Asian Ceramics November 15 Edition

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November 2015

FUELLING THE DEBATE

ENERGY IN THE SPOTLIG HT

INSIDE:

Fuel evolution in heavy clay Shanxi in focus What next for Gifu?

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News

Contents: November 2015

r e h t o n a r o f n w o Ey e s d e x cit i n g y e a r

chedule ibution S tr is D & ditorial opportunities… ramics E ng Asian Ce A wealth of exciti ue sing of the iss le re! edu y adverti rship Sch d mo pla an utio dis ownen trib g… lf ha & Dis al … take tori vertisin full andEdi am creative GE:ics play ad Asian Cer eyance ✷ ON-PA h impact d half dis

conv L: full an imate, hig ing message ✷ DIGITA COVERS: the ult -hitt Y le, hard iew ✷ DUMM RAPS: high profi d-year revcycles dation? : the mi advertising LLY-W nd or consoli display BE half and ■ China ✷ full E: growth ure dema ✷ ON-PAG more! n furnit sanitaryware ■ Kil display advertising…and tre markets the issue p2: ✷ DIGITAL: full and half e… take ownership of w tile cen ns for difficult Gujarat creativ ne ■ impact a : high e, tio t op ladesh ? ✷ DUMMY COVERS: the ultimat ance Maghreb ■ Bang y clay e convey ina S: Freigh inhard-h heavmessag itting saniware y clayle, IAL FOCU air, Iran; ISH, Ch Heavprofi n in Asianfuture for Asian ■ SPEC ✷ BELLY-WRAPS:■high raf Ce : evolutio AT

A wealth of exciting opportunAities…

C16-5 er 2015

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: the Fuel SE E US builders andong dabad6-5 AC1 Capacity Sh po Ahme ENT profile: Bricks Ex ITIES SUPPLEM November 2015 China: the mid-year review Province STRI BUTION: y options 16-6us: the heavy claation?

RTUN ACcycles b NUS DI AN OPPO Kiln furniture demand olution?

BO Heavy clay in Maghre foc or consolid CUS: AFRIC clay ian tiles evolution or rev ware FO heavy Iran-ingrowth L 6 sanitary Asian p2: in IA n 1 Gujarat ol in As Fuel evolutio SPEC for Asian saniware? ary 20 st contr sanitaryware: in focus centre tileCo new future a the : u esh: builders n Banglad iques st Capacity ge Ja s for Asia SPECIAL markets r/ difficult ddle Ea for e a chan ion techn ailand Mioptions b Freight re: ng rat FOCUS: Shando co m wa profile: e de Th ble Province ing leware Dece ight: Ahmeda influenc ASEAN, China Asian ISH,Ta cost sav bad CUS: tab Club of regional SEE US AT: Cerafair, Iran; DISTRIBUTION: Bricks Expo ●●●●●●●●●●●

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As the industry readies itself for the end of the year, thoughts are already turning to 2016 and the exciting opportunities that await the industry. With ASEAN growth likely to be cemented by the new trading agreement, the re-emergence of Iran, the continued growth in India and an upturn forecast for Russia and the Middle East, it’s going to be quite some 12 months!

Make sure you keep up to date with everything that happens, by ensuring your subscription to Asian Ceramics is up to date. Also, check out our provisional Editorial and Distribution Schedule for the next 12 months in this issue.

■ ds try BONUS d fre UNITIES IAL FO ENT SUPPLEM ic Indus ■ Share lain sprea ■ SPEC OPPORT n porce ers and losers AT: Ceram SPECIAL FOCUS: AFRICAN ics 2016 ■ Irania SE E US nn ian Ceram trade: wi ustries ■ Tile lanner; Ind ecast ind y arp options clay cla Ye heavy y the for N: nds ow ■ Heav RIBUTIO the brick industry■ Iran in focus:in Asian tiles turing tre tories of tomorr ST fac DI Asia for S nu savings ma ■ Cost control on?fac BONU ■ Shared freight: cost N tile n or revoluti g the CUS: Aseia: evolutio ware: l influenc ASEA regiona powerin alysis IAL FO ■ Middle East sanitary ■ SPEC ■ Iranian porcelain spreads choice: nd an a change d losers re: ■ Fuelin focus losers ma an Tablewa and Asian de ■ winners esers tile ion techniqu ■ Tile trade: cs: winn decorat re ina rs ■ Ch blo tablewa ke g FOCUS: es g ma SPECIAL din ■ industri tra tile ■ Heavy clay Thailand angdons 2016 ASEAN, ■AsianClub of CU : GuCeramic Indian S: Asian ner; file Yearplan ot SEE US AT: Ceramic Industry IAL FO BONUS DISTRIBUTION: vince Pro lew are hotsp moil? ie, Italy ■ SPEC ■ Pro bricky:industry a tab forecast AT: Cersa in tur SPECIAL FOCUS: Asia: the SE E US ■ Turke industry ders' debate tan: an : the lea ■ Pakis y; lain tiles rke rce in focus trends Tu N po cturing ra, EA tile manufa ice Asian ■ AS w kers Gujarat? any; Un ■ ASEAN FOCUS: g the factoriesn:ofa tomorro rival for markets and ma nte, Germ SPECIAL ■ Fuel choice: powerin ■ ong tha ■ Province Profile: Guangd are ge AT: Ambie a, Spain analysis ■ Rajas hotspot sanitaryw g a future sta ■ China tile demand SE E US ■ Turkey: a tableware inese losers Cevisam winners ■ Chand in turmoil? rea: settin ■Asian trading blocs: ■ Pakistan: an industry South Ko tile markets nt funds ■ makers tile me Asian debate est FOCUS: leaders' the n SPECIAL inv ■ tia ■ ASEAN in focus: Raising ■ Egyp porcelain tiles ly SEE US AT: Cersaie, Italy SPECIAL FOCUS: ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Asian rgilla, Ita ■ : Fujian , Turkey; y; Unicera AT: Tecna ce Profile day dawns SEE US AT: Ambiente, German SE E US y clay w ■ Provin nka: a ne ategies for heav Cevisama, Spain ■ Sri La str nity? ; Tile & for Gujarat? ing rtu ics po es sav ram op Ce n: a rival ■ Rajastha ■ Cost ian land of Asia decidts and makers makers zine: Ind ware markets and sti ladesh: Couch: ■ Bang cial Maga China ■ Chinese sanitary e Ca ng itaryware marke right option stage ■ Th a future AT: Offi ware g the ■ South Korea: setting m san SE E US ■ Province Profile: Fujian Sanitary : choosin rth Africa ■ Vietna ion markets tile n rat Egyptia dawns ■ No deco ■ Sri Lanka: a new day ■ Tile ent funds nities in ology investm es for heavy clay opportu ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Raising ng techn ■ Cost saving strategi ■ Brick S: Printi bai opportunity? & Tibet SEE US AT: Tecnargilla, Italy SPECIAL FOCU ■ Bangladesh: land of ■ Big 5, Du Qingh&ai of interest? e: Indian Ceramic Profile:s; Tile AT: The es icts SE E US SEE US AT: Official Magazin■ Province h: confl s, changing tim EAN tec n China sig AS ware tile de Sanitary rkets in ■ Kiln anging at p1: ch : heavy clay ma ■ The tification Couch: Asia decides ern Asia ■ Gujar and cerCasting ts in south Russia; ware markets and makers s ing blocks Tile inspection ■ Vietnam sbuild,sanitary tile marke for Asian tile ■ Build S: Roofoption esia; Mo the■right rns IAL FOCU Tile decoration: choosing ika, Indon Ch■ & Tibet rt patte Lampang factor ryware centre ■ SPEC ina : Keram Africa ■ Expo ■ Province Profile: Qinghai North th, AT in the nities sanita ba US ? d opportu d: R E ram ■ Brick of interest SE 27th Ce gyan India: a tile an YEAR PLANNE ■ Thail ■ Kiln design tech: conflicts technolo Printing times g FOCUS: ern 17 changin ■ SPECIAL 20 g tiles, ■ South ■ Gujarat p1: changin : YOUR clay markets in ASEAN SEE US AT: The Big?5, Dubai ■ FREE INSIDE ■ Building blocks: heavy H THI S ISS UE WIT ns tion E tio certifica FRE and op on inspecti jiang ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Tile itaryware file: Xin d, Russia; ia; MosbuilPro and san SEE US AT: Keramika, Indones■ Province us: tableware tile makers The 2017 Yea rpla n Asiamarkets in southern Asia in foc 27th Cerambath, China uth tile Roof cisions for ■So ■ Iran OEM: de ics demand in ports for Asian tiles ry expatterns Export ■ine ■ J-V or ch ; Middleg factor al ceram ma inaLampan nic se ch ine : the Ch Thailand ■ Te ramics Ch e:■Ce FOCUS: sanitaryware centre zin and tile IAL a ga i India: EC n Ma ba l ■ Souther ■ SP PLANNER : Officia? ramic, Du AToptions ■ Province Profile: Xinjiang ware ne & Ce ■ FREE INSIDE: YOUR 2017 YEAR SE E US re and sanitary East Sto ■ Iran in focus: tablewa cs.com s for tile makers iancerami FREE WITH THIS ISSUE3 5273 ■ J-V or OEM: decision www.as demand in South Asia 208 13 ■ Technical ceramics l: +44 (0) exports ry Te , machine com amson The ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Chinese 2017 acting: Yearplan eramics. ie Ad nt Middle nc ler China; co s sia Va Ceramic e: by @a w 0619 SEE US AT: Official Magazin damson d out ho 208 638 Dubai Email: va East Stone & Ceramic, fin l: +44 (0) ics.com ssell, Te Paul Ru anceram ssell@asi Email: pru ●●●●

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ur bu dg et… ner!

ner !

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you r budg et…

Max imise you r expos u re, maxi mise find out how by contacting:

(0) 208 133 5273 Valerie Adamson, Tel: +44 cs.com Email: vadamson@asiancerami

638 0619 Paul Russell, Tel: +44 (0) 208 .com Email: prussell@asianceramics

www.asianceramics.com

News 4 Inside Asia

Comet blazes a trail in Morb.

6 Welcome

Brick burners go green.

8 Across The Continent

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

12 International News Our eye on the international arena.

16 Material Matters Raw materials news and views.

18 Comment & Analysis Jingdezhen: return of an icon?

2

asian ceramics

november 2015

See us…where?!

Cevisama, Ambiente, Indian Ceramics, Keramika, Ceramics China, China Tile & Sanitaryware, Cerafair, Unicera, Cersaie, Tecnargilla…. and on your desk 10 times… in 2016! www.asianceramics.com

News

www.asianceramics.com Features 22 What next for Gifu?

