't know what it was as that was obviously written in 2014 and I've not mentioned it before. Is Marsala being used extensively in tableware manufacture and decoration and if it isn't why isn't it? Where does tableware go next if it isn't up to date with the latest fashion? A few days ago I was speaking to a senior manager at one of the very big tableware vendors based in Hong Kong – you never hear of them as they don't sell under their name – they buy and sell for about 20 factories and at least the same amount of customers including the biggest retail chains in Europe and America from bargain basement to the highest level department stores. I was interested in where they thought tableware was going and what would be next. Surely they would know as they deal with what buyers desire and what manufacturers can deliver? 'Have you been around IKEA recently? The one in Shenzhen, it's massive – people go in there and the queue for the hotdogs is miles long – they are like five Yuan and includes a refillable soft drink. That's cheaper than local food outside so the queue is a mile long, people buy multiples of sausages! Anyway when you go into the store – the food is at the end right when you checkout, the first thing you see are these stoneware mugs, I think they look like they are from Henen province – most likely. IKEA sell these at less than 50 cents US and you can get them in various colours. But they can't buy them at that price even if they are placing big orders, you just can't do that price. So it's a loss leader [a practice I would ban]. But the thing is these are so cheap, like the hotdogs that people buy there. Then as you walk through the store those colours are repeated in all the other items, it's really quite clever; once someone has bought the coloured mugs and got them in their trolley then they are more likely to pick up other coordinating items on their way to the cheap hot dogs.' So how can small manufacturers compete with that? 'Well you can't – you haven't got the buying power to get super cheap prices from suppliers and you probably can't sell a line at such a loss in the hope that another product line will give you covering margin; your only hope is to be a niche manufacturer and market your products accordingly.' That sounded pretty depressing and things seem to get worse during a recent meeting with a US buyer. Remember these buyers are not trained in the different materials they buy – they are trained to spot things that will sell or at least pass on their marketing departments and designers requests. At best they may specialise in 'hardlines' – god help you if you have to talk ceramics with someone experienced only in soft lines or 'plush'.

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september 2015

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Hunter and the hunted

Buyer - 'We don't like the porcelain price, the stoneware is the right price point but its not white enough, the foot...its very gray and the glaze is opaque. Can you make the glaze transparent and can you make the body white – really white and quite strong and also make sure it does not absorb water.' Me, 'So you want them to stop using ball clays, local stoneware clays that are cheap, move to using fine grade kaolins and make the product in a factory that isn't contaminated with the gray body and fired high enough to be impervious to water? So you want porcelain?' 'Can you not call it that and make it cheaper?' So we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand we have the power of fashion in so far as it drives tableware and on the other hand we face powerful buyers who can place very big orders but also exhibit ignorance that borders on idiocy. Where does tableware go from here, if I was a tableware manufacturer what should I aim at? It seems that tableware would be a late adopter when it comes to fashion and trend and that is pretty much the message from the fashion industry, Leatrice Eiseman a colour (sorry, color) specialist, 'You start to notice certain colors getting more attention in the fashion field [first]. We could see that wine was creeping into the collections last fall, and it wasn't a heavy-duty color, but it was starting to make itself known. We all travel a lot—those of us on the committee go to London and Paris and Milan, a lot of the major places where you see fashion on the street, and you see evidence of certain colors. Fashion's definitely a large part of it, [but] we also have to justify naming a color by seeing it in other places as well. We look at new films coming up. What colors are being used? Is there a new effect being used? We look at upcoming cars, [because] when you talk about technology, you have to look at the finishes on cars because they are light-years ahead in the technology they use to create those colors. Once they get out there and people start to look at them, they say, "Wow, I'd like to have a lipstick in that color, I'd like to have a pair of shoes, I'd like to paint my living room that color." It's not just the way the color stands alone but what you are using it with that makes it be perceived as something new and fresh. We look at the art world. Is there a collection of art that's being shown? Is it traveling the world and going to get a lot of publicity? Will people be influenced by that? So the first thing is it appears that the prediction of what colour – and thus what fashion will be big is at best a misnomer and at worse the act of charlatans. Fashions and colours are both observed and then suggested; trying to predict what will be popular would be hit and miss unless you were a very big and influential brand. Secondly as we have mentioned we are restricted by what the substrate we have are technically capable of – we can only meet certain criteria anyway, no matter how many times we are asked for day-glow pink – it isn't going to happen. Which leads then to the answer – tableware companies have to decide if they are going to be an anonymous supplier to a vendor and thus a powerful buyer or if they are going to try to build their own niche market whether that maybe to a certain demographic or country or artistic effect. It seems for too long now there has been far too much of the former and nowhere near enough of the latter.

s t h g t h ou

u d o y e n “H a ve n a rou be A ? E K I e nt ly re c on e i n it's T h e n z h e n, Sh essive” ma

Until next time William Hunter

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

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september 2015

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