Asian Ceramics - AC16-3 Edition

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AC16-3

TILES: THE PRE SSU RE MOUNTS INSIDE:

Province Profile: Fujian Building blocks: heavy clay markets in ASEAN Gujarat p1: changing tiles, changing times Special Report: the freight debate

PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANALYSIS AND MUCH MORE!

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News

Contents: AC 16-3

e g n a h c g n i l l Fu e

The continual suppressing of oil prices is creating a gap in the market for much of Asia’s ceramic manufacturing community by, for once, removing one of the biggest hurdles that has been in place in the last few years in terms of expenditure. However, whilst fuel rates are dropping, it remains to be seen whether or not companies use the improved financial conditions to invest more heavily in upgrades and tehncical development, or simply see it as a chance to improve the bottom line temporarily. The reality is, fuel prices WILL go back up and as such not to take advantage of this current situation is to pass up on a cyclical opportunity that may not present itself to this degree again for another 20 years.

Photocre

dit: Clayb

ricks

News 4 Inside Asia

Bangladesh tableware provides options.

6 Welcome

Oil price drops fuel ASEAN.

8 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

16 International News Our eye on the international arena.

20 Material Matters Raw materials news and views.

22 Comment & Analysis In China‌hope springs eternal.

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AC 16-3

24 www.asianceramics.com

News

www.asianceramics.com Features

Looking forward

24 Province Profile: Fujian

In the latest of our province profiles, we turn our attention to the export-oriented Fujian and look at how the industry is coping with a considerable change in fortunes…

Cevisama

Spain 01-05-Feb

42 ASEAN heavy clay

Ambiente

Germany 12-16-Feb

Unicera 2016

Turkey

23-27-Feb

Indian Ceramics

India

02-04-Mar

Keramika

Indonesia 17-20-Mar

Ecobuild China

China

29-Mar-01-Apr

Mosbuild

Moscow

05-08-Apr

Jahir Ahmed talks us through the latest developments in ASEAN’s heavy clay markets, and looks at how increasing economic union could have an affect on the region.

50 Gujarat in focus: part 1

Yogender Malik confirms why Gujarat is set to remain the province in pole position for many years to come...

56 Special report: freight issues re-surface Will the China slowdown hit global freight rates?

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

30-May-01-Jun

Middle East Stone

UAE

23-26-May

Ceramics China

China

27-30-May

Tecnargilla Italy 26-30-Sep Cersaie

Italy 26-30-Sep

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

42

Photocredit: Claybricks

Anaylsis 58 Talking Shop

With so much of ASEAN’s tile and sanitaryware industry entrenched in the fortunes of the region’s real estate sector, AC looks at the winners and losers in 2015, and how the new ASEAN Economic Community could change fortunes in the coming year.

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62 The Hunter And The Hunted

Asian Ceramics: now for mobiles, ipads and androids

Analysis and insight into Malaysia.

William upgrades to an ipad, but still casts his unsympathetic eye over industry issues: this month he asks if Vietnam can truly afford the level of expansion it is trying to support.

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AC 16-3

asian ceramics

3

Inside Asia BANGLADESH SEEKS GOVERNMENT HELP In the face of increasing production cost and competition from imported products, local Bangladeshi manufacturers are looking for solutions in terms of restricted imports. “We are negotiating with the government to keep the existing customs duty and add a supplementary duty to continue to protect the tableware, tile and sanitary ware industry, as cheap and under-invoiced tiles, and tableware from China are posing a threat to all the tableware factories in Bangladesh,” said Moynul Islam, Senior Vice President of BCWMA. “In countries like Turkey and India, they impose higher duty on import from China; and Bangladesh needs a similar policy,” he added.

Welcome

Enny Sri Hartati, an economic expert from Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, said that the government must lower fuel prices as the world oil prices fell to around US$30 per-barrel which could be a momentum to develop more productive ceramic industries across ASEAN. Enny said the recent drop in crude oil prices must be used as a momentum to develop industry. “One thing for sure is we have to immediately carry out industrialization underpinned by low-prices energy to support competitiveness in ASEAN,” said Enny.

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AC16-3

EDITORIAL

TI LE S: TH E PR E SSU R E MOU NTS IN SI DE:

Province Profile: Fujia n Building blocks: heav y clay markets in ASEA N Gujarat p1: changing tiles, Special Report: the freig changing times ht debate

PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANAL YSIS AND MUCH MORE!

In contrast with the fall of global oil prices in 2015 and 2016, according to Enny, this time it is not caused by temporary factors. “The reason is due to fundamental factors, not political turbulence nor conflicts. It is more to fundamental factors of supply and demand,” he said.

Enny said that oil supply has significantly increased since the United States, a regular importer, is currently exporting oil instead. In addition, Iran is now able to supply its oil production. “The supply has increased exponentially. It causes excess of supply amid declining demands,” she said.

Under this condition, Enny said that the government must prepare alternative strategies to benefit the momentum. Current production needs to be increased by developing the industry in ASEAN Economic Community era. “Our focus is on production basis, therefore, we have to be able to draw investments,” she said.

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RESEARCH

OUR FOCUS IS ON PRODUCTION BASIS, THEREFORE, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DRAW INVESTMENTS,

One of the conditions, Enny said, is to provide cheaper raw materials. “It must be exploited since commodity prices are low and energy is less expensive,” she said.

For example, rubber export could be carried out concurrently with acceleration of tire and plastic industry development. “The gain would be enormous, it could become an import substitution, open new employment opportunities and could absorb unsellable commodites for the industry,” Enny explained.

According to Enny, lower energy prices in ASEAN and the higher ones in Indonesia could hit real sectors. “It could be the benefit if we immediately re-adjust energy prices. It may encourage the industry and may result in cheaper raw materials,” she said.

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AC 16-3

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

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Cera aims to hit the heights • Cera aims to hit the heights • Government boost to ceramic sector • Sanikey expands boost ceramic industry • Labour crackdown on brick plants continues Budget boost for ceramics? • Excise Brick m shows decline THAILAND

Cera aims to hit the heights CERA C-CURE CO, a manufacturer of tile adhesive and tile grout under the Crocodile brand, has announced its vision to become the No 1 player in Asean within 10 years, and Asia as a whole in 20 years.

Suppapong Phetsuit, president of Cera C-Cure, said the emergence of the Asean Economic Community at the end of last year benefited the company, which had set its business direction to concentrate more on international markets, especially the AEC and the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) sub-region.

He said the company planned to build awareness of its brand and products, and capture customers in those potential export markets. It would also focus on exporting high-value products to bring back a lot of money into Thailand.

Cera C-Cure revealed its business vision at the "Beyond Two Decades, Beyond Relationship" event it hosted to thank its business partners and customers, and reinforce the market leadership of the Crocodile brand driven by a long heritage of more than 20 years in the tile-adhesive, chemical and colouredcement business.

Under its vision, the company expects to increase its contribution from exports from the current 10 per cent of total revenue to 30 per cent in five years, and up to 50 per cent in 10 years. It is targeting the AEC market representing about 70 per cent of total export value.

"We are considering opening our own offices in the CLMV markets, especially Vietnam.

Beyond CLMV, we are also interested in expanding market

8

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AC 16-3

into Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India," Suppapong said.

He said that the company in 2007 started exporting Crocodile products into eight markets, of which four were the CLMV bloc, and the rest were China, Bangladesh, Canada and Maldives.

Cera C-Cure posted Bt2.3 billion in revenue last year, up 10 per cent over 2014. The company is targeting no less than 15-per-cent growth in revenue this year.

Over the past 20 years, Cera C-Cure has maintained itself as a Thai-owned company.

"Entering the 24th year of leadership in the tile-adhesive and tile-grout market in Thailand, we would like to make the Thai people proud of a Thai company that is able to compete neck-and-neck with rivals in the world market," Suppapong said.

"We will continue to focus on strengthening our Crocodile brand under the theme 'innovation for your family's happiness', which is in line with our aspiration to give happiness to all individuals in the family."

He said that from time to time Cera C-Cure had focused on research and development for better product quality. The company launched two or three new products, especially tiling and repairing innovations, every year with more advanced manufacturing technology.

This saw Crocodile products awarded American National Standards Institute certification, a world-class standard for auditing of product quality, which is widely accepted and recognised around the world.

"We are a revolutionist in the market for cement products … which is appropriate to any kind of ceramic tiles and textures," Suppapong said. "We are the

first in the world in the creation of tile grout with Microban's antimicrobial technology [which is] designed to kill bacteria or fungus on contact."

Crocodile products have been divided into three major categories, which are tiling, repairing products and coloured cement.

"For both domestic and overseas markets, we focus on home or residential renovation," the CEO said, adding that amid the slowdown in the global economy "the purchasing power for new houses within the region is declining".

"However, we believe that our Crocodile brand will be able to grow itself, especially in the renovation sector. We are also monitoring carefully the property market and overall economy in Thailand, which are crucial factors in our business expansion."

He said the company would this year also focus on the excellence of before- and aftersale services. They include a host of training activities to educate dealers and retailers about Crocodile products, and the support of advertising and sales promotion materials.

"Since last year, we have seen that individual owners have participated in the decisionmaking process to purchase construction materials for their houses. We then increased our attention in communicating and building awareness directly with house owners," Suppapong said.

He said the company's products were now available in more than 4,000 retail outlets throughout the Kingdom, both at modern trades and those operated by individual dealers. The company also supplied products directly to construction projects owned

by the government and private sectors.

The company last year divided its investment budget into two parts - to expand its factory and bring robotic technology into its production process to increase efficiency and capacity in order to cope with greater demand, and to deliver more environment-friendly projects.

"Cera C-Cure Co gives high concern to the environment all the time. We have significantly improved and developed our surroundings," Suppapong said. "The company is also highly concerned about the health of our employees and nearby communities. Lately, we have brought in new technology that is able to reduce dust in the factory and surrounding areas."

Cera C-Cure has more than 1,000 employees. The company plans to open a new head office to cater for its business expansion domestically and abroad.

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s robotic glazing • Porcelain maker hits the high-life • Anti-smuggling drive to makers under raw material duress in the spotlight • Ceramic tile store growth INDIA

OMAN

Cera aims to hit the heights It has been about making the right moves at the right time for Ahmedabad-based Cera Sanitaryware. The Star SME award winner's strategy to adapt to the latest industry trends appears to be working well.

Seven years ago, Cera realised that it needed to graduate from being just a sanitaryware player to offering entire bathroom solutions. "We caught on to the psychology of customer spending and offered lifestyle products. Earlier, we were just a mass segment player, now we have moved up the value chain," Vikram Somany, chairman and managing director, said.

The company is gradually making in-roads into faucetware and tiles as well, and has been able to successfully identify opportunities. It plans to set up a 51:49 joint venture with Anjani Tiles to manufacture ceramic vitrified tiles in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.

Around 42 per cent of Cera Sanitaryware's revenues come from southern India, so a manufacturing facility there was an obvious move, says the company.

Cera is now not only engaged in manufacturing sanitaryware such as ceramic washbasins, washbasin pedestals, bidets, water closet pans, flushing cisterns, urinals and similar sanitary fixtures, but also increasing its share in vitrified tiles and faucetware. Cera's rapid growth, especially in the last five-to-seven years, means that it is now the second largest sanitaryware company in India after Parryware Roca, with a market share of more than 20 per cent.

Cera's compounded annual growth rate in the last five years has remained at 35 per

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cent, much above the industry average of 12-14 per cent.

Lately, Cera has also been chalking out strategies of expansion as well as diversification with an enlarged product basket, which is where the joint venture with Anjani Tiles comes into the picture. This plant will be set up at a cost of around Rs 68 crore and will manufacture the Cera brand of vitrified tiles with an initial capacity of around 10,000 sq metres per day.

Since the plant will be located close to the new capital of Andhra Pradesh being built at Amaravati, and even to Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the joint venture will be better able to cater to the southern region.

In the Rs 22,000-crore tiles industry, the organised market has a share of some 30 per cent, and of this, the southern region accounts for 55 per cent. The Nellore plant would, therefore, increase Cera's share of the tiles market.

Of the company's 201415 revenue of Rs 822 crore, about 60 per cent was from sanitaryware, 16 per cent from faucetware, 12 per cent from tiles and the rest from lifestyle products.

The unseasonal rains that hit Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh recently and the resultant slowdown in construction activity may hurt the demand for tiles. Also, 2015-16 has seen Cera Sanitaryware so far clock revenue growth of 13 per cent, the worst in over two years, at Rs 225 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2015.

On the bright side, Somany's move to take Cera Sanitaryware into other verticals such as tiles and faucets, where a low base could mean incremental growth, could pay off well in the long run.

Government boost to ceramic sector The country’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry is targeting investment in the industrial sector, especially from neighbouring countries.

The government is working on a new industrial strategy for which an MoU will be signed within two weeks with the United Nation Industrial Development Organization.

According to Naila al Hamdi, Director-General of Industry on Investment: "Ministry of Commerce and Industry wants to expand the industrial base, create appropriate investment climate and introduce possible and available opportunities in all governorates by creating vital projects to meet the needs of the local market and achieve economic diversification."

Several studies have been prepared by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) on projects worth around RO 160 million as the government plans to take advantage of all available resources to find good opportunities for local and international investment. Atif Elgozali, engineering expert at the industrial investment department, GOIC, these are only preliminary or basic studies and the detailed ones will be conducted based on the interest expressed by the investors.

Among the project identified to be are industries producing Polyoxymethylene (POM), acetic acid, cold rolled products and ceramic tiles. The criteria set by the government are the project must be new and has not been implemented yet in Oman, products should meet local, regional or international demand; there should be

an opportunity to export the product and the proposed project should facilitate the industrial integration with the existing industries in Oman. The products and the process should be environmentally friendly and provide job opportunities for Omani nationals.

NEWS IN BRIEF China Ceramics Co., Ltd, a leading Chinese manufacturer of ceramic tiles used for exterior siding and for interior flooring and design in residential and commercial buildings, today announced the pricing of a public offering of the Company's common shares and warrants with expected total gross proceeds of $900,000. The offering is expected to close on or about February 8, 2016, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The offering was priced at $0.63 per common share, with each common share coupled with one five-year warrant to purchase one common share, at an exercise price of $0.78 per share, and one sixmonth warrant to purchase one common share, at an exercise price of $0.63 per share. China Ceramics plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund inventory, distribution expenses, vendor obligations outside of the PRC, as well as for general corporate and working capital.

AC 16-3

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News

PHILIPPINES

Anti-smuggling drive to boost ceramic industry A movement that fights illegal activities which destroys the country’s economy vowed to actively collaborate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to put an end to massive smuggling and illicit trade in the country.

In a statement, industrialist Jesus Arranza, chairman of Fight Illicit Trade (Fight IT), said his group “will help the NBI by providing actionable intelligence on the ground, taking into consideration the need for confidentiality, data protection reliability and security in dealing with the investigation and prosecution of illegal traders.”

Fight IT’s assistance to the NBI came in following intelligence reports that smuggling and illicit trade remain rampant despite NBI efforts to go after people behind the illegal business.

Smuggling and illicit trade are described in Philippine laws as forms of economic sabotage because of its impact on the economy.

NBI Director Virgilio Mendez welcomed Fight IT’s support saying “the help of the private sector would be vital in the bureau’s campaign for intelligence gathering, enforcement and all the way down to prosecution.”

Arranza said Fight IT members will provide the NBI with logistical assistance such as warehouses where the bureau can store seized or confiscated items to preserve evidence until final conviction and court-ordered disposition or destruction.

Fight IT is a broad-based, multi-sectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government

TURKEY

Turkish firm Sanikey has again confirmed the confidence it has in the solutions provided by the Sacmi/Gaiotto Group by purchasing a fourth Gaiotto robotized glazing system.

As with the previous plants, the start-up, carried out in August 2015, was completed in just one week, again highlighting just how easily and quickly this Sacmi/ Gaiotto solution is to install and render operational and its versatility: it is, in fact, suitable for all models of both Vitreous China and Fine Fire Clay.

The outstanding versatility of the integrated glazing centre and the ease with which the glazing programs that already existed on previous systems can be used allowed Sanikey technicians to start producing immediately – with excellent results.

This new order once again sees utilisation of the Gaiotto GDA80 spray gun, characterised by very low levels of wear, and installation of the new glazing

asian ceramics

NBI, Arranza said Fight IT will organize training sessions for the bureau’s personnel to help them spot or identify fake products from cigarettes, shampoos to cell phones and tablets.

“The growing incidence of illicit trade and its damaging effects on industries and the consumers, not to mention its impact on government revenue owing to foregone customs duties and excise taxes, are concerns that prompted us to take a more encompassing campaign to involve local industries and the public,” stressed Arranza, who is also the FPI chairman.

“Illicit trade is a serious economic problem that robs the government of billions of pesos in revenues, harms consumers, and undercuts legitimate local manufacturers,” he added.

VIETNAM

Sanikey expands robotic glazing

10

revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill-effects of smuggling and other forms illegal business activities.

The movement, whose members belong to the antismuggling committee of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), was launched last year.

Specifically, Fight IT is an alliance that brings together major players from industries engaged in business whose products are commonly smuggled such as rice, sugar, corn, palm oil, tobacco, steel, cement, ceramic tiles among others.

The NBI and Fight IT agreed that they will also work with intellectual property groups to go after counterfeiters and those selling fake branded products.

Upon the request of the

AC 16-3

booth with dry filters. The latter highlight attentiveness to water consumption which is, instead, very high in standard booths.

Like its predecessors, this fourth glazing centre consists of a 4-station carousel with a dry glazing booth entirely controlled by the computer on the GA2000 robot; there is no PLC. All machine functions and settings are controlled directly via the joystick, all the glaze control parameters included.

Reliable, precise and efficient, this fourth Gaiotto plant will boost Sanikey’s automatically glazed piece daily output capacity while ensuring excellent quality standards.