AC looks at how this traditional ceramics centre is reinventing itself in the wake of rising consumer demand and changing preferences.

22 The Scammers are back…

What price could Asia’s ceramic manufacturers face if online criminals continue to target the sector?

28 Fuel evolution in heavy clay

Amanda Saint examines how increasing demands on fuel efficiency across the continent’s heavy clay facilities is forcing companies to look at every aspect of its supply.

34 Province Profile: Shanxi

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

38 Building blocks

AC looks at some of the more pressing issues facing some of Asia’s brick industries as 2015 draws to a close…

38

Anaylsis 43 Talking Shop

In an interview undertaken by El Periódico Mediterráneo, Luis Hernández Sanchis, chairman and managing director of Grespania, SA discusses developments at the company.

46 Insight

Analysis and insight into ceramic supply and demand in Brazil.

49 Looking forward

The AC editorial and distribution schedule for 2016.

22

“Unlike conventional bricks, red brick walls take a very long time to burn”, see p.38 “the smuggling of tiles has reached 50 per cent of the local production capacity,”, see p.43 “Unfortunately brick kilns have poor reputations in this part of the world.”, see p.50

Your favourite magazine is now available at the App Store… download today to see your first sample issue!

Asian Ceramics: now for mobiles, ipads and androids

Asian Ceramics:

Asian Cera Asian Cer mics amics Edit orial & Dist A we Editorial & A wealth of h of ex Di exciting opporribution Schalt edu le citing oppstribution tunities… ortunitie Schedu Nove mber s… le 2015

✷ ON-P ✷ DIGI AGE: full and ✷ ON-PAGE half ✷ DUM TAL: full display : and ✷ DIGITAL: full and half display half ✷ BELL MY COV display advertisin ERS: full and half advertis Y-WR the ✷ DUMMY adve g display advertis ing APS: COVERS: rtisin high ultimate, ing…and the ultimate ✷ BELLY-W g…a profi high more! nd mor , high RAPS: high le, hard impa ■ Heav profile, hard-hit impact creative e!

-hitting ct crea … take y clay ■ Fuel ting messag owners messagetive… take in Mag hip e conveya of the ■ Capa evolution hreb own issue nce conv ■ Heavy ership eyan clay in Maghreb ■ Prov city build in Asian ■ Fuel evolution ce of the ers: the heav ince profi BON issue in Asian futur y clay ■ Capacity US heavy DIST le: Shandong e for Asian builders: SPEC ■ Province the future clay ■ China:IAL FOCURIBUTION saniw for Asian profile: the mid-year ■ Chin saniware BONUS DISTRIB Shandong : Brick are?

S: AFRIC ■ Kiln furniture review ?

■ Kiln a: the middemand AN OPPOs Expo Ahm SPECIAL FOCUS: UTION: Bricks ■ Gujarat cycles p2: Expo ■ Guja furniture year ■ RTUN edab sanitaryw Shar AFRICAN Ahmeda ●●

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William upgrades to an ipad, but still casts his unsympathetic eye over industry issues: this month he assesses how bonded labour continues to be the curse of the heavy clay sector.

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Inside Asia COMET BLAZES A TRAIL IN MORBI

S

ITI B&T Group has strengthened its presence in the Indian market with the start-up of the new complete line supplied to Comet India, a ceramic manufacturer based in Morbi, Gujarat.

A longstanding SITI B&T customer, Comet chose this cuttingedge technology to boost its production capacity and further improve its finished product quality. As a result, it is securing an ever greater share of domestic and international market.

The line supplied by SITI B&T includes an EVO press, a vertical dryer and a latest generation Greenfire® kiln.

The EVO 5008 press has a maximum pressing force of 5,000 tons and a free clearance between columns of 1900 mm, making it ideal for the production of sizes 60×120 cm and 90×90 cm. The steel structure, extremely reliable, ensures an high forming precision and consequently high finished product quality.

In addiction to the press has been installed a vertical dryer that ensures excellent product uniformity and a perfect drying process.

Equipped witht a cutting-edge combustion and heat recovery system –featuring the innovative SITI B&T burners – , theGreenfire® kiln has a length of 166 metres and a width of 2950 mm and can produce sizes of 60×60 cm and 80×80 cm.The new Greenfire® range stands out for its high levels of productivity, quality and energy efficiency.

Thanks to the efficient and modern production plant supplied by SITI B&T, Comet India is now ready to achieve new goals and secure further growth in the worldwide market.

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November 2015

EDITORIAL

About 20 billion cubic feet of topsoil every year can be saved in the country if the 140,000 red brick kilns shift over to using fly-ash, an industry body has claimed in India, in an announcement which will likely alert suppliers of key technologies to this long-hoped for emerging secor.

According to Fly-ash Bricks and Blocks Manufacturers' Federation (Fabmafed), the brick-fields across the country are generating 90 million tonne (mt) of carbondioxide emissions each year to produce 240 billion bricks which is rapidly eroding the topsoil - important for agricultural activities and the primary ingredient for making red bricks.

FUELLING THE DEBATE ENE RGY

IN THE SPOTLIG HT

IN SI DE:

Fuel evolution in heavy clay Shanxi in focus What next for Gifu?

Beating digit al crime PLUS NEWS, VIEWS, ANAL YSIS AND MUCH MORE!

Also, 46 mt of coal which is used by the kilns to make bricks can be conserved.

Basu said every state government (excluding the Himalayan states) can earn atleast Rs.1,000 crore extra as tax revenue if the transition from red brick to fly-ash brick takes place.

"The red brick industry is largely unorganised and plagued by unregistered kilns which results in the states losing revenue," he said.

The estimated cost for the brick-fields to shift over from using topsoil to fly-ash is between Rs.40,00040,000,000.

"The cost depends on the size of the unit, the prevalent technology and other factors," said Fabmafed vice-president and legal committee chairman Ashish Nangalia.

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

ADVERTISING AND DESIGN

"Besides, the thermal power plants have generated 172.87 mt of fly-ash (residue of coal) using 454.60 mt of coal to produce electricity. This fly-ash can be used to promote usage of flyash bricks which will help the country to conserve topsoil," association president Surajit Basu told media persons here.

The current level of fly-ash is enough to make 173-140 billion bricks. Presently, the fly-ash brick industry produces 36-54 billion units of brick.

CONTACT DETAILS

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

RESEARCH

FLY-ASH CAN BE USED TO PROMOTE USAGE OF FLY-ASH BRICKS WHICH WILL HELP THE COUNTRY TO CONSERVE TOPSOIL

According to the association, the state governments need to actively support the transformation.

The union environment and forests ministry has set out a time frame for the use of fly-ash bricks or blocks or tiles for all construction agencies engaged in the construction of buildings within a radius of 100 km from the coal or lignite based thermal power plants (TPP).

Under this directive, the state government is the enforcing and monitoring authority for compliance of the provisions.

Happy Reading!

Research Manager Alex Murphy Email: amurphy@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

EVENTS Events Email: events@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

Bowhead events OVERSEAS OFFICES China Professor Wen Lu and Wen Xin Email: 18980921123@163.com Tel: +86 28 8701 9077 Fax: +86 28 8701 9077 Bangladesh Jahir Ahmed jahir@asianceramics.com India Yogender Singh Malik yogender@asianceramics.com Sri Lanka Rohan Gunasekera rohan@asianceramics.com

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6

asian ceramics

november 2015

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

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Government criticized for heavy-handed approach to dumping • Cera unveils j-v with Anjani • Kohler to pilot ne margin uplift • Kajaria foresees industry turnaround • Membranes to assist in water supply INDONESIA

Government criticized for heavy-handed approach to dumping The government would be better using a diplomatic approach rather than imposing retaliatory measures in response to restrictive trade practices conducted by Indonesia's trading partners, an international trade observer has said.

Niki Bavenda Sari, a researcher with the Trade Ministry's board of trade policy study and development, said recently that restrictive trade measures should not be met by similar restrictive practices, as they could backfire.

"The government needs to be neutral and try to understand the reasons behind the enactment of restrictive measures on local products," she said during the dissemination of a trade-related policy review.

However, the government also needed to negotiate with trading partners imposing restrictive measures on Indonesian products to maintain its export targets.

During the period of April 2014 to July 2015, 10 Indonesian export commodities became subject to antidumping and safeguard measures imposed by a number of countries, according to Trade Ministry data.

Among the products on which restrictive measures were imposed were steel plate, saturated fatty alcohols, hot-rolled steel coils and monosodium glutamate (MSG).

The antidumping measures are carried out by Canada, US, Vietnam, the EU and Australia, while the safeguard measures are carried out by India and Malaysia.

From 2009 to 2013, a number of Indonesian export commodities were subjected to 32 restrictive measures, including antidumping, countervailing and safeguard measures.

During the period, Turkey was the country that imposed the largest number of restrictive measures on Indonesian

products with five, followed by the EU (four), India and Pakistan (four each) and Australia with three.

Indonesia has so far imposed safeguard measures on 16 imported products, including coated paper, wire rod and ceramic tableware, according to data from the Indonesian Trade Safeguard Committee of the Trade Ministry.

The relatively high number of restrictive trade measures imposed by many countries has confirmed a previous report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that despite moving to free-trade regimes, every country still tried to protect its national interests, according to Niki.

In the period of October 2012 to November 2013, 407 trade restrictions and trade remedies worldwide affected an estimated 1.3 per cent of world imports worth US$250 billion (S$350 billion), WTO's data has shown.

For Indonesia most restrictive

trade measures imposed on its products by trading partners did not hugely affect the total export value of non-oil and gas commodities, Niki said.

Trade Ministry data shows that the contribution of products on which restrictive measures were imposed amounted to only around 1 per cent of total non-oil and gas exports.

The data has also revealed that the global export value of the products only slumped by 0.5 per cent, signaling that most exporters have started diversifying their markets.

Meanwhile, Sri Nastiti, the head of the Trade Ministry's centre for international trade co-operation, said that the government still needed to make sure that any restrictive measures imposed on Indonesian products would not unduly harm local businesses.

The Trade Ministry would review the restrictive measures before taking any actions, she went on.

INDIA

Cera unveils j-v with Anjani Gujarat-based sanitary products making company Cera Sanitaryware Ltd has entered into a joint venture agreement with Anjani Tiles Ltd for setting up a tiles manufacturing plant requiring an investment of $10.5 million in Andhra Pradesh, according to a stock market disclosure.

