ARIANE & BUNZL MCLAUGHLIN UNITE IN TREND-SETTING CERAMICS MARRIAGE
Glenn Ewart has been involved in the world of table ceramics for over 35 years. Having worked for a number of different companies, such as Churchill, he is now Head of Sales for Europe at Ariane Ceramics.
Ariane is part of Umberto Ceramics, which was founded in India by (amongst others) Dr. Khadel Massaad. He was one of the experts who established the hugely successful RAK Ceramics in Rhas Al-Khaimah, UAE. After a split from RAK in 2014, the Swiss national moved to Gujarat in India, bringing his
expertise to the fledgling organisation with the aim of making the new factory the most technologically driven ceramics factory in the world. Since early 2022, Ariane has teamed up with Irish distributor Bunzl McLaughlin in a deal that is spearheading Ariane’s likely dominance in this marketplace over the coming years.
When Ariane began ten years ago, Ewart says, their factory became a world leader in sustainable manufacturing, long before others in more ‘developed’ countries had caught onto it.
“Everything that we make, up until the point that it’s fired, is 100% recycled material. So if you make a ceramic bowl out of clay and it gets broken along the process, that can just be put back into recycling.”
“The plant also has a system for harvesting rainwater for re-use in the manufacturing process.”
Part of Bunzl plc and supplying the trade since 1874, Bunzl McLaughlin is an established market leader in the hospitality and catering sectors across Ireland, providing non-food consumables and equipment.
“They asked me if I’d be interested in a partnership and I immediately said, ‘yes’,” ...says Ewart of the moment that the arrangement between Ariane and Bunzl -McLaughlin was proposed.
“It comes from a long history of having worked with them over the years. They’re very trustworthy, they’ve got a great team of people and a great reputation in the market.”
Ariane’s factory in India is, according to Ewart, “the most technologically advanced ceramics factory” that he has seen in his 35 years of working in this sector.
“And, of course, being in India and in a very hot state, there’s plenty of sunshine and we have solar panels that are providing about 35% of the power needs of the plant. All of the offices are powered 100% by solar power. We are currently planting 1300 trees at the site to help nurture a green environment”
It’s not something that one might readily associate with the Indian industry, but this is probably what the near future is going to look like.
“You talk to people about India and they might shake their heads and picture some run-down sweatshop somewhere,” says Ewart.
“We’ve got 700 people employed in the factory. We house them, feed them, we give them their health care, we educate their families and on top of that, we support the local community… we even have our own ambulance and doctors on site.”
The fact of being able to proudly show the kind of sustainability credentials that their operation has is a very important selling point, Ewart says. And for companies ordering stock from Ireland, the stock isn’t coming directly from India the majority of the time, but from Ariane’s facility in the Netherlands. That way, stock can be delivered to Ireland within a matter of days of an order being received. The clay used in their manufacturing operation comes from the best source available in Germany.
“It’s like when you’re buying anything,” says Ewart.
ARIANE & BUNZL
“When you’re buying a car, you can buy a good car or you can buy a top-of-the-range car. The reason that we get a lot of our raw materials from Germany is that we want to create a product which is a very creamy white – an ivory white, very similar to Villeroy & Boch and very similar to the top-end Wedgewood Royal Doulton type of product. It’s a very warm colour. If you use a slightly different clay, you’d get a grey white.”
The type of clay used also allows for the addition of a high percentage (8% in this case) of alumina in the product, which gives it whiteness and strength, as well as great heat-retaining qualities.
“We just did some tests with a couple of football clubs in the UK,” says Ewart.
“The
chefs came back to
me and said, ‘I can’t believe it – the plates are still hot after nearly one hour’.”
“We supply so many top-end restaurants and hotels around Europe,” says Ewart, who cites the Vatican as one of their clients. “Another of our clients, for example, is a three-star Michelin restaurant in Spain… It’s quite something. It’s almost like a kind of secret that, thank goodness, someone like Bunzl-McLaughlin recognises its potential… you’re going to see this brand really coming into its own over the next 18 months in Europe.”
The company specialises in ‘reactive glaze’. It’s a more expensive process but it means that, even though patterns might be the same when starting out, they end up slightly different, making each piece of tableware unique.
Of their top ranges, there is Equinox, Lir (with its Irish thalassic theme, it’s perfect for seafood restaurants), Freckles and Jaguar. The latter is a mix-and-match range with lots of beiges and browns. There’s also Lagoon, a very on-trend range with which splash beige works very well.
“We sit and listen to chefs a lot,” says Ewart. “Chefs are the ones who give us the steer on food and design trends. Then, we look at how hotels are changing and the modernisation of designs and looks for hotels.
“We work with a number of designers all over the world. We’ve got five designers from Europe and one from Japan. They help us figure out what are the next trends.”
Apart from the ceramics factory, Ariane has also built a stoneware factory close by. There’s a wide range of quality levels available in the world at the moment and Ariane’s level is firmly at the top. “Our stoneware will be pitched at a higher level,” says Ewart, “ because we’ve discovered a way of making stoneware that makes it a lot stronger than what’s out in the market. It’s a bit of a secret –we’ve found this Canadian/Indian guy who’s quite something. We’re hoping to bring samples over to Ireland very shortly.”
Ewart has been working with Bunzl McLaughlin for about 7-8 years at this point but this partnership arrangement is a unique one a ‘term marriage’ in which both partners appear to be delighted to participate.
A partnership like this suits a high-end brand because it reinforces its quality, rather than allowing the brand to become just another commodity. Otherwise, Ewart explains, it means that customers buy into the price, not into the brand or what it stands for. The relationship ceases to become a symbiotic one and the process becomes a race to the bottom. Delivering quality is of vital importance in the catering and tourism sector.
Or, as Seán Martin, Sales Director with Bunzl McLaughlin puts it,
“I’m excited to unveil our partnership with Ariane, a company that perfectly aligns with our core values. Central to these are sustainability and innovation. This collaboration has enabled us to introduce a cutting-edge premium crockery solution.”
“Through our commitment to offering high-quality crockery solutions, exemplified by our latest collections created with Ariane, we recognise and address the financial challenges businesses face. It gives us great pride to provide customers with genuine value for money, and the competitive edge they desire.”
For now, the future looks bright. The success of the Bunzl-McLaughlin/Ariane collaboration is evident in the significant increase in turnover within a short period. This growth attests to the synergy between the two companies and their shared vision for excellence in the ceramics industry. By focusing on delivering premium products and fostering a strong partnership, Ariane and Bunzl McLaughlin are setting a new standard for the sector in a partnership that emphasizes the importance of quality, sustainability, and customer-centric values.