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Porcelain maker hits the high-life The prices of some Made-inVietnam products are several hundred to tens of thousands of US dollars and are are ordered by the super-rich in the Middle East. At least, that is the case for one bespoke porcelain manufacturer in the country, namely artisan Le Duy Hao in Dao Xa, Phu Tho province, The products are expensive because they are crystallized porcelain, mainly jasper, and decorated with patterns painted with pure gold.

Specifically, a set of five worshiping items is priced from VND60 to VND120 million ($3,000-$6,000), a set of dishes of 62 products is VND9.8 to VND11.9 million ($400-$500), and a set of two feng shui globes is priced VND199 million (over $9,000),...

According to tests by the Institute of Geology of Vietnam, up to 82.48% of jasper (SiO2) is crystallized in these products, the highest rate ever.

Hao created this special kind of ceramic, with the brand Nason, said he had cherished this idea for many years before successfully creating the products.

Hao invented a special technique to ensure that his products are completely nontoxic.

Hao said the products are burnt in 1300°C furnaces.

Gold patterns on products are manually drawn by artisans to guarantee that each product is one of a kind.

Hao’s company currently supplies eight kinds of products, mainly for the purposes of worship and feng shui. Hao’s products are favored by the rich for their uniqueness.

Some traders from Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates have visited Hao’s workshop to order his products. They also invited Hao to visit Dubai to make his product there.

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News

PAKISTAN

Labour crackdown on brick plants continues The complete elimination of child labour from brick kilns is the government’s primary mission, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday.

He was addressing a meeting of the Steering Committee set up for the elimination of child labour from brick kilns.

“Pens and books not bricks will be given in the hands of children.

All resources will be provided for equipping children working at kilns with education. Action should be continued against owners of brick kilns involved in child labour,” he said. The chief minister said that ministers, elected representatives, police and the district administrations should ensure the complete elimination of child labour from brick kilns. “The inspection of brick kilns should continue and strict action should be taken on the violation of law,” he said.

He said that stationery, books and uniforms would be provided free of cost to the any such

children going to schools. “An educational package has been announced for such children.

It will be implemented from the start of the new academic, starting from April,” he said.

The chief minister said that action would be taken against district administration officials who do not perform well during the crackdown against brick kilns. “A comprehensive plan should be evolved within 30 days for eliminating child labour from restaurants, workshops and other professions,” he said.

The CM said that the departments concerned had to play their role effectively for eliminating child labour from brick kilns and other professions.

The labour secretary briefed the meeting about the ongoing crackdown against child labour at brick kilns. “A total of 3,051 brick kilns have been inspected in Punjab. So far, 519 cases have been registered and 441 kiln owners and managers have

INDIA

been arrested,” he said.

Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq, the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary and the IGP attended the meeting.

Security plan The chief minister on Saturday directed officials concerned to ensure the implementation of the security plan evolved for private and public educational institutions.

“Effective monitoring of security arrangements of schools, colleges and universities should be continued. The authorities concerned should personally review implementation of prescribed security plan regularly. No compromise will be made on the security of public and private educational institutions,” he said.

He was addressing a video conference at the Civil Secretariat to review security arrangements in educational

institutions.

Divisional commissioners, RPOs, CPOs, DCOs and DPOs attended the meeting through a video link.

“Providing children education in a safe atmosphere is our joint responsibility. We have to fulfill it at every cost,” he said.

He said that separate committees should be constituted for reviewing arrangements made under the security plan in existing educational institutions at all divisional headquarters.

He said that members of the committees would review security plans in their respective divisional headquarters and submit reports. The meeting was briefed in detail about the steps taken so far about steps taken to improve security for educational institutes.

Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Rana Mashhood Ahmad and Special Assistant to CM Rana Maqbool Ahmad were also present in the meeting.

INDIA

Budget boost for ceramics? Excise Brick makers under raw Given the growing focus on sanitation in India, ceramic industry leaders are demanding that the two major issues currently hurting the ceramics industry (ceramic tiles and sanitary ware) are attended to.

As the budget is drawn up for 2016-17, companies are calling for the government to meet the challenges head-on.

The first move will be to give a top priority to GST and getting the GST Bill passed. Though this is outside the Budget, this measure alone will rationalise things for the ceramic producers who need to move goods from one state to another. It will also provide a level playing field to the organised sector (which is about 40 to 45 per cent of the total sector) vis-a-vis the unorganised sector.

Secondly, manufacturers believe that the Budget could impose an antidumping duty on ceramic tiles from China,

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which is what other countries, including India's neighbouring countries have done. This would check unfair competition faced by a growing sector. Ceramic tiles as a whole is estimated to be an over Rs 20,000-crore industry and sanitaryware is an over Rs 5,000-crore industry in India today.

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material duress in the spotlight

Brick kilns in Tanahun district have not been able to produce adequate bricks on account of the protracted agitation in the plains and border blockade.

The brick kiln owners said they were compelled to operate their kilns despite huge loss as they’d invested a huge amount in the business.

Owner Govinda Raj Panta of Asmita Brick Industry said they hardly produced any brick these days due to the lack of raw materials. “The market price for bricks has also gone down of late,” he informed. He said Machhapuchare, Pokhareli, Manakamana, Asmita, Shreeram and Hosanna, among other kilns, produced bricks in the district.

It is said that Tanahun, Shree, Jamune and Ram brick industries were shut for want of raw materials following frequent

bandhs and the ongoing blockade.

Asmita Brick Industry, which is spread in an area of around 150 ropani, produces as many as 4,500,000 bricks annually.

As many as 200 workers are currently employed in the factory.

Brickentrepreneurscomplained that their business was in peril as very few houses are being built after the earthquake. The bricks produced in the district are supplied to Kaski, Baglung, Myagdi, Lamjung, Gorkha and Syangja, among other districts.

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I N N O V A T I O N

V A L L E Y

News

Ceramic tile store growth shows decline CHINA In a report made available to AC, data shows that the number of new specialized ceramic tile stores that have opened in the 2014-15 financial year have shown a decline in number as pressure continues to mount on the sector.

Numbers of newly opened terminal exclusive stores of ceramic tiles during 2014-2015 Year Jan Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2014 1 4 3 9 8 7 7 12 8 1 1 2015 0 1 2 7 16 4 6 6 4 3 1 Note: Numbers for Feb are zero

From the point of view of sampling data, the number of newly opened stores is 61 for 2014 and 49 for 2015. The reduction of number of stores can be attributed to the market downturn led to the slowdown in the expansion of enterprises.

Most of the new stores were opened from May to October, especially from June to August.

Distribution of newly opened terminal exclusive stores of ceramic tiles on city scale during 2014-2015 Year 1st line 2nd line 3rdline 4thline 5th line 6th line TOTAL city city city city city city 2014

3

18

13

9

3

15

61

2015

3

14

13

6

4

9

49

Note: 1st line city – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou & Shenzhen; 2rd city – most provincial capitals and some economic strong cities; 3rd city – some provincial capitals & some economic strong cities and counties; 4th city – economic strong cities; 5th smaller cities; 6th – counties

Many stores are available in 1st line cities and a few new stores were opened. The 2nd line cities are most welcome by the enterprises and the new stores there account for 29.5% of the total for 2014 and 28.6% for 2015. Moreover, the new stores in the 3rd line and smaller cities account for 65.6% of the total for 2014 and 65.3% for 2015. So, ceramic tile enterprises should pay more attention to the 3rd line and smaller cities when they layout in the future.

GDP growth of five provinces and regions for 2015 Province

Population (m.)

GDP (RMB m.)

Growth rate (%)

29.70 80.50 34.75 45.96 2.81

1,571,972 3,010,310 1,050,256 -----

11 7.9 10.7 8.3 10.3

Chongqing Sichuan Guizhou Yunnan Tibet

Note: updated on 21th January, 2016

The number of newly opened terminal exclusive stores in East China, South China and Central China accounts for 77.1% of the total for 2014 and 61.2% for 2015. But, there are still a large number of blank markets in North China, Northwest, Southwest and Northeast.

The GDP of provinces and autonomous regions for 2015 began to gradually released on 20th January, 2016. By the end of 21st January, there are eight area released annual GDP for 2015, Guangdong is topped the list and the GDP is RMB 7,281,255 m., year-on-year growth of 8%. In view of the growth situation, the Southwest region is worthy of ceramic enterprises to enter.

Distribution of newly opened terminal exclusive stores of ceramic tiles on region during 2014-2015 Year 2014 2015

East China 18 16

South China 15 5

Central China 14 9

North China 1 4

Northwest 3 6

Southwest 7 4

Northeast 3 5

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News

International News Debate continues over Chinese imports Europe

Brick industry disputes shortage accusation United Kingdom

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he EU's executive is seeking public feedback over the future of the bloc's trade relations with Beijing, it announced in early February, with a decision looming on how to handle cheap Chinese imports without harming its economy and job market.

China is the EU's largest supplier of goods, but the bloc has argued that many of its imports illegally undercut European prices, imposing anti-dumping and antisubsidy duties on products ranging from solar panels to ceramic tiles and ironing boards.

The rules for calculating fair Chinese export prices were agreed in 2001, when Beijing joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

But part of these provisions will expire at the end of 2016.

By then, the EU must decide how to react in order to protect its own industry, without harming relations with Beijing.

The European Commission is giving stakeholders such as manufacturers, industry

associations and trade unions 10 weeks to say whether, and if so, how, the EU should change its treatment of China in future antidumping investigations.

If the EU grants China so-called market economy status - which would mean domestic prices are a fair basis for calculating the cost of exported goods - the bloc could lose up to 211,000 jobs in the long term if it does not retain any trade defence tools, the commission estimates.

By keeping some anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties in place, this impact could be cut in half, it has said in an initial analysis.

The public consultation will feed into an in-depth assessment of the economic effects on the EU's 28 member states of any decision taken, focusing in particular on job losses, the commission said.

Europe's economy has experienced stubbornly high levels of unemployment, while struggling to rev up its growth engine after emerging from recession in 2013.

M

arket research data released in February indicated several areas of concern for the construction sector, amongst which was a lengthening of delivery times for building materials.

The brick industry would like to make it completely clear that brick production has risen significantly over the last two years. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills figures, released at the same time, point to brick production in December 2015 being 16% higher than in December 2014.

The BDA challenged CIPS on its comment citing brick shortages as a particular issue, asking to see statistical evidence to support the claim. In response, the BDA was told: "We used the term bricks as generally representative of building materials as a sector. We see a shortage of various building materials and picked on bricks as a readily understandable

Moorland looks to expand United Kingdom

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oorland Pottery is looking to expand – after spending £94,000 on a factory revamp.

The cash has been used to create space for a showroom, more warehousing and an office, and to repair the roof and windows at the Burslem business.

A 106-year-old kiln has also been restored as part of the transformation.

The £94,000 has been secured through the Longton and Burslem Building Scheme which has now come to an end.

Now Moorland Pottery managing director Jonathan Plant hopes the restoration will lead to further expansion.

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Managing director of Moorland Pottery, Jonathan Plant said: "This money has allowed us to refurbish parts of the factory and means we can expand our warehouse space. We also want to create a showroom to show our customers our products because we have a huge UK market.

"We have been here for 29 years and it's always been my ambition to restore the building so I am really pleased that we have finally been able to do it. We have really grown over the last four years and we are doing really well but the problem for us is space. We need separate production space and storage space.

"What is great for us is that the restoration is a tangible and visible

sign of change and improvement, not just for people seeing Moorland Pottery from the outside but also for the team that work here.

"The new showroom and warehouse space will give us a third more working space which is essential for our future growth and expansion."

The firm employs seven people at its Moorland Road factory.

Moorland Pottery worker Michelle Dutton, aged 48, of Brindley Ford, said: "We have a large customer base across the UK, but we are particularly popular with local people.

"When the showroom is created it will be great because it will allow us to show potential customers exactly what we do."

terminology."

Michael Ankers, Chairman of the BDA, said: "This is sloppy narrative that is very damaging to our industry. The BDA represents 99% of the brick manufacturers in the UK. We can report with absolute authority that there has been a significant increase in brick production over the last twelve months and this is confirmed by the latest ONS statistics.

If there are delivery issues further down the supply chain it would be very helpful to understand the cause.

Unfortunately, CIPS was unable to provide information on the number or organisation type of respondents finding bricks hard to obtain. Without that evidence, I find it astonishing that the CIPS felt authorised to comment on the availability of bricks."

Portmeirion gears for “big year” United Kingdom

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taffordshire tableware manufacturer Portmeirion Group is preparing to report a seventh consecutive year of record sales. In a trading update for the 12 months to 31 December 2015, the business said revenues are expected to be up by "at least" 11 per cent compared to 2014 and will top £68m.

It also revealed pre-tax profits will be "ahead of market expectations".

Dick Steele, non-executive chairman of Portmeirion, said: "I am delighted with the achievement of another record level of sales.

"Sales performance in the UK has been particularly robust throughout 2015, with strong growth in online sales, and the US performed strongly in the run up to Christmas.

We look forward with confidence."

A new kiln, which was installed and commissioned by the group during 2015, will be in production from February.

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News

Italtile continues to soar SOUTH AFRICA

I

t seems like there is no end to the rise of Italtile, even when a consumer and economic slump is in full swing.

The retailer is marking its position as a leader in the tile and ceramics industry, as it continues to deliver doubledigit growth.

For the six months to December 31 2015, Italtile reported a 22% rise in headline earnings per share to 43.4 cents on the back of a 13% rise in its system-wide turnover to R3.08 billion.

Although the market continues to see consumers scale back on purchasing new homes in uncertain economic times, there are signs of green shoots in the home improvement market.

And Italtile is getting a share of consumer spend. Italtile’s trading profit for the period grew by 16% to R531 million.

Asked about how Italtile consistently delivers solid results in a tough consumer market, CFO Brandon Wood says it’s all in the strong performance

of its brands CTM, Top T and Italtile Retail.

Italtile’s brand offering targets homeowners across the LSM categories 4 to 10. “We continue to leverage opportunities by stepping up on our offering on price, availability of stock and store competency. We also make sure the customer experience is right,” Wood tells Moneyweb.

But there might be another secret to Italtile’s strong performance – its focus on lower LSM consumers who are proving to be resilient and have a growing appetite for do-it-yourself (DIY) home-improvement projects.

“They [lower LSM consumers] might buy down but they are still spending. And we are making sure that we are capitalising on that spend.” Italtile is catering to this market largely through its Top T brand.

Also putting Italtile in a strong and defensive position is its radical business optimisation programme which seeks to improve IT systems, the supply

chain process and in-store efficiencies to enhance the customer shopping experience.

The retailer implemented phase one of the programme and is yet to roll it out in full scale which might take up to three years.

“We have implemented it [the business optimisation programme] at two of our supply chain businesses and are looking to implement it at our retail stores CTM, Top T and Italtile Retail stores,” says Wood.

Italtile has a sweet spot in the market, as it controls more than 40% of SA’s tile industry through its brands. Furthermore, the counter is insulated from the weakness of the rand against major currencies as roughly 65% of its products are locally sourced while its small competitors largely rely on imports to compete. “With the rand at current levels, it’s very difficult for them,” says Wood.

Italtile’s advantage also comes from its positioning as a specialist tile, sanitary

ware, taps and bathroom furniture business, whereas counters like Cashbuild, Spar Group’s Build It and Massmart’s Builders Warehouse sell general hardware merchandise.

Italtile largely sources its tile merchandise locally from Ceramic Industries and Ezeetile, which it has strategic investments in both companies, contributing R44 million to Italtile’s profits.

In December, Italtile commissioned Ceramic Industries’ new tile plant Gryphon, which is expected to provide an alternative offering in the local market to imported large format glazed porcelain tiles.

Italtile manages 133 stores, of which 16 are located in the rest of Africa; largely in Kenya and Tanzania. Wood says there are massive opportunities to roll out more stores further into the continent. Italtile declared a dividend of 14 cents per share which is up 17%.

Emser to set up new distribution centre United States

E

mser Tile will invest $16.25 million to establish a new East Coast distribution center in CenterPoint Intermodal Center in the City of Suffolk, VA. The Los Angeles-based designer, marketer and producer of tile and natural stone also considered South Carolina for the project, which will create 98 new jobs.

“It is another tremendous testament to Virginia’s competitive advantages when a company like Emser Tile chooses the Commonwealth as its gateway to the East Coast market and the rest of the globe,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “This new distribution location in the City of Suffolk will allow strategic access to customers and unrivaled logistics efficiency through the Port of Virginia. The Commonwealth’s distribution base remains strong and continues to grow, and we are proud to add Emser Tile to the roster as we

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diversify and build a new Virginia economy.”

“Emser Tile’s establishment of a distribution operation in the City of Suffolk is a wonderful testament to the superior assets Hampton Roads offers U.S.-based and international companies,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “This leading distributor will benefit from Virginia’s outstanding talent, strategic location, infrastructure, attractive corporate climate and quality of life. We look forward to seeing the company’s growth in Virginia.”

Emser Tile’s interior and exterior products for both residential and commercial projects include porcelain, ceramic, natural stone, metal, glass, quarry, decorative accents and mosaics, cut-to-size stone, setting materials, and custom-manufactured products made to customer specifications.

“Emser Tile is thrilled to be

working with the City of Suffolk and Virginia,” said Emser Vice President of Marketing Bob Baldocchi. “This new facility represents a significant milestone in our long-term expansion and growth plans.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the distribution center for Virginia. Gov. McAuliffe approved a $250,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Suffolk with the project. The company will receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program, and funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

“We are thrilled that Emser Tile selected Suffolk’s Centerpoint

Intermodal Center as the location for their new East Coast distribution center,” said Suffolk Mayor Linda T. Johnson. “Emser Tile’s investment means more new jobs, and it illustrates that the Port of Virginia and Suffolk are proven assets along the Atlantic for companies to diversify their logistics operations.

We are determined to assist companies interested in growing in Suffolk and look forward to Emser Tile’s continued success.”

“We are honored to work with Emser Tile, and serve as their global gateway,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.