The project, which will start in April 2016, will have an initial capacity of 10,000 square metres per day of tile production.

It will require an investment of Rs 68 crore ($10.5 million), to be paid through an equity component of Rs 36 crore

8

asian ceramics

while the balance will be through long-term debt, the company said.

Cera will invest Rs 18.36 crore ($2.8 million) for its 51 per cent stake in the venture and Anjani will inject Rs 17.64 crore ($2.7 million) for its 49 per cent stake.

“South is a major market for us. And with the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravathi, being announced we see greater scope with increased construction activity there. Also, Andhra Pradesh has announced subsidies to encourage businesses to grow,” said Vikram Somani, chairman, CERA Sanitaryware Ltd.

november 2015

Anjani Tiles was incorporated in April 2015 and is based in Andhra Pradesh.

Cera Sanitaryware, one of the largest sanitaryware companies in the country, was founded in 1980. The firm manufactures products like wash basins, baths, water closet pans, urinals, shower panels etc.

Early this year, it raised a funding round of Rs 70.6 crore ($10.9 million) from Lighthouse Funds‘ second private equity fund through preferential allotment. It also counts Westbridge Capital and Nalanda Capital as its shareholders.

For the second quarter

ended September 2015, Cera Sanitaryware posted 13 per cent increase in its sales to Rs 225 crore and its net profit rose to Rs 18 crore, hikes 14 per cent from last year’s Rs 16 crore for the same period last year.

News, view and analysis www.asianceramics.com

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ew sanitaryware scheme • Smuggling woes continue to bite • RAK gains from

INDIA

Kohler to pilot new sanitaryware scheme Top-end sanitaryware and bath works brand Kohler is known worldwide for its premium image. In the Indian market too, Kohler has a 40 per cent share in the premium end of the Rs. 8,000-crore sanitwaryware market, growing at twice the market growth of 14 per cent.

But, what Kohler has been quietly working on under the radar is a closed sanitation system that will address the acute sanitation issues India deals with. The pilot project is all set to be installed in Coimbatore and if it proves successful, Kohler will look to scale up this project.

David Kohler, President & CEO, the fourth generation of a family from Kohler, Wisconsin (Riverside, a small town of 2,000 people was re-named after his great grandfather moved his new factory here in 1900), in an interview says, “We have a project with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and Caltech University in the US to develop a closed loop sanitation system that can help with some of the severe sanitation issues in India.

We have some test units that are manufactured in India that would

be shipped to Coimbatore.”

The system would be installed in a multi-family high-rise lowincome residential unit to test it.

“We will see if we can create a system that would not only work for them but also potentially be used in remote areas in villages to provide not only safe access to sanitation but also hygienic. This is really advanced technology and it is exciting for us to be working on this project to see if we can establish that in India,” Kohler explains.

The Coimbatore installation will have five units and each of these units can service up to five or more different apartments. The combination of all these units can provide a closed loop system for an entire building. “That helps the city’s infrastructure because you don’t have to pump any of the sewage to a treatment facility and it can be handled in these self-contained units. They use bio-digesters and recycle the water in a very safe manner,” says Kohler.

Kohler has received funding of over $2 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the company is investing

and working along with the foundation on this project.

Coimbatore is a test market for Kohler to refine the technology and make it robust and manageable and bring the cost of the technology down. Kohler will study how it can commercialise it and sell across the country.

“We are also exploring potential markets in the developed countries, outside of India. In certain other markets where they have issues with septic tanks and sanitation systems this might be used,” he adds.

At the upper end of the market it’s business as usual for Kohler, which recently launched Veil, an ‘intelligent’ toilet product line priced at Rs. 4 lakh. “The luxury market in India is growing rapidly and will continue to grow due to the rising income levels in the middle and upper middle class.” Hence the desire for premium products among the wealthy Indians with focus on design is on the rise.

Kohler has invested about $200 million in the nine years it has been present in the Indian market. It owns two

manufacturing units in Gujarat, one a faucet making plant and the other a ceramic sanitaryware unit with a production capacity of around 1.5 million pieces annually.

The company has 300 retail outlets across India and plans to open another 100 by the end of 2015 and 50 more by next year end. As Kohler says, “From the metros we are moving to tier II and tier III cities in order to provide a comprehensive coverage and build a distribution network across India.”

Kohler will be launching its first experience centre in New Delhi soon and plans to open two more by 2018.

Salil Sadanandan, Managing Director – Kitchen and Bath, Kohler India, says, “Retail space is a challenge in India as it operates on a small store format and hence do not display the complete range.”

An experience centre provides an opportunity to showcase the entire range of products to the customer, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access them through retail outlets.

PAKISTAN

Smuggling woes continue to bite The Import Trade Price (ITP) on tiles into Pakistan has been reduced to $1.82 per square metre to Iran, causing a massive injury to the local tile industry, said local tiles manufacturers.

According to them, the ITP on ceramic tiles imported from China, Europe and Middle East has also been reduced.

“Why is the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) all out to ravage the ceramic tiles industry that is a big revenue earner for the

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national exchequer?” they questioned, blaming the FBR. “Tiles worth $2 billion from Iran have been smuggled and dumped at go-downs in Karachi and Lahore, while the situation in the rest of the country’s outlets is not very different,” they claimed, alleging that the tiles had been imported under the wrong PCT heading 2713.200, attracting 10% duty and causing loss of billions to the exchequer.

“The government had also

levied 2% additional sales tax on locally manufactured tiles and resultantly, they were in a disadvantageous position,” they added.

Import data reveals that a large number of consignments of Iranian tiles were released in the price ranging from $0.60 to $0.16 per square metre against $2.17 and above per square metre from China vide Valuation Ruling No 518/2013. However, there is no current Valuation Ruling for Iranian tiles.

25th - 27th April, 2016

NEW DELHI, INDIA www.bowheadmediaevents.com

november 2015

asian ceramics

9

News

UAE

RAK gains from margin uplift Third-quarter profit at RAK Ceramics rose 43 per cent to Dh82.1 million as it boosted operating margins.

Although turnover remained relatively flat during the period at Dh782.8m. Improving market share in the UAE and Saudi Arabia offset the impact of discontinued businesses in Sudan and elsewhere.

The chief executive Abdallah Massaad said sales in Saudi Arabia have risen by 32 per cent during the third quarter and are up 11 per cent in the first nine months of this year, following its opening of a representative office in Riyadh to bid directly for government projects. Sales in the UAE have increased by 3.5 per cent in the last quarter and 7.5 per cent in the first nine months.

Revenue for the nine-month period to date was also largely flat at Dh2.3 billion, but net profit

increased by 10 per cent to Dh228.4m.

The margin improvement was partly as a result of lower fuel and transport costs, but also thanks to an improved product mix, Mr Massaad said. Gross margins increased by 4 per cent to 30.7 per cent during the quarter.

“Over the past year, we focused on core business and growth opportunities in core markets and succeeded in delivering results,” said Mr Massaad.

The company, whose largest shareholder is the private equity firm Samena Capital with a stake of more than 30 per cent, has recently bought out minority shareholders in both Indian and Iranian subsidiaries, paying Dh20.6m to acquire the remaining 10 per cent of its Indian business and Dh13.9m for 20 per cent of its Iranian arm.

Mr Massaad said he has high

hopes for the potential of both, stating that India is the thirdbiggest market for consumption of ceramic products in the world.

“It’s a growing market where we see potential,” said Mr Massaad, adding that it was in the process of seeking a new CEO and strengthening its management within the country.

It is also keeping a watchful eye on Iran with a view to revitalising its shuttered factory there once international sanctions are lifted.

“We are in a country where we follow the rules and regulations, where we don’t want to do anything until we will be allowed. Potentially, we will have first mover advantage where we have the factory and the asset ready. When the time will come, we will act accordingly. We can act very fast.”

Within the past three months, RAK Ceramics has opened

a representative office in Singapore to target the business-to-business market in South East Asia, and is planning a similar site in the US next year.

Anoop Fernandes, a senior analyst at Bahrain-based Securities & Investment Company, said that results for RAK Ceramics were “pretty much in line” with expectations.

He said that extending its representation in South East Asia through the new Singapore office was an “obvious focus”, as it is a growing market that can be served from its manufacturing bases in the UAE, India and Bangladesh.

He also felt there are opportunities for RAK Ceramics to explore in India.

“Unlike China, India is not a heavily oversupplied market.

There’s a small amount of excess, but demand prospects look bright,” said Mr Fernandes

INDIA

Kajaria foresees industry turnaround Following good set of second quarter earnings, Ashok Kajaria, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Kajaria Ceramics expects a better second half. Rate cut by the Reserve Bank and initiation of anti-dumping duty on vitrified tiles by the Ministry of Commerce will aid growth in coming quarters, Kajaria told CNBC-TV18. The company’s total income rose 13 percent to Rs 610.4 crore and the net profit grew 47.7 percent to Rs 58.7 crore. The earnings before income, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 54.7 percent to Rs 119 crore. Kajaria said the company will use funds for brand building in the coming quarters. He expects volume growth of 12-15 percent and expansion of margins by 200 basis points (bps) in FY16. The industry is expected to grow at 11-12 percent and Kajaria will grow at 15-16 percent this year, he said.

Speaking to local media, Mr

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Kajaria added: “The volume growth has been 12 percent and revenue growth has been approximately 13 percent plus. However, things are looking positive for two reasons - 1) reduction of interest rates by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will make the banks reduce their interest rates and 2) initiation of anti dumping duty on vitrified tiles by ministry of commerce on October 13. So these are the positive things we are looking forward to.

“In terms of realistions, this has improved roughly by about Rs 10-12 per square metre around all product mix. We have a product mix of ceramic tiles, polished vitrified tiles and glazed vitrified tiles. So realisation has been around Rs 12-15 per square meter more.

“When it comes to volume growth, we are looking at more than 12 percent and between 12 and 15 percent in the next two quarters as far as volume growth is concerned.

november 2015

“This of course brings margins into play, and we predict that these will be partly sustained; gas prices have come down and hope to see it coming down further. However, going forward we see margin growth of 200 points more than full year next year. Some part of money will be spent on brand building and partly will be retained as far as the company is concerned.

Another major area for us to concentrate on is economy of scale. Whatever capacity came at the tail end of last year, we are working at full capacity.

We commissioned a plant of five million square meters at Morbi called Taurus Ceramics in July 2015 and also did an expansion at Rajasthan plant for three million square meters of ceramic tiles. The results will come in the coming quarter, but whatever came last year, has given full potential this year.

