Asian Ceramics - AC21-3

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AC21-3

Ceramics China the comeback begins…

Vietnam is the 4th largest tile producer Zircon in roof tiles Glaze evolution State of the Nation: Morbi Dry squaring technology from Ancora

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Contents: AC 21-3 News

Features

4 Inside Asia

28 Central Asian tiles

A new R&D centre for Imerys.

6 Welcome Covid battlegrounds in India.

8 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

18 International News Our eye on the international arena.

24 Material Matters

News from around the raw material sector.

26 Comment & Analysis

Jahir Ahmed looks at how the countries of Central Asia have been slowly, but surely, developing their own significant ceramic industries, and what the future may hold for their domestic, and indeed regional, prospects…

40 Zircon in roof tiles

Dr Keven Harlow, Executive Director, Zircon Industry Association, discusses with AC how the use of zircon has been shown to have a beneficial effect on the rising problem of heat islands in an increasingly urbanised World...

46 Asian glaze manufacture

AC looks at how Asia’s production of glazes remains behind the curve in terms of demand and what the industry is doing to rectify that imbalance.

The further fall of Jingdezhen?

40

Analysis 64 Talking Shop

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Hong Kong company Asia Material Resources Limited has been in business since July 2008, yet their history and business range are enigmatic unless you happen to be one of their customers, partners or suppliers. AC decided to learn more about the people and talked to Andrew Mountford (AM) one of the Directors and Shareholders.

70 State of the Nation: Morbi, Gujarat The next instalment of our new section in the magazine, analysing the manufacturing bases of India.

72 Insight

Analysis and insight into Egypt.

76 The Hunter And The Hunted

William Hunter returns to the fray and wonders if the continuing Covid-mess is something that we are ever likely to break free of…and what it means to long-term industrial prospects.

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Inside Asia Imerys opens R&D centre Imerys has opened the new facilities at its European Technology Center for performance minerals. Over an area of some 2,500 sq metres, the new site focuses Imerys’ R&D resources on its key markets, while at the same time enabling knowledge to be shared with our other laboratories elsewhere in Europe, the US and Asia.

Recognised in Europe by manufacturers as a leading laboratory engaged in optimising and developing new mineral-based solutions for plastics (virgin, recycled and biopolymer resins), elastomers and life sciences, the Toulouse Technology Center is also a world centre of excellence for polymer applications. With this new investment, it now boasts experts and equipment for the ceramic, building materials, filtration, health and food & feed markets.

The Toulouse laboratory expanded its capacity at the end of 2020 and now employs more than 50 French and international technicians and scientists. Its location in Toulouse means that the Group will now have access to major university and scientific resources throughout a region that is home to major R&D initiatives.

“Focusing our R&D resources at our Toulouse Technology Center of excellence will help us achieve the critical size required to speed up the launch of new mineral solutions which our clients need in their own quest for innovation and performance”, says Guillaume Delacroix, Imerys' Vice President in charge of Performance Minerals for EMEA. “We will be able to use this Center to simulate the way in which our mineral solutions can be used in our clients' production processes. The focus will also be on the life cycle of our new products – an increasingly important criterion in the ecological transition that industry in Europe is currently undergoing".

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AC21-3

Ceramics China

ndia’s ferocious second wave of Covid-19 cases has derailed the plans of Gujarat’s Morbibased ceramic tile makers’ to commence production at what has been a number of newly constructed plants. Indeed, such is the the comeback begins … severity of the current domestic medical situation, that many anticipate commercial operations at most of these new plants in what is India’s largest ceramic industry cluster have been delayed by at Vietnam is the 4th larg est tile producer Zircon in roof tiles least two to three months.

Glaze evolution Issues pertaining to procurement, delivery and State of the Nation: M orbi Dry squaring technology installation of machinery, availability of construction from Ancora materials such as steel, a shortage of workers because of lockdowns and a lack of domestic mobility, and general Covid-19-related restrictions are being cited as the principal reasons behind the delays. Installation can be a particular issue as overseas travel becomes more limited, and remote installation of plants is a more fraught, and lengthy, process.

“The operationalization of our two new plants have been pushed back by around 45 days.

The plants were expected to start commercial operations in April this year. However, one plant is expected to go on stream next month (June) and the other will start production a month after that, ” according to Bhavesh Varmora, chairman, Varmora Group, which had last year started building two plants in Morbi for manufacturing vitrified tiles.

Anticipating robust growth in demand, especially from overseas markets, ceramic tile makers in Morbi had taken up construction of about 50 new plants in late 2020. Many of them were expected to go into production in May and June 2021, just before the onset of monsoon.

“Procurement of machinery is hampered due to the shortage of import containers, and workers are also not easily available for construction due to the pandemic. Commercial production at many new plants will be delayed by two or three months,” according to Mukesh Ughreja, president of the vitrified tiles division of Morbi Ceramic Association.

“All activities pertaining to construction and commissioning of new plants have slowed down due to the second wave of the pandemic. Various services providers are facing problems of manpower as they currently operate with fewer workers. The new plants are facing delays in commercial production of up to four months. Those who targeted to begin production in twelve months will now take 16 months to start production,” according to K G Kundariya, another key office- bearer in Morbi Ceramic Association.

Meanwhile, existing plants are also operating at low capacity as tile demand from the domestic market has been affected due to the restrictions and lockdowns in several states to battle Covid-19. Exports to the international markets have also been affected due to the issues regarding availability of containers to ship tiles.

With India going through such a difficult time, it seems almost churlish to consider that the ceramic industry can be that important. However, it puts food on many tables and is a major employer all over the country both directly within factories and sales and also through the widespread anciliary industries that it supports. As a growing, globally-important sector, perhaps the country’s ceramic industry leaders could begin putting more pressure on the Indian government to ensure that the benefits of the innovation and excellence shown by these manufacturers, and the resultant hardearned tax dollars so happily collected by the regional and federal agencies, could be more usefully distributed in the support and welfare of the nation’s workforce, than chasing dreams of interstellar exploration? One can only hope…

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01/06/2021 10:19

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Loans sought on “favourable” terms • FBCCI requests tax review • A.I. to assist with pollution control in brick pla ceramics • Gas demand plummets as industry suffers Covid crisis • RAK keeps “watching brief” on India Covid si new SACMI Continua+ • Meghna Group setting up Tk 400 cr ceramics factory • Kaolin and the importance of su BANGLADESH

Loans sought on “favourable” terms The country's ceramic manufacturers have demanded low-cost funds on easy terms for payment of their workers' salaries, allowances and Eid bonuses.

"We need low-cost funds to pay salaries for May, June, July and August along with festival allowances of our workers," said said Md Shirajul Islam Mollah, president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCMEA).

The trade body made the call in their budget proposals that it handed over to the finance ministry on April 28.

Businesses have so far invested Tk 9,000 crore in the sector, which directly employs 50,000 workers and indirectly over 500,000.

The country has 68 ceramic factories that made export and import-alternative products, including tableware, tiles and sanitary ware, worth around Tk 6,000 crore in 2019.

Ceramic sector earns over Tk 400 crore worth of foreign currency a year by exporting ceramic products to more than 50 countries.

"The local companies meet 90 per cent of the country's demand for ceramic products," said the BCMEA president. The sector was doing great, but the Covid-19 outbreak spoiled the growth momentum, he said.

The second wave of the deadly coronavirus wreaked havoc on the sector, the association said.

Ceramic factories are now

running on a limited scale with shortened manpower maintaining health and hygiene rules, it said.

"In this situation, sales have slowed to a great extent, making it difficult to clear payments of workers' salaries and allowances."

Moreover, factory owners are also failing to clear bank loan instalments on a regular basis, it added.

There is a lot of pressure on the industry owners to pay the salaries, allowances and bonuses of the workers and employees for the upcoming Eidul-Fitr, said Irfan Uddin.

For the survival of the local ceramic industry, Bangladesh Bank should provide loans on easy terms as financial incentives,

he said.

Tk 85 crore is paid as monthly salaries among the employees of ceramic factories. The amount of allowance is needed to be added with it," said Irfan Uddin, general secretary of the BCMEA. The government should ensure bank loans for the ceramic makers at 2 per cent interest for the next four months, he said.

The association demanded waiver of interest on loans given by banks and financial institutions and payment deferral for the next one year.

It further sought postponement of payments for electricity, gas and water bills of all ceramic factories for the next one year and demanded uninterrupted utility connection during the period.

BANGLADESH

FBCCI requests tax review The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) has sought removal of advanced income tax (AIT) and advance tax (AT) from the upcoming national budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022.

The recommendation was made at a virtual meeting between FBCCI and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as its 41st consultative committee meeting, which discussed FBCCI's proposals for the national budget.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was the chief guest of the meeting, chaired by Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, senior secretary of Internal Resources Division (IRD) and chairman of NBR, and moderated by Sheikh Fazle Fahim, FBCCI president.

During the meeting, businesspersons and association leaders accorded to the issues posed by AIT and AT on various business variables including those

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that are imposed on raw materials.

The proposal to eliminate AIT and AT was based over a threeyear period, the demand this year is being updated with gradual elimination of the two over a twoyear period, Fahim also said.

“Due to the lack of proper adjustments /refund of AIT, the operating expenses of businesses increase by a large amount.

The procedural complexities of AIT reimbursement need to be addressed to ensure timeliness,” said Sheikh Fazle Fahim, FBCCI president.

“We hope the next budget will be made aligning the practical execution of Vision 2021, Vision 2041, SDG 2030, the 8th Five-YearPlan, Covid-19 stimulus package announced by the government, and the ongoing Covid-19 second wave; also in reflection of the of the last fiscal budget,” he also said.

The cash flow in the domestic industry will decrease if AIT and AT

is not accommodated, especially with the lockdown brought on by the second wave, Fahim added.

The trade association highlighted that although Bangladesh survived the economic disruption with a 5.24% GDP growth in FY 2019-20, with export earnings standing at $28.94 billion, remittances at $18.7 billion, and foreign currency reserves exceeding $43 billion between July and March of the current fiscal year; the path to economic recovery has just started.

The trade body proposed invoice based bank-to-bank transaction process in every step of business transactions, which would increase government's revenue and the taxGDP ratio.

It also proposed enlisting alternative industries, productbased diversification and value chain upgrades in new industriessuch as food production and processing industries, including

ceramic tiles (floorwalls), all types of ceramic tableware and sanitary ware, refrigerators, light engineering, waste management, recycling etc; under the Section 46BB of the Income Tax Ordinance 1984 that grants special incentives.

“We have been working continuously in improving the overall government revenue collection process. Softwares are being developed that will help us to audit businesses more efficiently ensuring accountability.

This will help increase the government revenue and help us to accommodate business and corporate favourable tax structure in the coming days,” said Muneem, the NBR chairman.

Mustafa Kamal underscored the importance of the business and industrial sectors, and said: “The recommendations and issues brought forward by the business leaders and the associations will be taken into due consideration to be discussed with relevant bodies."

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ants • Victoria on the acquisition trail • Fernwood expands into advanced ituation • Viglacera sets new profits targets • Trung Do confirms purchase of ustainable porcelain tile ...

BANGLADESH

A.I. to assist with pollution control in brick plants A low-cost machine learning method has the potential to track down immensely polluting brick kilns in Bangladesh, helping regulators monitor environmental compliance, new research shows.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and conducted by researchers from Stanford University, US, and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, showed how the combination of artificial intelligence and satellite imagery offers an inexpensive and scalable method for spotting and monitoring an otherwise difficultto-regulate industry such as brick kilns in Bangladesh.

There are thousands of brick kilns in Bangladesh although the exact number is unknown as the industry is dominated by small-scale, informal producers.

The researchers estimate that almost everyone in the country lives within 10 kilometres of a brick kiln, and over 18 million live within one kilometre of a kiln. Most kilns use traditional, coal-burning technology, a major contributor to air pollution.

Brick kilns are responsible for 17 per cent of the country’s annual carbon dioxide emissions and, in the capital Dhaka, up to

half of the fine particulate matter considered harmful to human lungs, the study said.

The government of Bangladesh has launched a study to manually map and verify the locations of brick kilns across the country, but the task is time- and labourintensive, researchers note.

“Our approach could really reduce the time and effort needed to regulate the brick industry,” says Nina Brooks, one of the authors of the study, and a postdoctoral associate at the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation, University of Minnesota, US. Previous studies have looked at the potential of satellite observations and machine learning for environmental regulation, but concentrated mostly on wealthy nations where the location of firms is readily observed.

Researchers point out that in developing countries, like Bangladesh in South Asia, considerable pollution stems from “informal industries” including small-scale mines, brick kilns, and tanneries.

They note that problems are aggravated because “the location and activity of these firms are hard to observe” and the “resources for regulatory

enforcement are often limited”.

In Bangladesh, according to the researchers, there are “widespread violations” on environmental regulations controlling “brick manufacturing”, which has “implications for the health and well-being of the country”.

In the study, the researchers developed an algorithm based on previous deep learning applications used in environmental monitoring and previous efforts to advocate deep learning to identify brick kilns.

The algorithm could track down whether images contain kilns and localise kilns within the image.

“The method rebuilds kilns that have been fragmented across multiple images — an inherent problem with satellite imagery — and is able to identify when multiple kilns are contained within a single image,” explained a release by Stanford University.

“The approach revealed that more than three-fourths of kilns in Bangladesh are illegally constructed within 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) of a school, and almost 10 per cent are illegally close to health facilities. It also showed that the government systematically underreports kilns with respect to regulations.”

According to Brooks, one thing

that is abundantly clear from this work is that the current regulatory approach is not protecting the population from the harmful byproducts of brick making.

“At the same time, trying to push kilns farther and farther away from humans is not feasible and demand for bricks is showing no signs of slowing down,” she notes. “Brick manufacturing must be cleaned up — and this is another area where our group is actively engaged in research in Bangladesh.”

Saroj Kumar Sahu, an assistant professor at the Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, India, and former visiting scientist at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan tells SciDev.Net that low technology-based, unorganised brick kilns industry is a genuine problem across many lowerincome Asian countries where the access to better technology or alternatives, such as cementbased brick industry, has low penetration.

“Artificial intelligence combined with satellite imagery would definitely be an advanced approach to monitor such kilns and can be [of] great value. “I feel [the study] has huge potential for further research,” he adds.

UNITED KINGDOM

Victoria on the acquisition trail Kidderminster-based flooring firm Victoria has two acquired two Italian firms in a deal worth £30.2m.

Victoria has bought ceramic tile distributors, Ceramica Colli and Vallelunga, and the shares of ceramic tile manufacturer, Ceramiche Santa Maria.

These acquisitions follow Victoria’s recent announcement of the “very strong” growth that

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has been achieved by its Italian business. It has recently been operating at full capacity with some production again being outsourced to third parties in order to meet customer demand. The new deals follow February 2020’s acquisition of the factory, plant, and brands of Ceramiche Ascot.

Executive chairman Geoff Wilding said: “International demand for the ceramic tiles

produced by our Italian business continues to grow at a remarkable rate due to the successful blend of quality, style, and value. The use of a high proportion of recycled raw materials in the tiles has proven attractive to consumers.

However, maintaining service levels for our customers has, in recent months, required the business to outsource production to third parties to meet the

ever-increasing demand. This is expensive in terms of margin forgone – and is addressed by this acquisition.

“This is the first – and smallest – of several acquisitions we expect to conclude over the weeks and months ahead. Nevertheless, we are delighted to have acquired these businesses, which are immediately earnings accretive, but will also enable our Italian business to continue its growth and create value for shareholders.”

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SRI LANKA/NEW ZEALAND

Fernwood expands into advanced ceramics Royal Fernwood Porcelain Limited, manufacturer of porcelain tableware said it had begun producing engineering components for Rakon, a New Zealand based technology company involved telecom, space and defence applications.

“Manufacturing and launching of the heat insulator were a great challenge which was translated into an opportunity and achieved successfully,” Yoshan Fernando , Director/Chief Executive Officer, Royal Fernwood Porcelain said in a statement.

“Royal Fernwood will continue its quest for innovation,

expanding boundaries and creating products that have never been tried before.

Fernando said the firm always on the lookout for fresh opportunities and innovative methods to launch new products and had built up the capacity produce innovative goods with short lead times.

Royal Fernwood had produced a heater insulator to the requirement of Rakon Limited, a technology firm in New Zealand.

The component has to handle a varying temperatures from -60°C (minus 60 degree Celsius) to 120°C (120 degree Celsius) and

is used hold heater coils in place.

“With the launch of this heater insulator, Royal Fernwood Porcelain Limited transforms its product offering from a mere tableware company to a porcelain base manufacturer all items,” the company said.

“This results in the Company’s ability to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and expand its product offering to produce any product to precision from porcelain raw materials. ” Rakon makes advanced frequency control and timing solutions for telecommunications, global positioning and space and

defence applications.

The company’s products create extremely accurate electric signals which are used to generate radio waves and synchronise time.

“We were trying to source a supplier for heater insulator after our existing partner discontinued the product lines” Sarath Dhamgagolla, Project Engineer, Equipment Development Group, Rakon Limited was quoted as saying.

He said Royal Fernwood had met the quality and delivery requirement and was looking at other products in the future.

INDIA

Gas demand plummets as industry suffers Covid crisis India's deadly COVID-19 outbreak and widening localized lockdowns have soured the country's economic growth outlook, stifled its natural gas demand and resulted in more LNG carriers being diverted by gas companies, an analysis by S&P Global Platts showed.

On May 8, the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu -- one of the country's most industrialized and among its largest by GDP -- imposed a two-week lockdown amid growing infections, joining several other states that have taken similar measures.

Tamil Nadu is home to Indial Oil Corp.'s Ennore LNG terminal with a capacity of around 5 million mt/year, and market participants expect the lockdown to hurt industrial and city gas demand similar to other gas consuming states like Gujarat and Maharashtra.

An Indian gas aggregator estimated that city gas demand had dropped by 40-50%, and demand from the industrial sector could drop by 20-25%.

"Some workers in industries have gotten infected, and many of them have gone back to their native towns. Our healthcare infrastructure isn't enough to treat everybody. Now, not only city gas demand is down [although it's still the most affected sector]," the same gas aggregator said.

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A trader said while the power and fertilizers sectors were still operating, other labor-intensive sectors like glass and ceramic industries have been affected.

"The scope of lockdowns affects mobility, and is indicative of the strength of India's recovery.

Much more extensive restrictions would prolong the pain of badly hit sectors, such as retail and tourism," S&P Global Ratings said in its recent India report.

Meanwhile, more LNG carriers have been diverted from India.

The 160,400 cu m vessel Cubal that was headed to Dahej LNG in western India was diverted to Fujian where it arrived on May 10, according to Platts' tradeflow software, cFlow. The cargo originated from Angola LNG and was sold to state-run CNOOC. The 266,000 cu m LNG carrier Shagra, which loaded at Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal, was diverted from western India to South Korea's Incheon terminal where it is expected to arrive May 16, according to cFlow.

This is in addition to four LNG carriers that were previously diverted, according to Kpler.

Three were diverted to Europe -- Qatargas-chartered Ejnan and Lusail and Angola LNG's Sonangol Etosha, and the GAIL-chartered Gail Bhuwan that loaded at Cove Point in the US was diverted to the

Middle East.

Kpler had said that an increasing number of vessels were also exhibiting floating storage behaviors such as circling in their trajectory, idling at anchorage, or slowing down their speed, in line with Indian buyers curtailing their spot LNG purchases of about three to four spot LNG cargoes per week.

One trader said sellers were also happy to divert these cargoes as they can get better prices from elsewhere. However, on a year-onyear basis, India's LNG imports have not fallen as low as last year although year-ago levels represent a low base.

"Indian LNG demand has been remarkably resilient over the past few months and we haven't seen the same level of impact as we did last year during this time," Jeff Moore, manager - Asian LNG Analytics at S&P Global Platts, said.

"Platts Analytics has taken a more conservative view of Indian LNG imports in the months ahead versus previous expectations, but imports are still expected to track closely to year-ago levels from June through the remainder of the year," he added.

"This is even amid a significantly higher spot price environment compared to last year when end users were able to take advantage

of the historically low prices compared to this year where spot prices are trending towards doubledigits," Moore said.

"India's second COVID-19 wave could knock off as much as 2.8 percentage points from GDP growth in fiscal 2022, derailing what has been a promising recovery in the economy, profits, and credit metrics in the year to date," S&P Global Ratings said in a report dated May 5.

It currently forecasts GDP growth of 11%, and a moderate scenario would mean full-year growth of 9.8% for fiscal 2022 while a severe scenario would mean 8.2% growth.

Ratings said the moderate scenario assumes that the seven-day average of reported cases peaks at around late-May, and then declines at a rate of 2% per day.

"The rate of decline in late 2020 was 1.7% per day. This means that new cases fall to half of peak levels in about one month," it said.

"The severe scenario assumes a later peak and a slower decline.

Specifically, that the seven-day average of cases peaks in lateJune and then declines at 1% per day. This means that new cases fall to half of peak levels in just over two months," Ratings said, adding that the assumptions are based past experiences do not forecast the pandemic's trajectory.

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UAE/INDIA

RAK keeps “watching brief” on India Covid situation RAK Ceramics, one of the biggest names in the global sanitary ware business, will keep close watch on the COVID-19 second wave situation before taking any decision on reducing production at its three plants in the country.

The company operates three factories in India, two in the western Indian state of Gujarat and another in Kakkinada, down in the south. “Right now, we are only hoping and praying that all of our employees in India remain safe,” said Abdallah Massaad, Group CEO, RAK Ceramics.

“Production continues – and India was one of the biggest contributors to sales in the first quarter. At the moment, there are no plans to cut output down – but given what’s happening with the COVID-19 second wave, there will likely be an impact on second quarter orders and delivery. We will take a call on production cuts at the time.