“This is a great example of how, working together, The Port of Virginia, the City of Suffolk and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership find and facilitate opportunities to serve businesses, create jobs, and attract investment for our region and our state.”

www.asianceramics.com

Raw Materials News

Raw Material News ILUKA CONSIDERS PRODUCTION SUSPENSION Australia // Zircon Iluka Resources Ltd., the biggest zircon producer, sees its decision to halt output at the largest mine for as long as two years as likely to support prices amid weak global growth and a broader rout in commodities.

The Perth-based producer will halt the Jacinth-Ambrosia mine in South Australia for between 18 and 24 months from April 16, depending on market conditions.

The action should have a positive impact on prices of the material used in products from wall tiles to nuclear reactor cores, Chief Executive Officer David Robb said Tuesday in an interview.

“The right thing for our industry is for supply to be flexed to match demand,” Robb said by phone. “That’s the quickest way to get the trajectory towards positive pricing and demand established again,” he said. Iluka’s average price for zircon products declined 6 percent in 2015 to $961 a metric ton, it said last month.

Jacinth-Ambrosia is capable of supplying as much as 30 percent of global demand for zircon, Iluka said earlier in a statement. Sales into China in 2016, the biggest consumer, are likely to be in line with the past two years, while some other markets are struggling to achieve growth, according to Robb.

“If global GDP is anemic, then it’s hard for there to be very strong growth,” he said.

Iluka rose 0.6 percent to A$6.73 at 3:46 p.m. in Sydney trading, extending its gains for the year to almost 10 percent.

Iluka ceased mining at operations in Virginia last year, ending production of premium zircon and chloride ilmenite. Jacinth-Ambrosia, located 800 kilometers (500 miles) northwest of Adelaide, in South Australia, produced last year about 250,000 tons of zircon finished product, the company said last month in a filing.

“The fact we are choosing to suspend production of concentrate at the biggest zircon mine in the world, that will help any adjustments that need to be made to be made more quickly,” Robb said.

A wider rout in commodity prices that’s eroding profits and has prompted producers to cut debt, trim production and slash spending is likely to spur deals and threatens to put pressure companies to sell operations, Rio Tinto Group’s CEO Sam Walsh told Bloomberg Television last week.

While the outlook for producers of mineral sands products including zircon is better than for much of the commodities sector, some debt-laden companies are under stress, presenting prospects for deal-making, Robb said in the interview.

Iluka ended talks in December to acquire Kenmare Resources Plc to add its Moma mine in Mozambique.

Iluka will continue to pursue potential deals alongside plans to invest in existing growth projects, Robb said. “We see this as a time of great opportunity for us,” he said. “There are opportunities, and we still like our projects as well. I think history suggests that a little bit of both is best for shareholders.”

KENMARE STRUGGLES WITH DEBT ISSUES Mozambique // Zircon Irish titanium and zircon miner Kenmare Resources has defaulted on its debts after failing to reach agreement with lenders on a new deleveraging plan by an agreed deadline of January 31st. The explorer said however, negotiations with banks on a deal are ongoing.

At the end of December, bank loans amounted to $341.9 million and cash and cash equivalents were $14.3 million. Lenders agreed to defer payment of $2.3 million in fees last April.

The proposed deleveraging plan, which was announced in early December, includes a $100 million investment by the (SGRF) of the Sultanate of Oman.

In a statement issued at the beginning of February, Kenmare said it continues to monitor and manage its liquidity positions and currently retains the support of its lenders.

“Although there can be no certainty that these matters will be agreed or that the deleveraging plan can be implemented, the Board of Kenmare looks forward to progressing this plan and the related capital raising, subject to the support and

co-operation of lenders and key shareholders, and with the indicated support of SGRF,” it said.

The exploration company, which operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in northern Mozambique, said ore mined last year was down 19 per cent to 27,532,000 tonnes due to power interruptions and flooding damage in the first quarter. Heavy mineral concentrate production was down 15 per cent to 1,100,600 tonnes while ilmenite production fell 11 per cent to 763,500 tonnes.

Zircon production rose 2 per cent to 51,800 tonnes. Secondary zircon production increased by 72 per cent to 12,400 tonnes.

“Power interruptions and instability have been the key bottleneck to production at the Moma Mine in recent years and acutely felt in the first quarter of 2015, when flooding resulting in a prolonged outage. However, the investment by EdM to enhance the transmission infrastructure has resulted in a step change in the quality and consistency of our power supply since coming on line in late December,” said managing director Michael Carvill.

RIO TO FUND FURTHER FEASIBILITY Serbia // Borates/Lithium Rio Tinto has authorized funding to complete the prefeasibility study of the Jadar lithium-borate project in Serbia. The Serbian government recently extended the exploration license agreement for the project.

More than US$20 million will be directly invested in Serbia through the end of 2017 to complete the studies required for the prefeasibility stage of the project and obtain a resource reserve certificate from the Serbian Government. To date, Rio Tinto has invested US$70 million in the Jadar project, located about 140 kilometers from Belgrade near Loznica.

“The Jadar project and Rio Tinto Minerals remain an important part of Rio Tinto’s portfolio,” said Dean Gehring, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rio Tinto Minerals. “We appreciate our partnership with the Serbian government as we further assess the technical, economic and environmental viability of the project.”

The Serbian government recently passed the law on Mining and Geological Exploration, which makes it more attractive to secure foreign direct investment in

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large mining projects. This is an important step to advance projects such as Jadar.

Serbia is the only known source of Jadarite, a new mineral discovered in 2004 by Rio Sava, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

The Jadar deposit is a world-class lithium-borate deposit and among the largest lithium deposits in the world. Studies are underway to determine the optimumsized operation that complements Rio Tinto Minerals’ borate mining operations in Southern California.

During the next two years, Rio Tinto’s project team will conduct a number of studies to further assess the technical, environmental, economic and social viability of the project. The outcome of this work determines if the project can advance to Feasibility stage.

To date, the work programs have considered many development options to identify the optimal pathway for mining and processing of Jadarite for the production of high quality lithium and borate products.

www.asianceramics.com

News Anaylsis

News

22

All change on the subcontinent

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asian ceramics

looring options have undergone a sea change from the humble cement flooring to slabs, mosaic, marble to ceramic, vitrified and highend tiles. The innovation in tiles, bigger size, ease in fixing them and maintenance are making more people opt for tiles. Time-tested traditional materials continue to be the favourites though.

One of the major tile manufacturers, Somany Ceramics, the flagship company of H. L. Somany group, has opened its third showroom, Vizag Tiles and Sanitary, in Andhra Pradesh at Rama Talkies in the city recently.

Sanjay Kalra, President, Sales and Marketing of Somany Ceramics, spoke to regional media on the market scenario, Indian preferences, growing business and the company standing.

“When it comes to consideration of flooring types for construction projects at present, India continues to exhibit a range of preferences.

Indeed, although it is possible to segment the market to some degree, there is nevertheless a degree of flux between each of the major requirements.

“That said, if we were to generalize, we would say that marble is preferred for high-end constructions and residential sectors. Marble range starts from Rs.125 an sft, where the high-end tile rates end. Tiles are mainly catering to the mid-segment and upper mid segment. Presently, 80 per cent of the tile market is from new constructions and 20 per cent from replacement. In Europe, it is the other way round with 80 per cent coming from replacement, the reason being their going in for renovation every five years. In India once a house is constructed no-one thinks of changes for at least 10 to 15 years and this is key in predicting future consumption patterns in terms of likely product growth”. It would seem, therefore, that a failure to secure a new housing or building project at the outset could close that particular market opportunity for a considerable period.

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“When it comes to replacing tiles, we are starting to see some movement in India, but when considered in conjunction with the surge in economic activity, growing middle-class and burgeoning purchasing power that professionals now possess, it seems that the redecoration market is not as buoyant as could be expected.

80% OF THE TILE MARKET IS FROM NEW CONSTRUCTIONS “In India, every year 40 lakh individual houses are being constructed. Ten years ago it was only 20 lakh. If they start going for renovation it is a huge opportunity.

On any day replacement market is bigger than new construction. It is the right time to do it to give a new look to their houses as tile prices are so attractive. The trend is growing but like the way in Western countries.

With aspiration of better life style and more disposable incomes, it is catching up.

“Consumption patterns – in terms of volume – also vary dramatically across the country. The South certainly accounts for major consumption because the potential is high and hygiene levels are high leading to construction of more bathrooms and toilets. In the north they are 35 to 40 per cent. Somany sells almost equally in North and South.

“I guess that puts forward the question on our own expansion plans. Well, we can say that in the last financial year our turnover is Rs.1,600 crore. This is our third exclusive showroom in Andhra Pradesh. We want to open four to five in the next six months. In

Andhra Pradesh non-metro cities like Vijayawada, Kakinada, Tirupati and Ongole are thriving and the growth rate is higher there. We want to reach out to customers there with new showrooms.”

“The overall market is worth Rs.22,000 crore of which the organised sector accounts for 45 per cent of the volume and the unorganised sector for 55 per cent.

Going by the value each accounts for about 50 per cent, Rs.11,000 crore.

“An additional 10 per cent is exported to Europe, Asian countries and mainly African countries.

Exports are doing better after anti-dumping measures against China by some countries. In tile manufacturing India comes after China and Brazil.

“Somany accounts for 18 per cent of the organised market. In the tile market one has to constantly innovate in design and size.

Somany is brand leader in new design, innovation and is ahead of competitors. We maintain edge on creation of designs and size and innovate on value addition.

One of the technologies is Veil Craft shield which provides abrasion strength to the tile. This is the only patented technology in tile industry in India. While a normal tile wears out in 10,000 revolutions, it is five times stronger. Our chairman had been awarded American Ceramic Society award for this.

We have applied for patent for Slip shield. In India, cases of slipping in bathroom are high, particularly among the aged. In 65 per cent cases, it leads to severe injury or fatality.

Slip shield prevents fall on soapy water even with 45 per cent incline. It’s already available in the market.

Wall-cladding is also catching up.

It is a matter of design with people using it in bathrooms, kitchens or one-side of the wall. Duraslim (400x800 cm) is specifically for wallcladding. It is a new variety that is glaze vitrified with 8 mm thickness.”

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Analysis: Fujian

Province Profile:

Fujian expansions key to long-term survival

In the latest of our province profiles, we turn our attention to the export-oriented Fujian and look at how the industry is coping with a considerable change in fortunes‌

T

he Fujian production region has 246 ceramic tile enterprises and 554 production lines with capacity of 5,595,000m2/d square meters (excluding western roof tile). In which there are 72 interior wall tile lines (one under reconstruction) with capacity of 1,081,000m2/d, 105 rustic tile lines with capacity of 1,049,000m2/d, 304 exterior wall tile lines with capacity of 3,080,000m2/d, 6 small floor tile lines with capacity of 100,000m2/d, 10 fully polished glazed tile lines with capacity of 107,000m2/d, 8 terracotta panel lines with capacity of 28,000m2/d, 3 ceramic panel lines with capacity of 17,000m2/d, 1 microcrystalline line with capacity of 11,000m2/d, 3 polished tile lines with capacity of 21,000m2/d, 25 western roof tile lines with capacity of 748,000pcs/d, and 17 other tile lines (including solar energy, wall &floor tiles, split tile, border tile) with capacity of 101,000m2/d. 345 inkjet printers are now in commission.

Quanzhou

Quanzhou, located in southeastern coast areas of Fujian, is the starting point of Maritime Silk Road and has been long sophisticated in sea transportation. Besides, Quanzhou is also a traditional producer of ceramic products as it is rich in mineral resources with a profound cultural environment.

Ceramics made in Quanzhou have no comparative advantage against inland equivalents in price. However, it is the quality and marketing of these ceramic enterprises that make their products be distributed throughout the whole country even abroad.

At present, the main products in Quanzhou are exterior wall tiles, with rustic tile, ceramic panel and interior wall tile et al being made by some enterprises.

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Difficult expansions

The development history of ceramic industry in Quanzhou can be

traced back to late 1980s, when China was in the early stage of reform and opening up and fell short of most of commodities. So the ceramic products at that time can be sold once produced, which was the reason for the spring up of ceramic enterprises in Cizao and Neikeng Towns of Jinjiang. Major characteristics for ceramic industry at that time are enormous numbers of enterprises, small scale and high density.

Now, when the output of the ceramic industry in China as a whole is to exceed ten billion square meters and domestic ceramic production regions are striving for transformation and upgrading, ceramic enterprises in Quanzhou encounter the land restriction, the most immediate challenge, which is the direct reason for failure to expand locally.

Among the manufacturing industries in Quanzhou, clothing, footwear and stone rank the top three before ceramic tiles, the forth, which makes local government of Quanzhou do not pay so much attention to ceramic industry as governments in other inland regions do, particularly under the great pressure of environmental protection, and the local government takes a cautious attitude toward its expansion. According to our interview, Wu Shengtuan, director of Cizao Chamber of Commerce in Jinjiang, said that high energy consuming industries are no longer allowed to build factories in Quanzhou.

Due to land restriction and environmental pressure, a plenty of bosses from Quanzhou have their factories built across China so a lot of ceramic enterprises funded by investors from Quanzhou could be seen in most of ceramic production regions.

For years, many enterprises in Fujian are family cooperation and builds on mutual trust. Once financial crisis broke out, the capital chain of these companies would very likely to be disrupted. Some

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Analysis: Fujian

ceramic enterprises in Quanzhou went bankrupt or moved to other places around 2009. Later many factories were moved out of Quanzhou as the government urged all enterprises to use natural gas as fuel instead of coal, and cost for natural gas went up, and adding

the fact that the rest of China was using water gas while natural gas was only requested in Fujian.

For current circumstances, the overcapacity of ceramic industry now does not prompt development of new products. Instead, these enterprises still put their focus on expansion, which is no more than replicating same products. Once times go bad, companies will suffer more for the core issues are not addressed.

Simple Product Structure

Quanzhou has been known for its exterior wall tile and most of the products are exterior wall tiles with low value-added. As the fuel and labor costs drive up and excessive output of exterior wall tile is very likely to turn down the market, how enterprises in Quanzhou, facing such a difficulty, survive is urgency for every one of them.

Now many enterprises are thinking about changing ideas. In the course of production, they do not follow the old path of mass producing normal large-size ceramic tiles but focus on middle and small-size products and find their proper position in the market to go on a differentiated road so as to work out new products.

A director of Jincheng Ceramic said that facing the present market, enterprises must go differentiated to focus on small-size products.

In terms of technological innovation, there is nothing other than inkjet printing technology that draws the attention of the trade. If enterprises are to promote their products, they would definitely come down to the improvement of their products. Given the situation, the inkjet printing technology comes at quite a proper time.

Sometimes the consumption market is not entirely dominated by consumers but by enterprises which can guide consumers to buy inkjet products.

Despite much convenience brought by the inkjet printing technology, enterprises still face many problems because many inkjet products become highly homogeneous, which would drive up the pressure for companies to digest inventory. Some enterprises even put a lower price on their products to lure more customers.

The reduced cost at the sacrifice of quality not only blows away consumer’s enthusiasm for purchasing inkjet products, but perplexes enterprises for which product they should produce, which would no doubt make the situation even worse.

At present, there are 200 inkjet printers in commission in Quanzhou. As products go homogeneous and enterprises all involve in price war, the price of inkjet tiles is lowered down to the same level as that of whole-body tile, but there is still no sign of market turning up.

www.asianceramics.com

“Inkjet printing technology should be combined with traditional techniques and innovate techniques. Only in this way can valuedadded be improved and price war avoided”, said Chen Zeshi, vice president of Fujian Haimeisi Technology. The reason for dropped prices of inkjet products lies in enterprises themselves as they do not pay much attention to R&D of inkjet products but eager to put their products in the market, which makes the enterprises trapped in price war and those who really work on R&D are seldom seen.

Challenges ahead

“Honghua Ceramics produced interior wall tiles initially. In 2005, it started to manufacture rustic tiles before last year when it altered to thin plate,” said Li Yiqiang, vice president of Fujian Honghua Ceramics, in our interview. Honghua began producing ceramic panel at the age of inkjet printing, which relied on its technology.

Li Yiqiang said that many other exterior wall tile producers are competing in output and price, which is inadvisable.

However, not all enterprises succeeded in changing line of production. At present, only 10 ceramic enterprises are still producing interior wall tiles, as many others have changed line of production, except that they just put their focus on rustic effect of exterior wall tile and only a few accomplished upgrading lines of interior wall tile due to technologies. It can’t be ignored that enterprises will encounter many problems in the course of changing line of production, such as low innovation capability, weak marketing and insufficient talents, which are stumbling blocks in enterprises transformation.

With regard to the transformation of ceramic enterprises in Quanzhou, Li Yiqiang said that it is concerned with the selfimprovement of enterprises as they need to make more efforts in project upgrading, scientific achievements and talent cultivation.

Meanwhile, support from related scientific research institutions are needed for enterprises are hardly able to get improved on their own.

It is said that many incentives are offered by the local government for ceramic industry, with related policies being unveiled in Quanzhou. Among which there is one particularly announced that for ceramic professionals who come to work here in Quanzhou in Ceramic enterprises, they will get housing allowance, sometimes as high as RMB10, 000 per month and RMB800, 000 annually for one person, which will absolutely play a positive role in attracting talents.

“Honghua Group would like to see ceramic enterprises in Quanzhou to go differentiated and work on how to successfully transform themselves,” highlighted Li Yiqiang, but it should be based on benign competition centering on product quality instead of blindly copycatting or going on a price war.

AC 16-3

asian ceramics

25

Analysis: Fujian

Moving to natural gas

By the end of May, 2015, Quanzhou took the lead in completing the shift from coal to natural gas but encountered the problems of natural gas use restriction, for which some kilns had to be suspended. The gas restriction or gas supply interruption in different blocks are due to risky overload of gas supplier, Jinjiang gas distributing station of CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) with safety risk, upstream gas provider of ENN. According to our investigation, the problem for gas supply is caused by the fact that as enterprises flooded in shifting from coal to gas and few of them knew exactly the amount of energy consumption in their production, or how much gas they will need.