“For investors there is even better news.I am more confident because six months has given that result and going

forward we definitely see that for full year we should see 200 bps more than last year - that's the scenario we are looking at in spite of the fact that we will be spending more on brand building this year.

“However, let’s not forget that the first half of 2015 has been tough for the industry.

However, in second half the industry should do about 1011 percent and Kajaria should look at a scenario of 15-16 percent revenue growth.”

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News

SINGAPORE

Membranes to assist in water supply Asia’s water hub Singapore is set to follow Japan’s lead and adopt ceramic membranes to produce drinking water.

Following an 18-month trial to determine the reliability of the membranes, national water agency PUB will upgrade its Choa Chu Kang Water Works (CCKWW) using the technology.

Set to be operational by 2018 with a capacity of 182,000 m3/ day, the project will be larger than the Andijk III drinking water plant in the Netherlands at 120,000 m3/day.

Dutch company PWN Technologies will supply its CeraMac® technology with membranes from Japanese company, Metawater. UGL (Singapore) Pte will design and build the plant.

The pipe network of a DMA in Malabon City experienced high head loss, preventing water from being supplied within the prescribed service level. Various solutions were considered and implemented, but they did not yield significant improvements. Read how WaterGEMS helped pinpoint a

leak in an area with very deep pipelines.

Once complete, the CCKWW project will be one of the largest ceramic membrane plants for drinking water treatment in the world.

Although novel in Singapore, in Japan there are more than 117 plants using ceramic membranes, with the first installed in 1998.

Elsewhere, the uptake in ceramic membranes for municipal drinking water applications has been slower, providing 2-3% market share.

With a higher CAPEX, they have proven more popular for industrial applications

where the robust properties are required to deal with more challenging waters.

Metawater believes ceramics have the advantage if you look at the lifecycle cost, reporting elements that are still operating unbroken for 17 years Harry Seah, chief technology officer of PUB, said: “We have been studying and testing the merits of ceramic membrane technology for a few years now, and we are satisfied with the results. Both polymeric and ceramic membranes can now be considered in our other waterworks when they are due for upgrading.”

International News

Portobello unveils major Durst investment Brazil

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ortobello invests in 7 more Durst Gamma XD Ceramic Printer Systems Durst, the industrial inkjet specialist is announcing seven further orders for the successful Gamma 98 XD from the largest Brazilian tile manufacturer Portobello. The company already uses six ceramic printers of the Gamma 75 and 120 Series in its production, and was able to raise its turnover to more than 1 billion BRL (about 320m USD) thanks to the production efficiency of the systems. Due to the continued boom in the Brazilian construction industry which is spreading to the

Northern regions in addition to the mega cities, Portobello, which is known for its premium tile design and quality focus, has recently opened a new production site in Alagoas with more than 1,000 employees. At this site, Portobello will henceforth produce wall- and floor tiles for the domestic market (ViaSeca) and for export under the new sub-brand ´Pointer`. The benefit is, that the lower-priced Pointer products are manufactured on the same Durst Gamma 98 XD with up to 8 colors, just like the premium lines. Three of the seven new ceramic printer systems have been installed at the headquarters

in Tijucas, Santa Catarina and four at the new factory. The four Gamma 98 XD at Pointer have already produced more than 6.000.000 m² since April. Last year, Portobello achieved a production volume of 30 million square meters, but current figures for 2015 are promising new production record. ´Durst Ceramic Printer Systems have provided us with continuous growth since 2011, and the investment in the new generation allows us to continue on this course of expansion`, says Stefano Galli, Head of Design and Development for Portobello. ´The Gamma 98 XD features an impressive

productivity and print quality, but also a new service concept, which enables us to carry out maintenance jobs on our own.

The nearest Durst service location is a four-hour-flight away from Pointer, and with our production targets a 24/7 production is vital. We have managed to produce large quantities with an outstanding reliability and without any downtime. With regards to the print quality, we do not differ between the premium line and the mass market, so we use the same printer systems for both products.

Above all stands our Portobello quality assurance.

rival Ibstock was floated by Bain Capital, another buyout firm.

LoneStar bought ‎Forterra in March, making the listing plan a speedy change of ownership even by the standards of the private equity industry.

It was previously owned by HeidelbergCement and under its former guise of Hanson bore one of the most prominent names in British industry.

Both Ibstock and Forterra envisage being able to exploit the growth in demand for building services companies' products as the Conservatives pledge to significantly increase the number of new homes built in the UK each year.

Forterra makes bricks, pipes and moulded concrete products for builders, and employs 1,600 people in the UK, according to its website.

Brick flotation to proceed United Kingdom

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heavyweight industrialist is to spearhead a £600‎m flotation of one of Britain's largest brick-makers as the industry cashes in on an anticipated surge in housebuilding.

News reports have revealed that LoneStar, the private equity firm, has ‎lined up Paul Lester as the chairman of Forterra - previously known as Hanson Building Products.

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Mr Lester, who chairs companies including Greenergy and is an adviser to the Government on major infrastructure projects,‎ is expected to take Forterra public next year.

The initial public offering, which is likely to focus on Forterra's UK arm and take place in London, may seek to raise tens of milions of pounds, according to insiders.

It will come months after its larger

november 2015

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News

International News

Sacmi becomes a Mectiles shareholder Italy The Casalgrande-based firm has been handling the purchase, overhaul and sale of used Sacmi ceramic-making machines for some years now.

Sacmi’s Managing Director, Pietro Cassani: “our goal is to make the most of ten years of successful governance and broaden Mectiles’ activities to include the packaging and food sectors and so intercept market opportunities while maintaining full managerial and organisational independence”

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o boost sales opportunities and, at the same time, acquire a part of the added value that stems from the management, sale and enhancement of used machines: this, in short, is the strategy of the Sacmi Group, which has just become a minority shareholder in Mectiles, a company based in Casalgrande (RE, Italy). The latter has managed, for many years now, on behalf of the Group, the purchase, regeneration and subsequent sale of used machines for the ceramic industry. Mectiles is expected to close 2015 with total sales of over 40 million Euro and has 30 employees.

“In recent years, management of used Sacmi machines”, points out Managing Director, Pietro Cassani, “has been performed by

this specialised company, which operates independently. Thanks to their undisputed technical and commercial skills and excellent management by their President, Stefano Compagni, their work has also resulted in higher sales of new machines by allowing customers to cover part of the payment from the sale of used equipment".

The ambition, explains Sacmi’s Managing Director, is to extend Mectiles’ scope of business from second-hand ceramic machines to other Group business areas such as packaging (closures and beverage) and food (headed by Group holding company Carle & Montanari).

“By shrewdly expanding the handling of used machines we can boost sales”, explains Cassani, “by including other Group business segments where there is demand

Ceramic firm keeps breaking records Poland

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As might be expected, this operation also takes into account a global scenario that stretches from Italy to the Near East and SouthEast Asia, where fierce competition demands a strengthening of its position on both the new and used equipment markets (founded in 1998, Mectiles operates worldwide and in emerging economies and has important overseas branches such as Mectiles Turkey).

Other positive effects of gaining a share in Mectiles are likely to include improved synergies with TLR (Tech & Lease Rent): this Sacmi partner deals with equipment rental, offering all the assurance that stems from the reliability, quality and durability of Group-developed technical solutions/systems in the various businesses and industries.

New SSK kiln for Ceramica Flaminia Spain

ollowing the record-breaking performance achieved by CERRAD just three years ago with its pressed clinker plant, one of the most automated, productive and flexible in the world, entrepreneurs Karolina and Aleksander Sznyrowski decided to invest in a new success, this time a large-size floor tile plant in Starachowice. Now, that plant is fully operative.

The SACMI-supplied grinding and spray-drying facility is one of Poland’s largest: it features three TFP120 turbo-crushers, a modular MMC111 mill and an ATM110 spray-drier that can process both local and imported raw materials, all of which have been thoroughly analysed by the SACMI Research Center and CERRAD technologists.

On the pressing front there are two PH6500 machines, the

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for us to buy back used equipment as partial compensation for investment in new plants”.

The underlying theme of the operation is managerial/ organisational autonomy, as this will ensure the best possible results in both the sale of new equipment, run by Sacmi, and the sale of used equipment, handled by Mectiles (which works not just for Sacmi but also other players in the Sassuolo ceramic district). Used machines represent an interesting opportunity for customers in emerging nations who are looking for economical yet good quality solutions. The combination of used Sacmi machines (which maintain their value over time) and Mectiles’ outstanding overhaul, installation and start-up skills is set to be a winning one.

largest presses to feature the CRS (rapid die changeover) system in Eastern Europe; downstream from the latter there is an ECP285 horizontal dryer, the longest in the entire area. Completing the picture is the already renowned top-of-the-range EKO kiln from SACMI FORNI which provides unprecedented performance in terms of consumption, quality, environmental-friendliness and user-friendly adjustment. With a 2950 mm wide infeed and a length of over 140 metres, it is undoubtedly the biggest tile kiln installed in Poland.

Thanks to this new plant, then, which produces over 14,000 square metres of top quality porcelain tiles per day, CERRAD is set to play a pivotal role over the coming years – and will, undoubtedly, soon be setting further records.

november 2015

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eramica Flaminia has implemented a major investment project to raise output and improve quality. Already a long-standing Sacmi customer and a pivotal player in the Civita Castellana (Vt) sanitaryware district, Ceramica Flaminia has just purchased a new SSK 440/198-8 triple load (8 + 8) tunnel kiln suitable for firing sanitaryware items in vitreous china and fine fire clay.

With a load volume of 110 cubic metres and an effective car loading width of 4230 mm, this kiln can handle - on a 12-16-hour firing cycle - over 500 pieces. Design features that ensure outstanding output quality include accurate control of firing curves via optimized software and burners which

distribute heat evenly, thus calibrating delivered power to effective manufacturing needs.

Completing the picture are the low maintenance requirements, the result of refractory plates lining the inner kiln wall that prevent product contamination.

With this latest investment Ceramica Flaminia has renewed its trust in Sacmi and carried forward its plans to expand production of vitreous china and fine fire clay sanitaryware. This latest order, in fact, follows the supply of Sacmi ATM pressure casting systems with robotized de-moulding and ALS systems without robotized de-moulding that have been operational - to the customer’s great satisfaction - at the Civita Castellana plant for some years now.

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Raw Materials News

Raw Material News

GOVERNMENT AIMS TO PUSH INVESTMENT

Saudi Arabia // Kaolin/Nepheline syenite/feldspar Saudi Arabia has an ambitious plan to increase the share of mining in GDP to SR260 billion by 2030, Petroleum and Minerals Minister Ali Al-Naimi said in Riyadh.