"Our first quarter India numbers are in line with Q4-2020; we have learned from last year how to control

the business situation from anything that's happening on the COVID side."

RAK Ceramics pulled out upbeat numbers in the first three months, with Saudi Arabia and India providing much of the solidity to the growth.

India sales were up 67 per cent from a year ago, while in Saudi Arabia, they gained 78.5 per cent. Sales to Europe also helped out, up 22.7 per cent.

The company’s Q1-2021 revenues thus gained 21.9 per cent year-on-year to Dh722.8 million – its best tally since 2016. Net profit put on a substantial 107.2 per cent year-on-year to Dh62.7 million, which is well above the prepandemic levels of Dh36.9 million in Q1-2019.

The Saudi “strategy continues to yield results,” RAK Ceramics said in a statement. “The imposition of anti-dumping duties on tiles from India and China in the Kingdom initially led to an increase in demand for RAK Ceramics’ products.

“Capitalising on this, the company invested in

differentiated tiles and new showrooms, developing significant brand equity in the market. RAK Ceramics is now the go-to provider of premium ceramic products in the Kingdom.”

In its home market, sales are driven by “renovation needs” and not solely by new project work, according to the CEO. “It’s a blend of sales that we are getting now in the UAE,” said Massaad. “The disruption on the projects’ side was absorbed in our 2020 results – this year, we are gaining both through our showrooms and the wholesale business. That’s mostly renovation-created sales we are getting.”

In the medium term, RAK Ceramics will continue to invest in "branding initiatives", including collaborations with premium designers, franchising of retail concepts and the launch of outlet stores in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. "Our production levels are at the highest they have been since 2016, on the back of increased demand across our key markets," said

VIETNAM

Viglacera sets new profits targets Vietnam’s leading ceramic and tile producer Viglacera has set a target of posting 750 billion VND in pre-tax profit at its parent company this year and 1 trillion VND (43.27 million USD) in consolidated pre-tax profit, increases of 2 percent and 19 percent, respectively, against 2020.

The company also expects to earn 12 trillion VND in consolidated revenue, up 27 percent, and pay a dividend of 12 percent. It will continue to inject investment capital into two main fields - real estate and construction materials.

According to deputy director general Nguyen Anh Tuan, the company continues investing in infrastructure development and supporting utilities and services at industrial parks while developing social housing,

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worker housing, commercial properties, and leisure real estate.

In the field of construction materials, it plans to focus on manufacturing high-quality, valueadded, and environmentallyfriendly products and developing new product lines in keeping with market trends and customer tastes. It will divest from clay brick-manufacturing units posting poor business performance.

In the opening four months of this year, Viglacera’s consolidated profit reached 55 percent of the annual plan and was 91 percent higher than the figure in the same period last year.

It recorded total consolidated profit of 841 billion VND in 2020 and 736 billion VND for the parent company, 12 percent

and 23 percent, respectively, higher than the annual target.

Consolidated revenue stood at 9.43 trillion VND, exceeding the annual target by 14 percent.

In April this year, it won the World Class Award in the 20192020 Global Performance Excellence Awards (GPEA), hosted by the Asia-Pacific Quality Organisation.

It was the only Vietnamese company to receive the “World Class” title in the large-scale production category at the 2019-2020 GPEA, which is the only formal international recognition of performance and business excellence.

The award is recognition of a corporation’s reputation and leading position in the field of construction material production and real estate investment and business.

Massaad. "We will capitalise on this demand by continuing to build our brand equity and positioning RAK Ceramics as a global provider of premium ceramic lifestyle solutions."

NEWS IN BRIEF Prices of construction materials in Vietnam, including ceramics, are recovering post-pandemic, and hitting contractors’ profits. Cao Van Hong, a contractor, told local media that the cost of construction materials had been rising for the last few months. Associate Professor Ngo Tri Long, former rector of the Ministry of Finance's Price and Market Research Institute, said prices were up by around 20 percent year-onyear. Steel, which accounts for 20 percent of the cost of a building, has increased by 40 percent. Construction sand is becoming scarce in the Mekong Delta, a major supplier, and buyers wanting large quantities have to wait for a month and often pay more than the originally quoted price.

Le Nhu Thuy My, Director of the Nhan Quoc Ceramic Tiles Company in Dong Nai Province, said there had been an increase in ceramic tile prices due to a rise in packaging costs and the rising electricity, petrol, coal, and transportation costs. The spike in costs is forcing contractors to increase prices or delay work to prevent losses.

Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Construction Contractors, said many contractors signed fixedprice contracts and so took a hit when costs rise.

Construction accounts for nearly 10 percent of Vietnam’s GDP.

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VIETNAM

Trung Do confirms purchase of new SACMI Continua+ This first-ever shipment to Vietnam takes global sales of SACMI slab compaction solutions to 100. The machine is part of a complete order for one of the most technologically advanced plants in the entire Asian-Pacific area.

SACMI will supply the first Continua+ to Vietnam and in doing so reaches the milestone of 100 compactors sold worldwide since the launch of this extraordinary technology.

This news follows the official signing of the contract with Trung Do, a leading manufacturer based in Vinh, the main city and economic-cultural center of Nghe An province, 300 km south of Hanoi.

With an output of 580 million square meters/year (2019 data), Vietnam is the world’s fourth largest tile producer.

Trung Do, a long-standing SACMI customer, has shown itself determined to intercept new market trends that lean towards the manufacture of large decorated slabs, a technology in which SACMI leads the world.

This particular solution - a Continua+ 2000 - has been designed for the manufacture of large sizes with or without through-body veining and incorporates the MDX density and thickness control system.

The line also features latest-

generation SACMI DHD wet digital decoration systems.

In addition to the Continua+, the complete plant includes a 5-tier multilayer dryer, a

the overall production setup more efficient. This has been achieved by installing a comprehensive array of controls on the Continua+ (e.g.

“Vietnam is the 4th largest tile producer” 260-meter single-layer kiln and packaging/ sorting lines.

The result? Not just Vietnam’s first ever Continua+ but one of the most cutting-edge plants in the entire AsianPacific (ASEAN) area.

In addition to allowing production of the most popular slabs on the market, this configuration offers the advantage of making

NEWS IN BRIEF

MDX); control feedback then acts on the process, ensuring

BANGLADESH

Meghna Group setting up Tk 400 cr ceramics factory Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), one of the leading industry conglomerates in Bangladesh is investing Tk 400 crore to set up a ceramics factory at the Meghna Economic Zone in Narayanganj as the conglomerate looks to establish its footprint in the country's booming ceramic tiles sector.

The factory was supposed to begin operations in last July but there were delays in developing physical infrastructure and installing equipment as the

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project's technical experts from Europe, Taiwan and China returned homes following the coronavirus outbreak.Since most of the experts have come back now, the development work of the new unit has resumed.

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

The unit will have the capacity to produce 40,000 square metres of ceramic tiles per day.

perfect raw material mixing and batching to meet quality expectations.

Trung Do is looking to improve its high-end ceramic slab range for export markets such as the United States, Japan, etc. The completed plant will manufacture a wide range of sizes, including the 1600x2400 mm slab and related sub-sizes.

Shipping in the next few months, the new plant will be installed and started up in the second half of 2021. A major step forwards for Vietnam, this order also highlights the soundness of Continua+ technology. Popular with the world’s leading manufacturers, it offers outstanding productivity and can be used to make a wide range of sizes, decorations and thicknesses, all in a coordinated, highly versatile way.

This 100th compactor milestone is far more than just symbolic: it confirms SACMI’s role as a crucial partner to the world’s major tile producers.

Meghna Group of Industries is one of the leading business conglomerate in Bangladesh having modern manufacturing facilities & plants for cement, steel, edible oils, paper, spices and poultry feeds.

The group, which grew out of a trading company set up in 1976, has 48 operational industrial units. Currently, it has 35,000 employees. MGI's annual turnover stood at $2.5 billion. It exports products to 25 countries.

UAE-based RAK Ceramics has announced that one of its key investors, Samena Limestone Company, has sold its entire shareholding in the company (amounting to over 174 million shares) - to Falcone Investments.

One of the largest ceramics brands in the world, RAK Ceramics is a specialist in ceramic and gres porcelain wall and floor tiles, tableware, sanitaryware and faucets. This stake sale represented 17.55 per cent of the company's share capital, stated RAK Ceramics in its filing to Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX).

With this deal, Falcone Investments’ shareholding has risen to 20.40 per cent of RAK Ceramics' total share capital.

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AUSTRALIA

Kaolin and the importance of sustainable porcelain tile

With increasing focus on the manufacture of goods in China using forced labour and eco-damaging processes, Australia-based tile manufacturer and distributor, Kaolin Group, has demonstrated that there can be another way: one of environmental sustainability and employee involvement.

Indeed, Kaolin’s family owned manufacturer, Guanxing Ceramics, continues to lead the industry in environmentally sustainable and ethical production practices with its state-of-the-art factory, and smart warehouse, achieving the highest Environmental Certification of China.

“We value the practice of fair labour. As a family business, we consider all our employees as part of the family and treat them like that. 95% of our workforce with experience of 10 years stayed with us and plans to stay. We attract talent from local area as well as from all over the country. Those values are being extended not only to our own employees, but to our partners and suppliers as well.

We have practices in places to confirm and verify the fair treatment of labour in all the mines of raw materials” say the company.

“As much as we try to verify the origin of materials and the practice of fair labour with respect to human rights, we also urge our customers to take that into consideration when choosing which material to supply. As a family business, we are terrified and truly disappointed to find out about horrible circumstance that labourers must work in some stone quarries, with child labour as not an exception. We do encourage our customers, to make a choice not only for sustainable and environmentally friendly products, but also to make a conscience choice with respect to other families from all over the world.”

Making effective use of local resources to carr y out efficient production, reasonable distribution of factor y zones, and optimised workmanship mean that the land area is being used to get the maximum input-output ratio, and that it meets with investment intensity, improves land allocation and utilisation efficiency, and improves the level of intensification of land utilisation.

Daily production of approximately 70,000 sq. metres of ceramic tiles, smart factories with total investments of 300 Million AUD, occupying a space of 530,000 sq. metres, with intelligent features and automation of production lines such as six lines of production per term, equipped with 10 digital HD inkjet printers, large tonnage continuous ball mills, full body material spreaders, large tonnage presses, extra-large and wide natural gas roller kilns, intelligent mechanical arms, and automated packaging machines that are in line with “Made in China 2025”.

According to Kaolin, “We work closely to get our raw materials from mines and external stockyards. Raw materials that we store at the mine or in suppliers’ stockyards are only to be shipped to the factor y when needed for use, which cuts down on space taken up in the factor y as well as waste.

“Raw material workshops make use of the industr y’s most advanced intelligent continuous ball mills instead of traditional intermittent ball mills, which improves efficiency and at the same time, saves a lot of space.

“Packaging is conducted using intelligent automated packing lines which greatly increases efficiency and reduces the space that stacked products take up on-site. Our packaging is for almost 100% made from recycled materials and we are actively tr ying to minimize the amount of packaging on our product.

“Product warehouses use super-tall, three-dimensional smart

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warehousing which saves six times the land. For example, 36 mu [2.4 hectares] of smart warehousing can replace 200 mu [13 hectares] of ordinar y flat-pack warehousing. At the same time, it greatly reduces the number of forklift trucks and warehouse staff.

This form or warehousing is environmentally friendly and energy saving.

When it comes to raw material sourcing, Kaolin has a range of criteria it implements; “The raw materials that we purchase are non-harmful. The raw materials that we purchase for the factor y must have radiation levels below the national standard (≤ 0.5-1) and meet with 3C (China Compulsor y Certificate) requirements.

They must also be stored indoors to prevent environmental pollution following rain.

“Our raw materials mostly come from mines as well as clay and sand excavated by housing developers and industrial areas. We only use environmentally friendly materials that pass radioactivity checks. Our raw materials and finished product have between 10% to 20% of Silica, which is ver y low compared to engineered stone (between 80% to 98%).

The company’s kilns use clean energy from natural gas which effectively reduces CO2 emissions. At the same time, a combination of dust reduction, de-sulphurisation and de-nitrification means that emissions are lower than both the provincial and national standards.

“Waste water is heavy in acidic ingredients. Placing alkaline materials in the water means that it can be recycled for use in edging and polishing processes. It can also be used in slurr y for ball mills.

“Particulates, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that get released during production have been reduced to 16mg/m³, 19mg/m³, and 61mg/m³, which is more than 30% lower than national and provincial standards.

“Dust is mainly collected in dust bags. The collected dust is then re-hydrated and made into a slurr y to be used in making tiles, thereby reusing it.

“Waste residue mainly comprises clay, small amounts of chemical additives, and ceramic tile shards. A filter press compresses waste residue with water so it can be put back into a ball mill and broken down for use in making tiles, thereby reusing it. Defective tiles and products that do not meet standards are broken down in a shredder and then put through the ball mill to be broken down and reused for making tiles.

It is refreshing in a time of much suspicion over Chinese production to see a company like Guangdong Guangxing Ceramics operating so intelligently. The company owns two of the industr y’s most advanced fully automated continuous ball mills which saves on electricity, water, and energy. The company possesses fully automated intelligent production lines, giving full automation from the tile press down to the final processes.

The company owns the world’s second and China’s first supertall, large-sized smart warehouse centre. Unmanned management and operation is achieved from products arriving in the warehouse to when they leave the warehouse. This effectively reduces manpower and material resources as well as further ensuring that products remain up to specs and reduces damage to products. Compared to traditional factories, smart factories save approximately more than 30% on electricity each year as well as around 30% on workers.

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News

International News Ceramic Confederation pushes for green solutions United Kingdom

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limate change minister Lord Callanan says there could be 'massive potential' for green jobs in North Staffordshire – thanks to new energy technology being pioneered in the area.

Lord Callanan recently visited Keele University to view its Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND), a 'living laboratory' for the development of low carbon technologies, and the renewable energy park currently under construction.

He said the North Staffordshire economy would benefit from Keele's status as a green hub, as its innovations are rolled out across the country and the world.

Lord Callanan also said he would be 'very happy' to talk to the local ceramics producers about their decarbonisation efforts – but was unable to say specifically what support the Government would give the industry.

The Stoke-on-Trent-based British Ceramic Confederation has lobbied the Government for more assistance on decarbonisation, saying that without help the industry could struggle to stay 'internationally competitive'.

Lord Callanan's visit to Keele marked exactly six months until COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference that will be held in Glasgow in November.

He was given a tour of the SEND

and the new Low Carbon Energy Generation Park, which will see the installation of two wind turbines, 12,500 solar panels – enough to provide at least 50 per cent of the university's electricity.

Lord Callanan said: "The thing about climate change is that it affects everybody, of course, and so the solution belongs to everyone as well. There's no one magic bullet, so there has to be a range of measures.

"There has to be smart energy systems, such as the one we've seen today, there has to be decarbonising the power sector, decarbonising transport, and our homes and building. So we will have a myriad of different policies across the different spheres, and this is one good example of an excellent innovative project.

"Countries all over the world are going to be pursuing similar policies, so there is massive potential for exports and green jobs in rolling out the technology.

"To see the university here partnering with so many local businesses which are innovative and developing new products and new technologies, it's got to be hugely positive for the local community as well."

The BCC recently joined 40 other organisations in asking the UK Government and the EU to link their emissions trading schemes, which it says would be better for

pottery manufacturers here.

Lord Callanan would not say whether this could happen, but said decarbonisation was the 'ultimate solution' for energy intensive industries such as ceramics.

He said: "Energy intensive industries benefit from a range of free emissions permits, and they have done over the years, both in the European ETS and in the British ETS. "But the ultimate solution of course is to decarbonise their sources of heat, and there are a huge range of innovative technologies that we can look at.

Hydrogen as huge potential, and we've been looking at some of the schemes during my visit today. I'm very happy to talk to the ceramics industry about what future potential there is to decarbonise their sources of heat."

Keele has worked in partnership with Cadent on HyDeploy, the UK's first trial of blending hydrogen with the natural gas network.

The university has also been working with Siemens on the SEND, while ENGIE has been managing and financing the renewable energy park – due to be completed later this year.

Professor Mark Ormerod, deputy vice-chancellor and institutional lead for sustainability, said: “Keele University is a sector leader in sustainability and the development of new green energy technologies,

and it was a privilege to welcome Lord Callanan to campus today to showcase the excellent work which is taking place to help us be at the forefront of tackling the climate emergency.

Dr Andrew McDermott, technical director at the BCC, says decarbonisation is a 'key issue' for the ceramic industry, and that 'much more support' is needed from Government.

He said: “We want to decarbonise in line with net zero, while remaining internationally competitive and without pushing emissions abroad. However, the sector needs much more support for funding proven and new technologies, such as hydrogen, as well as support for offsetting the increased operating costs which would come from adopting new methods.

“The confederation recently signed a letter to the UK and EU Governments alongside 40 other organisations calling for the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes to be linked. We believe there is a danger that the current standalone UK scheme could greatly increase costs for manufacturers in this country.

"Previously, the UK accounted for around 10 per cent of the emissions in the EU ETS, so linking the schemes would be beneficial for both parties as it would provide a bigger market.”

Freight fears fuel industry concerns Europe

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uropean shippers have again renewed calls for the European Commission to review its competition policy regulating the liner sector, as they continue to face equipment shortages, restricted vessel capacity and sky-high freight rates.

Today the European Ceramic Industry Association, Cerame-Unie, which represents members in 20 countries and covers sectors from construction products (bricks) and consumer goods to industrial process and cutting-edge

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technologies, issued a statement jointly with the European Shippers Council (ESC) which argues that a lack of transparency in the shipping industry, combined with Europe’s apparent light-touch approach to regulating competition amongst shipping lines,had created a glaring imbalance between freight buyers and carriers.

“As a strong advocate for free and fair trade, Cerame-Unie calls on the commission to monitor the disturbing developments in the shipping industry to ensure that fair conditions are restored and

maintained,” it says.

“Investigations on the current behaviour of market players in the shipping industry have been initiated in the United States, South Korea and China.

“In the European Union, shipping lines are being regulated by the Consortium Block Exemption Regulation (CBER) which, under these unprecedented circumstances, may appear insufficient to efficiently oversee the market.

“On 25 March, the EC met with representatives from the shipping

industry to exchange views on the current crisis. In this regard, Cerame-Unie would like to echo the request addressed to the EU commissioners for competition and transport by the ESC, as well as other EU and global associations, calling on the commission to take prompt action to increase transparency and supervise the collaboration between different operators in the shipping industry to ultimately redress the current imbalances and prevent similar situations from occurring again in the future,” it said.

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News

SACMI confirms a “stable” 2020 Italy

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ales above 1.1 billion euro, net equity stable at 682 million euro. Moreover, the number of employees remained steady at almost 4,600 and the company retained its technological leadership on all markets. These were the key SACMI Group stats - contained in the 2020 Annual Report approved by the Board of Directors - presented to the parent company’s Members’ Assembly yesterday, 14 May 2021.

These figures represent an extraordinary response to a year marred by the pandemic: a year that saw, especially in the first two quarters, interruptions to international supply chains and the temporary suspension of manufacturing in some sectors.

“In this incredibly hard year, SACMI demonstrated just how prepared it is to face such challenges”, highlighted the President, Paolo Mongardi.

The first step was to safeguard the health of every worker, “making it possible to ensure continuity of both production and assistance in Italy and worldwide. A result”, adds Mongardi, “achieved thanks to the responsibility, passion and skill of all our people and handled via an immediate nurturing, at every level, of a new digital culture”.

Working from home

arrangements, a special program to protect personnel travelling internationally, reorganization of in-company layouts and workflows, plus an array of solutions to keep us close to customers at all times; this, then, was SACMI's strategy for weathering the global storm, seizing on the first signs of economic recovery in the second half of the year and closing the year with healthy order books. In short, a strategy that lets us look to 2021 with confidence, with the added boost of a return to relative calm on markets and the development of effective vaccines.

In the Group’s most important business unit, Tiles, SACMI responded to the generalized decline in volumes with even more decisive investment in product and process innovation. This ranged from new forming and decoration solutions that enhance product quality/aesthetics to machines and systems (kilns, filters, heat recovery and cogeneration systems) that reduce energy consumption and environmental impact, raising ceramic factories’ competitiveness.

In parallel, SACMI strengthened its position on the Sanitaryware & Tableware market. Here, despite sluggish global demand, the company continues to pursue a

policy of ever-greater automation that has raised both the quality and recognizability of SACMI products.

Moving on to packaging, 2020 closed with the inauguration of the new Rigid Packaging Technologies Business Unit, into which all SACMI’s closures, containers, preform, post-processing and vision system operations have been merged.

Again, SACMI’s ability to stay several steps ahead of both standards and markets saw a near-repetition of its 2019 results. Investment in new lightweight solutions and tethered caps continued apace, with the product range now encompassing complex cap assembly solutions (following the acquisition of Velomat and its rapid integration into the Group).

On the Beverage front, labeling machine sales remained healthy, especially on the US market; however, the pandemic did make customers somewhat more cautious when making investment decisions on complete plants. Defranceschi (Wine) enjoyed a positive 2020; by year’s end it had completed several major projects and established a firm lead in the specialized segment of producing/marketing pigmented steel designer tanks.

Advanced Technologies and Advanced Materials continue to

play an ever-greater role in the Group portfolio. The progress made together with German subsidiaries in developing new components (lithium-ion batteries) for electric vehicles is particularly noteworthy. Likewise, 2020 saw Packaging & Chocolate strengthen both its product range and sales organization, especially on the strategic European market.

Throughout the year customer assistance services played a pivotal role, with SACMI developing an ability to perform machine/plant start-ups remotely (i.e. ‘virtual’ FATs and SATs). Moreover, all Customer Services are now organized by individual Business Unit, a move designed to provide service packages that are more attuned to each sector’s individual needs.