When companies apply for gas use, the more amount of gas use they report, the more they need to pay in applying for the certificate to use the gas, which made many enterprises are quite conservative in reporting. As a result, the actual amount of gas used far exceeded the supply amount.

So far, 90% of ceramic enterprises have completed the shift from coal to gas and some of them have suspended their production.

Wu Shengtuan told our journalist that due to inadequate gas supply, water gas is still allowed for some ceramic enterprises as long as their production reach the environmental standards and this is just an interim step for both the government and enterprises.

In Quanzhou production region, as calculated by the price of RMB3.6 per square meters for water gas use, the cost for natural gas would be roughly RMB1.2 per square meters higher.

To create a fair field, government has issued a document that required enterprises which are still using water gas must bear part of production cost for those installed with natural gas equipment.

The actual cost enterprises need to share depends on the number of their kilns powered by water gas and for each of kiln, they need to pay RMB30, 000 to 40,000 as subsidies to ENN in Quanzhou. ENN will, according to the actual operation of ceramic enterprises using natural gas, exempt part of cost for enterprises powered by natural gas in order to balance the cost of all ceramic enterprises.

In the meantime, ENN is upgrading its gas pipelines to meet the need of ceramic enterprises. The upgrading project is expected to be completed by March, 2015. By that time, a new gas station will be built and enterprises would no longer worry about the problem of gas supply.

In Quanzhou, there are still some 20 ceramic enterprises using water gas, with more than 30 gas generators in operation. According to insiders, some enterprises are submitting pleas to the government and, hopefully, still use water gas under the condition of reaching environmental standards. After all, natural gas is not the only solution to energy saving and emission reduction.

Some insiders noted, however, that using natural gas is aimed to reduce emissions. But if thegovernment allows some enterprises to continue the use of water gas, it is quite unfair and there is no convincing standard as to which enterprise can use water gas or natural gas. Although the controversy over the use of natural gas still remains, the advantages of using natural gas far outweigh its disadvantages.

As it is a must for ceramic enterprises to shift from coal to gas, all enterprises should be treated equally. From the long term perspective, however, if every enterprise is required to install natural gas equipment, how they should handle the high cost of shifting, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises?

“Under the tough environmental standards, enterprises must improve the value-added of their products,” Chen Lanbo, Assistant to Chairman of Fujian Huatai Group. Huatai had begun using natural

26

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gas before the government’s push for gas use, one of the earliest shifting to natural gas. In the course of transformation, small and medium-sized enterprises will encounter greater obstacles due to small production scale and limited fund and technology restrictions.

Those ceramic enterprises with low value-added will even perhaps shut down their production, but this is an irresistible trend.

“Undoubtedly, only the fittest is able to survive in this process and it is a conundrum facing each and every company in their course of development,” said Chen Lanbo. Those which survive the strict standards will absolutely benefit more in the future development.

Natural gas contributes to high stability of products compared with that of coal. For enterprises, the rise of fuel cost forces enterprises to produce higher value-added products and shift their attention to branding and cultural construction so as to embark on a sustainable path of development. From the long-term perspective, this is a threewin for enterprises, government as well as the general public.

Minqing

The development period of ceramic industry in Minqing started in the 1990s. As far as the old generation can remember, there were up to more than 250 ceramic enterprises at its peak time with traditional manual pressing in production. As production grew bigger, a plenty of enterprises chose to merge and reorganize later on to adapt to the development in production. Until 2014, after several rounds of merger and reorganization, 41 ceramic enterprises remained in Minqing County and mainly concentrated in Baizhang Town and Baizhong Town.

Minqing now has 40 ceramic enterprises. Most of them were built during 1990s to early 2000s and only 4 after 2010. Enterprises which recently began production are often the best performers in terms of production scale, site planning and branding and for the rest ones, however, still face problems such as failure to upgrade outdated equipment. The reason for such situation is, on one hand, worsening market blows away the investment enthusiasm for enterprises and on the other hand, ceramic enterprises are often constrained by terrain from scale development and transformation.

“It may be viable to dig down the mountains in other areas but not here in Minqing as it is difficult and costly to do so due to different stratum and terrain,” said a director of Minqing Fushun Ceramics.

So, enterprises in Minqing are small in scale and have 3 production lines at its most, or only one in most cases.

Resource shortages

Resource is one major factor that constrains the ceramic industry development in Minqing. Due to limited resources, many major resources come from Zhangzhou in Fujian. With the impact of terrain and the fact that industrial cluster has not yet formed, suppliers of raw materials and related services are few and purchases of equipment and raw materials are often conducted in Jinjiang.

Therefore, the main products in Minqing are interior wall tiles.

According to a local insider, there are no more than five floor tile producers. Early on, a plenty of enterprises tried on floor tiles but all ended up changing into interior wall tile due to unstable production.

According to our statistics, the capacity of interior wall tile takes up over 80% of the total capacity in Minqing, which is a major impediment for local ceramic enterprises.

Minqing has tried hard to seek transformation. Despite land limitation for further expansion, Minqing took the lead to introduce inkjet printers to enrich products and increase value-added, and inkjet printers has become a “standard equipment” for ceramic enterprises here in Minqing. Statistics show that there are 40 ceramic

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Analysis: Fujian

enterprises and roughly 100 inkjet printers are in operation, with imported ink taking up most of the market.

Moreover, quite a few enterprises are working on development and production of floor tiles. In recent years, fully polished glazed tile and microcrystalline production lines, which have been gradually put into production, are in the course of advancement.

Export focus

“In Minqing, more than 50% of ceramic tiles are exported,” said a director of Minqing Red leaf Ceramic Building Material.

But in the view of Gao Xuexiao, president of Sandeli Ceramics, the number has exceeded 60%. He said, “Ceramic tiles were export-oriented in the first place.” As Minqing is only around 100 kilometers away to Mawei Port of Fuzhou, it is advantageous in exporting. So far, ceramic tiles produced in Miqing have been exported to Middle East and South America.

On the contrary, the domestic market share of Minqing ceramics keeps shrinking. In recent years, new ceramic production regions have emerged, which makes the situation worse for Minqing ceramics restricted by resources and production scale. “For external market, exporting performance is disappointing; for internal market, shares keeps shrinking,” sighed some insiders. Overcapacity and shrinking demand is what worries the local industry. When asked “is there any plan for reconstructing or building new factories?” all enterprises could not give an explicit answer and “wait for the market performance”. Some even are quite negative, saying “there is no future probably”.

Although ceramic industry has indeed become the pillar industry of Minqing, problems are still facing enterprises, such as overcapacity, sluggish consumption and environmental issues. It is known that Minqing is pushing on application of natural gas and a number of enterprises, including Haoye Ceramics, Fuxing Ceramics and Lianxing Industrial have begun using gas in their production. “The government stipulates that all enterprises must use natural gas since 2015.” To quote an insider, “Production lines newly deployed must use natural gas” has been put forward.

Zhangzhou

Ceramic industry in Zhangzhou, which mostly benefited from the industrial transfer from Jianjiang, is mainly concentrated in Pinghe, Changtai, Hua’an and Nanjing. Now there are 21 ceramic enterprises in Zhangzhou, 17 of which are in operation with a variety of products including small floor tile, fully polished glazed tile, exterior wall tile, ceramic panel and terracotta panel et al.

Zhangzhou, abundant in clay and other resources, is recognized as one of the major regions for undertaking ceramics transferred from Jinjiang. What’s accompanied with enterprises transferred is expertise in their production and operation, which greatly promoted the development of local ceramic industry in a short time. “One is the advantage in raw materials and the other is the support from the government,” Mr. Shi said, director of Fujian Hongxing Ceramics.

Although they were faced with some problems in logistics and

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labor force, everything is making a turn for the better now.

“Enterprises are not compelled to use natural gas in Zhangzhou as long as clean production is guaranteed,” which is a draw for those who are suffering compulsion to use natural gas in Jinjiang.

So, in recent years, more and more ceramic enterprises in Jinjiang are moving to Zhangzhou.

However, according to the director of Tianxing Tiles in Zhangzhou, based in Changtai Taikun Industrial Park, Changtai County has begun the push on using natural gas and Tianxing Tiles had started using natural gas in 2012. The ever-increasing gas price is quite a headache for them. “At first, gas provider guaranteed the price will be controlled below RMB3.2 per cubic meters, while now the price has grown up to RMB3.89 per cubic meters and is very likely to rise again.” The increased production cost is unbearable for Tianxing which features the production of exterior wall tiles.

In fact, despite of rapid development, the ceramic industry of Zhangzhou only occupies a small portion of the total. “For now there are 20 ceramic enterprises are discussing the issues of entering the park with the government,” said Mr. Shi, but for the concern of environmental protection, the government is controlling the number of ceramic enterprises for settling down here.

Meanwhile, a reality needs to be recognized that for emerging production areas, as enterprises are scattered, Zhangzhou is still short of supportive services for ceramic industry, which is a restriction for its further development.

Xiamen and Putian

There are two ceramic enterprises in Xiamen, located in Sanshe of Guangkou Town in Jimei District and Neicuo Town of Xiangan District respectively, and both are export-oriented. According to our investigation, Tong Long Ceramic has suspended its operation and begun maintenance in advance due to poor market. Sanwon Ceramics managed to maintain a good condition in production and distribution. According to staff of Sanwon, several years ago, Sanwon strived to expand domestic market while maintaining its shares in foreign markets and strengthen efforts in R&D, being recognized both home and abroad, which is the reason for benign development of Sanwon.

Besides, an insider of Sanwon revealed that they would build new factories or expand in three years to come.

Ceramics are deeply rooted in Putian. In Zhongmen Town of Putian, nearly 50% of populations are engaged in distributing ceramic tiles, which is where the ceramic industry in Putian came from. There were 8 ceramic factories here at its most and all were producing interior wall tiles. After merger and reorganization later on, only 3 large ceramic enterprises left and by 2014, only 2 were still struggling to survive. Mr. Lin, director of Putian Shuangfa Ceramics said that, due to small market and limited supportive resources, ceramic industrial park with a certain scale can’t form, while the remaining two enterprises are preparing to transform. “No more ceramics. We will transform once a good project is found,” said Mr. Lin, after two to three years, ceramic factory in Putian will perhaps die out.

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Analysis: Fujian Total capacity

Number of inkjet printer

Main fuel

Main market

3 rustic tile lines: 30,000m2/d; 4 terracotta panel lines: 6,000m2/d

36,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Fujian Lisheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Jinjiang Haoda Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 10,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003

Jinjiang Shulin Ceramic Industry Co., Ltd.

4 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2006

Jinjiang Huajin Jianhua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 6,000m2/

16,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Bisheng (Fujian) Building Materials Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

5

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Quanzhou Deshun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 border tile lines: 12,000m2/

12,000m2/d

1 2

Company

Tile line & capacity

Fujian Huatai Group Co., Ltd.

Jinjiang Caiba Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Xinshengya Ceramic Industry Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Year established 2005 1994

1998 Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Quanzhou Yaofeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 polished crystal tile lines: 4,000 m2/d

4,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Jinjiang Guangda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

3 (2 planned)

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Meisheng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

4 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000m2/d; 3 western roof tile lines: 200,000pcs/d

40,000m2/d; 200,000pcs/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1984

Jinjiang Danhao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d; 2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 16,000m2/d

36,000m2/d

5

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Jinjiang Honghua Group Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 22,000m2/d; 1 ceramic panel line: 6,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

5

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1994

Fujian Yanshan Group Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1985

Jinjiang Jinshan Building Tiles Factory

2 colour roof tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Jinjiang Huaqiang Building Ceramics Factory

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Jinjiang Guangxia Building Ceramics Factory

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Fujian Maoxing Building Ceramics Factory

2 rustic tile lines: 15,000m2/d

15,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Minyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 glazed roof tile lines: 20,000pcs/d; 1 rustic tile line: 9,000m2/

20,000pcs/d; 9,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Fujian Shushi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

Jinjiang Bisheng Ceramics Factory

1 interior wall tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

Jinjiang Haoshan Building Materials Co., Ltd.

7 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Xinda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

80,000m2/d

5

Jinjiang Xinyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Guobang Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Jinjiang Cizao Yongxing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

1990

Cizao Taoyuan Building Materials Co., Ltd.ĺ…Źĺ?¸

2 exterior wall tile lines: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Luchuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Cizao Dexing Ceramics Factory

1 roof tile line: 13,000pcs/d

13,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1984

Jinjiang Cizhao Ma'anshan Ceramics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1982

Fujian Fuxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 western roof tile line: 30,000pcs/d

30,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1989

Jinjiang Xinxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 western roof tile line: 30,000pcs/d

30,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Rishun Building Materials Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Quanzhou Yuanli Ceramics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 5,200pcs/d

5,200pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1994

Jinjiang Cizao Tongshan Building Materials Factory

1 western roof tile line: 12,000pcs/d

12,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Nansheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 9,000 m2/d

9,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

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Analysis: Fujian Jinjiang Cizao Qianpo Shunfa Colour Glazed Tiles Factory

1 interior wall tile line: 16,000 m2/d

16,000m2/d

Jinjiang Cizao Xiongsheng Building Materials Factory

1 rustic tile line: 8,000m2/d

8,000m2/d

Jinjiang Honghua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

4 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000 m2/d; 3 rustic tile lines: 30,000m2/d

70,000m2/d

Jinjiang Qianpo Hexing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

Fujian Zunwei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 polished tile line: 5,000m2/d; 1 polished glazed tile line: 5,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

Jinjiang Tongzishan Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

1 1

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

7

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1989

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

Cizao Qiaosheng Building Materials Factory

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

30,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Jinjiang Cizao Qiaofeng Building Materials Factory

4 exterior wall tile lines: 32,000 m2/d

32,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

Jinjiang Cizao Zhuzaikeng Ceramics Factory

1 rustic tile line: 9,000m2/d

9,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Hengxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 split tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 1 western roof tile line: 40,000pcs/d

10,000m2/d; 40,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Cizao Jinli Building Material Co., Ltd

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 2 polished glazed tile lines: 4,000 m2/d

14,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

4

Jinjiang Cizao Guomin Ceramics Factory

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1994

Jinjiang Shanmei Building Materials Co., Ltd.

6 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000 1988

Jinjiang Fusheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 western roof tile lines: 200,000pcs/d

200,000pcs/d

Jinjiang Xiefeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Cizao Liukeng Ceramic Tiles Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 7,000 m2/d

7,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Jingshan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Zhuoyue Ceramic Industry Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

Quanzhou Jiyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 5,000 m2/d

5,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Cizao Huamin Building Materials Factory

1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Cizao Huafeng Ceramics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

Jinjiang Lianxing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

40,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

Cizao Jingfeng Ceraimics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Tongda Building Material Co., Ltd

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Cizao Jinxing Ceramics Factory

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

20,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Cizao Yongqiang Building Ceramics Factory

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

30,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

2

Jinjiang Cizao Wanxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

Wanli Group Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

Jinjiang Cizao Haoxing Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1997

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Qianxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Dongnan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Yixing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1982

Jinjiang Cizao Lingpan Meisheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Cizao Lingpan Colour Glazed Tiles No.8 Factory

1 rustic tile line: 7,000m2/d

7,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1986

Jinjiang Cizao Meiling Building Materials Factory

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Minmei New Type Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 9,000m2/d

9,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Jinjiang Yifeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 polished glazed tile lines: 4,000 m2/d

4,000m2/d

Quanzhou Kaiji Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 split tile line: 2,000m2/d

2,000m2/d

Jinjiang Yuexin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Jinjiang Weixin Dihao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Jinjiang Xiangda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

4 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

Jinjiang Cizao Fuxin Building Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Jinjiang Jianxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

1

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Jinjiang Haiyan Building Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Aoli Ceramic Industry Co.,Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1994

Jinjiang Minbao Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 10,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

Jinjiang Yousheng Ceramic Industrial Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

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AC 16-3

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Bühler Grinding & Dispersion – processing solutions for the ceramic industry.

– Bead and roll mills for efficient grinding of ceramics and minerals – Tailor-made for industrial glazes, sanitary ceramics, oxide and non-oxide ceramics, ferrites and glass pastes

Bühler is one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial equipment. Represented in more than 140 countries, Bühler provides technology for preparing raw materials, with a focus on sub-micron grinding solutions for the ceramic industry. The range of products and services includes material handling, slurry preparation and metal-free wet-grinding for suspensions using highly wear-resistant lining materials. Join us en route to the future and benefit from efficient Bühler solutions.

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Innovations for a better world.

Analysis: Fujian Jinjiang Yiyou Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2007

Su’an Building Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1997

Jinjiang Haopeng Building Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Xiaohu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

Jinjiang Qicai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

Jinjiang Jinzhuang Building Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 10,000 m2/d; 2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

30,000m2/d

Jiahui (Fujian) Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Cizao Huhui Building Ceramics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Jinjiang Jiafeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2001

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1997

10,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

1

Jinjiang Xinfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Quanzhou Hengchang Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Jinjiang Huachang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1997

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1988

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Biquan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Jinjiang Jincheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

Jinjiang Huixin Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 polished glazed tile line: 5,000 m2/d

5,000m2/d

Honghua Group Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 22,000 m2/d; 1 ceramic panel line: 6,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

5

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Meixing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Quanzhou Shufeiya Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

1 western roof tile line: 100,000pcs/d

100,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

Jinjiang Dexin Ceramic Tiles Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1984

Jinjiang Zhongshanrong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 split tile line: 7,000 m2/d

7,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1985

Jinjiang Guangxin Ceramics Factory

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Jinjiang Cizao Xiaguanlu Ceramics No.6 Factory

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

20,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Jinjiang Yangguang Ceramics Factory

1 interior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Jinjiang Gaoxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

1980

Jinjiang Ceramics Factory

1 western roof tile line: 10,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Jinjiang Hongjia Building Materials Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003

Jinjiang Yuanfang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Cizao Xingyuan Building Materials Factory

1 polished glazed tile line: 2,000 m2/d

body purchased

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Fujian Nanying Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 fully polished glazed tile lines: 14,000m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 7,000m2/d; 1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

31,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1985

Jinjiang Xingyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 6,000 m2/d

6,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Fujian Huoju Building Materials Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 30,000 m2/d; 4 rustic tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

70,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1984

Jinjiang Pinzhi Building Ceramics Co., Ltd.