The minister was inaugurating the first Saudi Mining and Minerals Conference in Riyadh in the midst of a large gathering of more than 1,000 delegates, which included mining experts and entrepreneurs and owners of mines, government officials and international operators.

The minister also opened an exhibition on the sidelines of the conference.

More than 50 exhibitors from 10 countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United States, China, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, displayed the latest technologies from leading international suppliers.

Exhibits at Saudi Mining & Minerals 2015 included machinery, equipment, materials, products, technology, consultancy services, management capability and financial expertise for Saudi Arabia’s mining sector, also for supporting infrastructure including building and construction, transport and communications, power and electricity, water and environment.

Broad product categories included mining machinery and equipment, surface mining equipment, drilling technology, conveying equipment, exploration technology, energy supply and infrastructure support facilities and equipment.

Minister Ali Al-Naimi told the opening session that that Kingdom aims to triple the contribution to the Saudi economy made by mining and minerals.

“The direct and indirect contribution to GDP has reached SR80 billion and (the sector) has created 265,000 jobs.” Al-Naimi said.

“The ministry is aiming to raise the GDP of mining to SR260 billion by 2030 and to create more than 100,000 jobs for citizens.”

Al-Naimi said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is developing a long-term plan for the Kingdom’s mining sector.

Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Abdulaziz AlJasser, president of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, Saudi Geological Survey President Zohair Al-Nawab, Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Sultan bin Shawli and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) Present Khalid Al-Mudaifer were also present.

“Our mining sector is developing fast and we hope to attract foreign investors to various projects in the sector,” the minister said, hoping that the Kingdom would prepare an attractive climate for the foreign investors who would like to invest in copper, zinc and precious metals .

He added: “We have adequate raw materials in the sector from exploration to production.”

Al-Naimi said the new industrial city in Ras Al-Khair in Eastern Saudi Arabia would contribute to strengthening the country’s industrial sector.

He said the giant industrial projects at Ras Al-Khair would support the Kingdom’s diversification drive and bring good returns to investors and stake holders. It will also help transfer technology to the Kingdom.

“Ras Al-Khair was established to support all phases of industrialization and achieve the highest possible added value inside the country,” he said.

Al-Naimi stressed that the development of the mineral sector would serve the Kingdom and its citizens in the long run.

“It will create thousands of jobs for Saudis, especially technical jobs that provide good returns.”

Ras Al-Khair will also provide attractive investment opportunities for Saudi and foreign investors, the minister said.

Minister Al-Rabiah said: “No doubt, developing mining sector in the Kingdom would provide ample opportunities for the Saudi economy to diversify its income.”

He said that his ministry is following a paper-less concept in dealing with several matters with the members of the public.

He said industrial licenses are issued electronically without the applicants perfecting documents to submit their applications.

MZI TARGETS SALES BY DECEMBER Australia // Zircon MZI Resources is targeting first sales from its Keysbrook mineral sands operation in Western Australia by December after processing its first saleable product at the separation plant.

The first batch of zircon concentrates and the titanium dioxide products L88 and L70 has been produced one month ahead of schedule.

This allows MZI to advance its expectations for achieving first customer sales from an original target of early 2016 to next month.

In September, MZI confirmed the signing of binding offtake agreements for 85% of production under five-year sales agreements with blue chip customers Chemours and Tricoastal-Wensheng.

Separation of the first saleable products follows the start last month of heavy mineral concentrate production three weeks ahead of schedule and on budget.

The company is now targeting full production in the current quarter.

Commissioning activities are now well underway and ahead of schedule at both the Keysbrook wet concentrator plant and the mineral separation plant at Picton.

The start of production at Keysbrook puts MZI on the cusp of becoming the world’s biggest primary producer of leucoxene, as well as a substantial producer of zircon.

What makes Keysbrook so compelling is that it is a high-margin longlife project with strong growth potential.

It is scheduled to produce over 95,000 tonnes of leucoxene and zircon products annually and has resources equivalent to +30 years of life at currently planned production rates, yet there is still significant upside to expanding its resources.

The project’s low forecast operating costs and high-value product mix also promise to make MZI one of the highest-margin suppliers of premium mineral sands products to the global market.

ALTECH SECURES MINING RIGHTS DEAL Australia // Kaolin ASX-LISTED Altech Chemicals has completed a deal which will see it paid up to $3 million for surplus kaolin mining rights.

The company will give Dana Shipping and Trading mining rights for 10 million tonnes of kaolin clay from its mine in Meckering, Western Australia.

Dana will be able to mine up to 10 million tonnes of the clay in return for a $1 million payment and this may increase to $3 million for 30 million tonnes and the deal includes a royalty component.

Altech Chemicals is planning to mine just 4 million tonnes of the material

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as a feedstock, turning the clay into a high purity alumina product, which is then used in a range of different industrial processes.

Given the mine has a resource of 65 million tonnes of kaolin clay, Altech managing director Iggy Tan said the deal was a win-win.

“As our HPA project only requires 4Mt of kaolin for a 100 year life securing additional value for our shareholders from the kaolin resources at Meckering via this mining rights agreement with Dana is a great outcome,” he said

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News Anaylsis

News

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Jingdezhen: rebuilding a global icon

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uring his first visit to Shanxi, a 1,000-year-old town in Jiangxi province known for porcelain-making, Eric Kaplan from the United Kingdom received a blue and white plate bearing his family's insignia.

He received the gift at the ongoing 2015 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair. Bearing the serial number 001, it is one of five newly fired porcelain plates that imitate pieces originally manufactured by Jingdezhen craftsmen some 600 years ago for European aristocrats.

Having grown up with a lot of fine china in his home, the descendant of a noble family in Leicestershire said it felt amazing to obtain something similar to a piece collected by his ancestors.

"We appreciate this art very much, and I am extremely honored to be here and very thankful," said Kaplan.

Master pottery maker Huang Yunpeng, who presented the plate to Kaplan as a gift, has collected more than 300 antique ceramics tailor-made by local craftsmen for special clients in Europe, including aristocrats, high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants and social organizations.

His son, Huang Bin, president of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Company, said he hopes these antique porcelain pieces can attract people to revisit Jingdezhen's ties to the British nobility and boost the town's handmade porcelain industry.

Hu Yinjiao, a resident of Jingdezhen, takes pride in the town's history as a royal porcelain supplier, not just for Chinese emperors but also European royals and nobility.

In the late Ming Dynasty (13681644), Jingdezhen was not only the home of imperial kilns dedicated to Chinese emperors, but also saw strong exports in porcelain. It is estimated that some 100 million pieces of china were sold to Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.

"In overseas museums, quite a number of exquisite porcelain antiques for European royals and aristocrats were made in Jingdezhen.

To understand how famous the city is, just look at the mark below

november 2015

each antique. Oftentimes, I've found it mentioned just the city -adding the country was seemingly unnecessary," said Hu. "When browsing armorial porcelain antiques in overseas museums, I do feel the town's strong connection with the royalty there," said Hu. In Exhibition Hall A at the ceramics fair in Jingdezhen, Chinese swarmed the stands of royal suppliers to appreciate the designs.

Moorcroft, an 118-year-old brand based in Stoke-on-Trent of Staffordshire in England and an appointed "potter to H.M. The Queen" until 1978, is one of the most popular ceramics makers at the expo.

Head of Sales Gina McNicholas said that Moorcroft's heritage as a supplier to the Queen and royal families helps its sales in China.

"We've found our traditional English products have sold better than anything in China. It's very regal and royal. I think people buy into that idea," said McNicholas.

Moorcroft has hired a Hong Kong agent to deal in exports to China. The brand has a history of working with overseas markets to establish new designs, so designers can influence one another and come up with new ideas about how things will sell in each market.

McNicholas told Xinhua that the company will also look to cooperate with ceramics makers in Jingdezhen.

"It's about working together to share ideas and best practices and boost the UK and Chinese brands as well," she said.

However, master porcelain artist Duan Zhenmin said restoring the city's past glory in the ceramics market faces a major challenge because it lacks famous international brands.

"You can't find a Chinese name on the list of the world's top luxury ceramic brands. Jingdezhen is only a place of origin shared by local pottery makers," said Duan, who founded the Jiuduanshao Ceramics Factory.

By contrast, a number of heavyweight manufacturers have emerged over the past two centuries as suppliers for

European royals, aristocrats and luxury consumers, including Royal Copenhagen, France's GIEN, Hungary's Herend, the UK's Royal Doulton and Wedgewood and Germany's Meissen.

"The absence of an international brand in Jingdezhen also brings an opportunity, and we are aiming to renew the heritage of royal quality," said Huang Bin of the Imperial Kiln.

To protect its production techniques and better guarantee quality, the Imperial Kiln Company has given a special ID to each of its products. Local government is also building a database in an attempt to track luxury porcelain for exports.

Bian Xiaodong, a pottery maker in Jingdezhen, is confident about the city's ability to gain a foothold in the world's high-end ceramics market if local industry can act quickly to build brands.

"Most domestic masters have dedicated themselves to the design of single works, failing to promote their products under a brand name.

But we still have the best production techniques," he said.

He said one example is the tableware designed by master Huang Chunmao with the China Central Academy of Fine Arts for an evening banquet at the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing, which was attended by national leaders and high-ranking guests from 20 countries.

Inspired by the teacups of the Song Dynasty (960-1276), the tableware, which combined modern techniques and traditional enamel craft, was impressive and received industry recognition, according to Bian.

To inspire innovation and cooperation, an industrial park featuring artists' studios and workshops recently opened in Jingdezhen, where masters of hand-made porcelain and those who use special techniques can produce and exhibit their works.

Wu Jiangzhong, a local ceramics master who specializes in large chinaware, has moved his kiln to Mingfang Park and expects it to boost the industry in the global market.

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I N N O V A T I O N

V A L L E Y

Analysis: Japan

Toki, a small town in Gifu Prefecture, 37 km from Nagoya, sits above a huge clay basin. Pottery has been made here since ancient times.

The world-famous Oribe style, which uses green copper glaze and bold painted designs was invented in Gifu more than 400 years ago. Then the province was called Mino and it supplied the whole of Japan with sake flasks, bottles, jars, dishes, bowls, cups, plates, teapots, vases, incense burners, inkstones, water droppers, tea ceremony implements and smoking paraphernalia.

Mino pottery, known as Minoyaki has four main types: Oribe; Shino, which has a milky white to orange glaze, sometimes with charcoal grey spotting; the yellow Ki-seto and the black Kuro-seto.