In 2020 the total number of patents registered by SACMI (4,650 to date) continued to grow, as did the number and quality of projects in collaboration with universities. In terms of internal and external cooperation, instead, SACMI renewed its commitment to the local community by donating a latest-generation MRI scanner to the Imola Hospital.

This latest donation takes the Cooperative's three-year total to over 3 million euro.

Tariffs slash tile imports by 98% Italtile unveils boardroom changes United States

South Africa

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.S. tariffs have led to a sharp decline in Chinese imports, according to the Wall Street Journal, with the flooring industry seeing a significant decrease in Chinese imports in every category except LVT. “Nearly two-thirds of all imports from China-or roughly $370 billion in annual goodswere covered by tariffs imposed by the U.S. in 2018 and 2019,” according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. “Tariffs now cover just half of Chinese exports to the U.S., or about $250 billion in goods annually, as U.S. companies buy more from other countries, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of information from Trade Data Monitor.”

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“The Trump administration imposed the levies in 2018-19, aiming to boost U.S. factory production by making Chinese imports more expensive for the American companies that bring them in.

“Vietnam has been an especially big beneficiary. It now ranks No. 6 globally for imports to the U.S., up from 12th as recently as 2018.”

Between 2019 and 2020, tufted carpet and rug imports from China declined 22.2%; other carpet and rugs 16.1%; ceramic tile 98.1%; laminate 39.4%; resilient sheet 75.6%; and hardwood 22.3%. LVT is the only category that saw an increase in Chinese imports, rising 20.3%.

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SE-listed tile and b a t h r o o m w a r e manufacturing and retail group Italtile has announced that its chief executive officer, Jan Potgieter, will be retiring on 31 December 2021 and emigrating to Europe. He will however remain on the Italtile board as a nonexecutive director.

Lance Foxcroft, currently CEO of Ceramic Industries, a subsidiary of Italtile Ltd, will be appointed as Potgieter’s successor, effective from 1 January 2022. He will assume the position of CEOdesignate on 1 July 2021. Foxcroft joined Ceramic in 2003 and held a range of senior management positions in the company prior to his appointment as CEO in 2014.

Chairman of the Italtile Ltd

board, Gianni Ravazzotti says, “Lance’s appointment formalises the group’s succession plan which has been developed over the past five years. He has worked closely with Jan over the past four years since Italtile acquired Ceramic in 2017, and the handover period will ensure a seamless transition to a new era for the business.”

Tshepo Molefakgotla will succeed Foxcroft as CEO of Ceramic effective 1 July 2021.

Molefakgotla is currently chief operating officer of Ceramic. He joined Ceramic in 2004 and was appointed COO in 2016; prior to that he managed Ceramic’s Vitro and Pegasus tile factories and has overseen the management of Betta Sanitaryware in his current position as COO.

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News

Tecnargilla re-brands as “Tecna” and confirms dates Italy

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ith a new name, a more agile exhibition format, the highest safety standards and a wide range of new services, Tecna (formerly Tecnargilla) will be back as an in-person show in Rimini from 28 September to 1 October 2021, reasserting its role as the world’s most important exhibition for supplies to the ceramic industry.

This is excellent news, because at such a complex and challenging time for industry in general the ceramic machinery sector needs to come together at a suitable physical location where it can reaffirm its innovative nature and its role as an incubator of ideas and above all resume face-toface meetings with customers, three years after the last edition of Tecnargilla held in 2018.

Organising the show as an inperson event also sends out a clear back-to-business message, boosted by the strong recovery in the ceramic industry in many countries which will inevitably lead to new investments in plant and equipment. As early as the first quarter of 2021, the Italian ceramic machinery manufacturers recorded 33% growth in sales (exports up 37.9%, especially to Spain and China, and a 27.3% increase in domestic Italian sales), while 79% of surveyed companies are expecting to see a further upturn in business in the second quarter and are looking ahead to four months of assured production.

Tecna 2021 will also mark the debut of the new slogan “How to make it”, intended to underscore the excellence of the design and technological innovation showcased in the Rimini exhibition centre. This year’s show sees the launch of a new hybrid formula that combines an in-person event with activities organised on a digital platform. A packed programme of events and talks, both on-site and via streaming, is already being planned to explore current and future trends in the ceramic industry.

In response to the changes in progress, Tecna 2021 has organised the exhibition around a

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series of innovations and services that have proved highly popular with participating companies.

After listening to the needs and wishes of companies, the organisers have first of all redesigned the exhibition spaces in accordance with the new regulations and are proposing a new layout that will enable exhibitors to show off their innovations, technologies and projects to maximum effect. As a result, Tecna 2021 will occupy a total of eight halls, two less than in 2018, on a single side of the Rimini exhibition centre. The reorganisation of the spaces will ensure better visibility for both large and small companies and more streamlined visitor flows.

A number of changes have been made with the aim of easing the organisational workload for exhibitors and reducing the cost of participation. These include shortening the duration of the exhibition to just 4 days (Tuesday to Friday) instead of the usual 5; providing the option of flexible and customisable prefurnished stands; and extending the possibility of penalty-free cancellation, both for exhibition spaces and stands.

The response from the companies has been extremely positive. By the end of April, more than a hundred exhibitors had confirmed their participation in Tecna 2021, occupying two thirds of the available space. Moreover, the new exhibition project is attracting the interest of companies operating in allied sectors that have never previously taken part in the show.

These important results reinforce Tecna’s leadership position among international trade fairs in the sector and reaffirm its role as the premier showcase of technological and process innovation in the field of surface coverings.

Tecna 2021 has been making equally important efforts to ensure the highest levels of visitor attendance. Destination management activities for selected foreign buyers have been greatly expanded compared to the past, while exhibitor companies will be able to organise

both in-person and digital B2B meetings. The digital platform in particular will open 15 days before the physical exhibition and will continue to operate for three days afterwards. To facilitate the arrival of international buyers, the trade association ACIMAC is working with the Italian government to set up so-called “green corridors” that will make it easier for visitors to travel to Italy.

Moreover, there are a number of indications that suggest international travel may be returning to normal, including the easing of lockdown measures in many countries, especially in Europe, and the review of quarantine measures, which are no longer required in Italy for stays shorter than 120 hours. On top of this, the vaccination programme is moving forward and the Green Pass that is expected to be launched in the EU area on 1 June will allow freedom of movement as well as the first Covid-free flights.

As we have said, Tecna 2021 will also be a digital show and will offer exhibitors and visitors an enhanced digital experience with an outstanding programme aimed above all at international buyers.

The advantage for the organisers is the fact that they do not have to start out from scratch.

Tecna Next, the social platform launched last November, has already demonstrated its ability to act as a bridge between the world of technology suppliers and professionals working in the global ceramic industry. The results have been excellent, with an average of more than 1,400 monthly users from 64 countries.

Highlights of the virtual programme include the 4 design talks and the cycle of technical webinars entitled “Ceramics: what’s next?”, organised

by CeramicWorldWeb.it. The first 5 events held from December to March attracted more than 3,200 professionals, with an average of 344 Italian and 297 international participants per webinar. The series will continue in May and June with another four appointments, before resuming in September.

NEWS IN BRIEF AUK-based brickmaker has been honoured for its high ethical standards, as the brick industry fights back against the widespread use of child labour and slavery in South East Asia.

The Easingwold-based York Handmade Brick Company has been awarded the new Brickmakers Quality Charter to underline its moral standards and green credentials.

The award comes from the Brick Development Association, the trade association for the UK’s brick industry.

David Armitage, the chairman of York Handmade, said: “This accolade means a great deal to us. We take huge pride, both in our environmentally-friendly brick-making process and in the way we treat our loyal and hardworking staff.”

He said the Brick Development Association' pioneering Brickmakers Quality Charter scheme provides a Brick Certificate to reassure customers that bricks are made to the highest ethical standards.

Keith Aldis, the chief executive of the Brick Development Association, said: “For a small family-run firm like York Handmade Brick to achieve the charter is no mean feat.

“Through our everyday monitoring of brick statistics and UK market throughput, we have noticed and have evidenced through work with our partners, at University College London and others, a significant increase in the importation of clay bricks from outside of the EU into the UK. “There is a large defined area across Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and the Far East, which is causing concern where bricks are manufactured seasonally, in large numbers, and more often than not using bonded or child labour.

“Those individuals making these bricks, work under extreme conditions with little or no regard to health and safety, poor sanitation, often with little or no pay. This is unacceptable in today’s business world.

“We would always ask everyone to check the provenance of the bricks they buy, supply or use but we understand for many this can prove complicated'.

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Craven Fawcett Limited

member of Group Rhodes

Tel: +44 (O) 1924 375444 • Fax: +44 (O) 1924 290 245 Email: sales@cravenfawcett.co.uk • www.cravenfawcett.com

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News

Raw Material News Astron receives positive opacifier review AUSTRALIA // ZIRCON Astron (ATR) has received test results for zircon from the company’s Donald Mineral Sands Project, located in regional Victoria.

The company analysed the initial zircon product from its Donald Project at its China test facilities. The zircon was tested against industry standards for use in ceramic applications, such as its whiteness.

Premium-grade zircon is often used as an ingredient in manufacturing ceramic tiles, due to its capability for producing whiteness — a highly desirable characteristic in high-value ceramics.

During the testing process, Astron tested its Donald zircon product for the quality of its whiteness, by comparing it to samples of three different competing zircon producers.

The zircon samples from Astron and its three competitors were ground down into ultra-fine powders, which were then turned into glaze slurries. The glazes were used to coat white plates, which were then dried and fired in a furnace

before undergoing brightness testing.

The plates coated with the Donald Project’s zircon glaze ended up being the whitest and brightest of the four samples.

This proved that Astron’s zircon product is of a premium grade and demonstrated its suitability for use as a whitening agent or opacifier in the high-value ceramic market.

Due to its high grade, the production of zircon from the Donald Project will not require additional acid leaching treatment for impurities, which is usually the case.

These excellent results will allow the company to advance discussions with potential clients about zircon offtake agreements in the future.

Astron expects its Donald Mineral Sands Project to produce between 95,000 and 100,00 tonnes of premium zircon per annum, in the first stage of production. The project’s second production stage has the ability to potentially double its zircon production.

Strandline confirms Mario Pilato Blat agreement AUSTRALIA // ZIRCON Australian mineral sands firm Strandline Resources has signed its sixth binding offtake agreement for output from its Coburn project in Western Australia, taking commitments up to 100pc of production.

The latest deal is to supply 10,000 t/yr of premium zircon to Mario Pilato BLAT, a European raw materials supplier to the ceramics, glass and refractory industries.

Binding agreements now account for an average of $140mn/yr

in revenue across Coburn's expected output of 54,000 t/yr of zircon concentrate, 34,000 t/yr of premium zircon, 110,000 t/yr of ilmenite and 24,000 t/yr of rutile.

Coburn, which is fully funded and has an expected mine life of 22½ years, is expected to produce its first heavy mineral concentrate during October-December 2022. Projected revenue is forecast at $3.42bn over the mine life that could be extended through further exploration.

Fort Cady construction on hold UNITED STATES // BORATES American Pacific Borates (ABR) will defer the construction of phase one of its Fort Cady Borate Mine in Southern California, U.S. ABR paused the construction of phase 1A to focus on a larger initial operation.

The deferral decision was handed down by the recently appointed U.S. advisory board, which visited the site last week.

The advisory board has recommended the company consider completing additional drilling to expand its footprint and the scale of the JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate.

ABR has started preparing an exploration target with a view to find potential resource upside. It plans to commence drilling

24

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AC 21-3

later in the year.

Moving forward, the company will remain focused on two options. Option one includes combining all the current phase one operation into a 90,000-tonne-per-annum boric acid and 80,000-tonne-per-annum sulphate of potash (SOP) operation.

Option two will involve a larger operation, combining option one with the current phase two operations to deliver a 270,000-tonne-per-annum boric acid and 240,000-tonne-perannum SOP operation.

Additionally, discussions are advancing with a potential U.S.based CEO and CFO, which are expected to be appointed in the near term.

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News Anaylsis

News

26

asian ceramics

Farewell the artisan?

Jingdezhen is a small city by Chinese standards, with a population of under 1.7 million, and yet placed prominently by the side of the airport, it proclaims itself Jingdezhen the “City of the World.”

Historically, Jingdezhen was a centre of Chinese ceramics production. Its goods have been so inextricably linked to China in the international imagination that they share a name in English. Even after the Communist revolution in 1949, the famed “10 Great Ceramics Factories of Jingdezhen” guaranteed the city’s continued relevance.

Every year, Chinese from all over the country arrive in Jingdezhen to study and practice the art of ceramics.

Those that stay long term, known colloquially as “Jing drifters,” join local studios and factories or take advantage of the city’s low rent and cheap raw materials to set up their own businesses. One estimatefrom 2020 put the number of these Jing drifters at more than 30,000.

Although once the undisputed champion of Chinese ceramics, in the aftermath of the country’s market reforms in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jingdezhen’s leading factories split into individual studios, and the city’s output fell behind rapidly industrializing manufacturing hubs like Chaozhou, Foshan, and Dehua along the southern coast.

This backwardness, combined with the city’s historical and cultural legacies, tends to draw a different kind of migrant to Jingdezhen, one distinct from the assembly line workers who turned South China into a manufacturing powerhouse.

The artisans who stay on at the city’s studios pride themselves on their meticulousness, ingenuity, and skill. Rather than maximizing output, they’re willing to devote significant time and energy to making pieces by hand — even if that means having to start over repeatedly due to defects or mistakes in the production process.

Yet, in a market where artisanry is neither particularly recognized nor appreciated, these practices have left contemporary Jing drifters facing a dilemma: Do they stick to the pure, down-to-earth, but not particularly renumerative lifestyle of the artisan; or do they embrace modern business

AC 21-3

and industrial techniques?

Take the siblings Luo Xiao and Luo Hua, for example. Luo Xiao was a well-known craftsman in Jingdezhen who grew tired of the income fluctuations inherent to artisan life and eventually started a larger factory with his brother. Yet, according to Luo Hua, Luo Xiao remained conflicted about selling out and uncomfortable with his new identity as a businessman, rather than a craftsman, frowning any time someone referred to him as “boss.”

Jingdezhen’s artisans aren’t the only ones struggling with questions of identity. As the city increasingly fell behind coastal manufacturing hubs, municipal officials began to talk of “upgrading” its relatively small and fragmented ceramics industry into something more capable of driving growth in the 21st century. Beginning in the 2010s, the Jingdezhen government worked to promote ceramics not necessarily as an industry, but as a tourism draw.

In 2013, the city started construction on the “Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue” project, converting old porcelain factories into museums, ceramic shops, cafés, restaurants, and other recreational facilities.

But some Jing drifters remain unconvinced that these shifts are as game-changing as the city insists.

“The government keeps saying, ‘Let Jingdezhen talk to the world,’” He Meng, a coffee shop owner and potter said in an interview. “But Jingdezhen began talking to the world hundreds of years ago.”

Others worry that development risks alienating the Jing drifters keeping the local ceramics industry alive — many of whom appreciate the break the city offers from the monotony of southern factory towns.

“Though Jingdezhen may not be the most beautiful (place in China), making ceramics here is a good way of life,” said Li Yalou, a Guangdongbased ceramics artist who spends a month or two a year in Jingdezhen.

“Doing things in the presence of mountains and rivers is satisfying.”

In its role as a magnet for a different type of artisan, Jingdezhen presents something of a unique case in China.

Unlike other destinations popular among young urbanites looking

to escape the 9-to-5 grind like the southwestern cities of Dali, Lijiang, or Lhasa, Jingdezhen is a functioning industrial town with a centuries old tradition of ceramics production.

Japan offers a valuable lesson here. For instance, some Japanese ceramicists have successfully repositioned themselves as creators and artists rather than makers or producers. By emphasizing the artistic value of their works, they can sell to a high-end market at prices that make up for their low output. Of course, this route is fraught with risks and not open to everyone, especially in China, where there is still little in the way of support or developed markets for high-end domestically produced goods.

Part of the problem is the lack of stable go-betweens to help artisans market their goods. Currently, artisans rely on sales channels reflective of the traditional mobility and randomness of small-scale self-employment, including street stalls, markets, and the occasional corporate-sponsored bazaars. An artisan may meet the owner of a grocery store there, over time converting them into a steady buyer, but these venues aren’t conducive to helping sellers build a real reputation, especially as artists.

Efforts have been made to address this problem: Beginning in 2019, the state-affiliated Youth Entrepreneur Alliance in Jingdezhen has promoted local ceramics at fairs across China. Tech giants, meanwhile, have floated the idea of using blockchain to protect creators’ intellectual property, another major obstacle to them monetizing their products.

Most of these ideas remain untested.

In the meantime, life in Jingdezhen continues much as it always has.

Before I left the city, I visited a friend and interviewee of mine, Mai Zibin, a former white-collar worker turned pottery artisan who has so far eschewed expanding his business in favor of focusing on his craft. Chatting about the differences between ceramics and other industries, I mentioned that ceramics seems like slow work.

"Yes,” he replied with a smile. “It really is.”

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3mm

20mm

INFINITY

series Double Decker kilns

Higher Adaptability for flexible production of higher / lower thickness slabs w w w . m o d e n a . c o m . c n

Analysis: Tiles

Rise of the Republics tile markets set in Central Asia

Jahir Ahmed looks at how the countries of Central Asia have been slowly, but surely, developing their own significant ceramic industries, and what the future may hold for their domestic, and indeed regional, prospects…

C

entral Asia with a promising regional market of ceramic tiles has been developing its own production base both for domestic consumption and exports following a boom in housing in the past decade. In the region’s major tile markets, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, many new plants and expansion projects are coming up. Among tne countries, most of the production boom is taking place in Uzbekistan where the manufacturers are being wooed for setting up export base too.

Uzbekistan implemented construction of several ceramic tile manufacturing projects in recent years, some of them were impacted by Covid-19, while expectations are looming large to boost up production this year to meet the rapidly expanding market demands. The Government of Uzbekistan provided customs preferences at importing necessary equipment, which are not produced in the country.

Uzbekistan’s Tashkent based major ceramic tile manufacturer Orient Ceramics LLC is undergoing expansion this year to double its existing annual production capacity of 3.6 million sq metres. It uses domestic raw materials. The additional capacity will produce export grade porcelain tiles. After expansion, Orient’s employment of workers and skilled professionals will rise to about 700 from the current 270. Its surplus productions are exported to neighbouring

28

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AC 21-3

Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan is setting up its tile production plants in different centres of the country which are close to the clusters of industrial and residential consumers and large cities. Already on stream there are three industrial zones in the country, which are Navoi city (Navoiy Region, southwestern Uzbekistan), Angren city (near Tashkent, eastern Uzbekistan) and Jizzakh city (Jizzakh Region, northeast of Samarkand, south-eastern Uzbekistan), where tile plants are located.

The government is giving importance to the need for organizing tile production units along with other small and medium enterprises in each region to allocate logistically convenient sites for manufacturing and to set up clusters for the production to boost up output volumes and exports.

Uzbekistan’s leading ceramic and porcelain tile manufacturer, Samarkand city based Prime Ceramics Ltd, is producing high quality tiles with Italian machinery and equipment.

The key aspect of ensuring the highest quality of Prime Ceramics products is the use of only the most innovative equipment of the Italian companies SACMI and SYSTEM Ceramics, according to the company’s General Director, Saidov Timur Sharifovich. “With the help of modern technologies, we embody in our products the most urgent solutions from the world of ceramics for those who value quality and style and strive to express their individuality in the

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Analysis: Tiles

interior,” said the company.

Prime Ceramics employs skilled professionals and workers domestically and from foreign countries. Its production line specialists are closely connected with the Italian traditions of ceramic tile production.

The joint venture plant, National Ceramics Ltd, for production of glazed ceramic granite and ceramic tiles, launched in Angren Free Economic Zone in 2017, is another major operator with a production capacity of 4.5 million sq meters of tiles a year. It is equipped with modern technology supplied from Sacmi Imola SC of Italy. The total project exceeds $ 21 million, of which $ 20.9 million were direct foreign investments, between the Chinese company Gulf Cable Trading Company and Uzbek partners.

Retro style

Uzbekistan’s major ceramic tile manufacturer, Moderna Ceramic Industries Ferghana LLC, a Uzbek-Chinese joint venture, is already playing a significant role in manufacturing quality tiles for the domestic markets successfully and exporting to many countries.

Moderna’s plant, located in Fergana city, is fully equipped with modern equipment supplied from SACMI of Italy. Its products are made from high-quality raw materials and it meets international standards, claims the manufacturer.

It has three product brands, Moderna Kerama, Bellissimo and Thinkera, all have floor, bathroom and kitchen tiles, basically of two types of floor and wall tile sizes; 300mm×300mm for floor and 200mm×300mm for wall. It has export markets in the Central Asian countries and the neighbouring CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldavia and Russia.

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Moderna Kerama brand offers a wide range of ceramic tiles for floors, bathrooms and kitchens in “Retro style,” which is “consciously derivative or imitative of trends, music, modes, fashions, or attitudes of the past,” said the manufacturer.

The tiles in this style is a creation of decorative traditions of the past, patterns and drawings of the past time. “Uncomplicated decors will create a minimalistic interior, but will deprive it of a semantic void, thanks to a riddle hidden behind the quaint decor of Retro,” the company highlighted. Moderna Kerama collection is recommended to be an excellent solution for creating a fabulous beautiful and unique interior.

A rich assortment of the collection allows one to realize the users’ fantasies includes more than ten decors and several color tones of the background tile. There is an opportunity to create a neutral design for any room in gray tones, or a warm home design in a redochreous color, suggests the company.

Moderna Belissimo brand’s floor, bathroom and kitchen tiles’ colour range includes shades of gold, ocher, umbra, lilac, light green, and pearl-gray predominate. In the priority of a semitone.