8 exterior wall tile lines: 100,000 m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 10,000m2/d

110,000 m2/d

6

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Shengying Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 30,000 m2/d

30,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Jinjiang Guorong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2004

Jinjiang Yirong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Pengcheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1988

Jinjiang Xiangfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Hongxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Jinjiang Ganglong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Jinjiang Jinzhuang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Jinjiang Fengsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Kunpeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1988

Jinjiang Changfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Jinjiang Sinong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

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

24,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Jinjiang Xianmei Building Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1997

Jinjiang Jingtao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Jinjiang Baoda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

34

asian ceramics

AC 16-3

www.asianceramics.com

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Glazing preparation

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Robotics

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Analysis: Fujian

Jinjiang Baoda Ceramics Co., Ltd. (new)

2 rustic tile lines: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Quanlong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

1

Jinjiang Cailing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

4 rustic tile lines: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1986

Jinjiang Neikeng Shunxing Ceramics Factory

4 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1986

Jinjiang Haowan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Quanzhou Lianxing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003

Jinjiang Zhongrong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 8,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003

Jinjiang Sanfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1994

Jinjiang Xieshun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 70,000 m2/d

70,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Jinjiang Xiangxing Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 polished glazed tile lines: 6,000 m2/d

body purchased

Jinjiang Xiesheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d; 1 split tile line: 10,000m2/d

60,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Jinjiang Jicai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Fujian Tengda Ceramics Co., Ltd. (Antai covered)

20 exterior wall tile lines: 140,000 m2/d; 2 polished tile lines: 16,000m2/d; 8 rustic tile lines: 100,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1985

Quanzhou Antai Building Materials Industry Co., Ltd.

9 exterior wall tile lines: 90,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 10,000m2/d

3

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003 1993

256,000m2/d

Fujian Hengda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

9 exterior wall tile lines: 70,000 m2/d

70,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Nan'an Shanchuan Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

Quanzhou Jiuzhou Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2000

Jinjiang Jinsheng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 16,000 m2/d

16,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Nan'an Fengda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2006

Quanzhou Caiba Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

2

Nan’an Yitiaolong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 30,000 m2/d

30,000m2/d

Nan'an Minsheng Ceramics Factory

6 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

Fujian Qiaoxing Ceramics Development Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 9,000 m2/d

9,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2003

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Jinjiang Gangsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 21,000 m2/d

21,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Jinjiang Jixing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Quanzhou Haolian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 30,000 m2/d; 2 rustic tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

Quanzhou Yuanlong Building Materials Development Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 20,000m2/d; 1 fully polished glazed tile line: 10,000m2/d

30,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Quanzhou Maoxing Building Materials Development Co., Ltd.

3 rustic tile lines: 24,000 m2/d

24,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Nan’an Jinjishan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

24,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Nan’an Jixiang Baoli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2010

Quanzhou Hesheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Fujian Mingsheng Ceramics Development Co., Ltd.

7 exterior wall tile lines: 90,000 m2/d

90,000m2/d

6

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2006

Nan’an Kuoda Building Materials Co., Ltd.

4 exterior wall tile lines: 40,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2007

Nan’an Shenzhoulong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2006

Nan’an Yingshan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1991

Nan’an Lepu Art Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 split tile line: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2002

Nan’an Jianfu Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 12,000 m2/d

12,000m2/d

Nan’an Tangyi Building Materials Factory

1 rustic tile line: 7,000 m2/d

7,000m2/d

Nan’an Hengtong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 6,000 m2/d

6,000m2/d

Nan’an Xiejin Building Materials Co., Ltd.

6 exterior wall tile lines: 60,000 m2/d

60,000m2/d

2

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Nan’an Zhixin Building Materials Industry Co., Ltd.

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

24,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Quanzhou Lixin Building Materials Industry Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Nan’an Haohua Industry Co., Ltd.

3 rustic tile lines: 30,000 m2/d

30,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1999

Nan’an Huasheng Building Materials Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

36

asian ceramics

AC 16-3

4

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Analysis: Fujian Nan’an Xiehui Ceramics Co., Ltd.

5 exterior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

3 (1 planned)

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1995

Quanzhou Yuansong Building Materials Co., Ltd.

2 polished glazed tile lines: 4,000 m2/d

body purchased

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

2010

Fujian Weixiang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 8,000 m2/d

8,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1990

Nan'an Huajian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

2

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Quanzhou Hongli Building Materials Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile lines: 20,000 m2/d

20,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1993

Quanzhou Rongda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

4

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1996

Minqing Haoye Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 wall/floor tile lines: 20,000m2/d

20,000m2/d

1

Natural gas

Nationwide, export

1998

Minqing Oumei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, export

2002

Minqing Xindongfang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 22,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 7,000m2/d

29,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2004

interior wall tile line: 18,000 m2/d; 1 Minqing Red Leaf Ceramic Building Materials Co., Ltd. 1 small floor tile line: 10,000 m2/d

28,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1998

Minqing Jincheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

36,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2003

Minqing Guangfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 16,000 m2/d

16,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Export

1994

Minqing Fuxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Nationwide, export

1992

Minqing Dashijie Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 12,000 m2/d; 1 interior wall tile line: 16,000 m2/d

28,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1999

Minqing Daye Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

10,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2010

Minqing Lantian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 interior wall tile line under reform

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Minqing Huanyu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 34,000 m2/d

34,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1998

Minqing Fushun Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2004

Minqing Zhonglin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 34,000 m2/d

34,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1994

Minqing Shuangxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2003

Minqing Dongsheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1997

Minqing Sandeli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 42,000 m2/d

42,000m2/d

7

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2000

Minqing Zhongya Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

36,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1997

Minqing Shenglida Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

22,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2010

Minqing Xinfeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

40,000m2/d

3

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1999

Minqing Nanhai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

36,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1998

Minqing Jiali Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

40,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Minqing Jiamei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2003

Minqing Jiaxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2002

Minqing Fude Ceramics Co., Ltd.

3 interior wall tile lines: 50,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1996

Fuzhou Zhongxin Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2004

Minqing Sanxinda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

1997

Minqing Ruimei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

10,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2005

Fuzhou Zhongtao Industrial Co., Ltd.

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

30,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Minqing Jintao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 interior wall tile lines: 24,000 m2/d

24,000m2/d

3

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2003

38

asian ceramics

AC 16-3

www.asianceramics.com

Analysis: Fujian Minqing Huida Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

14,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Fujian Lianxing Industrial Co., Ltd.

2 fully polished glazed tile / micricrystalline tile lines: 22,000 m2/d

22,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2012

Minqing Oushang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2010

Fuzhou Hengyu Industrial Co., Ltd.

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

22,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2006

Minqing Hengda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

22,000m2/d

3

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2011

Minqing Yunlong Xinglong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2008

Minqing Shuangyan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

18,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2004

Minqing Yitao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 small floor tile line: 15,000 m2/d

15,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2000

Minqing Xixi Ceramics Factory

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

20,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Minqing Jinyu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2001

Minqing Nuolixing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

20,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Fujian, surrounding area, export

2004

Fujian Xindezhou Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 15,000 m2/d

15,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2014

Fujian Zhangzhou Jianhua Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 small floor tile line: 18,000 m2/d; 1 exterior wall tile line: 20,000 m2/d

38,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2014

Fujian Ruicheng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 small floor tile line: 18,000 m2/d; 1 exterior wall tile line: 20,000 m2/d

38,000m2/d

4

Water gas

Nationwide, export

2014

Fujian Meiyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 21,000m2/d

21,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Domestic, export

2014

Fujian Pili Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 18,000 m2/d

18,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Domestic, export

2010

Fujian Hongxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 34,000 m2/d

34,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Domestic, export

2008

Fujian Qiaofeng Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 18,000 m2/d

18,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Domestic, export

2000

Fujian Zhangzhou Aoli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 small floor tile line: 18,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 16,000 m2/d

34,000m2/d

2

Water gas

Domestic, export

2010

Fujian Cailian Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 16,000m2/d; 2 exterior wall tile lines: 34,000 m2/d

50,000m2/d

1

Water gas

Domestic, export

2011

Zhangzhou Tianxing Ceramic Industry Co., Ltd.

3 exterior wall tile line: 45,000 m2/d

45,000m2/d

Natural gas

Domestic, export

2010

Fujian Likai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 18,000 m2/d; 1 rustic tile line: 16,000m2/d

34,000m2/d

Natural gas

Domestic, export

2011

Fujian Ouman Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 terracotta panel line: 6,000 m2/d

6,000m2/d

Natural gas

Domestic, export

2011

Fujian Futai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 exterior wall tile line: 18,000 m2/d

18,000m2/d

Natural gas

Fujian, export

2011

Fujian Lopo Terracotta Panel Co., Ltd.

1 terracotta panel line: 6,000 m2/d

6,000m2/d

Natural gas

Domestic, export

2010

Zhangzhou Alexandra Terracotta Panel Co., Ltd.

1 terracotta panel line: 5,000 m2/d

5,000m2/d

Natural gas

Export

2010

Wanli (China) Solar Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

8 terracotta panel lines: 40,000 m2/d

40,000m2/d

Natural gas

Domestic, export

2010

Fujin Eiffel Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 18,000 m2/d

18,000m2/d

Tong Long (Xiamen) Ceramic Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 10,000 m2/d

10,000m2/d

Xiamen Sanwon Ceramics Ltd.

5 interior wall tile / exterior wall tile / rustic tile lines: 25,000 m2/d

25,000m2/d

Fujian Shuangfa Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 rustic tile lines: 24,000 m2/d

Fujian Fengyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

1 rustic tile line: 15,000 m2/d

Fujian Zhangzhou Yiyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Fujian Haoshan Building Materials Co., Ltd. Fujian Chaoyou Ceramics Co., Ltd. Fujian Mingsheng Ceramics Development Co., Ltd.

www.asianceramics.com

1

1

1

Natural gas

2014

Water gas

Export

1992

Water gas

Export

1993

24,000m2/d

Water gas

Nationwide

1995

15,000m2/d

Water gas

Fujian, export

1997

2

AC 16-3

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Advertiser feature

SITI B&T Group: a single manufacturer of complete plants for every stage of the ceramics manufacturing process

SITI B&T Group – one of the main international players in the production of complete plants for the ceramics industry, from the preparation of the raw materials to ‘end of line’ equipment, with a strong presence in all markets – offers outstanding technological solutions and innovative services, with a special focus on issues regarding energy efficiency and the reduction of production costs.

The Italian Group has entered the large ceramic slabs sector with the new innovative SUPERA® technology, designed using the most advanced technologies in the industry, with an innovative design, equipped with intelligent technologies and patents deposited.

SUPERA® SUPERA® is a technology that eliminates the need for moulds and foundations, and does not require special transport. It can produce large slabs with a wide range of thicknesses (from 5 to 30 mm) and of any size because it is designed to form slabs up to 3600x1200 (25,000 t), 3200x1600 (33,000 t), 4800x1600 (44,000 t) and relative sub-sizes. It has a production capacity of up to 11,000 m2/day (44,000 ton), considering an unfired thickness of 10 mm. The option of cutting the slabs into various sub-sizes before or after firing ensures a high degree of flexibility for both production and storage.

SITI has reproduced all the typical advantages of traditional pressing on a discontinuous belt press. The innovative system of mobile powder containment plates overcomes the problem of edge waste. The system consists of a shaping device with mobile walls that are hydraulically powered during the “pressing“ stage. The press is also equipped with a breathable membrane system that allows effective de-aeration through a semi-porous membrane. This results in greater production efficiency.

SUPERA® stands out for its exceptional aesthetic versatility: it can produce up to 10 surface textures at the same time. A texture

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can also be changed in less than 15 minutes due to a punch/format quick-release system.

The Research and Development of the new Supera line resulted in the development of the new Start & Stop system. It was launched in 2014 for the EVO 3.0 presses and consists of a system of motors equipped with inverter-controlled pumps that are capable of providing power to the press “on demand” - a device that allows the energy requirement of the forming system to be reduced by an average of 30%.

SUPERA® is much more than a technology: it is a complete line for manufacturing large ceramic slabs. SITI B&T Group in fact, is the only complete plant manufacturer that is able to provide integrated and cutting-edge technological and solutions for the whole production process of large ceramic slabs. These range from the preparation and characterization of the ceramic mixes at our innovative Technology Centre in Formigine, to pressing, drying, glazing, firing, handling and storage; all of which are managed by “UNICO”, an integrated supervision system that ensures the remote control of all the individual stages, systems and parameters of the production process.

PREPARATION The renewed Technological Centre in Formigine offers numerous services. These range from the analysis of raw materials to testing, to development and the prototyping of new products because of the opportunity to carry out laboratory tests and to use all the technologies offered by the complete SUPERA® line for large sizes that has been recently introduced.

As regards raw materials preparation, SITI B&T can offer integrated solutions for both wet and dry grinding. The range of Dryfast® dry grinding mills, for ceramic pastes, available in various

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Advertiser feature

sizes, have many interesting design features: a series of rollers that have been treated to withstand wear, high efficiency classifiers, differentiated treatment according to the abrasiveness of the clay, maximum accessibility and minimum maintenance, high energy efficiency, high productivity and constant particle size at output.

The Grainmix granulator is a highly versatile solution: it provides the option of producing granulated or moistened powders according to requirements. The reduction in the consumption of thermal and electrical energy, as well as lower maintenance costs, makes this technology particularly attractive.

PRESSING EVO 3.0, the new generation presses equipped with sophisticated technologies that ensure higher quality pressing and fewer tile defects, has many advantages that are also present in the SUPERA® line and are available for modifying existing presses.

- E-Synchro®, the innovative, completely electromechanical demoulding technology that eliminates loading errors and significantly reduces maintenance costs.

- Genius box®, the intelligent quality control system for tiles - Fasty, the fully automatic device that guarantees a quick and easy mould changeover in less than 30 minutes - Start & Stop, the “Start & Stop” hydraulic power unit that eliminates machine downtime and reduces energy consumption in all phases in which the press does not require hydraulic power.

The new, patented technology improves performance and efficiency in terms of energy consumption as it enables the press to operate only when actually required. The use of a “power-ondemand” hydraulic power generator results in a reduction in energy consumption of up to 30%.

FIRING The new generation TITANIUM® kilns, which have an inlet of 3850 mm for firing large ceramic slabs, represent the absolute top in energy efficiency and reduce fuel consumption by over 30%, also because of the innovative Titanium burners.

The very latest generation burners ensure a significant reduction in fuel consumption and pollutant emissions compared to traditional burners. They use the excess oxygen in the kilns and are equipped with a patented fume recycling system that allows the complete oxidation of the fuel and a substantial reduction of CO, CO2 and NOx. By providing maximum performance and minimum emission equipment SITI B&T Group is therefore able to offer solutions for existing installations and personalised advice regarding possible modifications. Without stopping production and by upgrading existing lines it is possible to achieve energy savings of up 30% and a considerable reduction in the direct costs of production.

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DIGITAL DECORATION Projecta Engineering, in partnership with Digital Design, is able to deliver the most innovative technologies for creating varied, complex and original products based on a highly flexible combination of processing techniques with perfect synchronisation between digital graphic design, texture and the dry (or wet) application of materials.

The new generation G5 modular printer, incorporating all the key features of the Evolve series machines and with a printing width from 700 to 1900 mm, is synonymous with total flexibility.

A worktable of between 4 and 6 m long, with only one Master module that enables the individual elements to interact, is capable of accommodating 8-10-12-14 colour modules, all of which are independent, in order to attain the maximum freedom of expression. The Master module, which is the only fixed element, is equipped with an integrated monitor and performs all the common functions and which are necessary for interaction with the individual elements.

G5 guarantees an unprecedented freedom of expression, providing the opportunity to equip the worktable with any type of element or module, without restrictions, either of current or new generation.

Each module on the G5 becomes a single printing unit in all respects.

The modules are easy to remove and reposition according to requirements and they can automatically go into standby if they remain unused, therefore eliminating any possible wear, even of a passive nature.

END OF LINE Ancora finishing technologies ensure maximum efficiency, productivity and quality. They are ideal for large ceramic slabs and perfectly integrate the range of machines provided by Gruppo SITI B&T. The Sassuolo based company offers the innovative, flexible and high-precision XXL Deepmotor Cut incision and splitting line for cutting fired and unfired slabs, the XXL Polishing machine, the XXL Wet Squaring machine and the Hi Coat protective treatment.

Ancora finishing technologies ensure maximum efficiency, productivity and quality. Dry Squaring is an innovative squaring machine intended for dry machining all types of ceramics, including porcelain stoneware, with a level of productivity that has never previously been achieved, thereby saving energy and reducing costs.

As regards dry squaring, Ancora differentiates its machines according to the size to be machined, thereby providing the best solution for all requirements. The Blu Line is dedicated to traditional sizes, whilst the XXL Line is for slabs of sizes larger than 1200 mm.

AC 16-3

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41

Analysis: Heavy Clay

BUILDING THE FUTURE ASEAN LOOKS FOR A GREENER ROUTE

Photocredit Claybricks

Jahir Ahmed talks us through the latest developments in ASEAN’s heavy clay markets, and looks at how increasing economic union could have an affect on the region.

F

or the building and other infrastructural considerations, clay blocks and bricks have been manufactured and used in billion units every weeks in ASEAN bloc since past decades. As the 10 member regional bloc is now a single market, it is the third largest in Asia, after China and India. In each of the major member markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, many billion pieces of heavy clay items are consumed every year.

The production of clay blocks and bricks with average standard of the region is rapidly increasing in the deficit market of Myanmar, while in Cambodia, Laos and Brunei, the high quality bricks now have more access to the ordinary consumers. Meanwhile, Singapore’s commercial clay brick production became uneconomic resulting in going to history and turning to a regional trade centre for high quality heavy clay products.