On the outskirts of Toki is Oribe Village Park where a 400-year-old kiln has been spectacularly preserved and another reconstructed. The Motoyashiki Kiln had 14 firing chambers, now covered by a series of connecting pavilions cascading down a hill. Inside this unusual and intriguing structure there are preserved clay pots and plates, still waiting, readied for firing on many levels, just as they were one day centuries ago. They can be seen close-up from a long staircase.

This place is set in park-like grounds with flower gardens and there are various other attractions such as pottery workshops where visitors can make their own ceramics.

Although modern materials, such as plastic, have replaced a lot of ceramic production, the industry is still very much active in Toki.

Among the town’s more than 100 ceramic companies, there are half a dozen nationally renowned potters. One of them, Masakazu Yamada, runs the White Mountain Kiln, founded by his great grandfather around 1900. Born in Toki, he has worked as a potter for 51 of his 63 years.

Yamada gets commissions from all over Japan, supplying restaurants, hotels and department store exhibitions with plates, cups and vases, and making tiles for large ceramic murals.

With regular customers, he often gets repeat orders — he never cold calls. As a member of the Japan Traditional Arts and Crafts Exhibition, an event held annually since 1954, he has also won nine prizes for best ceramic pieces between 1983 and 2014.

Boom or bust?

According to Yamada, the ceramics business boomed in the bubble years when he made only household utensils. Great quantities of Chinese industrially produced crockery, however, dented Japan’s domestic market, which led to him adapting to the new conditions by concentrating more on high-end artistic creations.

He puts a big lump of clay onto a wheel, explaining that he mixes light and heavy clay according to the type of plate or vase

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he now specializes in. Soon, with the addition of water and skilled handiwork, the clay is transformed into a tall, elegant vase, ready for drying and firing.

Inside one kiln are flower pots destined for Gifu’s venerable Suimeikan Hotel at Gero Onsen (regarded as one of Japan’s best hot-spring resorts).

Also, he shows some finished square plates of brilliant azure, green and brown glaze, destined for another hotel in the neighboring prefecture, Nagano. He tells me that he is paid ¥2,500 per plate through a middle man and gets a similar price for the flower pots, though he sells them direct to the Suimeikan.

Every November, there is a weekend fair in Orishi, a small town near Toki, when hundreds of potters from miles around set out their wares on trestle tables along several long alleys. A popular event with local people, there is a lot of good-natured bargaining for plates, cups and curios.

At the last fair, two sisters, Yuka Hibino and Junko Maida, and a helper were doing a brisk trade from their stall. Their company, which is 50 years old, was started by their father, who has since died, they explain. A brother-in-law took over and it is now a full time job for the family. When asked if they enjoy the work, like Yamada, they speak of a tougher business environment nowadays.

“Making and selling ceramics is not a bad living, but it needs a lot of cash to run and there are not as many benefits as before,” Hibino says.

Traveling further out, a 45-minute train ride from Toki by train is Seto, whose kilns have the longest production history in Japan.

The atmosphere of the town is quiet and provincial, with homely cafes and cool jazz coming from a second-hand store. Seto, however, has made glazed pottery since the eighth century and it is still a thriving ceramics production hub. Its 24-hour semiautomated factories make one-sixth of Japan’s ceramics, turning out household objects of all types, and the town’s main street is packed with shops displaying the varied products of its potters.

There is a booth near Owari-Seto Station that offers maps and leaflets in English about the town’s attractions, and galleries and fine pottery exhibitions abound in the town. A short distance from the station is the Seto Gura Museum, which houses two huge ground-floor shops selling tea and coffee pots, jugs, plates, china wind chimes, ceramic houses, locomotives, red post boxes in 10 sizes, horses, dogs, pigs, cats and huge opened-mouthed frogs.

There is also a spacious cafe featuring a large kiln inside it, with firewood stacked as if ready for use, while on the floor above there are pottery tools and displays on coal-fired lime kilns, factories, pottery shops and the town’s old station.

Heading back toward Toki, I stop at Tajimi, which has thrived on ceramics since the Meiji Era (1867-1912). From Toki, Tajimi is just a six-minute train ride, and the town’s business is proclaimed

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Analysis: Japan at the station by a huge, boldly executed ceramic mural with swirling designs.

A short distance away is Honmachi Oribe Street, named after the famous green-and-black pottery style. Before World War II, ceramics wholesalers, run as family companies, were numerous here. However, now only one house in the area, owned by the Yamamatsu family, survives by running its original business.

According to Hiroshi Eguchi, who has a ceramics and antiques shop in Honmachi Oribe Street, the decline in ceramics occurred because “large families used to entertain at home often, so there was a big demand for bowls, cups, dishes and other household utensils. Over time, however, families became smaller, they ate out more and the market shrank.”

Lifestyles and lifetimes

Eguchi has sold antiques and ceramics for 17 years. His Tenchido shop was the first of its kind in the street and it wasn’t until a couple of years later that another one opened.

“It was a lonely street when I started, and I don’t want to brag but I was successful because I worked hard,” he says. “Also, I consider honesty important, not telling lies and offering good prices on attractively arranged pieces.”

His wares range from a small 200-year-old Edo Period (16031868) plate for ¥200 to another plate that, at more than 350 years old, sells for ¥15,000 and features an ofuke surface of green melted glass, which is created by putting pine-tree leaves in the furnace.

These prices can be far eclipsed by the creations of a famous 19th-century Tajimi potter, Enji Nishiura, who made unpainted underglaze blue Western-style tableware and brightly decorated vases, cake dishes and lamp stands. His creations, exported to Europe and America, are much in demand today and one of his

THERE ARE MANY CHINESE BUYERS NOW, AND THEY BUY IN BULK pieces can sell for ¥250,000, says Eguchi.

The gradual revival of Honmachi Oribe Street led others to new businesses, too. Restaurants, cafes and curio shops began to flourish.

“Oribe has now been successfully gentrified,” Eguchi says. Now there is even a ceramics and art gallery.

Eguchi explains that the newer demand for pottery has changed his customer base in the last six or seven years. Though, not in a way that he necessarily likes.

“There are many Chinese buyers now, and they buy in bulk, 10 to 20 pieces of ceramics, silverware, ivory iron kettles — things that will fetch high prices in China. They come in small groups, two or three times a month, but their shopping manners are very bad. They touch things roughly and once I had a jade snuff bottle stolen worth ¥10,000,” he says, explaining that he prefers to sell to those who buy for themselves. “I don’t like the trend. I want to sell only to people who love antiques.”

ASIA...

is one click away

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november 2015

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23

Analysis: Digital

Beating digital crime The Scammers are back…

AC looks at how global unrest is providing an unprecedented opportunity for online-driven industrial fraud, and why it is such a danger to the ceramic industry.

M

y what a strange world we live in. At the time of writing there are thousands of refugees seeking sanctuary in Europe, the Greeks have sold their country to Germany and become serfs, China's economic miracle appears to be more smoke and mirrors – a lot of smoke given the number of recent industrial accidents, & the global economy struggles on though the big block orders of EU and USA are still down. So much so that the Chinese ceramic market is seriously struggling.

Under such circumstances of social, economic and financial distress people may resort to desperate means. Others are just crooks.

We have written before about scammers using the internet to try to dupe the unwary but it is worth a revisit as some are becoming a little more sophisticated.

Recently we received an unsolicited email offering various products some related to ceramics and specifically products we buy. We were interested enough to call the phone number, reply to the email and request samples. Usually scammers don't know much if anything about the technical details of the industry or products they are using as bait but in this instance 'Sunny' seemed to be familiar with the industry and agreed to send a sample. Again this is unusual for a scammer – who often don't have anything to offer – because they do not have anything to actually sell.

We requested a quote and an FOB name port and whilst cheap compared to the market average the price just about fitted for a lower grade material. After the first sample was tested we needed a second for a client test and again Dear Sunny provided such. Interestingly a second sample was provided and this when

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analyzed showed the type of variations we may expect from a lower grade material.

Given this was therefore an interesting potential product we take the approval process to the next stage. Now this is where the unwary can fall victim but realistically even before we get to this stage there are a series of checks we can carry out to protect ourselves. Really we should have followed our own advice but these things happen.

How to avoid wasting time with scammers: (Thanks to Russian anti scam site HYPERLINK "http:// openchina.com.ua/" for some ideas used in the below list).

1. As soon as you receive an unsolicited email offering products or even when you've searched suppliers on B2B sites ask for company registration documents – they can easily and cheaply be forged but if you have a reliable partner in China (or other country) you can ask them to check if the number is real and matches the supposed company.

2. Search for the company on one of the major B2B / B2C sites such as Alibaba or Global Sourcing. These sites now do more to verify and validate the companies on them so if they aren't on be suspicious. If they are only on one of the smaller sites that don't validate be doubly suspicious.

3. Google the name of the company and the email and look for any references or links to the company on other web sites.

4. Add the word 'scam' to that search and do it again. There are now many sites that detail scams, hard luck stories and list companies suspected of scamming.

5. Do a 'Whois' or similar search for the domain name. See when & where the domain is registered and compare the age of the web site to the claimed age of the company. Scammer web sites are often only a year old or so, whereas the company may be

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Superwhite KAOLIN for TABLEWARE & TILE

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AMR

Analysis: Digital

said to 10 or more years old. Often they will detail phone number changes as the company has to stop using numbers that victims have used for previous contact.

6. Do a comparison of the English web site to the Chinese or foreign language web site. Easy to do now with Google Translate. The scam sites are usually targeted at English language only and there will be scant information in the native language site.

7. Look up the contact address and phone numbers – see if the address is registered to many other companies. You can do the same with the phone numbers. Many companies? Why? 8. Especially check if the phone numbers are just mobile phone numbers and if the address matches the phone numbers. For example a Chinese phone number given for a Hong Kong address.

9. Use Google Maps to search the address. Does the location look like a factory or an office building – often scam addresses are apartment blocks or even hotel rooms.

10. Ask for samples – scammers rarely want to send samples but will give TDS & MSDS. Not always of course as in our case above.

11. Payment terms and conditions. This is where scammers really fall down. They will offer a % up front, a % on dispatch and a % on delivery. No Chinese supplier offers such and as soon as payment after delivery is specified you are nearly 100% guaranteed of a scam.

12. Request that your staff or appointed agent can visit the factory and inspect the loading and packing.

Scammers will find all the ways possible to refuse. Often they simply say they need to protect their supplier from unscrupulous buyers, other times they will suggest that they can get inspectors like SGS or BV to inspect on your behalf – of course all part of the more elaborate scam.