When decorating a bathroom in the “Art Nouveau” style it is recommended to order the design of the service, experts are much more competent and more correctly combine different materials and contrasting colors.

Moderna Thinkera tile brand presents in different styles and designs, which include mysteriously oriental, fine antique, colorful Arabic, popular art deco, modern and other styles. Specialists of the company will help to create an attractive design in any part of residential and non-residential space. As a rule, such motifs are universal, they fit equally in the concept of a bathroom, kitchen, hallway, living room, etc, claims the manufacturer.

AC 21-3

asian ceramics

29

Analysis: Tiles

Tiles in modern design are presented with facing coatings in a variety of colours, patterns, formats, textures, for every taste and financial possibilities. Moderna Ceramic Industries said it sells Thinkera brand tile at reasonable prices. “Constantly updated collections and exclusive samples will satisfy the needs of the most customers” it said.

Expansion projects

In Uzbekistan several new tile plants and expansion projects are coming up this year and in 2022. Three ceramic tile projects are being implemented in the special industrial zone Jizzakh.

The Chinese company Xu Zhan Investment is implementing a US$24.3 million plant for production of six million sq metres of ceramic tiles a year in the Syrdarya branch of the Jizzakh special industrial zone of Uzbekistan. Peng Sheng is planning to modernize expanding capacities in production of ceramic tiles.

Sirdarya Ceramic Production and Ceramic Raw Materials will also launch the capacities on production of ceramic tiles.

The Iranian company EMG (‘Ehsan Maybod Manufacturing Group’ LLC) has been implementing a project on the production of ceramic tiles in Yuqorichirchiq district of Tashkent.

Turkey based Eczacıbaşı Holding company, which is a leading building material manufacturer, is studying the prospects for the production of ceramic tiles in Uzbekistan. The company has communicated with the Uzbek government and showed its firm interest in setting up facilities for manufacturing ceramic tiles in a suitable location to meet the domestic demand and for exports to the countries of Central Asia and CIS. In a recent videoconference, information was presented on the status and prospects for the production of ceramic tiles and sanitary wares in Uzbekistan, and the benefits provided to foreign investors in our country.

Kazakh prospect

In Central Asia’s largest ceramic tile consuming country, Kazakhstan, efforts are going on to meet a sizeable part of domestic demand of ceramic tiles from the local manufacturers by setting up new plants and improving the existing ones under private sector in different growth centres of the country. Kazakhstan is currently largely import dependent in building ceramics.

To develop the tile industry the investors are being financed by the development funds. The Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund, through Islamic finance in collaboration with Islamic banks in Kazakhstan, has supported ZERDE-Keramika Aktobe, a company producing ceramic granite tiles in the country through Islamic finance. ZERDE-Keramika has received financing in accordance with the principles of ‘Sharia’ from the Islamic Al Hilal Bank on favorable terms and a guarantee from the state under the programme of the Damu Fund to complete the construction of a plant for the production of porcelain stoneware tiles and ceramic tiles under the expansion of its existing manufacturing facilities.

Located in Shymkent, South Kazakhstan, this project of ZERDEKeramika is aimed at replacing imports with a porcelain stoneware production reaching five million sq metres a year, double of the existing installed plant. Its expanded employment of 220 would be one of the largest in the industrial zone in Aktobe. The launch of the expanded plant is planned for the first half of 2021, said Kanat Bitemirov, General Director of ZERDE-Keramika Aktobe.

ZERDE-Keramika is the only operating plant of a modern design in Kazakhstan for the production of ceramic granite tiles or porcelain tiles. Its product brand is known as MK-Ceramics. The production capacity of the fully automated initial plant of ZERDE-Keramika,

30

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AC 21-3

KAZAKHSTAN IS CURRENTLY LARGELY IMPORT DEPENDENT IN BUILDING CERAMICS Prime Ceramics Ltd Location: Samarkand, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic and porcelain tiles Markets: Domestic and export Markets Others: The Uzbek company, Prime Ceramics Ltd, is the leading manufacturer of ceramic and porcelain tiles in Central Asia.

Moderna Ceramic Industries Ferghana LLC Location: Fergana city, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Moderna Ceramic Industries has three product brands, Moderna Kerama, Bellissimo and Thinkera. It has export markets in the Central Asian countries and the neighbouring CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldavia and Russia.

Orient Ceramics LLC Location: Tashkent, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic and porcelain tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Orient Ceramics offer 30cmx45cm glazed tiles and 30cmx 30cm semi-gloss floor tiles.

National Ceramics Ltd Location: Angren, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: National Ceramics’s annual production capacity is 2 million sq meters of glazed ceramic granite tiles and 2.5 million sq meters of ceramic tiles.

Peng Sheng Jv Ltd Location: Syrdarya City, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Peng Sheng Jv Ltd is a China-Uzbekistan joint venture tile manufacturing plant.

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Analysis: Tiles

opened in 2015, is 2.5 million sq metres of high-quality porcelain stoneware tiles per year. The production of ceramic granite is a hightech process. Its raw materials are kaolin, white-burning refractory clays, feldspars, quartz sands, natural pigments and others sourced mainly domestically. The plant is equipped with the latest technology from the Italian company Barbieri & Tarozi.

The porcelain tiles, produced at the factory, have very low water absorption, about 0.05 percent, which makes it possible to use the tile for external facing of buildings and facades in any climatic zones. Due to high resistance to abrasion, the tiles are used in floors with intensive human traffic, such as, super markets, airports, etc.

ZERDE-Keramika said its porcelain stoneware tile’s difference from ordinary tiles is that colouring agents are added to the mixture being created, in which all the binding components are already present. Such material has a solid colour, and ordinary tiles have only a coloured surface.

The manufacturer said its porcelain stoneware tiles do not require additional surface treatment. The required colour is achieved by mixing the main colour in the finished mixture. The composition is poured into moulds and dried, and then placed on powerful presses that give the tiles an additional shape. The tiles

Uzbekistan’s main import sources of unglazed ceramic tiles (US$’000) Imported Imported Imported value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 World

1,406

13,633

25,376

China

662

7,511

11,244

1

2,151

4,143

Iran, Islamic Republic of Russian Federation

61

1,435

3,776

Turkey

163

443

2,629

Belarus

11

598

1,011

Italy

9

91

555

India

0

27

545

Spain

36

574

462

Kazakhstan

290

170

275

Poland

115

321

218

Latvia

6

0

158

Ukraine

0

212

115

Serbia

0

0

76

Germany

51

52

72

Lithuania

1

21

68

Exports of ceramic tiles by all countries of Central Asian Republics (US$’000) HS Code Product label (of exports by Central Asian countries) Exported value in 2016 6907

Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes

6908

Glazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; glazed ceramic mosaic cubes

Exported value in 2017

Exported value in 2018

Exported value in 2019

Exported value in 2020

1,851

2,151

19,520

23,586

3,511

440

11,145

86

NA

NA

Imports of ceramic tiles by all countries of Central Asian Republics. (US$’000) HS Code

Product label (of imports by Central Asian countries)

6907

Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and . . .

6908

Glazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; glazed ceramic mosaic cubes and the . . .

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

Imported value in 2018

Imported value in 2019

Imported value in 2020

22,410

153,978

162,157

168,832

131,398

135,578

34,625

10,676

5,628

3,974

Source: Estimates by International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva.

Imports of unglazed ceramic tiles by all states of Central Asian Republics (US$’000) Product label (unglazed ceramic tiles imported by Central Asian Republics)

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

Imported value in 2018

Imported value in 2019

Imported value in 2020

690740

Finishing ceramics (excl. refractory)

NA

66,962

56,053

47,341

33,380

690721

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

NA

30,605

33,818

48,757

33,257

690723

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

NA

23,275

27,518

32,182

26,104

690722

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

NA

19,072

30,462

25,591

24,284

690790

Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and . . .

21,250

6,496

9,487

9,935

8,219

690710

Unglazed ceramic tiles, mosaic cubes and similar articles, whether or not square or rectangular, . . .

1,159

1,835

1,849

2,319

3,486

690730

Ceramic mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a backing (excl. refractory and finishing . . .

NA

5,736

2,973

2,711

2,668

Source: International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, estimates.

32

asian ceramics

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

Colorobbia Digital Space: the digital reality The Colorobbia Group, an Italian multinational with more than 100 years of history and more than 2,000 employees, faces the digital transformation process in all its aspects with optimism and confidence. At a technological level, Industry 4.0, the lay-outs with multi-machine production lines integrated in the Smart Factory management and the solutions focused on minimizing the environmental impact in all production processes, are the tip of the iceberg of this technological transformation.

Another fundamental aspect, which is integrated into this digital transformation framework, is to be able to find and achieve a rational balance between sustainable solutions and technologies / products. For this reason, Colorobbia Group recently presented a new series of color and effect digital inks, the Eko Inks series, which perfectly meets these requirements. With these priorities, Colorobbia continues rapidly in its line of research, as already proposed in 2014 with the range of AIR series digital inks (Air friendly inks) and with the already certified set of digital enamels C -Glazes Digital, allowing to reduce to the maximum the water consumption and the level of emissions during the different phases of the production process.

Colorobbia has a solid proposal of real solutions designed to successfully face all the main challenges that the digitization of ceramic surfaces presents, allowing its network of customers to benefit from a series of operational, productive and economic advantages.

Colorobbia Group currently offers a wide range of products aimed at achieving the best results in functional and aesthetic finishes. Depending on the needs and objectives, Colorobbia Group offers various solutions that integrate perfectly and without distinction all the basic products (frits / pigments / atomized / flakes / glazes / grits) and / or digital (glazes / premium color and effects inks / digital glues / micro-grits) during the development phases of the prototype and the subsequent industrialization of the finished projects.

The digital technological revolution allows the simultaneous creation of aesthetic / material and, at the same time, functional

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surfaces. These digital application systems for both inks (solvent / water liquid suspensions) and solid materials (dry way), allow an ever greater discharge and a high degree of synchronization from the beginning to the end of the line. The customization of ceramic tiles and also of production processes is increasingly in demand in most markets, both for standard and large formats. It is precisely in the latter that the Full Digital proposal has found the greatest success since, in addition to the many advantages it offers, it allows the transformation of ceramic into an element capable of covering a spectrum of applications until now occupied by other types of materials. The search for absolute depth, the obtaining of micro-reliefs with or without using the press, the use of grits and agglomerates together with more modular waterrepellent effects, as well as color and effect inks that enhance the contrast of the textures and the optimization of the surface level, continue to be increasingly required parameters for ceramic tiles.

As we all know, we are immersed in a period of constant technological transformation at many levels, and it is here that Colorobbia Group, together with the main machinery manufacturers, OEMs and customers, actively contributes to the development of products and technologies that optimize the processes and their results.

This extremely powerful digital transformation and the global pandemic have accelerated the use of other types of tools such as virtual showrooms, augmented reality, remote technical assistance in real time that allows to solve production problems, permitting the use of other technology platforms between suppliers, customers channels and end-user experiences. That is why, Colorobbia Group is allocating part of its resources to stay at the forefront and make these technologies available to its entire customer network.

Colorobbia Group has always been a benchmark in all aspects related to the environmental protection and respect in its production processes and those of its customers and, today more than ever, this attention represents one of the company's major distinctive features.

AC 21-3

asian ceramics

33

Analysis: Tiles

are fired at a high temperature. For glazed and polished surface, the method of glazing and polishing of the material is used.

ZERDE-Keramika porcelain stoneware floor and wall tiles are of many different sizes, up to 600mmx600mm for floors.

Substitution issues

Central Asia’s largest economy, Kazakhstan, has been showing a stronger growth with stable demand for ceramic tiles while supporting the development of its modern and improved housing for all under state support. The tile consumption is expected to grow faster this year with the revival of the economy that relies heavily on hydrocarbon exports. It was hit hard after the plunge in oil prices last year and the impact was coupled with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that made the economy contract by 2.6 percent during the year.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects the Kazakh economic growth to reach 3.2 percent in 2021 and 3.5 percent in 2022 in its latest ADB Outlook published in April this year. The growth is expected to occur assuming investment, domestic hydrocarbon production, and manufacturing increases.

The Kazakh government anticipates that the Covid-19 pandemic will not worsen over the coming two years and that a substantial part of population will be vaccinated this year. The economic forecasts reflect these assumptions and a pandemic assessment supported by the ADB showed that government assistance prevented deeper contraction and promoted a faster economic rebound.

Despite impact of Covid pandemic, construction industry has started showing a booming trend since last year and increasing with over 10 percent growth in home building, according to the industry sources.

In 2020 Kazakhstan built 15.3 million square metres of housing, according to Kairbek Uskenbayev, Kazakh Vice Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development. Investments in housing construction increased by 33.6 percent compared to 2019 and amounted to two trillion tenge (US$4.68 billion), he stated in mid-April this year.

The increase of agricultural production by some7.8 percent under favourable weather has made the consumer spending stronger.

In recent years, the production of building materials has increased substantially in Kazakhstan. Their production has tripled to US$ US$1.3 billion from US$420 million over the past decade. At the same time, to meet the needs of the market, which is US$2.2 billion, products worth about US$900 million are imported annually. Ceramic tiles are major items among the imports. The country’s annual import Kazakhstan’s imports of unglazed ceramic tiles (US$’000) Code Product label (Kazakhstan’s imports)

EMG Location: Yuqorichirchiq, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Products: Ceramic tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: EMG’s production capacity is 2.1 million sq meters. It will export to the neighbouring countries.

Great Wall Ceramics Location: Angren, Uzbekistan Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Great Wall Ceramics’ annual capacity of 3.5 million square meters.

ZERDE-Keramika Aktobe LLP Location: Shymkent, Kazakhstan Products: Porcelain tiles (porcelain stoneware tiles/ceramic granite tiles) Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: ZERDE-Keramika tiles are consumed largely in the domestically and also exported to the neighbouring Central Asian countries. Its product brand is known as MK-Ceramics.

Döwletli Döwran Location: Khalach district, Lebap Region, Turkmenistan Products: Ceramic decorative tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Döwletli Döwran is a major manufacturer of ceramic bricks. It plans to increase its ceramic decorative tile production for use in interior, exterior, floors and paving. It will export its products to other Central Asian countries.

Dag Merjeni Location: Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy, Daşoguz Province, Turkmenistan Products: Ceramic tiles Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: The tile factory is equipped with machineries supplied from the leading technology and equipment suppliers of China.

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

Imported value in 2018

Imported value in 2019

Imported value in 2020

690740

Finishing ceramics (excl. refractory)

0

52,444

47,202

40,498

31,163

690721

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

0

21,361

25,163

31,627

30,480

690723

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

0

18,400

21,531

23,163

21,621

690722

Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, of a water absorption coefficient by weight . . .

0

11,683

16,384

14,531

19,644

690730

Ceramic mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a backing (excl. refractory and finishing . . .

0

5,261

2,778

2,584

2,639

690790

Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and . . .

15,305

7

0

0

0

690710

Unglazed ceramic tiles, mosaic cubes and similar articles, whether or not square or rectangular, . . .

241

0

0

0

0

34

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AC 21-3

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Analysis: Tiles

Imports of unglazed ceramic tiles by countries of Central Asian Republics. (US$’000) Imported Imported Imported Imported Imported Importers (of unglazed ceramic value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020 tiles under HS Code 6907) World

3,957,338

15,106,014

16,625,856

15,786,219

NA

Central Asian Republics Aggregation

22,410

153,978

162,157

168,832

131,398

Kazakhstan

15,546

109,155

113,057

112,402

105,547

Uzbekistan

NA

1,406

13,633

25,376

NA

Kyrgyzstan

2,455

22,994

15,250

15,525

14,151

Tajikistan

3,155

6,494

11,285

12,085

11,700

Turkmenistan

1,254

13,929

8,932

3,444

NA

Sources: ITC (Geneva) calculations based on UN COMTRADE and ITC statistics.

Imports of glazed ceramic tiles by countries of Central Asian Republics (US$’000) Importers (of glazed ceramic tiles under HS Code 6908)

Imported Imported Imported Imported Imported value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020

World

12,665,811

1,841,786

1,047,038

933,878

NA

135,578

34,625

10,676

5,628

3,974

Tajikistan

27,480

20,154

9,954

5,593

3,974

Kyrgyzstan

13,465

1,028

49

22

0

Turkmenistan

Central Asian Republics Aggregation

21,709

3,392

NA

13

NA

Uzbekistan

NA

10,045

673

0

NA

Kazakhstan

72,924

6

0

0

0

36

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AC 21-3

demand for ceramic tiles is estimated to be about US$120 million at present.

Unglazed tiles alone have demand for over US$110 million a year. In 2020, Kazakhstan imported US$105.547 million worth of unglazed tiles, according to the Genevabased International Trade Centre (ITC). In 2018 and 2019, the figures of imports of unglazed tiles were US$113.057 million and US$112.402 million, respectively.

According to B. Atamkulov, the Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan, it is envisaged to support the development of the construction industry.

He suggested for creation of new projects for import substitution in building materials including ceramic tiles.

The government has planned to launch eight import-substituting projects for the production of five types of building materials, such as, ceramic tiles, glass, pipes, dry building mixtures, and fittings, with a production volume of US$245 million, which will reduce the share of imports in the domestic market by an average of 15 percent.

Gas is King

Turkmenistan is going to develop ceramic tile production facilities as it has huge demand in the domestic markets. The Turkmen Ministry of Industry and Construction has recently opened tender for building a plant with the annual production of three million sq metres of ceramic tiles. The plant will be based in the Baherden district of the Ahal province.

Turkmenistan has huge reserve of natural

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Analysis: Tiles

Exports of unglazed ceramic tiles by countries of Central Asian Republics (US$’000) Exporters (of unglazed ceramic tiles under HS Code 6907)

Exported value in 2016

World

Exported value in 2017

Exported value in 2018

Exported value in 2019

Exported value in 2020

5,035,319

16,884,246

17,966,946

17,235,548

NA

1,851

2,151

19,520

23,586

3,511

Kyrgyzstan

24

529

7,103

11,006

1,687

Uzbekistan

NA

12

10,984

10,841

NA

Kazakhstan

1,827

1,610

1,431

1,701

1,822

NA

NA

1

38

NA

0

0

1

0

2

Central Asian Republics Aggregation

Turkmenistan Tajikistan

Exports of unglazed ceramic tiles by countries of Central Asian Republics. (US$’000) Exported Exported Exported Exported Exported value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020 Exports of unglazed ceramic tiles by countries of Central Asian Republics.

(US$’000)

13,233,138

912,840

471,585

450,244

440

11,145

86

NA

NA

Uzbekistan

NA

11,144

86

0

NA

Kazakhstan

148

0

0

0

0

Kyrgyzstan

287

0

0

0

0

Tajikistan

0

1

0

0

0

Turkmenistan

5

NA

NA

NA

NA

Central Asian Republics Aggregation

Kazakhstan’s main import sources of unglazed ceramic tiles (US$’000) Exporters (of Imported Imported Imported Imported Imported Kazakhstan’s value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020 imports under HS Code 6907) World

15,546

109,155

113,057

112,402

105,547

Russian Federation

5,497

58,878

58,012

57,051

55,811

China

6,534

22,430

24,954

23,064

17,741

Belarus

0

7,479

7,983

6,206

7,143

Uzbekistan

1

5,225

4,140

2,514

6,695

1,034

598

917

1,669

3,578

367

2,270

2,971

2,223

3,158

30

915

1,472

1,241

2,570

198

4,822

3,184

3,927

2,570

13

378

5,154

9,610

1,777

India

0

15

156

308

1,151

Italy

1,429

2,953

1,634

1,448

1,073

Poland

331

1,322

1,243

1,347

1,069

Ukraine

51

599

190

220

707

United Arab Emirates

1

235

158

392

258

Lithuania

0

62

56

51

43

Portugal

1

4

21

9

29

Korea, Republic of

0

670

699

1,022

3

Turkey Germany Iran, Islamic Republic of Spain Kyrgyzstan

38

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AC 21-3

gas to develop the gas fired ceramic industry. The country is rich with domestic sources of raw materials for ceramic manufacturing. It has a huge reserves of argillite clay, extracted at the Yagman deposit in the Balkan region.

The country’s newly constructed and already reputed heavy clay manufacturer, Döwletli Döwran (Dovletli Dovran), produces ceramic decorative tiles in its plant located in Khalach district in Lebap Region. Its second production line is going to provide fine ceramic tiling items, including façade tiles. Dovletli Dovran has plan to export its tiles to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan after meeting domestic demands. “Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Tajik businesses expressed particular interests in the tiling products of Dovletli Dovran due to their high quality,” said Gadam Hoshwagtov, Deputy Director of the company.

Dovletli Dovran was allocated a 28-hectare land in the Lebap velayat’s Halach etrap in the northeastern Turkmenistan to set up this modern ceramic plant. Its tile products have good demand in the domestic markets.

The products are used in industrial and residential constructions.

Its production lines, opened last year, are provided with modern digital equipment from the leading European and Japanese machinery manufacturers. Operation of all processes and production lines is carried out remotely using the software. The facility uses raw materials from clay pits located nearby, said the company.

The 200,000 tons a year production capacity Dovletli Dovran plant is located next to Turkmenabat-Kerky railroad and few kilometres away from its clay pits.

Chemical composition of the material was tested in laboratories of several European countries and found it suitable for fine ceramics. Its planned and ongoing expansions include production of dry mixtures, ceramic tiles and steps, terracotta façade tiles, thin ceramics and other products.

Turkmenistan’s Dag Merjeni company has recently launched its ceramic tile manufacturing plant in Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy district of Daşoguz Province.

The plant manufactures tiles, of different designs and sizes, including those intended for the cladding of building facades. The automated tile factory is equipped with machineries supplied from the leading technology and equipment suppliers of China.