However, the production of bricks in the region is now in the process of switching to a new standard by replacing old traditional kiln firing systems and accessing to energy efficient and environment friendly brick kilns, supported by the governments and the technology transfers through UN agencies including UNDP. A significant quantity of productions are being upgraded to the high quality ceramic grade, opening up opportunities for new investment in plant and machinery.

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Clay bricks continue to remain profit making and beating the rival cement concrete products, according to the Vietnam Building Material Association.

In recent years, there surfaced the deadly competitor concrete products, which are substitute to the clay blocks and bricks. A significant growth of the markets are gradually being grabbed by the cement concrete blocks and bricks, and to a some extent by others.

Although, from engineering point of view the clay product is superior to that of cement concrete, the later is economic, lighter, easy to use and better paintable.

The new investors are now finding the alternative products more profitable in some of the markets. In another development, a great part of the exterior and interior walls of the high rise commercial buildings and shopping malls are being switched to safety glass for better access to natural light, insulation and beauty.

Bypassing investors

In Thailand, the major building materials manufacturers, including the market leader SCG Group, continuously bypass heavy clay while investing more in concrete building block manufacturing. However, the region’s leading cement producer, SCG, is a major clay-based building product manufacturer in Asia, concentrating mainly on ceramic tiles and sanitarywares.

www.asianceramics.com

Analysis: Heavy Clay

The Thai market for building materials is expanding significantly since last year despite slower demand for consumption following political changes in a weaker economic situation, but the share of clay bricks is declining. Under the government encouragement, the production of concrete building blocks is increasing fast replacing the clay bricks to protect the environment and save the agricultural land.

Thai property market is expected to pick up this year, driven by the low-rise sector of the residential market, according to the Housing Business Association. “The market is boosted by transactions in single-house and townhouse segments,” said the Association President Atip Bijanonda. "In many provinces,” he said, “condos will continue to remain sluggish, while demand for single houses will steadily grow."

Thailand’s Real Estate Information Center (REIC) estimates that the number of low-rise units of single houses, townhouses and duplexes are being sold numbered 146,870 in 26 provinces, while condo units available for sale were 98,130, mostly in Bangkok, Chon Buri and Nonthaburi, close to transit stations where infrastructural development is going on.

Bank of Thailand ‘s senior director of the financial institutions strategy department, Don Nakornthab, said the government's spending on infrastructure in 2016 may be minimal but it could lead private investment and help the property sector, as most megaprojects will develop mass transit and transport networks.

In such an improvement in residential housing, the most of the building blocks are being supplied by the manufacturers of light cement concrete blocks, according to the industry sources. This indicates limited business by the clay block and brick manufacturers.

Leading clay brick industry, Chiang Mai based Paradorn Bricks Co, still has its supply to all over the country, including major growth centres, but few new investors or existing manufacturers in Thai heavy clay sector are showing interest in new projects, when they have better prospects in concrete blocks.

In its own words Paradorn admits the country’s leading clay brick manufacturing region in Chiang Mai and other neighbouring provinces in northern Thailand is continuously experiencing a decline since past several years. “In these days,” said the company, “the number of brick factories located within the areas has decreased enormously.”

The company’s products have been used at various architectural sites including arts and cultural buildings, houses, ancient sites and objects, resorts, spa outlets and natural tourist attractions.

The products have characterized the identity of Lanna, a nationally popular brand, to those places. The manufacturer said, bricks give emotional value as to their Lanna-characterized designs, simplicity,

environmental friendliness, reliable quality and inspirational feature, and offer exceptional functional value. Its market promotion was backed by Thailand’s Industrial Promotion Department, Ministry of Industry, and National Science and Technology Institute.

Burning issue

In the mist of huge expansion of cement concrete and adobe building blocks and bricks in the major market of Vietnam, the Vietnamese government is highly cautious about fast reduction of clay bricks, considering possible impact on it in the event of increased land-soil use or sudden fall in demand of clay bricks during recession and fierce competition from the unburnt bricks and blocks.

While increasing the use of unburnt alternatives, the government suggests use of only energy-saving and environment friendly clay bricks, and gradual elimination of polluting firewood-fed traditional brick kilns. However, in the Vietnam markets, the heavy clay products are continuously beating the unburnt building materials in a fierce competition, where investment in production of unburnt items is less profitable compared to clay items, which have more acceptance to the consumers in price and quality, In current building boom, Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has estimated that Vietnam would need 42 billion bricks for construction works in five years by 2020. The government has decided that the building material industry will gradually shift to ‘clean production’ only. In that category, concrete and adobe bricks and blocks are energy-saving and environment friendly, as well as clean and green to the government.

The government favours unburnt products, referring mainly to concrete and adobe building materials, as those have additional features, being light-weight, heat insulated, fireproof, compressible, easy to use, and allow reduction of construction time, save materials and investment costs, sources in the industry said.

Vietnam Building Material Association said the government wants the unburnt building materials to account for 40 percent of total building material output by 2020 against the current 20 percent.

Best site

The domestic and global demand for quality heavy clay products, local rawmaterial base, and central location in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is a natural hub in production and marketing of clay blocks and bricks.

Two of the country’s largest building block manufacturers, Brick Dotcom Sdn Bhd (BDC)and Claybricks & Tiles Sdn Bhd (Claybricks), are regular exporters to different countries.

Photocredit Dotcpm

www.asianceramics.com

AC 16-3

asian ceramics

43

Analysis: Heavy Clay

Malayan brick manufacturing is located mainly in Johor in the south and Selangor in the middle of West Malaysia, which is peninsular Malaysia. The markets of Eastern Malaysia, where Sabah and Sarawak sates are located, are catered by the West Malaysian manufacturers who have several quality production plants, supplied from Western heavy clay technology providers, such as, Germany and USA. In Johor state, the rich clay deposit enables the factories to produce a wide variety of products with textures ranging from smoothface, wirecut, rockface, sandblast, and cobble to tumble; while the color ranges from traditional red, golden cream, peach, golden sand, brown, granite, lavender to many other combinations of shades and tones.

The US$15 million state-of the-art Claybricks & Tiles plant uses advanced clay preparation and brick making machineries and equipments imported from the USA and Germany and employs the production technology for drying and firing of bricks in high capacity tunnel kilns and dryers. Located in Kota Tinggi, Johor, it has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of fired products. Brick accessories and bricks of special shapes are also produced to fulfill the pursuance of perfection by some architects or designers. It also exports to countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Brick Dotcom Sdn Bhd (BDC), with 2 plants in Johor and 1 plant in Selangor, is the largest clay building materials supplier in Malaysia.

It is a low-emission manufacturer, with a total production capacity of over 550,000 tonnes. It has a burgeoning export market that includes Singapore and Japan.

Since beginning of the production and marketing of interlocking bricks In the Asian countries, Malaysia is an innovative manufacturer of this type of bricks with production locations throughout the county.

In East Malaysian states of Babah and Sarawak, it received state supports early this decade. Dunheved Industries Sdn Bnd (DISB), the Shah Alam-based manufacturer, supplier and distribution of interlocking bricks, and Daya Builders Sdn Bhd (DBSB), a wholly owned company of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), have jointly developed public sector programme for housing in large scale.

Photocredit Claybricks

INTERLOCKING BRICKS IN MALAYSIA Interlocking brick involves using brick made from clay and shale that is cut to a specified shape or design that adjoins with similar pieces. Similar to a jigsaw puzzle, this type of brick design allows the installer to easily create walkways or stellar patterns in a driveway or garden patio area.

Interlocking brick is almost always used to create retaining walls because of the variety of colors and versatile design. While this project can be done by any experienced do-it-yourselfer, it is recommended that a landscape designer or patio designer with a proven portfolio tackle complex projects. It is important to consider the cost of interlocking brick, specifically what type of bricks are being used.

Putatan Kota Kinabalu, Sabah state, based quality building block promoter, NAR RESOURCES, campaigns for interlocking bricks. Many state supported housing estates are now using interlocking bricks. ”The focus of our services and expertise among others are in the field of construction, renovation, etc, where quality interlocking building blocks have vast opportunities to grow,” said the organization. NAR Resources is a strategic business partner with a number of firms in the field of civil engineering companies.

Why more expensive than Normal Bricks?

Although cost per brick is more than conventional brick, still it is cheaper to use with its advantages in the way it is applied in the whole construction process.

There are two main savings by using our brick: Time Saving Faster project completion by up to 3 times than conventional construction, thus will save the unexpected delay project operation cost and expenses. This could be achieved as you do not to erect normal column and beam using formwork no finishing such as plastering and painting.

Cost Saving in Construction by cutting down: Up to 60% usage of concrete and mortar Up to 60% usage of steel bars The specialized skilled workers like carpenters, steel workers Finishing cost - no need plastering and painting

Stagnation

In the current economic slump in Indonesia, specially for housing and building construction, the clay brick markets is experiencing stiff competition from the concrete blocks like those of the other markets of ASEAN, specially, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, where concrete blocks are aggressively grabbing the market shares for its advantages over clay bricks due to economy.

Due to restriction on manufacturing in polluting clay brick factories in Indonesia and want of a viable low-capital alternative and replacement of using firewood all over the country, the production of clay bricks and improvement of its technology remains almost stagnant.

Taking the situation in their advantage, the manufacturers of concrete building blocks of all types are expanding capacity since past few years. Many new companies are investing in concrete projects and foreign investors, like SCG Building Materials of Thailand are looking for larger production in the coming years. For quality clay brick manufacturing, Indonesia has certain disadvantage compared to Malaysia, yet Malaysian heavy clay manufacturers also faces competition from concrete bricks.

Malaysia’s Chin Hin Group, which operates pre-cast concrete facility and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) production unit in Selangor, claims the cost saving by consumers over consumption of

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www.asianceramics.com

a brand to cover the future

BONGIOANNI

Leader in the construction of machinery for the heavy clay industry, with over 100 years of experience, Bongioanni supplies solutions projected into the future. Bongioanni Macchine and Bongioanni Stampi design machinery and production lines for claddings that provide the construction sector with materials characterised by high energy savings, high quality and refined aesthetics. Innovative solutions are tailored to suit every customer’s individual needs. Bongioanni covers all requirements, from raw material to the damp-moulded product, making it possible to obtain constant and high production capacity, respect of working safety standards and the supply of a complete aftersales service.

Bongioanni Macchine S.p.A. Macchine per Laterizio Via Macallè, 36/44 12045 Fossano (CN) - Italy Tel. +39 0172 650511 Fax +39 0172 650550 www.bongioannimacchine.com info@bongioannimacchine.com Certified company. REG. N° 815 UNI EN ISO 9001:2008

Stampi e Filiere Via Salmour, 1/A 12045 Fossano (CN) Italy Tel. +39 0172 693553 Fax +39 0172 692785 www.bongioannistampi.com info@bongioannistampi.com

Analysis: Heavy Clay

clay brick is over 25 percent. Chin Hin exports its products to many countries in Asia Pacific, including Singapore and Philippines, and expects to exploit the Indonesian markets too.

The current slowdown in economic performance of the country favoured the consumption of substitute of clay bricks, according to the industry sources.

The government’s recent initiative to expand public spending on major infrastructural projects to improve the consumption of industrial products is expected to ease the demand of building materials including clay bricks. The lower GDP growth last year resulted in stagnation in consumptions.

Indonesian GDP achieved about five percent expansion last year, but marked the slowest growth since 2009. However, the economy advanced 5.04 percent year-on-year in the December quarter of 2015, as compared to an upwardly revised 4.74 percent expansion reported in the previous quarter. Yet, the demand in housing and construction was stagnant following lower performance in many other sectors including exports. However, the World Bank and others estimate more than five percent economic expansion from the current year till 2020.

Indonesian government is now pushing ahead the consumption by accelerating its development projects, designed to strengthen investment confidence in 2016.

It is also stabilizing the Indonesian currency, Rupiah, the erosion of which affected many of the manufacturers leading to a halt in consumption growth. The Indonesian currency is lower in 2016 at an approximate average of Rp 14,500 per US dollar, than the 2015 average of Rp 13,400, according to KBD Daewoo Securities analyst Maxi Liesyaputra.

The government continues in its push to remove bottlenecks and several large projects are set to begin. In fact, on 21 January, President Joko Widodo inaugurated construction on the country’s first bullet train line, a key project in the government’s broader plan to overhaul infrastructure and build up investor confidence.

Alternative grows

In the Philippines, because of economy, concrete building blocks are increasingly grabbing the traditional markets of heavy clay products.

Such alternative blocks are widely being manufactured for both the individual houses and apartments. In recent years, Philippines experienced huge demand for building materials.

Property research and consulting organisation Colliers International Philippines’ recent forecast for 2016 noted that there is a substantial increase in property development interest in the Philippines. But the benefits will be tapped mostly by the concrete brick manufacvturers, according to the industry sources.

According to Colliers, about 13,400 new condominium units are to be completed in Metro Manila this year, more than double that of last year, and on the average, around 7,500 units would be completed until 2019, leading to a 45 percent increase.

The number of sold condominium units has been falling from the

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peak in 2012, dropping to 32,400 units last year from almost 40,000 in 2014, for want of enough finance, said Julius M. Guevara, head of real estate advisory services at Colliers.

SME technology

Countless traditional brick manufacturing kilns, including some machine made factories, are operating in smaller producing countries of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and in few number in Brunei, where traditional bricks are the main supply sources for construction of houses, buildings and other infrastructures since centuries. Low cost auto-kiln soil-brick machines are now changing their brick production traditions very rapidly.

The cheaper technologies supplied from many Chinese machinery manufacturers produce clay bricks efficiently and economically, compared to the manual methods, even without going through technology transfer or replication of various types of brick kilns, said the brick manufacturers in Cambodia.

Without drying, the clay bricks are grabbed by the robot hand automatically onto the tunnel kiln car, and enter into the tunnel kiln for firing and then shipped by kiln car out of the kiln, for stacking.

The core part of production line is the vacuum brick Photocredit MyIB making machine that makes solid and perforated clay bricks by using different moulds. This type of machine of Wangda Machinery, based in Henan Province of China, has a daily output of 100,000 to 200,000 bricks.

Popular in Bhutan?

In the Himalayan land-locked country of Bhutan, a replicated version, styled as Bhutan Interlocking Brick, has reportedly attracted the young entrepreneurs.

Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel has reported recently that in an attempt to encourage new entrepreneurs in the Bhutan, one of the two teams from the Royal Thimphu College developed the idea of manufacturing interlocking bricks for the competition during the fall semester of the college this year. The business ideas from two Bhutanese teams got through to the second round of the Mekong Business Challenge. The other one is pasta made of wild yam, Menjong Pasta, The Bhutan Interlocking Bricks is a concept developed with Malaysian technology, which provides numerous benefits in construction sector, according to Sangay Wangdi, one of the group members, said the report published in Kuensel.

Built using soil, cement and sand in a ratio of 4:1:1, the brick is very much user-friendly. “Just like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the bricks fit in perfectly,” Sangay said.

He highlighted that the quality of the brick is superior to the imported firebricks from India and provides better resistance to disasters like earthquakes.

“The cost of production of the interlocking bricks is comparatively lower than that of the firebrick,” said Sangay. “The cost of construction is further minimised because the bricks do not require plastering and painting.”

Some 100 university teams from the Mekong regions entered the competition.

Only 11 teams were selected for the second round of the competition.

www.asianceramics.com

Analysis: Heavy Clay

In the ASEAN region, the machine-made bricks are produced mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, with few in other countries. Now the Chinese small plants, with multiple fuel options, attracted many SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the region, mostly in Cambodia, where several dozens of the brick plants are installed at a small investment of US$30,000 to US$100,000. Vietnamese brick making machineries are also entering Cambodia following a rapid increase in consumption of building bricks.

The price of machine made bricks are comparable with good quality traditional bricks, according to the Kandal province brick manufacturers’ association. Many brick manufacturers have started using automated machines to boost production by replacing previous labour intensive technology that made operations uneconomic following rising wages.

The machine run operation has reduced the production days to one from the previous seven to eight days as drying is not needed, said an owner, Preab Koy, whose brick factory is located at Mukh Kompul District of Kandal province, south of capital Phnom Penh.

“The easier automatic production process, with a capacity to produce several thousand bricks per hour, has increased the factory output,” said Preab.

Brick short Myanmar is also sourcing small clay brick plants from China and Vietnam, industry sources said.

Joint venture

Vietnamese business delegations are visiting Myanmar for brick projects under joint venture in or around Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon. U Soe Min Naing, director of Shine Group of Companies of Myanmar said his company is setting up one of them at US$10 million in collaboration with Vietnam’s state owned Viglacera Corporation to produce quality building blocks and bricks.

Several construction projects are coming up in Myanmar that will require quality bricks. About US$2 billion are being invested in major real estate projects including commercial buildings, hotels, office blocks and residential apartments. The government is funding rental housing all over the country which includes about 4,000 residential units in 132 apartment blocks Meanwhile, In Laos, some small machine made brick operators are looking for upgrading with Chinese and Vietnamese expertises. Laos already has brick plants supplied from Europe, and the latest one with investment from Vietnam.

The heavy clay plant Chitchareune Tuynel Brick Factory, located in Saysettha district, in the outskirts of the capital city Vientiane, meets the high quality building blocks and bricks in Laos. Already there were some other quality brick factories, but Tuynel has created good demands for high quality products.

Owned by Thong Thuan Group, based in Hong Thai Commune of Bac Binh District, in Binh Thuan Province, the fuel saving factory is equipped with 2 ovens. The plant has installed machinery and equipment imported from Germany. The factory’s ISO standard and high quality products meet diverse needs and requirements of users, spread in central region of Laos and Ho Chi Minh City area of Vietnam.

Its solid blocks with zero porosity and 2 hole bricks with 30 percent porosity are produced under Vietnamese standards with high strength, and are widely used for industries and civil engineering projects with special structures (cylindrical columns, and other special details in the civil works), to use when building a wall thickness is of 100 and 200mm; the block’s dimension is 45x80x180mm. The dimensions of 4 and 6 hole bricks are 80x 80x180mm and 80x110x180mm, respectively, with 40 percent porosity.