13. Look at the images of the supposed factory / offices and products on the web site – are they typical stock photographs? Are they realistic? Google image search and find out.

14. Is it too good to be true? Whist there are many unsophisticated scammers that are easily avoided as they offer unbelievably cheap products with unbelievable payment terms and conditions, some scammers are a little more realistic – but if the terms look too advantageous then beware.

Investigating this scammer was interesting for a couple more reasons. Certainly we found other companies registered in the same apartment and and we found that there were numerous phone number changes at the address and under the domain registration. Of course as soon as a number is found out, as soon as someone is scammed it needs to be changed. Also reading through the anti scam web sites its amazing how many people will pay cash up front for metal scrap or shoes which seem to attract more than the fair share of the unwary. It seems also that the scammers now target Russians and other countries which might find it more difficult to communicate with Chinese or find it difficult to get visas – so the refusal to allow inspection is more easy to maintain '..but we can help you with SGS inspection so don't worry.

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BE CAREFUL: IF IT LOOKS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE – IT MOST LIKELY IS

We also found that many scammer web sites ended up with a fake registration address in an area of Beijing – which leads me to consider that this isn't just opportunistic scamming but possibly part of a more organized criminal gang.

So be careful folks and if it looks to good to be true – it most likely is.

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

The future of ceramics

26 -30 SEPTEMBER 2016 RIMINI - ITALY th

Organized by

In cooperation with

With the support of

tecnargilla.it

th

Analysis: Fuel

Firing the debate fuel evolution the key to success

Amanda Saint examines how increasing demands on fuel efficiency across the continent’s heavy clay facilities is forcing companies to look at every aspect of its supply.

R

esource efficiency and energy efficiency are the key issues that have been on heavy clay manufacturers minds the world over for a long while. As regulations increase and customer expectations move towards sustainable products that have less carbon footprint in both manufacture and the entire product lifecycle, the type of fuel used, as well as how it’s used, in the Asian heavy clay sector has slowly been evolving but the use of alternative, more energy efficient and renewable fuels still has a very long way to go.

Although there is still a lot of ground to be covered in the heavy clay sector in the use of both alternative and more renewable sources of fuel, on the whole many of Asia’s manufacturers have been investing in and trialling alternative and renewable energy sources on a slightly larger scale than their counterparts in Europe and North America.

But as the world becomes more and more focused on dealing with the effects of climate change, the idea of “Green Manufacturing” is taking hold and many plant manufacturers are recognising that the quickest way to address this for now is to develop more efficient machinery and equipment for manufacturing heavy clay ceramics. They are also starting to look at the entire lifecycle and supply chain of their products so that they are delivering carbon footprint savings and achieving better sustainability scores throughout the whole process. This starts right at the beginning from the sourcing of raw materials, then the manufacturing process itself and goes through to the other end of the product lifecycle to the logistics of distribution, the performance of the products when they’re in use and their eventual recycling or disposal at the end of their lifespan.

At the same time, the need to drive cost efficiencies is a major issue for the global construction sector, one of the heavy clay industries biggest customers, which has led to the development of new solutions such as prefabricated brick walls and largeformat bricks, which in turn has led to changes in the way the furnaces, and the fuels used to fire them, are used.

The Cerame-Unie Roadmap 2050, which was published at the end of 2012, outlines a number of strategies for how Europe’s

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Heavy Clay industry will meet EU sustainability and emission reduction objectives. Among other things, the Roadmap outlines that owing to the durability of ceramics products, the energy savings made during their period of use more than compensates for the energy used in the manufacturing process. But in the long-term this approach is not going to hold much sway, as the 2030 Energy and Climate Package agreed as a framework for the climate and energy policy of the European Union in 2014 includes a binding 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (1990 until 2030) and a corresponding growth for renewable energies of 27% related to energy consumption. This means that the claim around the whole lifecyle emissions will fall on deaf ears and the environmental performance of heavy clay products during the manufacturing process will have to be addressed.

The issues that Europe’s heavy clay manufacturers need to address that have been highlighted in the Ceram-Unie roadmap are no different to those that need to be resolved in Asia but the imperative for Asian companies is not quite as pressing without the same kind of guidelines, legislation and objectives in place. But

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Analysis: Fuel

globally the pressure is mounting to address climate change so the same kind of rules and regulations for Asia will undoubtedly not be too far behind.

Manufacturers in the mechanical engineering and kiln construction sectors are already responding to the need for change though and are busy developing new concepts for the construction of dryers and furnaces that are expected to deliver energy savings of up to 30 percent compared to current models. But new machinery concepts are just one step in the evolutionary process that the heavy clay industry needs to go through. The changeover to alternative and renewable fuels has to play a big part too but in the heavy clay industry their use is still very limited.

Is fuel use in heavy clay evolving?

Although progress so far has been pretty limited, fuel evolution in the heavy clay industry is happening. But as with the evolution of our planet and all of the species that inhabit it, it’s a long-term game with no quick fixes nor any big evolutionary leaps forward to speak of. Rather it’s a case of taking small transformative steps towards a more sustainable and less polluting future.

In Asia, despite the steps towards more use of alternative and renewable fuels, fossil coal is still the predominant fuel used for firing bricks as it tends to be the cheapest, although both the quality and its environmental credentials are obviously not the best.

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In Europe there haven’t really been many big changes in the type of fuel being used with more than 95 per cent of the continent’s heavy clay manufacturers still firing natural gas – a situation that it seems is unlikely to change anytime soon as it’s cheap, easy to handle, delivers good results in firing and has relatively low greenhouse gas emissions compared to other fuel options. Where factories don’t have gas pipelines in place they are firing light or crude oil; and as any investment to build gas pipelines would not be able to provide a tangible return on investment then it’s unlikely that this will change any time soon.

But there is a lot of research and development going on looking at the potential fuel sources that could deliver a more sustainable future (see call out box for details of one significant project: The Syngas Experiment) and when investments in fuel evolution are made then companies should hopefully be looking at how to move to renewables rather than another fossil fuel.

Fuel evolution research and development There are a number of different materials being investigated and trialled as potential alternative fuels. These include tyres, rubber, paper waste, waste oils, waste wood, paper sludge, sewage sludge, plastics and spent solvents.

See Table 1 for details of the environmental performance of some of the alternatives compared to traditional fossil fuels. As you can see, each fuel has its merits and its drawbacks and perhaps evolution is not really going to happen until we discover the holy grail of fuels, whatever that may be.

What we need to consider though is that wood and similar when used as fuel might not be considered to be renewable a priori for obvious reasons, namely deforestation, although if the wood source is from a properly managed source then, really, this shouldn’t be seen as a reason not to switch to wood.

The same non-renewable reasoning could be applied to fuels and fuel wastes derived from edible oils, which it could definitely be argued would be better used to feed our ever growing global population. On the other hand, waste fats and oils, such as recycled frying oil, might be considered renewable fuels where edible oils, including their derivatives such as biodiesel or ethanol, can certainly not to be considered renewable and are only slightly greener than fossil fuels.

Pyrolysis oil and gas could be considered renewable energy sources if the raw material used in the process fulfills the renewable criteria (as, for example, set forth in the UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change guidelines). But many of the processes used to create these fuels are new and still developing and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we still have a lot to learn.

Better kilns and kiln operation

When you look at the energy data of heavy clay operators around the world it doesn’t really work to do direct comparisons between the different countries. Research has shown that no specific relationship appears to exist between the type of fuel used, the predominant type of product made, and the energy savings achieved (albeit there is a slight trend towards greater savings mainly in the countries with the highest rate of utilisation of gas as fuel and where the predominant product are blocks).

To achieve better environmental performance many of Asia’s brick makers, and those on every other continent, are keen to switch from self-firing (with coal in the mix) to controlled firing, in order to still achieve the same quality in the end product. Coal combustion at low temperature causes high levels of harmful greenhouse gas

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29

Analysis: Fuel

Emission levels for different fuel types based for an equivalent of 1MwH energy delivered H20 Coal Lignite Natural gas

CO2

Ashes

Sulphur

VOC

Alkaline

Acetic Acid

Low

High

Low

Low

Medium

Low

-

Medium

High

Medium

Medium

Null

-

-

High

Low

Null

Null

Null

Null

-

Dry wood

Medium

Medium

Low to High

Null to Medium

Medium

Can be high

Can be high

Coal gas

Low (if dried)

High

Null

Low to medium

Null

Null

-

High

High

Null

Low

Low

Null

-

Medium

Medium

Null

Medium

Null

Null

-

Syngas

Heavy fuel

emissions, but in a catch-22 situation this mode is also more accurate to obtain good and repeatable quality of products.

Product quality can’t be compromised but a compromise is going to have to be found.

In firing roof tiles, the current technology that is still most widely used requires a relatively large percentage of the employed energy to be used to heat kiln furniture, and there is a tendency when making facing bricks and pavers to use higher firing temperatures than are actually required. The overall picture however is not uniform and what it points to is that the use of fuel and how to achieve better energy efficiency is very much still dealt with at a single plant level rather than from a global perspective.

In the newer machines that are coming on to the market improvements are being made in the design of kiln cars, burners and the insulation of the kiln itself.

But not too many plants are investing in them. So with the machines they have, steps towards evolution in how fuel is used could easily be made by reducing firing temperatures by unifying them across the different sections of the kiln. Apparently, one of the biggest problems in managing energy use more efficiently is that many kiln operators are not aware of what is happening in their kiln and how it needs to be controlled and run to ensure optimal performance. This lack of technical knowledge is one of the major issues that is stopping the brick industry becoming more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable without investing in the newer machinery.

Plants using alternative and renewable fuels

The successful use of alternative and renewable fuels in industrial brick plants in the industrialised world is currently limited to just a few examples: the Olfry brick company in Vechta in Germany runs on landfill gas. In the United States the Boral Brick plants in Terres Hautes, Illinois; Union City in Oklahoma; and the Jenkins brick plant in Moody, Illinois all run on landfill gas as well.

CERIC is leading the way for plants using bio mass solid fuel. For over a decade this French company has been using solutions for industrial firing with bio mass solid fuel in two of the leading brick factories in France.

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Other examples include some plants running partially on landfill gas exist Spain and the UK; a plant running on rendering fat and biogas; and a few plants have been running on waste motor or hydraulic oil (albeit these have not given authorisation to be cited by name). A single plant in the north of France uses sawdust obtained from nearby furniture manufacturers as its main fuel. But in the wood rich countries of South America the use of sawdust as a fuel is widespread in both industrial and rural kilns.