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SACMI-SAMA: The 20 year success of PCM lines SACMI-SAMA’s PCM line has been a major success for more than 20 years, with more than 200 solutions for pressure casting sold around the world. Indeed, in the past five years alone, 50 new “GREEN series” lines have been supplied. The market continues to respond to the high flexibility and top performance offered by SACMI-SAMA pressure casting technology.

More than 200 pressure casting machines from the PCM range for tableware items have been sold around the world by SACMI-SAMA. Of these, over 50 solutions are part of the new “GREEN series”, with which the SACMI Group has remade its mark on the market over the last five years, leading the way with its focus on efficiency and energy savings.

Top performance, together with optimum cell flexibility, are the key features explaining the 20 year- long success that these solutions have found in the Tableware sector during the switch from mainly manual work processes to totally automated lines from piece casting and demoulding to drying and finishing operations.

Thanks to their capacity to combine full automation with a high level of customization these solutions have been purchased by numerous leading customers on the market where demand is still strong for these modular machines suitable for handling a wide range of production.

Together with their special SAMApor macroporous resin moulds, the PCM line brings together top quality and process repeatability with optimum durability of the machine and moulds. As with other SAMA solutions in the Tableware sector, this proposal both meets the requirements of the largest manufacturing Groups – with the ability to position the level of innovation at different levels according to geographical area, products, markets – as well as those of a smaller size who are nevertheless focused on product excellence and state-of-the-art technology.

Every casting cell – made up of one or more machines, robots and auxiliary equipment – can in fact be set up according to customer requirements depending on the product, degree of

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flexibility and level of automation needed. Among the various possibilities there is, for example, the installation of a pair of machines served by a single demoulding robot – equipped with dedicated pick-up suction cups –provided with a rapid mould change-over unit to better control wide production ranges in small lots, carried out with the same production process.

Even finishing operations can be fully automated thanks to the use of a robot.

The special PCM NH 25 is equipped with a horizontal mould clamping system and it is possible to install 2-part, or even 4-part moulds, thanks to the optional vertical cross-bar, which has two hydraulic cylinders for vertical mould clamping allowing for production of complex pieces such as cups with handles. Furthermore, it is possible to install multi-cavity or single-cavity moulds on this machine, according to production requirements and piece dimensions.

The main advantages of the PCM “GREEN series” include; energy savings of up to 85%, eliminating the use of cooling water and significantly reducing noise levels to safeguard operator health & safety. A further opportunity, in addition to the vast choice of configurations and tonnage (from 100 to 150 t), is provided by the possibility to install machines with double head and/or double plate to increase the number of moulds installed and therefore the production output with the same space occupied.

A further contribution to achieve efficiency, quality and process repeatability is provided by the innovative 3D simulation software which allows the user to check the cell overall dimensions and work cycles during the design stage. Carried out together with SACMI-Gaiotto, these feasibility studies are becoming more and more important in order to optimize and integrate manmachine-robot resources. In the same way, the SAMA pilot plant and R&D centre are available to the customer in order to carry out preliminary trials any tests required on new products to ensure the best guarantee of the expected results even before industrialization.

AC 21-3

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39

Analysis: Tiles

Keeping your cool

reducing heat islands with zircon tiles

Dr Keven Harlow, Executive Director, Zircon Industry Association, discusses with AC how the use of zircon has been shown to have a beneficial effect on the rising problem of heat islands in an increasingly urbanised World...

A

s our world faces increasing challenges from industrialisation, urbanisation and a rising global population, sustainable development has become the goal of our times. Architects and specifiers the world over strive to create buildings that are as visually stunning as they are sustainable, combining the smallest possible environmental footprint with the highest possible standard of living. Roof and façade tiles play a crucial role, not just aesthetically, in delivering this goal. While not immediately obvious, zircon - a naturallyoccurring mineral - can significantly enhance glazed roof and façade clay tile performance.

Zircon’s unique properties are renowned in the ceramics industry. Widely used as an opacifier to increase the whiteness, brightness and glossiness of tiles, its hardness and chemical resistance ensures ceramic surfaces are resistant to scratching and chemical damage. Walls and floors across the globe have been adorned with zircon-containing tiles for decades.

Now recent research has clearly demonstrated that zircon can also help architects and construction specifiers to lower the environmental footprint of the buildings they design and build, enabling compliance to green building standards and supporting bids to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation for their designs. The study, ‘Thermal

40

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Performances of Ceramic Glazes Containing Zircon’, conducted by the Zircon Industry Association and Centro Ceramico (Bologna), has shown that glazed, zircon-containing tiles, when used as part of a building’s outer envelope, can reduce the environmental footprint of the building by reflecting solar energy and lowering demand for internal cooling.

Urban heat islands

For the past few decades, architects have battled to combat the urban heat island phenomenon in many cities. The materials on which these metropolises are built, such as concrete, steel and asphalt, absorb the sun’s heat and store it in large thermal masses. This, as well as the waste heat generated by energy usage, ensures the temperature in cities can be significantly higher than nearby rural areas. The result is that many cities across the globe are uncomfortably warm in the summer months and, as everyone reaches for the air conditioning buttons, energy consumption rises and so too do CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Architects, specifiers, and their clients strive to mitigate this heating effect through design and the materials they employ.

Over the years, one of the solutions to address urban heating is to design building envelops that utilise ‘cool materials’ with high reflective properties. The so-called ‘cool roof’ concept. It is widely

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Analysis: Tiles

proven that using roofing materials with high solar reflectance and high thermal emissivity can decrease the indoor temperature of buildings by about 2.5°C, thus reducing a building’s summer cooling energy requirements, for example, by as much as 43% in Florida and 30% in Rome. This offers significant cost savings in terms of energy, but also a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions.

Cool materials

Spray paints and sheaths, waterproof membranes, poly bitumens, corrugated sheets and ceramic tiles are all highreflectance materials used by building designers for cooling roof structures. The most effective paints are white, with high solar reflectance and excellent thermal emissivity. However, in recent years the focus has turned to the long-term performance of these materials. Tests in the outdoor environment show that, due to exposure to atmospheric agents and fouling, the solar reflectance of roofs using bituminous membrane coated with cool acrylic paint is almost halved within two years. Therefore, cool coatings have required periodic washing, maintenance, or restoration treatments, which are all costly and time-consuming.

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Photo credit: © Pedro Mendonça, Porto, Portugal

Ceramic tiles have far greater overall durability and resistance to atmospheric damage and, with increased solar reflectance, could offer a lower maintenance solution.

Ceramic tiles undergo various quality tests, including freeze thaw cycles (ISO 10545-10), thermal shock (ISO 10545-9) and solidarity of colours to light (DIN 51094), during their certification.

These tests show that porcelain stoneware tiles do not undergo colourimetric variations or solar reflectance reduction due to UV radiation or hygrothermal shocks. It has now been shown that the addition of solar reflectance boosting zircon to glazed ceramic tiles substantially improves the potential of ceramics as a low maintenance cool roof and cool façade material, which is more durable in terms of resistance to deterioration and wear. Ceramic surface glazes can also be designed with a finish that increases tiles’ cleaning performance, substantially reducing overall maintenance costs.

AC 21-3

asian ceramics

41

Analysis: Tiles

The recent study looked at the effects of adding zircon to ceramic glazes of various colours including black, brown, blue, green, and yellow. Carried out both on a laboratory scale and by field trials, zircon was added to 36 tile samples both as an opacifier directly into the glaze formulation (up to 10 wt%) and as frit component (up to 6.6 wt%). A frit is a ceramic material that has been melted, quenched and granulated. The solar reflective index (SRI) was calculated for each sample. The colorimetric coordinates were also determined to evaluate any colour variation due to the presence of zircon. The thermal performance of the samples was automatically monitored every 30 minutes in an outdoor environment during the hot Italian summer months (June to September 2018).

Results of tests carried out on the samples of glazed ceramic tiles show that, in general, an addition of zircon increases the solar reflectance index (SRI) of the surface glaze, the effect being more pronounced when zircon is added as an opacifier. Also, as the zircon content in the glaze increases, the SRI value increases linearly for all colours in this study. The increase in SRI is greater in percentage terms when zircon is used as an opacifier, and greater in absolute terms when zircon is used as a frit. The SRI percentage increase is more pronounced for darker colours (black, brown, and blue) when zircon is used as an opacifier. The black glaze saw an SRI increase of 90% when 10 wt% zircon was added, while brown saw a 43% increase, blue a 45% increase, green a 33% increase, yellow a 23% increase and the white tile saw a 21% increase in SRI. Monitoring of each tile’s surface temperature when exposed outdoors to solar radiation confirmed that the measured higher values of brightness and solar reflectance parameters of the surface glaze are entirely due to the addition of zircon. In these field trials, a clear decrease in surface temperatures (i.e. a cooling effect) was observed for glazes where zircon was used as a frit component. The frit composition containing 3.3% zircon was observed to be the most effective in cooling.

Fig. 1 shows the monitoring of the surface temperature of black glazed samples. The graph shows that the black tile sample with 3.3% zircon in the frit when exposed to solar radiation maintains lower surface temperatures of up to 5°C when compared to the other black glazed samples.

42

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Figure 1: SRI values, colorimetric coordinates, and variation curves of the surface temperatures of black glazes containing zircon as opacifier (Op) or as frit (F), during monitoring on a sunny day. For hourly intervals considered in the figure, the ambient temperature varied from 27 to 32 ° C.

Laumans use zircon-containing glazes in many of their products. They apply the glaze by showering the tiles, producing a 40% greater thickness than spraying or spinning. When fired, it results in an extremely hard and protective surface enabling a 30-year tile guarantee.

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Analysis: Tiles

Kiln cars and entry to the tunnel kiln. Photo credit: © Laumans

The study concluded that zircon addition increases the cooling effect in the composition of glazes for ceramic tiles. These zirconcontaining tiles, if used as a building envelope, could improve the thermal comfort in the building by reducing energy demands and, compared to alternatives on the market, such as paints, are able to reduce maintenance costs thanks to their high resistance to wear, dirt and stains.

Zircon: the sustainable solution

As the drive for sustainable solutions in our modern world intensifies, consumers are more aware than ever before of the impact of their lifestyle choices. While we now know that zirconcontaining roof tiles can offer a sustainable solution as a ‘cool material’ for building envelopes, their environmental credentials do not end there.

A recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for zircon sand concluded that zircon has an overall low environmental impact and the impact is lower than alumina - an alternative to zircon as an opacifier (or whitener) in ceramic tiles.

The sustainable choice

Minimising the environmental impact of how we live is a global issue. Many tile producers already offer beautiful glazed, zircon-containing roof and façade tiles which are used to create visually stunning, memorable buildings that have significantly less energy demands and offer increased thermal comfort to those who use them.

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Photo credit © Smithbrook Building Products Ltd

This study shows that by actively choosing zircon-containing glazed tiles for a building’s envelope, architects, designers, and their clients can significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of the building, while minimising maintenance requirements over time. It is clear that by adjusting the composition of their glazes, tile producers can play an important role in the sustainable development of our world.

More information on ZIA-commissioned research studies can be found on its website www.zircon-association.org or by contacting ZIA enquiries@zircon-association.org.

AC 21-3

asian ceramics

43

Analysis: Glazes

Asia’s glaze evolution regional manufacture a key to the future

AC looks at how Asia’s production of glazes remains behind the curve in terms of demand and what the industry is doing to rectify that imbalance…

I

n many significant evolutions in glaze making in Asia there were landmark developments in production and marketing of glazes in the regional countries. Despite arrival of the European glaze majors with their determination in upgrading Asia’s production process in the last 25 years, the region’s demand for quality glazes is rising in tandem with the increasing consumption for manufacturing traditional ceramic products for domestic markets and exports. However, Asia continues to remain a trading deficit of glazes under HS Code 320720 and as such, imports are rising steadily.

Besides in-house glaze manufacturing in the ceramic factories, sourcing glazes from the reputed specialist glaze manufacturers for various products are technically and economically more viable. This has caused presence of globally reputed glaze manufacturers from Europe. The spectacular growth of the Asian markets has attracted mostly the Spanish glaze, frit and pigment manufacturers to open plants in almost all of the major ceramic producing countries of the region. Many Chinese glaze makers also have opened their outlets and production bases in the Asian countries.

Among the glaze manufacturers, Ohio based US company Ferro Corporation, Spain’s Castellón based Esmalglass-Itaca Group and Torrecid Group, Italian company Colorobbia, Taiwan’s CGC Group (China Glaze Co Group), etc, are providing latest technology and innovation to their customers

46

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AC 21-3

for their success and ensure profit from their products. Torrecid and Colorobbia offer total solutions such as technical support, fashionable designs of ceramic decoration, and suggestions to implement innovative projects.

Ferro supplies a wide range of ceramic glossy and matt glazes, specifically formulated for the requirements of glazed ceramic surfaces, such as, resistance, transparency, brightness, depth, smoothness, gloss, cleaning easiness and color development. An ISO 9001:2001 certified ceramic glaze manufacturer, Ferro follows stringent guidelines for its supplier selection, glaze technology and technical service standards.

Ferro ceramic glazes are a top choice for applications including glazed architectural terracotta and building ceramics, such as, wall and floor tiles and sanitarywares, as well as for tableware glazes and other potter glazes. Ferro’s glazes are developed to satisfy the most diverse needs of the ceramic tile industry. The glazes can be formulated to provide special characteristics to glazed surfaces, such as, resistance, transparence, depth, smoothness, gloss, cleaning easiness, and color development, said the company.

Ferro Thailand manufactures glazes and frits for ceramic tile, sanitaryware, tableware and other ceramic industries. Also, it manufactures and distributes coating related products for automotive, building glass, bottles, glass tableware, paints and plastic industries. The Saraburi site houses the state-of-the-art

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Analysis: Glazes

production plant, and analytical and application labs as well as a design center to support the activities in South and Southeast Asia.

The globalised multinational manufacturing business group of Torrecid is now a major supplier of frits and glazes in Asia, particularly, for architectural ceramics, such as, tiles for floors, walls, facades and ceilings. In the past quarter-century it has made landmark progress with an evolution in glaze making in the region, by setting up production facilities and development of marketing and sales all over Asia.

Customer service

Providing services to customer with highest possible technical services are also provided by other European competitors in the Asian markets. Italy based global ceramic glaze maker Gruppo Colorobbia provides such services in its several Asian bases.

On the sub-continent, for instance, the high-quality service of Colorobbia India is ensured by staff members qualified in ceramic engineering, who are continuously in contact with the technicians and researchers of Colorobbia Italy and Colorobbia Spain. The company said, being a solution provider to ceramic industry, it is capable to provide the necessary support to develop and industrialise new products and to offer solutions to the technical problems of their customers, who are mainly ceramic and porcelain tile manufacturers. Technical researches from the customer services

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department are able to instantly transfer state-of-the-art technologies to the Indian market from Italy and Spain through continuous contacts with the Colorobbia laboratories in those countries.

The Indian glaze market is basically home-oriented. It has several up-to-date glaze making plants, because of presence of global glaze makers and globally major ceramic manufacturers both. Local and foreign owned companies are catering the domestic ceramic manufacturers who in turn, however, export a sizeable quantity of traditional ceramicwares, mainly building ceramics. For highend domestic markets and exports of the customers, the Indian operation of Colorobbia said it is capable to follow the latest trends in all over the world and designing ceramic tiles on behalf of its customers.

Architectural products

Torrecid suggests frits are the main component of nearly all ceramic glazes and are present in many compositions of different materials where a glass face is needed, even if only as a binder.

The multiple applications, and various baking methods of the products which are used, under different names, have made it so that over the years the frits family has gained numerous members, many of them very different between themselves.

A glaze is usually made up of one or more frits with the addition of, where necessary, raw materials, pigments, salts, etc, according

AC 21-3

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47

Analysis: Glazes

to Torrecid. “The complete composition which takes the name of composite glaze, or just composite is ready to be milled, usually in a ball mill, with water and possibly additives to stabilize the resulting semi liquid mass. Based on frits, and the additives used, the effects that may be obtained are nearly infinite,” said Torrecid.

In Asia, as well as in other regions, Torrecid Group offers a wide range of ceramic frits and glazes for normal ceramic single-firing temperatures of 1100°c to 1160°c (for wall tile body), and also for porcelain temperatures of 1180°c to 1200°c, for tiles of various applications from floors to facades. Made with the highest quality raw materials, and subjected to constant, precise tests, they range from glossy frits, transparent and white, to matt, transparent and white, with hard and soft surfaces. For double-firing and third-firing, the company also offers a wide range of ceramic frits and glazes for temperatures of 1000°c to 1100°c, and 850°c to 1000°c, respectively.

Since its foundation in 1963, with headquarters in Alcora in Castellón of Spain, where its founder Federico Michavila Pallarés installed a small frit plant with only 8 workers and an annual production of 800 tones, Torrecid continues with its evolution and growth. It is dedicated to provide products, services, solutions and future trends to the ceramic and glass sectors. A key element of Torrecid group is that it has production sites and sales and marketing locations in 28 countries or areas in the world and providing its products to the customers in more than 130 countries.

This enables the company to offer products and solutions to both customers operating world-wide and local companies.

In its global operations, regionally, Torrecid has the leading presence with manufacturing bases is in Asia, stretching from India to Japan and including, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan China, Thailand, and Vietnam, a total of 10 countries, under able leadership of its present Chairman and CEO, Federico Michavila Heras, with his long-dedicated background of starting with the company in 1978. He is known to have led the change with a new vision for the business, and together with his team transformed a small family company into a global multinational and one of the worldwide leaders.

Torrecid has aggressively entered in almost all over Asia in last two decades. It is present in the Japanese market since 2015.

Since its arrival in Japan, Torrecid has brought to Japanese ceramic industry a new way of marketing, which it calls Style-Cid, based on personalized service, development of innovative products, and revolutionary technology.

The company entered the Bangladesh market with a great vision with the emergence of this promising market. Torrecid Bangladesh was born in 2014. It has provided the Bangladeshi ceramic and glass manufacturers with latest technologies, trends and technical assistance and design supports.

In 2013 Torrecid took a big step in Korea, establishing its new office and exhibition hall. Together with a passionate team sharing long term vision, Torrecid Korea aims at providing complete and customised service to customers. Since 2012 Torrecid is present in Malaysia with its new facilities in order to meet the growing needs of the market and offer a better service to its customers in Malaysia.

An expansive approach

In the previous decade, Torrecid landed in all other major markets of Asia. The Torrecid subsidiary in Vietnam was opened in 2010 to provide better localized services to the rising Vietnamese customers. The same year, it opened its India based major subsidiary Torrecid India Pvt Ltd by upgrading Torrecid India liaison office created in 2008.

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PT Torrecid Indonesia Location: Telaga Asih, Cikarang Barat, Kabupaten Bekasi, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: In Indonesia it provides services and solutions substantially to ceramic tiles and glass manufacturers.

PT Ferro Materials Utama Location: Lor Embong, Desa Jasem, Kec. Ngoro, Kab. Mojokerto, Jawa Timur, Indonesia.

PT Ferro Mas Dinamika Location: Kp. Tegal Gede, Desa Pasir Sari, Kec. Lemah Abang, Bekasi, Indonesia.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: PT Ferro Materials Utama and PT Ferro Mas Dinamika are the manufacturers-suppliers of Ferro ceramic glazes, frits and others in Indonesia.

PT China Glaze Indonesia Location: Kawasan Industri Suryacipta, Ciampel Karawang, Jawa Barat 41361, Indonesia.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: PT China Glaze Indonesia exports its products to other ASEAN markets, after meeting Indonesian demand.

LLC PT Colorobbia Indonesia Location: Delta Silicon Industrial Park, Cikarang Selatan-Bekasi, 17550, Indonesia.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Colorobbia Indonesia was founded in 2001 with the aim of extending its offer of qualified technical assistance, and to distribute frits, glazes, pigments, products for technical ceramics and opacifying minerals.

Torrecid Malaysia SDN BHD Location: Kawasan Perindustrian Selatan, Mukim Tebrau. 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Its solutions that it provides to the customers include the best competitive advantages and the maximum added value.

Fusan Clays & Glazes Sdn Bhd (Malaysia) Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor 46200, Malaysia.

Products: Ceramic composite glazes, frits and pigments Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Fusan Clays & Glazes known as FCG also trades and distributes a wide range of industrial chemicals, minerals and functional (technical) fillers.

Ferro (Thailand) Co Ltd Location: Tambol Kuchasit, Nongkhae, Saraburi 18250, Thailand.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Ferro Thailand manufactures glazes and frits for ceramic tile, sanitaryware, tableware and other ceramic industries.

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Analysis: Glazes Torrecid (Thailand) Company Limited Location: Moo2 Phaholyothin Road Lamsai, Wangnoi, 13170 Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: The company provides the best competitive advantages and the maximum added value to its customers.

Torrecid India Pvt Ltd has its Style-Cid Center in MumbaiAndheri Link Road. “In this center we show the latest trends and innovations in ceramics market as well is the location for our creative design workshop where, jointly with our clients, we create and develop tailor made products as per customer requirement,” said the company.

“From 2014 with the start-up of our unit in Savli GIDC Torrecid Group becomes the first and only provider of services and products for ceramic market to have in India an industrial unit with highest standard and the first fully equipped innovation and R&D center.” From its Savli facility, Torrecid is able to serve all the Indian market and Indian Sub-Continent with the best quality of products and services, covering all the needs of ceramics market that it caters.

Since its arrival in Taiwan in 2005, Torrecid has brought to the Taiwanese ceramic industry a new way of marketing, StyleCid, based on personalized service, development of innovative products, and revolutionary technology. It opened its Thai representative office Torrecid S.A. in NongKae, Saraburi, in 2003; the same year it landed in Suzhou, China in 2003.

The setting up of its production facilities in China and Indonesia with manufacturing companies Torrecid China and PT Torrecid Indonesia was a major breakthrough in Asia.