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PhotocreditClaybricks

Malaysia’s organized building block-brick manufacturers’ groups Johor-based Brick Manufacturers’ Association members: • Brick Dotcom (Johor) Sdn Bhd (BDC) • Kangkar Raya Batu Bata Sdn Bhd • Oriental Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Yong Peng Batu Bata Berhad • Hoe Guan Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Gian Shing Kilang Batu Bata Sdn Bhd • Deluxe Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Maybricks Sdn Bhd • Ji Sheng Bricks Sdn Bhd • Sykt Kia Lim Kilang Batu Bata Sdn Bhd • Batu Bata Kah Wee Sdn Bhd • Sykt Hanura Batu Bata Sdn Bhd • Nam Mah Brick-Maker Sdn Bhd • Great Wall Brickworks (M) Sdn Bhd • Claybricks & Tiles Sdn Bhd • Seng Lee Brickworks (M) Sdn Bhd • Kilang Batu Bata Hupe Soon Sdn Bhd • Bukit Batu Brickmills Sdn Bhd Selangor-based Brick Manufacturers’ Association members: • Brick Dotcom Sdn Bhd (BDC) • Cheras Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Kilang Batu Bata Hap Kee Sdn Bhd • Qiristar Bricks Contrator Sdn Bhd • Sentosa Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Yap Khay Cheong Brick Works (Batang Kali) Sdn Bhd • Original Clay Industries Sdn Bhd • Kilang Batu Bata KYH Sdn Bhd • Brick Dotcom Sdn Bhd • Thai Huat Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Sin Heap Fatt Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Galian Bricks Industries Sdn Bhd • LDV Batubata Kerling Sdn Bhd • Selendang Delima Bricks Manufacturer Sdn Bhd • Wira Bricks Sdn Bhd • Yap Teck Heng & Sons Bricks Industry (M) Sdn Bhd • Kimtee Brickworks Industry Sdn Bhd • Parksim Bricks Sdn Bhd • Deluxe Brickworks Sdn Bhd • Malaysian Red Bricks Factory Sdn Bhd Sources: Johor and Selangor brick manufacturers’ associations.

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Analysis: Gujarat

The

Juggernaught Gujarat keeps its tile advantage

Yogender Malik confirms why Gujarat is set to remain the province in pole position for many years to come…

A

ccounting for more than 70 % of India’s total ceramic tile production, state of Gujarat has been surpassing milestones set by it, year after year. In 2005, ceramic tile production in the state accounted for close to 70 %, ten years later, in 2015, it accounted for an estimated 78 % of the total ceramic tile produced in the country. In value terms, vitrified tiles make up 52% of the total industry output in Gujarat, followed by floor tiles at 21%, wall tiles at 21% and industrial tiles at 6%. The industry is trending towards larger sizes and high value varieties like digital, glazed vitrified tiles, double-charge and multi-surface appeal.

Though, tile industry in the state increased its share in country’s total output by a few percentage points, more importantly, state based tile producers have increased the scope of their offerings by a considerable degree. Gujarat based tile producers have spent huge amount in installing state of the art technology. Huge order inflows to technology providers have prompted almost all the leading players to set up their offices in the state. Almost all the leading tile producers from organized sector have either acquired smaller state based companies or have entered into JV with state based tile producers to take advantage of low cost manufacturing.

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Upgrades essential

A few years back, Gujarat based ceramic tile producers were known for their low cost production. However, most of these producers (more than 95 %) were using indigenously developed technology and producing low quality products. With the passage of time, these producers realized the importance of advanced technology and slowly started acquiring advanced equipments.

Initially, there were only a handful of companies which invested in advanced technology equipments, but, currently more than 60 % of the ceramic tile producers have adopted to foreign technology equipments. Earlier, press was the only major equipment, which these companies acquired from foreign technology providers, but now a days it is common that entire production plant is acquired from foreign technology providers. Almost all the leading international ceramic technology providers are present in Morbi or state capital Ahmadabad through their manufacturing/service center or regional office.

Gujarat positives

There have been a couple of positives for Gujarat based ceramic tile producers in last few months. Government of India’s new initiatives on ‘Swach Bharat and Housing for all’ is expected to give a boost to the demand for ceramic tiles in coming days. The kick-start to the

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Analysis: Gujarat

infrastructure sector would also have immediate beneficial impact on the ceramic tile industry.

The advent of low-cost affordable housing, emphasis on providing total sanitation for every household by 2019 and the planned introduction of metro rail networks in Lucknow, Nagpur and Ahmedabad are expected to spur tile off take. Moreover and the allocation of INR 7,060 crore towards the development of 100 ‘smart cities’ will also mean a major opportunity for ceramic tile producers in Gujarat.

Though continually depreciating rupee and significantly improved capabilities of the domestic tile producers at reasonably prices has reduced the quantum of ceramic tile imports in India. Yet, a slowdown in Chinese domestic market and overcapacity has pushed Chinese ceramic tiles in Indian market. To counter the situation Indian Ministry of Commerce has initiated anti dumping investigation in October 2015 on vitrified tiles originating from China.

Rising share of vitrified tiles and Larger Format Tiles Known for a long time, for the production of low quality ceramic tiles, Gujarat based producers currently produce all the possible range and types of products. In fact, Gujarat based producers are credited with the introduction of many new types of tiles much before the organized sector players.

Share of vitrified tiles have seen a constant rise over the years.

Most of the producers in the state have gravitated towards producing vitrified tiles in last few years due to better demand and profit realization.

Besides, vitrified tiles, larger sized tiles have become quite popular in last two- three years. Since, production of large tiles requires a quantum of investment towards technology; it was a common perception that only organized sector players will install the equipments to produce it. However, Gujarat based producers have left the organized sector players far behind in production of these tiles. In fact, the largest format in ceramic tiles is currently produced

by Gujarat based tile producers.

Wall Tile segment in particular has raised its share in total tile exports from India. In fact, more than 60 % of the total new ceramic manufacturing units in the state have gone for wall tile production due to its better export prospectus. Earlier, the Middle Eastern countries were major exports destination for wall tile producers.

However, in last two years a large volume of total exports is going to African and Eastern European countries.

What makes Morbi tick?

Morbi has been one of the most talked about success story in global ceramic tile industry. It is an amazing instance of how an agricultural community ( The industry is mostly controlled by Patels) entered a business space where they possessed virtually no sect oral experience and grew into one of the most competitive force within the domestic and global tile industry.

There is no doubt that most of the Gujarat based ceramic tile producers are not very good at marketing, branding or distribution but they did one thing better than most - cost management - born out of a centuries-old tradition of thrift. This thrift is manifested in diverse everyday instances - promoters assuming shop floor responsibilities; companies sharing technical resources; manufacturers borrowing spares from each other rather than maintain an expensive inventory; companies selecting to outsource specific manufacturing sections (kiln management, for instance) to specialists for a fraction of the cost

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INTRODUCTION OF GST IS LIKELY TO BRING A LARGE NUMBER OF UNORGANIZED SECTOR TILE PRODUCERS INTO THE COUNTRY’S TAX NET FOR THE FIRST TIME Fifteen Largest Ceramic Tile Producers in Gujarat S. No.

Company

Location

1

Asian Granito Limited

Himmatnagar

2

Simpolo Ceramics

Morbi

3

Decolight Ceramics

Morbi

4

Excel Ceramics

Morbi

5

Lexus Granito Limited

Morbi

6

Swastik Tiles

7

Simola Ceramics

Morbi

8

Varmora Granito

Mehsana

9

Century Tiles Limited

Himmatnagar

10

Santro Tiles

Himmatnagar

11

City Tiles Limited

Himmatnagar

12

Regent Granito Limited

Himmatnagar

13

Oracle Granito Pvt. Limited

Himmatnagar

14

Samay Tiles Limited

Himmatnagar

15

Sunheart Tiles

Mehsana

Morbi

that would otherwise have been paid to resident executives.

Tile producers address the funding needs of their growing businesses through cross-financing - 'X' competed with 'Y' at one level but financed an equity stake in Y's company at another - that translated into knowledge transfer and competitiveness.

Most of the factory owners form a tight knit network. Most of them are co-owner in multiple factories. So the utilization and sharing of resources (Logistic, labour, production knowledge, vendors ) is highly efficient and cost-effective. Also now all the raw-material vendors, logistic service suppliers, machinery/plant consultant/

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Analysis: Gujarat

fabricators are based in Morbi. There's huge network of traders who are based in Morbi and there are hundreds of retailers/showroom owners and traders from across country, who visit these factories to place their orders.

The scorecard: This one location accounts ( rest is shared by other state based producers and organized sector) for more than 60 per cent of all ceramic tiles manufactured in India; the town generates more than Rs 15,000 crore in annual revenues; the location enjoys the highest density of digital printers in the world; it produces one the largest size tiles, available in Indian market.

J-V growth

With Gujarat based ceramic tile producers acquiring huge market share in the Indian market due to low cost production base, organized sector producers too got attracted of setting up their own plants in the state.

During 2010- 2012, almost all the organized sector players carried out feasibility studies to start their operations in the state.

However, later setting up of Greenfield plants was shelved and these companies acquired smaller companies based in state. Leading branded tiles manufacturers, such as Kajaria and Somany, have entered into JVs with unorganised players in the past two-three years.

This model is beneficial for both organised and unorganised players.

It has reduced competition for the branded manufacturers from the unorganised segment, as they have effectively become the suppliers.

Kajaria and Somany Ceramics currently owns nine tile manufacturing units in this manner.

Organised Sector During 2013-15, leading organized segment player, Somany Ceramics entered into JVs with five Morbi-based manufacturers.

Though, a number of tile producers from Gujarat have been Somany acquired 26% stake in four companies and 51% in one. included in the organized sector players list. But, when the term and During the same period, the total access to capacity increased to list was originally coined there was not a single player from the state ~51 MSM (million sq mt) from ~36 MSM, primarily through the in the list. From the original list of organized sector tile producers, JV model. In 2015, the capacity of two JVs – Amora Tiles and Acer Somany Ceramics and Orient Bell have their tile manufacturing units Granito – was enhanced by 2.4 MSM and 3.1 MSM, respectively. in the state.

Besides , this 21 million sqm of capacity, Somany Ceramics Somany Ceramics has an installed capacity of about 9 million sqm outsources another 9 million sqm of ceramic tiles production to at its Kadi based manufacturing plant. Orient Bell Ceramics, another different state based producers. leading ceramic tile producer from organized sector has one of its Kajaria Ceramics, which entered in Gujarat in 2011 by buying a 51 three manufacturing facilities at Bharuch in the state. % stake in Morbi based Soriso Ceramics started its fourth JV in second half of 2015 by acquiring Somany Ceramics JV’s in Gujarat 51 % in Morbi based Taurus Tiles, which has an installed capacity to produce 5 million sqm of Stake Installed Capacity Products Company vitrified tiles.

Amora Tiles Pvt Limited 51 % 4.6 million sqm Ceramic wall tiles Another major ceramic tile producer, RAK Acer Granito Private Limited 26 % 5.1 million sqm Vitrified Tiles Ceramics India has been eyeing a tile production unit in the state for some time. A slowdown Commander Vitrified Limited 26 % 4.8 million sqm Vitrified Tiles in Indian economy has forced the company Vicon Ceramic Pvt Ltd 26 % 4.0 million sqm Parking Tiles to postpone the plan for time being. But, it is Vintage Tiles Private Ltd 26 % 3.0 million sqm Vitrified Tiles expected that the company will set up a tile manufacturing unit in the state sooner or later.

Total 21.5 million sqm It is not only the organized sector players, who are taking advantage of low cost production base Kajaria Ceramics JV’s in Gujarat of Morbi, even Gujarat based larger players such Stake Installed Capacity Products Company as Asian Granito have also entered into JVs with smaller companies based in Morbi, According Soriso Ceramics Stake 4.60 million sqm Ceramic Tiles to Kamlesh Patel, CEO and Managing Director Cosa Ceramics 51 % 5.70 million sqm Vitrified Tiles of Asian Granito Limited, “We are shifting the Jaxx Vitrified 51 % 10.20 million sqm Vitrified Tiles production of low value tiles to our joint venture and outsourcing partners in Morbi and allocating Taurus Tiles 51 % 5.00 million sqm Vitrified Tiles our captive capacities towards the manufacturing Total 51 % 25.50 million sqm of value added tiles.”

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Analysis: Gujarat

Asian Granito Limited

Asian Granito is one of the first name which crops at the mention of Gujarat’s ceramic industry. Asian Granito has surprised the Indian tile and ceramic industry by its sudden rise to prominence in a span of 12 years. A public listed company, Asian Granito is headquartered in Ahmadabad, with eight ( Company’s own units as well as outsourced partners) manufacturing facilities spread across 320,000 square meters at Himmatnagar and Idar in the state, Asian Granito is third largest ceramic tile producer in the country with an installed capacity of 35 million sqm per annum.

This figure also includes the outsourced facilities capacities.

Established in 2000 by first generation entrepreneurs, Kamlesh Patel and Mukesh Patel , Asian Granito is one of the fastest capacity addition tile producers in India. From a meager 2500 sqm per day in 2002, the company has about 100,000 sqm/ day of installed capacity at the end of 2014.

In last two years, Asian Granito has introduced a large number of variants in its product offerings. The company introduced six colour digital printing technology followed by high tech tuffguard porcellanto tiles. Last year, Asian Granito introduced digital glazed vitrified in 800 mm X 800 mm sizes.

The company also introduced ultra white range in large sizes.

Stepping up on the value ladder, Asian Granito increased the share of its value added products (digital, textured and larger products) – from 12 per cent of its product mix in 2013-14 to 30 per cent during 2014-15 and anticipates to reach 35 % in the current year.

Simpolo

Simpolo Vitrified Private Limited has emerged as one of the top producers of ceramic tiles in India. The company which has made in the top 10 list of Indian ceramic tile producers commenced production of vitrified tiles in 2007 with a total manufacturing capacity 3 million sqm. Subsequently, the company extended its installed capacity in 2008, 2009, 2010 and more recently in 2014.

Currently, Simpolo has an installed capacity to produce about 10 million sqm of ceramic tiles.

Simpolo was one of the first companies in the country to produce larger size ceramic tiles in sizes of 800 mm X 800 mm and 1000 mm X 1000 mm, which are in the huge demand throughout the country. The tiles are marketed under the brand name, Simpolo.

Currently, SCPL is in the process of putting up a green field expansion for glaze vitrified tiles with a capacity of 75,600 MT per annum.

According to Girish Patel, Managing Director of Swastik Tiles, “Our core strategy has always been to keep abreast with technological up-gradations and inventions. Our penchant for technology and our passion for innovation are the strengths for our success, which have enabled us to deliver world class products.”

Lexus Granito

Established in the year 2007, the Lexus Granito (India) Pvt. Ltd. has emerged as an INR 200 cr. giant in a short span of 7 years. The company claims that it has reported a CAGR of 35% from 2007 to 2014.

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With an installed capacity of 8 million sqm per year, Lexus Granito is counted among top 20 ceramic tile producers in the country.

Challenges

Though, Gujarat based ceramic tile producers have been able to lead the market with their production cost advantages. But, there are several factors, which have increased the production cost in recent years.

Court directives

Gujarat High Court’s directive of shifting the production from coal gasifiers to natural gas in late 2013 was one such move, which increased the production cost for a number of number of small producers who were using coal gasifiers. Shifting from coal gasifiers to natural gas resulted in significant cost burden on the small producers, since the cost of natural gas is significantly higher than coal, this has reduced the cost advantage of these players vis-a-vis the organised segment.

Natural gas

Natural gas’s availability and pricing have had a significant impact on the operations and profitability of Gujarat based ceramic tile producers on many occasions. More recently, in 2015, availability of requisite amount of natural gas to ceramic tile producers was curtailed and natural gas was directed to larger institutional customers as a result of which a large number of units were forced to operate much below their operational capacities.

This was not an isolated incidence for ceramic tile producers in the state. In fact, tile producers have had to suffer similar instances about half a dozen times in past four years.

Since, natural gas is supplied to ceramic tiles unit through a pipeline operated by state of Gujarat, which have increased the prices of gas at short notice several times in past. Mid and smaller tile producers often cite the frequent price hikes as one of the biggest deterrent to ceramic tile industry.

However, in June 2015 natural gas price was reduced by Rs 2.79 per Standard Cubic Meter (SCM) . Gujarat Gas Limited reduced natural gas price from Rs 31.79 per SCM to Rs 29 per SCM. Knowing the importance of ceramic industry of the state, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said, "Natural gas rate cut will help ceramic industry of Morbi to compete with China, which is the main competitor in the global market.”

Goods and Service Tax

Indian government has been trying a uniform tax system all over the country. Termed as Goods and Service Tax ( GST) is expected to bring in some bad news for Gujarat based tile producers.

Introduction of GST is likely to bring a large number of unorganized sector tile producers into the country’s tax net for the first time, thus increasing their production costs and narrowing their pricing advantage vis- a- vis organized sector tile producers.

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

The future of ceramics

26 th -30 th SEPTEMBER 2016 RIMINI - ITALY Organized by

In cooperation with

With the support of

tecnargilla.it

RT PO RE L IA EC SP

China slowdown to affect freight rates?

When business slows and owners of ships and offshore oil rigs need a place to store their unneeded vessels, Saravanan Krishna suddenly becomes one of the industry’s most popular executives.

Krishna is the operation director of International Shipcare, a Malaysian company that mothballs ships and rigs, and these days he’s busy taking calls from beleaguered operators with excess capacity. There are 102 vessels laid up at the company’s berths off the Malaysian island of Labuan, more than double the number a year ago. More are on the way. “There’s a huge demand,” he says. “People are calling us not to lay up one ship but 15 or 20.”

Shipbuilders, container lines, and port operators feasted on China’s rise and the global resources boom. Now they’re among the biggest victims of the country’s slowdown and the worldwide decline in demand for oil rigs and other gear amid the oil price plunge. China’s exports fell 1.8 percent in 2015, while its imports tumbled 13.2 percent. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping coal, iron ore, grain, and other non-oil commodities, has fallen 76 percent since August and is now at a record low. Shipping rates for Asia-originated routes have dropped, too, and traffic at some of the region’s major ports is falling. In Singapore, the world’s second-largest port, container traffic fell 8.7 percent in 2015, the first decline in six years. Volumes at the port of Hong Kong, the fourth-busiest, slid 9.5 percent last year. Beyond Asia, the giant port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands recorded a dip in containerized traffic for the year.

Globally, orders for new vessels dropped 40 percent in 2015, to $69 billion, according to London-based consulting firm Clarksons Research. The demolition rate for unwanted vessels jumped 15 percent.

Just a few years ago, as the global economy improved and oil prices rose, many companies ordered more fuel-efficient ships.

There were more than 1,200 orders for bulk carriers that transport iron ore, coal, and grain in 2013, compared with just 250 last year, according to Clarksons. Many of the ships ordered are now in operation, says Tim Huxley, chief executive officer of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings, a Hong Kong-based owner of bulk carriers and tankers. “You have a massive oversupply,” he says.

The damage is especially severe in China, the world’s leading producer of ships. New orders for Chinese shipbuilders fell by nearly half last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In December, Zhoushan Wuzhou Ship Repairing & Building became the first state-owned shipbuilder to go bankrupt in a decade.

The yuan has dropped 6 percent since last August. While that should help exports, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, a company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing that runs some of China’s top container terminals, has yet to see an uptick in outbound business. According to Ivor Chow, chief financial officer of Hutchison, the devaluation is leading to a slowdown in traffic as customers wait to see how much lower the yuan will fall.

“People are really hesitant to commit to orders at this point,” he said on a conference call with analysts on Feb. 2.

The slowdown is hurting many Chinese ports. Sales at Shanghai International Port were 7.5 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in the third quarter, down from 7.6 billion yuan the year before, and net

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THE SLIDE IN OIL PRICES IS ESPECIALLY PAINFUL IN SINGAPORE profit was 1.4 billion yuan, a decline of 18 percent. The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s containerized freight index has dropped 27 percent since the start of 2015. While container volume at Shanghai’s port, the world’s largest, grew 3.7 percent last year, that was down from 4.8 percent growth the previous year and was largely the result of taking market share away from high-cost rival Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Mathai.

The slide in oil prices is especially painful in Singapore, home to Keppel and Sembcorp Industries, the world’s two largest producers of offshore oil rigs. Orders for the two companies dropped in 2015 to their weakest levels in six years. Temasek Holdings, which has major stakes in both Keppel and Semcorp is discussing the sale of noncore assets or issuing new shares.

It’s in discussions with company executives about raising cash by selling noncore assets or issuing new shares. “We have to plan for a longer winter,” Keppel CEO Loh Chin Hua said on a call with analysts on Jan. 21.

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SP EC IA L RE PO RT

South Korea in December announced plans to establish a $1.2 billion fund to help local shipping companies pay for new vessels they’ve ordered, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The government will push shipyards to downsize and focus on their core businesses— one shipbuilder operated a golf course. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipbuilder, said on Feb. 4 that it had suffered its ninth consecutive quarterly operating loss, following a 1.7 trillion-won ($1.4 billion) loss in 2014.

The recession in shipping is causing trade friction. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is in the worst position among Korea’s shipbuilders. Korea Development Bank and another state-owned lender, Export-Import Bank of Korea, are leading a 4.2 trillion-won bailout of Daewoo. “We see this case as a problem,” Shinichiro Otsubo, director of the shipbuilding

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division at Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, told Bloomberg in December. “If this aid package keeps the firm from cutting capacity, the effect will be potentially big.” Japan hasn’t ruled out the possibility of filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization.

There are some bright spots. Companies that operate oil tankers have been busy as customers take advantage of recordlow crude prices to build up their inventories: Orders for new tankers increased 14 percent last year, according to Clarksons.

Back in Malaysia, International Shipcare’s business is so strong that Krishna says the company is running out of places to store customers’ ships. Since the start of December, demand has spiked about 30 percent. “It’s unprecedented,” Krishna says.

He’s hoping to add capacity.

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Talking Shop

Talking Shop

Ceramics: ASEAN gets ‘real’…

With so much of ASEAN’s tile and sanitaryware industry entrenched in the fortunes of the region’s real estate sector, AC looks at the winners and losers in 2015, and how the new ASEAN Economic Community could change fortunes in the coming year.

With political machinations, China’s travails and economic sluggishness impacting markets around the region, 2015 was an overall slow year for Asian property sectors.

The belief that nothing is permanent is firmly entrenched in many eastern philosophies. Even so, the recent slowdown in Asian economies and real estate markets has undoubtedly been a shock to the system following a boom unprecedented in length and proportion.

Since the turn of the millennium, rock-bottom interest rates, booming economies and the steady growth of consumer classes with spare money to invest in bricks and mortar combined to fuel something of a property miracle in the region. Indeed, it seemed that perpetual forward momentum in Asia’s property sector was as much of a fixture as the ancient teachings of Confucius.

After several years of double-digit percentage increases in property prices in many of the region’s markets, however, 2015 was a year that could most kindly be described as a holding pattern.

With the exception of a few (admittedly major) hiccups along the way – the dramatic bursting of Vietnam’s property bubble being one of these – major markets in the region have largely been on a steep upward curve. But in the last couple of years, reality has increasingly begun to bite.

“We’ve been on a pretty extended bull run in many parts of this region,” says Nicholas Holt, Asia Pacific head of research at Knight Frank. “It had to burn out to a certain degree, and it has.”

Holt, however, goes on to emphasise the extremity of the previous market highs in the context of the current regional slowdown.

“From the outside it might look as though several countries in the region are experiencing trouble, but in reality there remains huge grounds for optimism,” he continues. “You can’t keep having 10-20 percent house price rises every year. There’s still growth and largely solid foundations in property markets – even in countries perceived to be in the doldrums – so it is far from a disaster.”

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Another point experts are united in highlighting is the differing drivers impacting each market.

Thus, while wider issues such as the strengthening US greenback and the stuttering economy in China resonate throughout the region, other market influences vary wildly from country to country.

Political stasis or instability has certainly been a factor in a lacklustre year.

In Thailand, a second year of military rule has not halted a slide in the economy and previously healthy property markets, especially in Phuket, have performed poorly, according to Holt.

Over the border in Malaysia, disaffection with the corruption-tainted government of Prime Minister Najib Razak has caused jitters among potential investors.

In Singapore, meanwhile, vote-winning pledges made in the lead-up to this year’s general election such as making it harder for foreigners to achieve permanent residency and the continued maintenance of robust cooling measures, have hardly served to jump-start a residential property market that has seen seven consecutive quarters of decline.

In its latest World Residential Market Report, global real estate services provider Savills refers to the ailing market in the Lion City.

Noting that transaction levels are down by 53.8 percent year-on-year and that prices for residential property have fallen by up to 6.7 percent, the report states: “These [cooling]measures, coupled with a general slowing in Singapore’s economy has resulted in significant reduction in transaction levels and falling prices in the prime residential market.”

The most disappointing performer of the year, however, has been Indonesia. After riding a wave of optimism into power, President Joko Widodo has, many feel, had a poor first year in office. His government has been accused of flip-flopping following several policy U-turns, damaging investor confidence. Controversial plans to introduce a 20 percent luxury tax on properties valued at more than INR2 billion (USD145,560), for instance, went down badly with developers and investors alike.

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Talking Shop

“The Indonesian economy has lost quite a bit of momentum and will continue to perform below potential in the near term,” explains Sigrid Zialcita, the Singapore-based managing director of research at Cushman & Wakefield. “It will be vital for President Widodo to accelerate the necessary reforms to create a more business-friendly environment in order to spur growth.”

Other, non-political, forces have also hindered the region’s poor performers. In Thailand, the retreat of Russian investors due to the falling rouble and a slowdown in Chinese investment has arguably hit the mass market in the country’s coveted resort destinations.

Malaysia’s problems, meanwhile, have been exacerbated by the struggles of Iskandar Malaysia – the main southern development corridor in the state of Johor – which has been plagued by stalled projects, scrapped development plans, oversupply and the wait-andsee approach adopted by foreign, primarily Singaporean, buyers.

Phuket, one of Thailand’s major markets, generally performed poorly over the past year due to the Kingdom’s political woes and lacklustre economic performance.

Analysts commonly cite oversupply as a reason for sluggishness around the region.

“We do have an oversupply in a number of areas,” says Clayton Wade, managing director of Premier Homes, a leading real estate firm based in Pattaya, Thailand. “However, as long as there are emerging investor markets, such as the Chinese, there is confidence that the slack will eventually be picked up.”

There was mixed fortunes too during 2015 for the region’s so-called “frontier” markets. With its relaxed foreign ownership laws and upsurge in high quality residential development, Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh has become a favourite with adventurous investors from a range of countries including Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The country’s often fractuous political climate, questions of sustainability and a disappointing uptake on new office stock over the last year are all seen as significant minus points.

In Myanmar, the nationwide elections held at the end of 2015 were a huge factor in a very slow year for the country’s property sector. Experts, however, are confident that a period of political stability will give the real estate market the kick-start it requires.

“In markets worldwide a general election often causes a slowdown in activity as people hold off from making investment decisions until the future political and economic environment is clearer,” says Richard Emerson, country manager for Savills Myanmar. “We expect the market to recover as investors position themselves to benefit from the country’s enormous future potential.”

Yet while the region-wide boom looks, conclusively, to be over, two countries in particular enjoyed an impressive 2015 – namely the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Philippines has continued to be a solid performer and although analysts are predicting a slight slowdown in growth, they see plenty to be positive about – especially in an office market likely to be the beneficiary of a thriving BPO (business process outsourcing) sector.

“The growth pillar in the Philippines, its BPO industry, is powering ahead thanks to sound economic management, a stable political landscape and a large young and well-educate population,” says

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THE INDONESIAN ECONOMY HAS LOST QUITE A BIT OF MOMENTUM Zialcita of Cushman and Wakefield. “The next five years could still see BPO companies enlarging their footprint across the country to ensure high occupancies and a platform for long-term moderate rental growth of more than 5 percent.”

The year’s other major success story is Vietnam, which is riding into another boom with construction starting in its economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), on two of the world’s tallest skyscrapers and buyers snapping up new projects fast at locations around the country including HCMC, Hanoi and Danang. This retrenchment after the crisis of just a few years ago has been due to various factors including state purchase of billions of dollars worth of nonperforming loans, stronger financial requirements on developers and government stimulus.

Another boon has been moves to open up the country’s property market which saw the government relax strict rules on investment by foreign firms, foreign buyers and “Viet Kieu”, the overseas Vietnamese whose families fled their homeland when the communist north conquered the US-backed south in 1975.

“We are very optimistic about the forthcoming few years,” says Dung Duong, a director of research at CBRE Vietnam. “The property market in Vietnam has been supported by a stable economy and, due to the growing strength in the US dollar, the Vietnam dong has become one of the strongest currencies in the Asia Pacific region. Both decreasing interest rates and a strong currency are expected to attract foreign investors.”

Looking ahead to 2016 many analysts forecast another relatively flat year for most of the region’s property markets. The Chinese economy is likely to continue to wobble, potentially impacting outward investment

by Chinese while the strengthening US dollar is expected to see interest rates forced up across Asia – something that is also likely to staunch the stellar growth of recent years.

“It is an interesting point in the cycle,” concludes Knight Frank’s Holt.

“Countries are certainly feeling the slowdown. However, any ripples from China have largely been offset by the healthy state of the dollar.

The situation is a little slower than before, that’s for certain, but it is far from a disaster.”

With the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) – a cross border trade agreement between the nations of ASEAN now officially implemented, shifts in the property markets of member countries are virtually certain.

In a region as reliably dynamic as Asia, more flux is only to be expected.

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Insight

MALAYSIA Leading glazed tile export destinations (sq metres)

Key Indicators Population

2014p

Population

2015f 30.3

30.6

14

14.4

2.9

3

10,426

9,914 (exchange rate)

6

4.5 – 5.5

(million persons) Labour Force (million persons) Unemployment Rate (%) Income Per Capita GDP Growth (%) Export (USD billion)

222

202

Import (USD billion)

184

176

Inflation Rate (%)

3.2

2.0 – 3.0

Leading glazed tile import sources (sq metres)

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Leading unglazed tile export destinations (sq metres)

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Leading unglazed tile import sources (sq metres)

Leading sanitaryware export destinations (no. pieces)

Leading sanitaryware import sources (no. pieces)

FMM MCIG member breakdown (no. companies)

Tile industry overview (m. sq metres)

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Sanitaryware industry overview (no. pieces)

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Hunter and the hunted

It shouldn’t work…but it does.

Dear Diary, A few weeks ago I was in Hanoi which is a wonderful city. If you have not been there I strongly suggest you visit. I was there on business but we had time for relaxation (of course). After meetings during the day and factory visits we left the hotel one evening for a short walk to a German beer bar; for team building exercises. (Legends Beer, Dinh Tien Hoang Street if you are interested). Which is near the famous and picturesque Hoan Kiem lake. The bar overlooks the most chaotic traffic – a roundabout that whilst having only three exits has multiple lanes from one direction and far less from the others.

It's unbelievable to watch pedestrians, push bikes, mopeds, motorbikes, cyclo-cabs, cars and trucks negotiate the roundabout. Well, then you have to walk straight through this utter chaos to get to the bar. So you note that the local staff just step out and walk and so you take a deep breath – focus on your destination and step out expecting to be knocked down at any time. And...nothing happens. You walk across the junction, no one touches you and without breaking stride you are soon taking the lift to the beer bar.

Sitting watching the traffic below – not only not crashing but also constantly moving, no traffic jam and without every man and his dog using their horns to express their frustrations – you can only wonder, 'It shouldn't work but it does.'

Can you think of anywhere else where you could have such a ridiculous amount of diverse traffic and not only were there no crashes, there were no hold ups and nobody was losing their temper? Is Vietnam unique?

Whilst I was in Hanoi I also noticed a lot of Vietnamese flags, posters for Uncle Ho and various patriotic looking banners – all very colourful. Since Vietnam always looks colourful and patriotic (without being over bearing or tacky) I didn't mention it – and neither did my Vietnamese colleagues and friends. I only found out after I left that Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had been reelected much to the chagrin of Nguyen Tan Dung & his supporters who had failed to get a majority out of the 1510 delegates before the 12th Vietnamese Congress even convened. I'm sure you are all familiar with the extraordinary 14th Plenum of the Central Committee? But I digress.

The point is – nobody seems to take a great deal of notice. Politics is rarely if ever spoken of, certainly not with foreigners, I'm not sure if this by intent or simply because no one thinks we would be very interested? There doesn't seem to be a great deal of obvious external commentary apart from occasional musings over Vietnam tending to becoming closer to the USA and trying not to fall out too much with China over China's increasing demands for territory in the South China Sea. Or is it the East Vietnamese Sea? Anyway – the point is that in comparison to China, India or North Korea – or most other places in Asia – nobody mentions Vietnam very much apart from comments about the war forty plus years ago, how to pronounce 'pho' and why beef pho is so good and the excellence of the ice cold beer available in the country. Rather a case of 'Nobody knows why it works – but it does'.

Which is surprising, it's not an unimportant or small market. The Party is 'involved' or interferes in business and industry and Vietnam is stealing business that once went to Cheap China by offering not only lower wages but a more innovative and educated

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Hunter and the hunted

workforce. With nearly 92 million people its the 13th most populous nation with 32% under 24 years. So whilst it has seen a lot of housing and infrastructure growth that can be expected to continue. It's peaceful and increasingly on the holiday destination list for people across the globe. It's GDP is growing at over 7% and the GDP per capita is growing impressively too. It has a medium Gini coefficient – purchasing power isn't just in the top 1%. Indeed a business friend considers that Vietnam should be a success story in 2016 & this is confirmed by various reports from banks and economists that predict it becoming 21st largest by 2025 – also being the fastest growing economy by then.

So that all sounds good then? Well a Vietnamese friend and colleague, a specialist in ceramics, suggests otherwise. He notes the wastage in previous investment, the over supply in construction and the corruption. He suggests that many of the provinces are likely to be technically bankrupt. As with China there is a belief in the illusion of wealth caused by conspicuous spending on trinkets or luxury apartments rather than substantial and significant. There have also been in the past – again like China - a great deal of financial fraud and pyramid schemes. It is not all rosy.

But Vietnam is entering into Free Trade Agreements – its outdated industries and financial institutions will have to adapt to survive whilst the dynamic, efficient and innovative industries should be more competitive and have access to more markets for their products. In much the same industries though that all the countries in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be trying to be active in. Note Vietnam is also making agreements with Russia and South Korea. It's certainly going to be very competitive if not chaotic. So much so that Vietnam realizes it has to encourage more foreign investment to bring in the kind of skills, technologies and innovations that are vital to have both efficient domestic markets that can compete against imported products (there is Cheap China again) and be competitive in the export markets.

All of this is of course applicable to the ceramic industry and whilst Vietnam has gone from a country that was famous for cheap garden ceramics and some average tableware and sanitaryware to what it has now, due in no small part to the real estate boom, become competitive in tile and sanitaryware whilst tableware and gift ware has a mix of higher quality and innovative brands together with Chinese like lower quality porcelain. Mostly though domestic focused. Not so much export. It will be interesting to see how Vietnam copes with the challenges free trade agreements create for a market where historically that party often unseen has taken an interest in; interfered in. It might be more difficult now to hide the contradictions and inefficiencies & waste that exists.

How will the ceramic industry compete with that?

s t h g t h ou

e h t f o a re y n m a i n ce s p ro v to be y lik e l n ica lly t e ch u p t kr n a b

But I think much like crossing that road Vietnam will somehow manage while we still ask – how?

Until next time Your humble servant William Hunter

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

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