PT Torrecid is present in Indonesia since 1995. It focused on providing services and solutions for ceramic tiles and glass companies. “Indonesia’s main and biggest ceramic companies have become our customers since 1995 and continue to cooperate with us to this day in providing new innovation and trends to Indonesia’s ceramic market,” said Torrecid.

Torrecid started facilities in in Indonesia’s Cikampek, West Java, and expanded production to East Java in 2001 by setting up plant in Tandes, Surabaya. In 2002 it moved the Cikampek facility to West Java’s Cibitung, Bekasi, which is Indonesia’s major ceramic cluster, to provide even wider services to the customers in Indonesia.

Johnson Matthey (Thailand) Co Ltd Location: Bangkok, Thailand.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Johnson Matthey Thailand’s coloured special effect and reactive glazes are compatible with a range of substrates including tablewares, cookwares, giftwares, stoneware pottery, roof tiles and high temperature sanitarywares.

Colorobbia Thai Co Ltd Location: WHA Saraburi, Tumbon Bualoy, Amphur Nongkae, Saraburi, Thailand.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Colorobbia Thai founded in 1989 in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2013 it moved to the WHA Saraburi Industrial Land in the province of Saraburi, to allow further expansion and be closer to its clients, offering improved service and support. Colorobbia Thai serves clients in Thailand, Myanmar and Southeast Asia providing more complete technical assistance, project support and technological consultancy services.

Torrecid Vietnam Location: Long Thanh Industrial Zone, Long Thanh, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Torrecid Vietnam providing its customers various solutions, allowing them to produce different products with higher properties, and advantages to compete with higher guarantees in Vietnam and internationally.

Glaze exports by Asian countries (US$’000) Product label (exported by Asia)

Exported Exported Exported Exported Exported value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020

Liquid lustres and similar preparations of the kind used in the ceramic, enamelling or glass . . .

1,553,321

1,351,815

1,271,043

1,159,904

1,684,391

Glass frit and other glass in the form of powder, granules or flakes

282,609

344,688

383,557

375,514

426,348

Vitrifiable enamels and glazes, engobes "slips" and similar preparations of the kind used in . . .

240,314

201,048

228,571

205,303

263,663

Prepared pigments, prepared opacifiers, prepared colours and similar preparations of a kind . . .

212,923

201,709

210,966

198,887

183,693

Glaze imports by Asian countries (US$’000) Product label (Imported by Asia)

Liquid lustres and similar preparations of the kind used in the ceramic, enamelling or glass . . .

Glass frit and other glass in the form of powder, granules or flakes

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

Imported value in 2018

Imported value in 2019

Imported value in 2020

440,533

536,717

526,973

461,787

541,089

359,874

397,365

456,030

426,262

531,536

Vitrifiable enamels and glazes, engobes "slips" and similar preparations of the kind used in . . .

372,583

385,063

401,023

359,389

404,675

Prepared pigments, prepared opacifiers, prepared colours and similar preparations of a kind . . .

358,475

404,287

499,103

447,153

397,413

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www.asianceramics.com

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Analysis: Glazes

In 2002, Torrecid (Suzhou) Frits, Glazes and Colours Co, Ltd was formally established in China. The total land area reaches almost 100,000 square meters and counts on a high automatic manufacturing production system. The company serves the most important ceramic manufacturers in the country located at the major ceramics production provinces by offering the closest service.

Colorobbia: a century of excellence

Fritta Vietnam Co Ltd Location: My Xuan A Industrial Zone, Phu My Town, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Vietnam.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Spain based Fritta’s Vietnam subsidiary has introduced Fritta digital glazes among others for the ceramic manufacturers, especially, for tiles.

Arguably the World’s leading specialist glaze maker, the Colorobbia Group, was founded in 1921 and operates in 18 countries worldwide with 29 locations catering to Asian ceramic industries providing solutions in almost all areas of production.

Colorobbia Vietnam LLC Located in Sovigliana, Vinci, a commune township of the Location: My Xuan A Industrial Zone, Phu My Town Ba Ria-Vung Tau Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, the Province, Vietnam. company claims it proactively responds to the evolution of the Products: Ceramic glazes and frits market, which is increasingly attentive to environmental issues Markets: Domestic and export markets and production methods, whereby its companies are expected Others: Colorobbia Vietnam is based in Mỹ Xuân, an industrial district to adopt sustainable development criteria geared toward dedicated to the manufacture of ceramics, about 35 km south of Ho Chi environmental protection and regulatory compliance.

Minh City. The company was founded in November 2017 and commenced For over half a century, Colorobbia has been supplying operations in July 2018. Colorobbia Vietnam produces inks for ceramic gold, platinum, palladium and rhodium based precious decoration, composed of glossy and matt glazes, engobes, top coats, and metals, expressly formulated for the industrial and artistic has a capacity of more than 1,700 m2 in warehouse space. decoration of ceramic and porcelain. For the decoration of porcelain and bone china, besides Glaze exports by Asian countries (US$’000) the traditional range of precious metals, both Main Asian Exported Exported Exported Exported Exported liquid for hand application and paste for decal exporters of glazes value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020 printing, Colorobbia has developed a new series (HS Code: 3207) of ceramic colours for decoration (CMO – POG), 4,560,592 4,533,130 4,716,891 4,287,626 4,765,694 World and a 100 percent lead-free range with metallic 2,289,168 2,099,536 2,094,134 1,939,608 2,558,101 Asia Aggregation effect (CMM). Colorobbia's R&D laboratory is 592,829 676,059 750,421 637,633 728,621 Japan also able to develop innovative and customized products, that are compatible with the newest 554,329 415,654 327,915 344,896 588,382 Korea, Republic of technologies and suit each Customer's 354,573 319,328 328,549 326,818 456,211 China requirements.

521,353 382,292 314,086 266,785 431,360 Taipei, Chinese The Colorobbia Group offers a broad range 56,647 65,201 70,294 71,881 85,092 Turkey of compounds and glazes in Asia. The family of 44,127 47,784 64,251 51,462 71,734 Hong Kong, China Colorobbia glazes is the result of the application 63,355 73,952 81,030 69,871 60,827 Singapore of its own knowledge and expertise to the 5,853 9,411 22,066 29,168 27,159 Viet Nam composition of frits, raw materials and additives.

It offers clients all types of engobes, glazes and 16,634 21,660 26,822 25,697 24,471 Indonesia protective coatings specifically tailored to suit 22,957 24,942 30,468 23,696 22,212 Thailand their commercial and production needs. The 11,167 11,279 20,946 21,463 21,038 Saudi Arabia entire range of products has been designed 12,674 12,973 13,980 24,902 18,923 India seeking to optimise compatibility between the 20,878 17,656 17,305 20,878 7,742 Jordan various materials to achieve utmost performance.

3,989 2,868 4,038 8,664 7,606 Malaysia The company is able to satisfy all client needs, 4,664 10,834 12,261 11,583 4,581 United Arab both in terms of the production process and Emirates aesthetic and functional characteristics of the 490 494 812 449 668 Israel final product, it claims.

Colorobbia landed in all major glaze markets 162 229 257 54 423 Lebanon of Asia with production plants and its specialized 1,440 1,687 948 197 295 Philippines technologies for glaze making. Colorobbia Thai 327 234 131 66 253 Syrian Arab founded in 1989 in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2013 it Republic moved to the WHA Saraburi Industrial Land in the 228 2,898 4,103 2,639 212 Iran, Islamic province of Saraburi, to allow further expansion and Republic of be closer to its clients, offering improved service 3 352 340 219 155 Armenia and support. Colorobbia Thai serves clients in 0 4 1 7 58 Kazakhstan Thailand, Myanmar and Southeast Asia providing 11 1,262 181 116 47 Kuwait more complete technical assistance, project 362 21 2,695 206 NA Oman support and technological consultancy services.

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Analysis: Glazes

Colorobbia India is an affiliate company of the Colorobbia Group. A dynamic and global company that has worked in the ceramics sector for almost a century. Strategically situated in the area of Ahmedabad, the production plant covers a total area of 25,000 square metres. It produces and sells materials for various sectors including tile manufacturing, sanitaryware, digital decoration, glass and third firing.

The company offers clients support and services through its own expert and qualified staff, not only in terms of the use and application of materials, but also the industrialisation and decoration of the finished product. It is a leading supplier of materials for the Indian ceramics sector. The company boasts a network that has been adapted to the region to provide clients with ongoing technical support, and is identified with research and innovation, reinforced by a continuous and careful collaboration with the Colorobbia plants in Spain and Italy.

In Indonesia, Colorobbia Indonesia was founded in 2001 with the aim of extending its offer of qualified technical assistance, and to distribute frits, glazes, pigments, products for technical ceramics and opacifying minerals. In 2007, the first three kilns were designed and built and the start date for production was scheduled for March 2008 in Cikarang-Bekasi. The company is now able to offer its Indonesian and Southeast Asian clients more complete technical assistance, together with design and technology consultancy services that go beyond product delivery.

The company works out of its own facilities on land covering approximately 5 hectares in a well-developed and well-connected industrial district, next to the main motorway connecting Jakarta to West Java. The modern, cutting-edge factory is located in the industrial district of Cikarang-Bekasi, about 45 km from the capital of Jakarta. It is a leading producer and supplier of frits and ceramic solutions for the tile industry and was created using the most modern, efficient and up-to-date technology, ensuring the quality, stability and consistency of its products.

Colorobbia China was founded in 2017 in the Advanced Materials Industrial Park in Changshu following the relocation of the original Colorobbia Glaze in Kunshan (2001). Colorobbia China represents the Colorobbia Group in China with production and after-sales assistance.

In Vietnam Colorobbia is based in Mỹ Xuân, an industrial district dedicated to the manufacture of ceramics, about 35 km south of Ho Chi Minh City. The company was founded in November 2017 and commenced operations in July 2018. Colorobbia Vietnam produces inks for ceramic decoration, composed of glossy and matt glazes, engobes, top coats, and has a capacity of more than 1,700 m2 in warehouse space.

In Vietnam Colorobbia is able to offer a complete service inclusive of technical assistance, design and technological consultancy thanks to its local team of designers and enameller technicians, who are also supported by the technical assistance teams of affiliate companies in Indonesia, Spain and Italy. “We supply Vietnamese clients located in the north and south of the country, in addition to providing a logistics base for Colorobbia Espaňa/Italia and Industrie Bitossi. The ink production capacity has recently been increased to satisfy the high demands of the Vietnamese market, in continuous growth,” said the company.

Spanish company Fritta has expanded its operation and marketing through its production subsidiary, Fritta Vietnam Co Ltd, in Vietnam, where, with decades of experience in the manufacturing of ceramic glazes, it has introduced Fritta digital glazes among others.

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China Glaze Co (CGC Group) Location: Zhudong Town, Hsinchu County, Taiwan.

Also, a plant in Miaoli County Tongxiao-Wan Li, Miaoli, Taiwan.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: CGC, which has several glaze plants in Asia, produces ceramic glazes and other raw materials, specially, for ceramic tile and sanitaryware factories. Its main plant, China Glaze Co Ltd, is known in East Asia as a professional manufacturer based on ceramic glazes. CGC Group has production plants in China and other regional countries.

Ferro (Suzhou) Performance Materials Co Ltd Location: Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province 215021, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Ferro (Suzhou) Performance Materials Co Ltd is a major glaze producer in China.

Zibo Ferro Performance Materials Company Ltd Location: Kunlun Town, Zichuan District, Zibo, Shandong Province 255129, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Zibo Ferro Performance Materials Company Ltd is a major glaze producer in China.

Guangdong Sanshui T&H Glaze Ltd (CGC Group of Taiwan) Location: Da-Busha Industiral Zone, Datang, Sanshui, Foshan, Guangdong, China.

Shanghai T&H Glaze Ltd Location: Meilong, Minhang District, Shanghai, China.

Shandong T&H Glaze Ltd Location: Economic Development Zone, Gaoqing, Zibo, Shandong, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: In China, the Taiwanese owned CGC Group plants manufacture ceramic glazes, frits, pigments and other materials in large scales for the ceramic industries, mainly, for tiles and sanitaryware factories.

Shandong Yahuang Glazing Co Ltd Location: Sanyi Industrial Park, Mengshui Town, Zhoucun, Zibo City, Shandong, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: A major glaze and frit manufacturer in China. Annual production: 120,000 tons.

ZGC Location: Shiwan Town, Chancheng, Foshan, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: It has professional team to provide technical services to its customer ceramic manufacturers.

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Analysis: Glazes Foshan Hehe High-Tech Materials Co Ltd

Multiple solutions

Colorobbia offers Asian clients a broad range of ceramic glazes, ensuring the perfect solution for all types of technology, such as, third and fourth fire decorative processes, rapid double-firing, porous single-fired, single-fired, glazed porcelain stoneware, and technical porcelain stoneware. For each of these technologies, Colorobbia presents, engobes, glazes and protective coatings, functional glazes, special glazes, micronized glazes, spray glazes, and glazes for structures.

Engobes are a combination of frits and raw materials, which act as an interface between the support and the glaze.

The engobes thus facilitate improved coupling between the support and glaze, while also satisfying the desired technical characteristics, curvature, fusion, opacity, water flow, etc. For each type of production technology, Colorobbia offers a broad range of engobes and single glazes able to satisfy the various technical requirements expressed by clients.

Colorobbia has a large and complete range of glazes and protective coatings able to respond to all needs. The range of glazes and protective coatings for polishing includes a specific series with high dilatometric coefficient of thermal expansion, a perfect solution for large formats. Glazes and protective coatings include a series of matt and glossy glazes and transparent and protective coatings.

Functional glazes offer a new range of glazes with different reflectance indices and surface roughness, thus making it possible to obtain technical non-slip surfaces for both interiors and exteriors, surfaces with high resistance to wear, suitable for intense light-foot, vehicular and goods traffic. Colorobbia also offers the possibility to combine glazes and protective coatings with its family of grits and micro-grits, for both wet and dry application, to obtain higher performing surfaces.

Special glazes that allow the creation of truly unique effects, is available in different shades and finishes, such as, shiny glazes, iridescent glazes, metallic glazes (waxy, bronze and platinum finishes), and coloured glazes (such as Raku).

Its micronized glazes are used to prepare inks, with higher or lower viscosity carriers depending on the printing process, through flat, rotary or roller screen printing with relief or rotogravure. Micronized glazes can be coloured by adding different percentages of dispersible micronized pigments in the wet and/or dry mixing processes.

Colorobbia’s spray glazes are granules of variable composition with more or less rounded forms and sufficient hardness for handling, use and transport. They are manufactured according to standardised grain sizes for use during the pre- and postpressing stages. These materials allow the base substrates to be enriched prior to the digital decoration of the product. This category also includes a version with finer grain size, particularly useful for decorative surface finishes.

Glazes for structures are materials formed into different shapes (lamellar or agglomerate, irregular, flakes, etc.), allowing the creation of unique visual effects for use in niche products with high added value.

Local manufacture

One of Asia’s leading glaze manufacturers exporters, Taiwan based China Glaze Co, known as CGC Group for a number of subsidiaries it operates, is serving the regional countries since last four decades and continuously expanding production bases and supplies. It has invested significantly in advanced equipment, standardized and automated manufacturing

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Location: Shishan Town, Nanhai, Foshan, Guangdong, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and pigments Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Its products include glazes, frits, pigments, clay and additional materials used in ceramic industry. It has four plants, three in China and one in Vietnam.

Foshan Greatcare Glaze Co Ltd Location: Guicheng, Nanhai district, Foshan 528200, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Greatcare Glaze is a ceramic glaze and frit manufacturer and it provides technical services to customers.

Dayu Glaze Co Ltd Location: Industry Village, Gangkou Rd, Foshan, Guangdong 528041, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and pigments Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: A major glaze, frit and pigment manufacturer in China. Its brand, Dayu Glaze, is known in Asia.

Colorobbia China Advanced Materials Co Ltd Location: AMIP, Hai Yu Town, Changhsu City, China.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Founded in 2017 in the Advanced Materials Industrial Park in Changshu following the relocation of the original Colorobbia Glaze in Kunshan (2001). Colorobbia China represents the Colorobbia Group in China with production and after-sales assistance.

India Ferro India Private Limited Location: India Land Global Industrial Park, Hinjewadi phase 1, Mulshi, Pune, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Ferro Performance Pigments India (Chennai) Private Limited Location: Thandalam Post, Sriperumbudur Taluk, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India.

Products: Ceramic colours Markets: Both the companies’ products are for domestic and export markets Others: The products manufactured by Ferro India Private Limited and Ferro Performance Pigments India are consumed mainly by Indian ceramic industries and glass factories.

Torrecid India Location: GIDC Savli, Alindra, Taluka Savli, Vadodara, Gujarat-391775, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Torrecid India provides creative design workshop where jointly with its customers, it creates and develops tailor made products as per customer requirement.

Colorobbia India (A unit of Gruppo Colorobbia) Location: Sanand Industrial Area, GIDC, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India Products: Ceramic glazes and other materials Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Colorobbia India manufactures base glazes, printing bases, transparent glazes and engobes for the Indian industrial ceramic industries.

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Analysis: Glazes Glaze exports from Asian countries (US$’000) Main Asian exporters of glazes (HS Code: 320720)

Exported Exported Exported Exported Exported value in 2016 value in 2017 value in 2018 value in 2019 value in 2020

World

644,865

663,900

732,330

693,258

743,988

Asia Aggregation

240,314

201,048

228,571

205,303

263,663

China

168,080

111,580

110,995

117,998

157,830

32,936

37,929

54,953

42,452

64,673

9,944

10,217

9,581

6,991

7,558

Hong Kong, China Taipei, Chinese Thailand

1,616

9,356

9,214

7,810

11,900

10,162

17,144

8,751

972

1,616

2,568

3,562

Turkey

2,072

3,617

4,523

4,976

Viet Nam

2,645

3,556

4,526

4,171

Korea, Republic of

3,179

5,825

4,309

3,028

Indonesia

2,367

2,382

2,685

2,581

87

591

346

419

Japan India

United Arab Emirates Israel Singapore

78

122

572

317

1,572

1,767

6,376

1,645

Philippines

12

1

0

85

2,715

1,721

444

311

Saudi Arabia

62

31

6

40

Jordan

59

19

44

46

3

542

278

NA

Malaysia

Iran, Islamic Republic of

Supreme Glazes Pvt Ltd Location: Nada, Jambusar, Bharuch- 392040, Gujarat, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Supreme Glazes produces different types of glazes and frits for glazed porcelain floor and wall tiles, sanitarywares and bone china wares.

Welsuit Glass & Ceramic Pvt Ltd (WGCPL) Location: Padra, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Welsuit is a major glaze and frit manufacturer in India. Exports to world markets.

Bhanu Cerglaze Private Limited Location: Kalyannagar, Hyderabad - 500 038, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes and frits Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Bhanu is a manufacturer of a broad assortment of glaze frits, abrasive bonding frits and others.

processes, coupled with sophisticated scientific inspection and analysis methods and instruments 6,937 for manufacturing various glazes, mainly for tiles and 6,205 sanitarywares.

4,995 The Group, which has production plants in China 4,490 and several Southeast Asian countries, since last three 3,479 decades, in addition to Taiwan, focuses greatly on 3,265 maintaining a long-term competitive advantage, said its products are regularly tested in advanced labs and its 2,961 R&D develop innovative items to support the customers 634 with competitive edge.

In a latest development, the CGC Group’s China 260 mainland plant, Shanghai T&H Glaze Co Ltd-attached and manufactured “Dahong Glaze/silk glaze for 171 ceramics” passed the Guangdong High-tech Product 89 Certification. Dahong Glaze, specializing in the 86 production of ceramic color glaze, zirconium silicate and 16 related products of this red glaze, is already reputed in NA East Asia.

Johnson Matthey Thailand offers a range of coloured, NA special effect and reactive glazes for traditional ceramic decoration. Its glazes are compatible with current application technologies and are compatible with a range of substrates including, tablewares, cookwares, giftwares, stoneware potteries, roof tiles and high temperature sanitarywares.

Several Chinese glaze manufacturers including Taiwan based China Glaze Co Group have some kind of supply bases and production facilities in Bangladesh to produce glazes, frits and inks to meet the increasing demand of the Bangladeshi ceramic factories.

Jaysun Enterprise Location: Jolva, Bharuch, Bharuch, Gujarat 392150, India.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Jaysun manufactures a wide range of ceramic glazes and frits.

China Glaze Bangladesh Ltd Location: Baniarchala, Bhabanipur, Mirzapur Gazipur, Sadar Gazipur, Bangladesh.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: One of Asia’s leading glaze makers, Taiwan based China Glaze Co Group, has set up its Bangladesh plant, China Glaze Bangladesh Ltd, in 2015 to produce glaze, frit, and ink, and initially to meet the domestic market priority.

Torrecid Bangladesh Location: Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Products: Ceramic glazes, frits and others Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Torrecid Bangladesh was born in 2014. It has provided the Bangladeshi ceramic and glass manufacturers with latest technologies, trends and technical assistance and design supports.

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Analysis: Glazes

Glaze imports by Asian countries (US$’000) Main Asian importers of glazes (HS Code: 320720)

Imported Imported Imported Imported Imported value in value in value in value in value in 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Glaze imports by Asian countries (US$’000)

World

751,560

811,761

891,310

828,622

861,084

Asia Aggregation

372,583

385,063

401,023

359,389

404,675

Main Asian importers of glazes (HS Code: 3207)

Hong Kong, China

74,579

88,894

100,981

75,804

117,793

World

3,369,863

3,691,656

3,991,957

3,627,731

3,760,920

Asia Aggregation

1,531,474

1,723,433

1,883,137

1,694,599

1,874,701

Viet Nam

67,165

69,478

74,368

63,815

53,858

Viet Nam

96,973

99,706

110,879

107,389

245,437

China

65,866

67,825

70,930

52,317

53,093

Taipei, Chinese

166,035

169,224

178,082

144,601

201,039

9,188

19,800

15,660

29,013

33,832

China

206,898

235,319

231,081

195,459

194,725

Malaysia

20,512

18,649

17,128

15,211

23,251

Korea, Republic of

156,516

172,066

196,250

177,580

179,484

Bangladesh

17,261

15,829

20,222

19,786

20,815

India

58,894

92,942

157,864

160,829

146,727

Turkey

14,759

14,407

13,993

12,953

16,840

Hong Kong, China

91,142

104,445

116,235

91,682

126,025

Thailand

16,407

14,022

13,747

14,279

16,450

Turkey

90,081

100,014

105,721

89,883

102,364

Indonesia

16,428

17,290

22,463

15,539

15,317

Japan

96,000

99,068

96,652

82,329

91,166

Korea, Republic of

9,174

9,745

7,830

7,022

7,471

Indonesia

99,873

95,458

103,125

88,880

80,004

Uzbekistan

2,606

4,736

5,225

6,743

Saudi Arabia

44,034

43,236

42,043

60,677

79,610

Philippines

3,034

2,975

5,752

6,134

5,826

Malaysia

87,929

114,606

112,265

81,145

71,120

United Arab Emirates

10,594

10,819

7,977

9,785

4,886

Bangladesh

45,099

48,627

58,569

63,195

66,996

Thailand

68,154

61,552

66,188

59,613

56,239

India

4,340

3,696

4,067

4,793

4,483

79,359

94,752

88,731

72,026

41,996

Sri Lanka

4,218

5,112

4,321

4,238

3,838

United Arab Emirates

853

1,394

1,204

3,192

2,984

Iran, Islamic Republic of

12,688

16,254

35,111

39,841

30,852

Saudi Arabia

Pakistan Cambodia

Imported Imported Imported Imported Imported value in value in value in value in value in 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

0

14

1,595

2,596

2,870

Singapore

33,154

26,573

27,269

24,515

23,679

Japan

2,956

2,562

2,595

2,826

2,663

Pakistan

10,619

14,757

21,937

22,921

23,206

Iran, Islamic Republic of

1,793

2,477

1,569

2,849

2,233

Israel

17,004

18,767

21,210

15,412

22,019

Taipei, Chinese

2,550

2,582

2,361

2,566

1,940

Israel

2,367

2,289

1,717

1,715

1,840

Kuwait

2,206

897

1,150

2,162

1,266

Oman

1,366

1,104

764

1,778

934

86

273

173

110

Kazakhstan

246

334

421

Azerbaijan

131

160

70

Lao People's Dem. Republic

Jordan Singapore

15,829

21,557

24,917

16,868

1,828

2,915

12,650

15,352

14,410

Philippines

12,709

12,445

14,680

14,034

13,334

Sri Lanka

13,510

14,742

13,621

13,845

12,475

Oman

15,244

13,609

13,293

11,062

8,764

785

Syrian Arab Republic

5,059

4,289

5,081

7,047

7,795

462

587

Iraq

4,537

2,482

1,905

3,390

3,259

237

147

340

14

57

2,056

2,958

2,973

131

155

107

299

5,858

3,145

5,481

5,486

2,400

137

310

237

173

1,913

Kazakhstan

2,235

2,052

1,775

1,661

1,790

Azerbaijan

1,304

2,311

2,330

1,791

1,619

Myanmar

1,107

650

476

863

877

Jordan

2,622

2,950

4,542

3,364

844

Lebanon

317

124

262

209

757

86

122

346

553

586

Turkmenistan

24

22

86

134

313

686

945

862

375

265

28,808

4,192

624

258

397

604

723

902

148

19,110

7,643

595

418

244

Iraq

2,575

328

356

269

228

Syrian Arab Republic

1,251

267

374

488

209

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan Yemen

Cambodia Kuwait Lao People's Dem. Republic

5

28

40

150

138

81

102

83

116

93

269

14

110

Korea, Dem. Peop. Republic

242

506

637

774

98

Armenia

Myanmar

883

547

321

288

95

Bahrain

Bahrain

60

54

77

64

54

Qatar

Yemen

68

57

5

313

47

Armenia

11

6

10

38

33

Korea, Dem. Peop.

Republic

Georgia

21

34

39

42

26

Palestine, State of

56

75

57

111

10

Lebanon Qatar

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AC 21-3

Kyrgyzstan Georgia Palestine, State of

11

2,283

2,693

1,598

111

105

135

115

112

77

3,012

5,060

4,683

5,696

52

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How to make it

Rimini Exhibition Center

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

ADVERTISER FEATURE

AUTOMATIC DRY SQUARING: the evolution of Ancora from a 4.0 point of view

The Dry Squaring technology by Ancora, a SITI B&T Group company specialized in the ceramic production of complete finishing line line, continues to be a leading technology for the company. New technological upgrades make this solution an increasingly automatic and engineered system.

In addition to the semi-automatic spindles, Ancora has developed a new HMI operator panel (an advanced manmachine interface, with an intuitive and accessible touchscreen) and an automatic laser system for tool wear control.

The Dry Squaring spindles have motorized adjustment with dedicated drive and independent electronics. Furthermore, they are equipped with pneumatic locking and automatic tool return, with the possibility of manually adjusting the tool’s position without losing its point of reference. These are managed by an operator panel that allows the process to be easily controlled and the set-up parameters to be altered directly from the monitor or remotely.

The latest technological upgrade developed by the company is the automatic laser system. This consists of a couple of lasers placed at the entrance to the machine for reading the ceramic format and automatically transfer of the sizing to the tool, based on the machine setting. Not only that, a series of lasers is also placed at the exit of each

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spindle to continue to check the caliber and automatically set the scale, position and wear of the subsequent tools. In addition, the removal and compensation for wear of each spindle is ensured by the dedicated laser.

Dry Squaring embraces the concepts of Smart Factory and Industry 4.0 as it can be integrated into the Ancora-TUTOR supervision software, the solution developed by Ancora that allows monitoring, data collection, predictive maintenance and control of the entire system. In this way, all the machine’s work levels communicate through a user-friendly interface both with mobile devices, which can be assigned to the operator along the line, and with remote stations, for a more general control of the production process.

Since its launch, Dry Squaring has demonstrated several advantages in terms of energy saving, eco-sustainability and reduction of production costs, thanks to high performing technology.

The merit is to be attributed to the dry squaring process of the ceramic itself, as well as to the specific characteristics of Dry Squaring which is suitable not just for the processing of single and double firing, but also of porcelain stoneware.

The dry squaring process, not requiring any water collection base, has made possible the reduction of maintenance and

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

regeneration costs of parts and of wear. The elimination of the calibers is however the real advantage of this type of squaring process, which has allowed the ceramic to have considerable dimensional tolerances. Placement of the dry squaring machines at the kiln exit brings a great benefit in terms of logistics, because it eliminates the various calibers that were previously managed in the warehouse, thus representing an additional value.

The production yields of the Ancora line are higher than those that can be obtained with traditional wet squaring. Production speeds are high for both classic sizes and large slabs up to 1800x3600 mm: an innovative patent allows the highly efficient removal of very thick material at speeds of up to 30 linear metres per minute.

The positioner, with ergonomic regulation from HMI Panel, reaches extremely high production speeds and perfect perpendicularity of the sides even with large slabs.

ShapeSITI-B&T Group SITI-B&T Group, listed on the AIM Italia market since March

2016, a supplier of technology and complete plants serving the world ceramics, tiles, and sanitaryware industry, with a capillary presence in all markets worldwide and the industry's most complete range of technologies, offers solutions of excellence and innovative services, with particular attention to issues of energy efficiency and environmental respect. It guarantees complete and personalized services, from the study of the finished product design through to the turnkey manufacture, including the maintenance and modernization of production lines. SITIB&T Group operates through the following operating units: “Tile” (complete plants for tiles), Projecta Engineering (digital printers), Digital Design (design and graphic projects), Ancora (lines for the surface finishing of ceramic products), Diatex (cutting discs and squaring tools) and “B&T White” (complete systems for sanitaryware), “B&T Quartz” (complete lines for agglomerated quartz surfaces). In 2019, SITI-B&T Group recorded a sales volume of 175 million euros, with an export share of 90% and investments in R&D for 7 million euros. www.sitibt.com ISIN Code Ordinary shares IT0005171936 - Alphanumeric Code SITI ISIN Code Warrant IT0005174518 ISIN Code Convertible Bond IT0005172165 Contacts SITI-B&T Group S.p.A.

INtono Comunicazione

Investor Relations

Marco Fiori

investor.relations@siti-bt.com

marco.fiori@intono.it

Tel. +39 059 446111

Tel. +39 059 7400576 Cell. +39 334 6007739

Nomad and Specialist CFO SIM S.p.A. Tel +39 02 303431 ecm@cfosim.com

www.asianceramics.com

AC 21-3

asian ceramics

63

Talking Shop

Talking Shop

Making a material difference the rise of Asia Material Resources

Hong Kong company Asia Material Resources Limited has been in business since July 2008, yet their history and business range are enigmatic unless you happen to be one of their customers, partners or suppliers. AC decided to learn more about the people and talked to Andrew Mountford (AM) one of the Directors and Shareholders.

To understand the origin of Asia Material Resources Ltd (AMR) one has to go back to the 1990S when major precious metals and decorative products multinationals had offices and factories throughout Asia and a rich selection of agents and distributors to support them. One of the advantages of the multinationals was that they could employ expatriate specialists in products, sales and management to support and grow the local staff’s abilities and thus grow both the business in general and over time build factories and other facilities in the region. A process that in some cases had been going on successfully for many, many years. At least that was the plan. Given the impracticality and cost of having offices and factories everywhere, the agents and distributors were companies specialized in their own countries with an understanding of language, culture, politics and the vagaries of their own domestic business. It should be noted that the relationships between the principals and the agents were not always congenial; the principal's strategic aims and policies could change and cause friction and fracture even the best and longest alliances. In some instances, they still do.

where manufacturing was not just moving from the West to the East but around Asia itself and especially into China. This had repercussions for his employment and was vital in the eventual founding and growth of AMR. A major problem the multinationals faced was that as business moved from West to East, they lost a lot of their traditional ‘Western’ business and the associated income whilst at the same time struggled to move substantially and quickly into Asia and within Asia; a company might build a factory in Indonesia and incur all those costs only to discover the business was moving rather swiftly into China or that regional players could simply make products cheaper. Only a few companies had the determination, management and funds never mind the inclination to move and adapt successfully and fluidly. There was a great deal of expensive disruption. In some cases that meant companies reappraised if they wanted to remain in the ceramic business at all or if they did where they wanted to be and with what kind of footprint. To be fair these multinationals had legacy costs and the move to lower cost and off-shore manufacturing & sourcing in general created multiple problems. Many of which we are all living with today still.

Andrew Mountford, at the time working for one of these multinationals, took an expatriate position in Singapore for a specific short term technical project but due to changes and growth in the business eventually spent five years in Singapore and a further four years in Hong Kong, time enough to get an understanding of business in East and South East Asia at a time

AC: As the business transformed in Asia how did your position change?

AM: I was offered a position back in England but this was not attractive; the threat was that in the next round of cost-cutting one could find oneself simply unemployed in a post-industrial city with a surfeit of unemployed ceramicists. Yet redundancy was inevitable

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www.asianceramics.com

Talking Shop

as Asian players won business at the multinationals expense and various restructurings and divestments took their toll on head count.

Given this was predictable and that redundancy pay is soon spent when you have the costs of a young family, I was wondering what could I do best? I had spent over nine years working in Asia, I had contacts both amongst the expatriate community, the agents and distributors operating in all of the important countries and very close contacts with suppliers and customers particularly in China, which by 2004 was rapidly growing and its ceramic supplies industry increasingly influential and vibrant if chaotic. I also had family and friends in China and throughout Asia and Europe; I had a very good network.

AC: What happened?

AM: I spent considerable time in China working with suppliers & toll manufacturers as well as customers as I had a responsibility to source products and manage toll manufacture. A major supplier asked me several times to work for him. This wasn’t appealing due to the location, the impact on my family of having to move again and simply the remuneration; Chinese companies certainly then baulked at ‘western’ salaries and offered small salaries plus a commission which might look attractive but came with no guarantees.

I already knew how brutally cut-throat Chinese business was & how opaque the bureaucracy & legal issues even allowing for me having well connected Chinese family. Thus, I was very cautious about moving to a tier two city. During discussions, it became obvious that setting up a separate company with the Chinese factory owner (Mr Fan of BaiFu Colour Glaze Co. Ltd), myself and a Chinese business associate, Liu Ping, as partners was the solution. It also allowed me to take the advantage of investing in a business proposition I’d been offered in Hong Kong which proved fortuitous later for AMR Ltd. In China in 2004, we set up Shanghai Solutions International Ltd (which is still in business) to import materials needed by the Chinese ceramic industry, export the best materials that industry produced and to provide consultancy services to western companies. This taught us a lot about managing a start-up whilst we

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OUR ABILITY IS TO BE FLEXIBLE TO CHANGE further improved our knowledge of China. It was a challenge.

AC: Can you elaborate on any problems and lessons learned?

AM: As I’d come from a big international company that had a department for anything and everything it was a rude awakening when at first there was just myself and Liu Ping working during a Shanghai winter in a cheap, run-down apartment building doing everything ourselves. In terms of business, we soon had export customers and were spending time travelling to develop new ones and find suppliers domestically & internationally so we recruited staff and grew. Chinese businesses and politicians from Jiangsu where BaiFu were based wanted to cooperate with us – from these I learned a phenomenal amount more about Chinese business, culture & politics as we were very close to mayors, Party chiefs and cadres as well as business people. It was very time-consuming.

The lesson of setting up a business #1 – maintain focus.

AC: But how did SI morph into AMR or were they separate and distinct businesses – AMR is a materials company the same as SI isn’t it?

AM: The big issue for SI was how to evolve? Whilst the material business was focused on decorative materials including the glass industry it was developing slowly, we wanted to focus on material export and drop the distractions of consultation services. Unfortunately, Mr Fan wanted us to concentrate on his and his friend’s products only but at the same time, the growth of B2B web sites and the Chinese approach to sales didn’t help efficiency. The net result was in 2007 we bought out the Chinese partner to avoid conflicts. But this would leave us with less support and fewer products – so, what could we do?

This is when the providential nature of business and having very good friendships and contacts in the industry is a necessity. Don’t underestimate networks. Because at the same time as SI was looking to increase product

AC 21-3

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Talking Shop

scope and market coverage, others were searching for new suppliers and new markets themselves. To cut a long story short we met several ex-senior Directors of international companies who desired new opportunities in Asia. Walking down an aisle at China Ceramics Exhibition we met ex-agents and distributors who were also looking to replace principals and maximize their products, production and sales networks. These were old friends so there was mutual trust and respect.

What followed was a cooperation meeting in Hong Kong where we agreed we had compatible businesses which could collaborate for reciprocal advantages. The idea was to trade amongst ourselves. It was realized having a dedicated company headquartered in Hong Kong would be a better idea – taking advantage of the Rule of Law, international banking and auditing standards, excellent logistics, low corporate tax, business services and so forth. The cooperating companies and investors could carry on their own business where there was no compatibility so benefit without falling into destructive competition. The lessons from SI paid off.

AC: So who was and is involved and how did they add to the partnership?

AM: Firstly, the shareholders and directors were Ms Jiang Yufang and Mr Liu Ping from Solutions International (Hong Kong & China), Mr S.B Mohan of Tru Grit Pte (India), Mr John Hoang Giang of VITIS JSC, (Vietnam) and myself so the company had a great deal of experience in Asian business from India to East Asia & South East Asia. These people & companies I had known or worked with for over 10 years. In terms of product groups; kaolins, feldspars, decorative materials and a raft of ceramic materials from China & India. Mainly for the tableware and tile industries.

We could benefit from VITIS’s kaolin mining and products, Giang’s mineral knowledge, Mohan’s vast experience in India suppliers and customers, Liu Ping and Jiang’s Chinese expertise and logistics proficiency and my technical knowledge and contacts in the ceramic industry generally.

Soon after we had created AMR and business had started it was decided that Thailand needed a specific entity as we understand it is a country that needs a very strong local presence. So again, working from our existing networks and reputation we set up AMR BKK Ltd with Ms Sirirat Pornaroontan to focus on that market.

Shortly after this and because the country was fast developing its ceramic industry, we invested in a new agency for Bangladesh – an agent dedicated to us alone not a dozen other principals which was a common dilemma then.

AC: this seems quite aggressive for a start-up – wasn’t it a risk and how did you develop the business.

AM: It didn’t happen fast – this was over a couple of years and was carefully planned & we had patient investors. As with SI it requires hard work and dedication, as we know getting fast results isn’t something the ceramic industry is noted for, on the contrary, it can be frustratingly slow. But, as we did have companies and people with very good reputations, we were able to begin supplying established major, demanding companies whilst the breadth of the network gave us access to new opportunities that previously would have seemed too far or too challenging.

AC: Can you elaborate on which products and services you offer – and how the product portfolio has changed over the years?

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Thai-ing up deals Sirirat Pornaroontan – “AMR Bangkok Limited was established on 23rd March 2008, almost 14 years. Firstly, we represented an international supplier for Zircosil and colours mainly. Presently we represent Zircon Minerals Malaysia, Vesco (ball clay for homogeneous tiles), Keser of Italy (engobes & magnesite), SECO, RBH; we also buy French pebbles and sell under AMR name. We supply wollastonite and raw materials from China, anti-glaze and additives from Italy, stains from China and Spain, decorative colours from premium European suppliers, kiln furniture from China.

Thai customers expect very good and close personal service and demand quality yet they can be conservative with purchase decisions so building relationships and trust is very important as is reliability and willingness to solve problems very quickly. Fortunately, this is a feature of AMR Ltd.”

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

AM: Primarily the strong point was our kaolin from mines and supply routes in Vietnam managed by VITIS JSC – the K Series being very white and suitable for the tableware industry. We had K Spar and Na Spar from India and decorative materials from China and partners in the UK and Europe. Things evolved though and being a small company, we were able to adapt to new challenges quickly without incurring massive costs or having to go through multiple levels of management for approval. An SME can be dynamic in comparison to a large company where the decision-makers are many time zones away and multiple levels of bureaucracy to deal with and receive approvals from.

Thus, with the rise for example of inkjet printing, we could easily exit the glaze stain and body stain business with no cost impact whilst cooperating with inkjet printing companies. Likewise, as customers used and trusted our Vietnamese white kaolins and feldspars we could augment these by introducing other kaolin, wollastonite, calcite, calcined alumina, talc, nepheline syenite and Alumina grinding media and French pebbles. Because customers trusted us.

AC: Are there specific examples of products you have developed for the ceramic industry that have had a major improvement or impact?

AM: Yes, there are two projects we worked on with prestigious international partners and very demanding clients.

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Talking Shop

Firstly, we were requested to develop a substitute for natural bone ash which often has a volatile price or restricted availability. Yet it has unique qualities not easily replicated; some are nearly impossible to match. We worked with tableware companies, a dicalcium phosphate supplier and a specialized manufacturing company to take a raw material of highest pharmaceutical quality, thus very reliable, design a firing cycle to make a calcined DCP – synthetic bone ash and modify a kiln and processing equipment to make it consistently and efficiently. We cooperated with companies including Sibelco to find ways to replace some or all bone ash and as far as possible recreate the qualities of natural bone. Sibelco provided us with a recipe which in certain respects showed improvements over natural bone This is a premium-priced product and whilst there are cheaper alternates, they are often diluted with materials that might cause gas and bloating or pinholes – ruining high-quality tableware. The cooperation with Sibelco meant that we had specialist advice, testing and support when it came to selecting materials to work with the synthetic bone ash in a production environment.

Another example was being tasked to find a way to augment or replace zirconium silicate in ceramic opacifiers. Several years ago, with the Zr sand price forever going up it was very difficult to buy sand at all sometimes and the price could fluctuate such that if you didn’t buy carefully and minimize manufacturing costs and improve efficiencies you might lose rather than make money.

Again, we cooperated with a major international company and testing facilities to find a thermally stable super white extender which could, when milled correctly actually improve whiteness, gloss and the smoothness of opacified glazes whilst having a more stable price than zirc sand thus smoothing out the price variation. We also made sure there were very robust supply chains and alternates that could be sourced if need be. The cooperation resulted in products which I think could rightfully be called revolutionary.

AC: Zircon has been a major feature for you?

AM: We have for many years cooperated with Alex Pellizzoni and Simon Brough of Zircon Minerals Malaysia Sdn Bhd (ZMM) and that cooperation actually resulted in the opacifier extender a few years ago and the sourcing of other strategic materials. But it has been expanded with new variants of the technology and ZMM also partnered AMR when we were looking at new processing technology for the synthetic bone ash and advice on legal and licensing regulations when we have been considering new supply routes from Malaysia, Indonesia and China. I think this illustrates that through such partnerships we can achieve much more than a company our size could otherwise be expected to.

We should also mention the not insubstantial investment made by VITIS JSC to develop and improve the K series kaolin production in Vietnam and comply with the latest environmental standards with a new production facility which cost over US$2 million and support this with laboratory facilities in Hanoi specifically designed for material testing for tile, tableware and sanitaryware.

But it isn’t all about products

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Integration the keyword Carlo Ricotta – ‘‘I work closely with AMR and Chinese frit & glaze suppliers as well as some European specialist companies; for digital inks and digital glazes, special double charging materials for technical porcelain tiles and slabs. I’ve known the AMR management team for over 25 years now.

There is an advantage that this company has is they have good relations with providers of complementary products so if do not supply they have an associate that does, so we can offer a good range. They have a very good understanding of business culture and react very quickly to enquiries which is ever-important.

or facilities. We might not be an FTSE or NYSE multinational but we still need to have the right people and we try to get a good mix of youth and experience. So, when Richard Leonard previously of Sibelco, WBB and Hepworth’s became available it was natural to recruit him to act in a business development capacity especially as he knows materials, countries and customers that we were lacking in, specifically sanitaryware. He has also helped in our pursuit of offering valuable alternative solutions to the bone china industry by guiding our development of bone ash replacement with internationally renowned tableware customers. Richard’s level of experience is rare and his guidance invaluable.

AC: So, the net keeps widening?

AM: Yep, it’s our strategy. For example, asSri Lanka is a growing market for us, we selected Champika Batagalage of DIF Technology as our agent as she had extensive contacts in the ceramics market and was eager and enthusiastic to grow our market share whereas previously, we had a fragmented and inefficient supply route of different agents who had other principals. We put everything under one roof and it has paid off. We are looking for similarly ambitious agents to cover other markets that we can’t adequately cover directly. In addition to this, we cooperate with specialists in our target industries – for example since 2014 we have had a close relationship with Carlo Ricotta who is a renowned specialist in the tile industry who advises on technology and materials particularly for decoration. Carlo is someone else I’ve known since 1995 and he also can advise on sources of frits and glazes for tile applications.

AC: From its inception then AMR has grown in terms of sales, technology, and products but how has Covid affected AMR and how have you coped with the challenges?

AM: The pandemic has had multiple effects and these will continue well into 2022. Initially, from February last year for several months sales were not too badly affected as customers thought it was a Chinese problem and so they ordered more product in case of supply issues and these offset losses in Chinese business. Then there was a lull when it became a regional and then a global issue as markets went into lockdown and consumer demand dropped.

Nevertheless, this wasn’t a catastrophic problem as our costs decreased too; less

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Talking Shop

travel & entertainment, no exhibitions or factory visits.

Yet without visits and exhibitions enquiries dropped as we are not generating new leads as often which means sampling and follow up costs fall but you become reliant on existing business.

There was from mid-2020 a rebound as countries found ways to open up either because they had handled the initial outbreak well or because they decided they had to save their economies whatever the health issues.

We are now in the next stages of the impact. Freight rates and space availability have become a major headache for the logistics team though they are working wonders even when it is difficult to get containers. At the same time, customers are looking for discounts to cover cost increases or their end customers are demanding cheaper products. Compounding this we are on something like wave four infections in some countries so we can say the situation isn’t improving yet.

Whilst we can look at creative ways to satisfy our customers whether it is sharing buffer stocks, different packing and shipping, different payment plans the big hope has to be the vaccine rollout.

Until that is fully effective then we aren’t going to be travelling, exhibiting or being able to have those vital face to face meetings.

Things like Zoom can only replace so much and projects have slowed down. There are cases where managers and technicians are stranded in the wrong countries as they can’t travel. I’m doubtful exhibitions or travel planned for late 2021 will happen as you have to consider vaccinations, testing, quarantine, additional hotel or insurance costs and so on.

AC: It’s not been an easy 12 months – understatement, right?

AM: However tough the challenges are we have to push forward.

Thankfully due to advertising and a robust reputation, we have gained some new customers and internally we are in advanced development of products which should become available in 2021 – new feldspars, improved synthetic bone ash and sales into markets new to us in the Middle East. In that respect – not having so many regular or routine service travel demands has allowed us to concentrate more on fewer bigger projects.

Other than that, we see this year as a period of consolidation and cooperation so that we can get through this and then expand.

There will be a lot of challenges due to the lower consumer demand but after the Spanish Flu retail improved especially for high-quality goods. It was also noted then that mail-order business improved when people couldn’t get out or travel – today's online delivery business isn’t new - it’s an evolution. This points to a path for AMR development too, maybe a bigger online presence.

Much recovery from Covid-19 will be down to getting people in all industries back to work – so they have money to spend and government spending on infrastructure projects which always benefits ceramics would be welcome (again this also happened after Spanish Flu). Saying that though the countries which will recover first and fastest should well be those that still make things – less so possibly where people are employed in services and the social industries – entertainment, F&B and so forth. Bluntly speaking the impact of individuals will be great but on society in general hopefully relatively short. It should be a wake-up call too for greater industrial and international cooperation.

The challenge for AMR will be to tailor its supply chain and sales network to account for these demand shifts – which fortunately has been by necessity from the beginning something that we have accomplished and are well placed to build on.

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Vitis: a link in the chain Mr John Hoang Giang: “Vitis has strategically set up technology partnership with selected local mining companies for the production of silicate materials to serve the local industry and export. In this special aspect, the company has successfully assisted several local mining companies to upgrade their production technology and to develop in depth-processed products with more added values.

Vitis is acting as mineral-link between suppliers & end-users through wide professional networking agents across Asian ceramic centres. AMR is our major channel of mineral export to the targeted regional markets since its establishment in 2008.

Thanks to Vitis & AMR cooperation on both commercial and R&D aspects of new products, we have achieved very encouraging results in developing high-quality kaolin for export markets in the region, our products have been supplied to the world's top manufacturers in the Tableware and Sanitaryware sectors over the last 12 years.

With the latest development of a new project on special low-iron feldspar for tableware and frit making, we expect to successfully launch our products in the regional market by 2nd half of 2021 through AMR channel as always.”

More info? Contact: Asia Material Resources Ltd. Contact: Andrew Mountford Unit F2-11, 9/F, Hang Fung Industrial Building, Block 2, No. 2G Hok Yuen St, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: Office +852 23637813 Andrew@AMR4u.com AMR Ltd would like to acknowledge the great support, advice and encouragement given by Mr. Alex Pellizzoni who sadly passed away in 2019 - he is greatly missed.

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While

the Indian and global ceramic industry has witnessed a few lean patches in the past 12 years (starting from global financial crisis of 2008), town of Morbi has continued to defy these tough times. Ceramic tile and more recently the sanitary ware production has continued to flourish, making the town as one of the largest hubs of ceramic tile and sanitary ware production not alone in India, but on the global scale.

Morbi alone has been the reason behind India becoming the second largest producer, third largest exporter and one of the top consumers of ceramic tiles in a span of ten years.

Morbi’s strategic location provides ceramic tile and sanitary ware producers advantage in terms of raw material sourcing, fuel supply and availability of skilled manpower. Moreover, the vicinity of the city to major ports (such as Kandla and Mundra) also lowers the transportation cost and thus helps the exporters of ceramic products from the region.

Morbi based ceramic tile producers have continued to defy all the odds during last fifteen years. A number of times during these fifteen years, larger ceramic tile and sanitary ware producers have expressed that Morbi based ceramic tile production is like a bubble and it will brust sooner or later. Regulatory developments such as the ban by National Green Tribunal (NGT) on captive coal gasifier plants in the Morbi region in 2019 along with stricter implementation of GST/E-way bill, were expected to wipe out a number of producers in Morbi, but as mentioned in the earlier part of this paragraph that Morbi based producers have defied all these odds.

Table 1

Organised growth 2015 1,094

2016and a half 1,170 A decade back, Morbi’s ceramic cluster was termed as the 2017 sub-segment 1,309 unorganised of Indian ceramic tile industry. However, 2018 1,376 rapid adoption of latest technology, competitiveness of the Morbi 2019 1,455 based producers in terms of quality and cost forced a number of 2020 1,490

Tile capacity ('000 sq metres/annum)

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organised sector ceramic tile producers to set up their manufacturing units or enter into joint-ventures with Morbi based ceramic tile producers to stay competitive.

Currently, country’s largest producers- Kajaria Ceramics ( three units, Jaxx Vitrified, Cosa Ceramics), Somany Ceramics, H & R Johnson ( Sanskar Ceramics and Antique Marbonite), Asian Granito ( Affil Vitrified Limited), and Bell Granito- have entered into JV’s with Morbi based producers. In addition to these JV’s , these larger producers also outsource a part of their total output to other mid-sized ceramic tile producers based in Morbi.

Export focus

Limited domestic demand, huge addition in the installed capacity in Morbi, investment in latest production and decoration technology, price competitiveness and increasing production cost of ceramic tiles in China have been some of the most important factors behind a sudden surge in ceramic tile exports from Morbi.

Morbi based producers have increased the share of total exports to total production in the country by many percentage points in last five years. In fact, the number of units, who export more than 50 % of their output has quadrupled in last three years.

Dipeshkumar M. Ghodasara , one of the partners of Morbi based ceramic tile producer, Sega Granito LLP (SGL) told AC, “ Year 2020 has been catastrophic for the country and global ceramic tile industry.

With limited demand in domestic market, we were forced to look at export markets. We export ceramic tiles to Latin American, Middle East and Table South East Asian countries. We generated around 71% of 1 its revenue from overseas market in 9M FY21 ( April 2020- December 2020) and 2015the remaining 1,094 from domestic market.”

2016

1,170 1,309 2018 1,376 The second wave of Covid-19 in India has been an economic and 2019 1,455 humanitarian disaster 2020 1,490 for India. The second wave , which started in

Covid2017 issues

Tile production ('000 sq metres/annum)

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the first week of April engulfed the entire country in a matter of two weeks. Morbi based ceramic tile producers too were not spared from the second outbreak.

Though, unlike last year, this time there was no lockdown in Gujarat, but a number of new ceramic tile units, which were expected to commence commercial production in the months of April, May and June were forced to postpone their commercial starts due to the pandemic.

For example, Varmora Granito, one of the India’s leading tile producer has invested INR 300 crores in setting up two high-tech plants at Morbi in Gujarat. The installed capacicty of these two plants would be 35,000 square meters per day facility for large format vitrified tiles.

These two units were to commence commercial production in the month of April. However, second wave of Covid has resulted in a delay of operationalizing these units.

“The operationalization of our two new plants have been pushed back by around 45 days. The plants were expected to start commercial operations in April this year. One plant is expected to go on stream next month ( June) and the other will start production a month after that, ” according to Bhavesh Varmora, chairman, Varmora Group.

Currently, the company operate 11 ceramic tile production facilities with installed capacity of 110,000 square meters of wall and floor tiles per day.

Another company, Orientbell Tiles — owned and promoted by the Kolkata-based Daga family (which managed Orient Ceramics) — has cut back on production while fast forwarding maintenance requirements at plants in a bid to tide over a “temporary” slump in demand.

The second wave of Covid infections have impacted markets, particularly upcountry ones which so far had been driving numbers through new housing projects and home renovation needs. Regional lockdowns too have been imposed leading to restrictions on movement of supplies.

The company has three own units — NCR (National Capital Region), Bengaluru and Baroda- and this apart, has two JV arrangements at Morbi in Gujarat.

According to Aditya Gupta, CEO, Orientbell Tiles, production across its three plants has been lower in April — May as compared to March.

At present, the company is mostly catering to “project requirements” - which include direct supplies to large real estate developers like Tatas, Godrej or big brands even in the mid-scale ranges. On the other hand, supplies to infrastructure segment continue.

Typically, sales to large projects accounts for 35-40 per cent of its turnover (handled directly by the company), while 60Table 1 65 per cent come through supplies to mid-range construction projects, home improvements / interior decor or individual home 2015 590 constructions (handled either directly or through distribution 2016 662 networks). through distribution networks are currently 2017 Sales 708 2018 in places 759 where there are lockdowns or a restricted suspended 2019 801 as per partial lockdown rules.

2020

813

Overall capacity utilisation (%)

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St ate of Morbi: Guja rat “Production at present is lower than what it was in March mainly because of the demand scenario. Construction sites are operational.

Large projects, direct supplies to construction sites in mid to smaller ones or supplies in infra sites are happening. But sales through shops are mostly closed. People have postponed or delayed home renovations for the time being. So, we have adjusted our production units accordingly. Fast forwarding maintenance, speeding up installation work where possible, reworking on lines are all taking place at the moment,” he has said.

Exports

Exports re also being mulled as global markets derisk supply chains by moving away from China. There’s increasing demand for Indian suppliers and units in Morbi have been tapping these export markets aggressively.

“We may explore exports as a de-risking option. But our units are not located near Mundra port. Plus there is a volume and price factor at play for exports”.

Number of units according to product type Product type

Number of units

% of total units

Wall Tiles

376

41.40

Wall and floor tiles ( under one roof)

97

10.68

Floor Tiles

157

17.29

139

15.30

44

4.84

95

10.46

908

100

Table 1

Vitrified Tiles Industrial 2015tiles & others 2016

2017 Sanitary ware 2018 2019 Total 2020

1,094 1,170 1,309 1,376 1,455 1,490

No. producing units

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Insight

EGYPT Table 1

2017 2018 2019 2020

Table 1

84,339 305,774 276,129 37,540

2017 2018 2019 2020

Total sanitaryware imports (no. pieces)

Total sanitaryware exports (no. pieces)

Table 1

Spain Hungary Bulgaria Thailand Portugal USA Turkey China Germany Italy

11,561,993 9,789,985 9,800,476 21,903,662

Table 1

90,741 80,031 59,422 43,631 32,351 26,029 24,771 22,763 16,973 12,065

Germany United Kingdom South Africa France Italy Libya Russian Federation Sweden Poland Hungary

Leading sanitaryware import sources (Kg)

6,343,097 5,295,146 1,425,943 1,422,576 1,142,974 728,742 602,490 470,310 458,502 367,149

Leading sanitaryware export destinations (Kg)

1

1

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if our manufacturing process is working at maximum performance, and we identify the causes of operation far from the optimum point.

Machine diagnostics

All internal parameters are monitored (temperature; oil levels; bearing wear; consumption; etc). The software intelligently monitors these values and generates alarms if any of the values are outside normal ranges. In this way, we instantly identify faults and prevent machine damage.

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All these measures imply progress. We believe in change and innovation; therefore, we will continue experimenting and betting on new technological innovations, and thus, try to offer a more enriching and complete experience to the client.

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Table 1

2017 2018 2019 2020

Table 1

42,857,143 36,177,427 39,526,948 20,403,467

Italy 2017 2018 2019 2020

Total ceramic roof tile imports (Kg)

Spain

27,432,127 22575947 29044308 14099260

9120792 8744185 7175519 3488257

Roof tile imports from Italy and Spain (Kg) Italy

Spain

Table 1

Libya Jordan Yemen Sudan Saudi Arabia Romania Oman Lebanon State of Palestine Morocco

Table 1

2017 2018 2019 2020

42,777,417 44,993,498 15,390,313 10,104,550

Total glazed tile exports (sq metres)

22,609,004 19,997,657 19,017,228 11,383,170 10,678,268 2,261,571 2,032,304 1,811,582 1,730,543 1,616,015

Leading glazed tile export destinations (Kg)

Table 1

2017 2018 2019 2020

3,801,842 3,511,614 6,109,599 1,352,830

1

Table 1

1

Total tableware exports (Kg)

2017 2018 2019 2020

9,200,864 17,903,226 12,474,658 4,513,313

Total tableware imports (Kg)

1 1

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Hunter and the hunted

io n t a u t i s l a c i t i r c e r o m a n i e r a e “w s" h t n o m 8 1 r e t s f a y r t t s u d h n i as a n t h ou g Ok: so, how do we get out of this mess?

Dear Diary, I’m basing the timing on when Covid-19 started We are now into the 17th month of the pandemic (at least, we are far from out of the woods yet. Though to affect the whole world) and it is safe and fair to say that turning the corner – whichever euphemism or lap some countries seem at the moment to be on the last g in a worse crisis now than any time anythin if and, r despai of you prefer – other countries are in the grip virus reap havoc and death on populations and before as new surges of infections from new strains of the e. Though if it is your family member who can’t get put stressed healthcare systems on the verge of collaps system has collapsed already. oxygen or be admitted to the hospital you would say the nt and we must believe that other countries mome the at India is having 400,000 new cases per day reports from those places are not yet so neighbouring it must be in a similar situation even if the news better prepared and able to control the new wave shocking. Can we expect Pakistan and Bangladesh to be of disease any better or worse than India?

Zealand who relied on isolation, testing and Yet some countries seem to be prevailing; Australia and New e vaccinations otherwise they will have to stay in tracking now have a travel bubble yet must need to improv g infections into their communities. Indeed the an isolated travel bubble by themselves rather than risk bringin returning to Australia from India on fear of from Australian government has gone so far as to ban its citizens ely ceased to be responsible for the safety of effectiv has it that in tion imprisonment– a quite outrageous declara UK after making a godawful mess of things in many its people if they aren’t already in Australia. The US and the sful with vaccination rollouts and that does look ways for most of last year have fortunately been more succes ally to have herd immunity and the prospect of eventu to being the most successful course of action to be able be if the vaccination program is successful. to d reveale is that er reverting to something like normal – whatev now has a complicated travel bubble with Hong Other countries fall in between these examples – Singapore people will use it. Brazil’s government seems to care Kong – so complicated and expensive it is doubtful many – not that much. European countries are slowly about its people about as much as it cares for the rain forest ncy and delay. inefficie some with ay getting their vaccination programs underw – well that depends how much you trust China wn, lockdo into going is In Asia it’s a mixed bag – Turkey countries approaches are rather pragmatic if whatever the government or anecdotal evidence says. Some he had had his vaccination but once people ed prosaic; speaking to a Bangladesh factory owner he explain ns had risen which he lamented as it infectio and habits l norma had been vaccinated, they had returned to worker said that ‘It is just something else we can die made it hard to run his shops or factories. Whilst a factory anyway if I can’t go to work, I can’t feed my family.’ from – most of my family have had it to some degree and ing unless rich people & ‘Hi-So’ elites like to do it In Thailand, the approach appears to be to lockdown everyth lockdown anti-government protests can’t happen. and drag the feet over-vaccination because at least whilst ch to dealing with the pandemic and a year later it’s Last year the WHO asked for a united and unified approa and addressed the pandemic the same way more like each country has taken its stereotypical characteristics restaurant – the Brits are queuing, the budget a in as we would expect them to behave at a breakfast buffet es are fighting over seafood whilst countri other and choose to Americans want better service and the freedom likely to end up with nothing to eat. others sit back in quiet horror at the scene unfolding but are e and frankly speaking it was organised very Well, where next? I’ve had my two jabs of BioNtech vaccin centre in about 30 minutes maximum and the ation efficiently and both times I was in and out of the vaccin a very little fever for about a day and then and arm my in ss side effects of the injections was a little sorene probably put it down to having a common cold. tiredness for a week or so – without the jab as a reason I’d and wash my hands – I don’t want to be a Now I so want to be able to travel – yes, I’ll still wear a mask – but I want to see my family in the UK, ation vaccin carrier & pass the disease on - if that is possible after

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

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and do some business travel; I don’t like Zoom want to have a holiday and I want to attend an exhibition and see some different things. But these things people t differen meetings and I want to interact with some d different practices and have been less or more still seem months away. Because countries have adopte on not only where I can go but how much it will successful at beating the pandemic there are still restrictions not only when I go somewhere – but when tining cost, what I will have to do in terms of testing and quaran more for flights and accommodation, more pay tests, e multipl take I get back also. I could end up having to I could find myself under quarantine, at my cost. for health & travel insurance and after all that, on my return, d for late in the year will happen and given the For these reasons I already doubt that exhibitions planne we will be doing much business travel. After nearly locations for ceramics centres in Asia it is equally unlikely very little tourism and leisure and retail and F&B, mean also will it e 18 months this is quite disastrous becaus on so long now that even after people budgeting entertainment will continue to be affected. This has gone money; individually, families, businesses. I’m now and cutting back the simple fact is they are running out of but from Covid the financial fallout. e knowing not just who has suffered from Covid the diseas need to be held to account – certain people some all, of So, how do we get out of this mess? First public health whether wearing masks or getting governments and media have given mixed messages about and see’ response to getting vaccinated or still vaccinations with the result we have people taking a ‘wait to be over this already. Six people, that got need arguing about if they should socially distance or not. We the vaccine caused the clot and how many mean that does – things blood clots after taking the vaccine? Two us why education is important – a mixture of people were vaccinated anyway? The pandemic has shown and outrage haven’t helped and nor have arrogance, ignorance and a media dedicated to sensationalism out policy ideas and popularity on the test to governments who chose to manipulate and use the media facts. le provab and e practic population rather than trying to stick to best n as an industry than before even though situatio critical more a in are we half, a So, after nearly a year and Whilst we can’t force people to be health. public there has been progress on vaccination and in some cases be an option – it can’t be any may lottery or reward ial vaccinated, they could be incentivised to get it. Financ month. Yet at the same time, some regions are worse than the cost of economies still suffering month after in two areas that are likely to make things worse. As suffering another wave of infections business is being hit remain high and the recent blocking of the Suez we have spoken of before freight charges and congestion it is a daily occurrence to have a delay or revision now Canal by an errant super freighter hasn’t helped. I find it onto a ship. Couriers are still charging premium of price – or simply being told that the container didn’t make lves are still being asked for cheaper prices. rates and none of these things pleases customers who themse Bloomberg: That request is ever more of a pipe dream as reported on ing are skyrocketing, and the upward trajectory The prices of raw materials used to make almost everyth life. From steel and copper to corn and lumber, looks set to continue as the world economy roars back to not seen for years. The rally threatens to raise the commodities started 2021 with a bang, surging to levels apers. It’s also lit the fuse on the massive cost of goods from the lunchtime sandwich to gleaming skyscr n expectations. With the U.S. economy inflatio up reflation trade that’s gripped markets this year and pushed to reopen as its vaccination rollout gets into pumped up on fiscal stimulus, and Europe’s economy starting gear, there’s little reason to expect a change in direction.’ will everyone else – zircon sand prices are This seems inevitable and the industry will be affected as e to recover from the disease consumers manag do es surging and we could face the risk as just as countri which will reduce demand and put us into a going back to work will find their money doesn’t go as far different kind of distress.

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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