There have been some wood chip and syngas trials in southern US states and the European Brick Association (TBE) has been active in getting a European Research Project under way looking at the use of syngas from various waste products. But it doesn’t appear to be getting anywhere fast as the project started in 2010 and, as yet, no results have been published. What can be observed though is that none of the syngas plant suppliers taking part in the project have come up with a working system.

In Asia the use of clod coal, food processing wastes, such as nutshells, and wood is pretty common. A number of brick plants in South Africa are firing their kilns using a fuel that has been created from waste generated by coal gasification that has been stored in lagoons and is now recovered, processed and sold as a cheap fuel.

But maybe the heavy clay industry needs to look beyond its own sector to see what alternative fuels are being developed elsewhere that could help them evolve to be more sustainable without having to make significant capital investments in new, greener machines.

In the cleantech sector in the UK there have been some very interesting developments around biogases created from water and sunlight in a process that mimics photosynthesis in plants; and a new carbon-free coal made from organic waste that can be burned like fossil coal, which is known as biocoal and is sulphur and carbon-emission free when burnt. But one of the most exciting developments is a new technology that removes carbon

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Analysis: Fuel

from the air as it burns natural gas. All of these developments are at very early stages but worth watching for heavy clay manufacturers to use in the future.

The future of fuel evolution in heavy clay

Despite exciting developments in the greener fuel world, the general consensus is that fuel evolution for now is not to be considered in terms of innovative new alternatives but in how to get all of the organisations in the industry to invest in making the change from the traditional technologies they have, which have a high environmental impact, to the less polluting technologies that are already available.

Impressive improvements to environmental performance could be made immediately through the use of self-firing kilns with regulated air flow and temperature control; by using controlled firing instead of self-firing in solid fuel systems; and by using bio-mass firing systems instead of solid fossil fuels.

So, evolution is being delayed by financial considerations rather than compelled by environmental ones. Is the right approach to take? Well, the impacts of climate change are expected to accelerate faster than first anticipated in the coming years so it would seem that environmental concerns do need to take a step up the ladder of priorities for corporations in every sector, not just heavy clay.

The results of the syngas experience carried out by IZF are very encouraging and demonstrate that with the right approach and investments the production of syngas can be established as an alternative to natural gas in the firing process and this can be an important step in fuel evolution. The problem at the moment comes down to finances again and “traditional” fossil fuels are cheap so if a new fuel is going to be more expensive then sadly it’s likely that the

ASIA’S BRICK MAKERS ARE KEEN TO SWITCH FROM SELF-FIRING (WITH COAL) TO CONTROLLED FIRING changes we need to see won’t be made until the very last moment.

But the ever increasing level of health and safety and environmental regulations, as well as rising prices of fossil fuels as they dwindle, will eventually bring about the increased use of biomass fuels and recycling of waste products to fire kilns in the heavy clay sector.

Current development point to these biomass fuels mainly being in solid or liquid form, even if the possibility to use syngas from waste pyrolysis has to be taken into account. To adapt to these new fuels the firing process has to be updated with, for example, new kinds of burners that can be fed by several kinds of solid fuels depending on the availability of materials. These could be wood pellets, sawdust, wastes from rice cultivation, waste from agricultural fed, sewage, the list goes on. One things is for certain, evolution is definitely going to happen one day, because it will have to.

The Syngas Experiment A research project was carried out by the Brick and Tile Research Institute Essen (IZF) in a high-temperature gasification facility to determine whether syngas can be used in the firing of clay bricks and roofing tiles to cut the amount of energy needed from fossil fuels. The results were published earlier this year and the general consensus is that syngas seems to be a viable alternative fuel that can be used in the firing process without the quality and appearance of the end product being negatively affected.

The syngas used in the experiment was from waste-derived solid fuels that typically are not suitable for use in clay brick and roofing tile firing, especially when the colour of the end products is important – as for glazed roofing tiles, for example. It was created through gasification of waste substances containing organic matter and the conclusion of the experiment is that syngas appears to be an appropriate renewable energy solution for the heavy clay industry. From an environmental point of view, a future energy model based on syngas delivers distinct advantages: less depletion of fossil fuel resources and better waste management.

The researchers suggested that the solid residues or “ashes” from gasification could also be reintroduced as an additive to the raw material in brick products, thereby solving the issue of the ultimate residues as well.

So it seems that syngas can enable the heavy clay industry to take important steps forward in fuel evolution to manage resources more efficiently, cut carbon emissions and improve the environmental performance of clay brick and roofing tile production.

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EXHIBITION REPORT EXHIBITION REPORT EXHIBITION REPORT EXHIBITION REPORT

The Final Figures of the 26th CeramBath

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33

Analysis: Shanxi

Province Profile production climbs as incentives rise

In the next of our series of Province Profiles, we turn to tile industry developments taking place in Shanxi.

T

here are 31 ceramic tile enterprises in Shanxi with daily production capacity of 678,000m2, among which there are 21 interior wall tile production lines with the capacity of 437,000 m2/d, 3 polished tile lines with capacity of 34,000 m2/d, 6 exterior wall tile lines with capacity of 89,000 m2/d, 2 rustic tile lines with capacity of 39,000 m2/d, 1 fully polished glazed tile lines with capacity of 17,000 m2/d, 5 lines for other types of ceramic tiles (including small floor tile, crystal tile, border tile and wall skirting tile)with capacity of 62,000 m2/d and 8 western roof tile lines with capacity of 121,000 pcs/d.

There are 16 planned production lines, including 3 lines under construction and 63 inkjet printers in operation.

In recent years, taking full advantage of abundant resources and energy, Shanxi government has been working aggressively to introduce ceramic manufacturers from Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang, establishing ceramic tile industrial bases in Yangcheng and Huairen to promote rapid development of ceramic tile industry in Shanxi.

Through investigation by the correspondent, the industry features in Shanxi are not hard to discern. On one hand, the enterprises involved in ceramic tile manufacturing assemble to some extent. According to the latest statistics, the businesses settle in 5 counties, Yangcheng, Qingxu, Huairen, Hejin and Xinjiang, in which 23 enterprises gather in Yangcheng and merely 8 in the rest.

On the other hand, some production areas during last three years for multiple factor came to end. The typical example is in Yangquan city where two enterprises with capacity of 45,000 m2/d closed, with one being built into dwellings and the other selling out equipment.

The greater shuffle in ceramic industry is transforming Shanxi ceramic tile industry which will evolve from “scatter” to “cluster”, embarking on the journey of scale development.

Yangcheng dominates

There remains a consensus of “Yangcheng belittles other ceramics producer in Shanxi” in the provincial sector. In 2003, Yangcheng regarded ceramic industry as the priority of industry reform for the sake of fulfilling the objective, setting industrial base and cultivating non-coal leading sector. The industrial cluster appears and the daily capacity has amounted to 87.3% of the total in Shanxi.

At present, four industrial parks have been established in Yangcheng, including Anyang Ceramic Park, Luweihe industrial

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corridor, Dongye ceramic base and Yanli household ceramic Base.

There are over 30 ceramic enterprises with annual production value of RMB 2.6 billion, profit and tax of RMB 260 million and 12,000 employees. In addition, the ceramic tile industry has reached 96% of the total ceramic industry, becoming the dominant driving force of Yangcheng.

Wall tile upgrades

Through development in recent years Yangcheng became one of the fastest-growing ceramic tile industrial bases in northern part of China. Statistics suggest that Yangcheng has 23 related enterprises with 35 ceramic tile production lines. In 2013 the output of ceramic tiles in Yangcheng reaches as much as 75 million m2, up 15% year on year.

Furthermore, interior wall tile is the absolute flagship product. The investigations indicates that there are 20 interior wall tile lines with capacity of 427,000 m2/d, taking up 65% and 74% in total number of lines and daily capacity respectively. The local enterprises speed up in upgrading. On one hand, the advanced wide-body kilns adopted leads to significant increase in production capacity, for instance, 2 newly-built interior wall tile production lines of Jinlong Ceramics has capacity of over 70,000 m2/d. On the other hand, inkjet technology has been widely used, with 61 inkjet printers, taking up 97% of the total in Shanxi.

Wan Jinbiao, General Manager of Jinyu Ceramics Group, the largest producer in the county, said that Yangcheng is well-positioned to be China's interior wall tile manufacturing base thanks to its raw materials, which have highly shock strength and excellent cracking tolerance, contributing to first-class interior wall tile products.

Coal challenges

In 2013, Yangcheng energized efforts to establish industrial clusters and full-fledged industrial chain based on the transformation requirements of “development through highlighting features, complementing each other, overcoming challenges and forming clusters”. The government implemented the project of “ten major infrastructure facilities” to support the sector, and completed “six projects”, such as transportation, water supply and discharge management network, railway container freight station, gas supply station and sewage disposal plant, all of which improve the park infrastructure.

In the tide of “water gas instead of coalbed methane” everywhere,

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Analysis: Shanxi

e: Shanxi Jincheng rolls out “Goals of Air Pollution Prevention and Treatment”, identifying the range of “water gas instead of coalbed methane” in Yangcheng industrial park and requiring the task to be accomplished before the end of the year 2014. The cooperation has been ensured between the park and Shanxi Coal Bed Methane Co., with pipeline being arranged in the park. However, the inadequate supply results in that only one company named Hongtaiyang Ceramic Tiles who adopts the coalbed methane.

“Coalbed methane of four to five million cubic meters will be needed daily and there is a big gap between supply if all the producers use it.” said a staff from Yangcheng ceramic park administration. In fact, the rising production cost brought by coalbed methane together with source, blocks “water gas instead of coalbed methane” in the county, especially the drop in coal price in 2014 exerted negative impact on it.

Limiting effects

AT PRESENT, FOUR INDUSTRIAL PARKS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN YANGCHENG but small in scale and they are shut down due to lots of factors. No existing ones plan to construct new lines as reporter investigates.

In the case of sluggish market and increasingly stiff competition, Yangcheng ceramic industry has to engage on a crop of challenges.

First of all, this rugged area owns few even ground. The park situated on hillside restricts the scale of development. On one hand, the small area enterprises cover limits the expansion and new lines building.

On the other hand, the utterly inconvenient transportation elevates logistics cost, which slash the competitiveness.

Secondly, the structure of product s is incomplete. Most manufacturers focus on single type, interior wall tile, starved of supporting products so less fascinating to the distributors based on scale operation. Meanwhile, the fast rise of interior wall tile producers in adjacent areas of Neihuang (Henan), Gaoyi (Hebei) have attach pressure on the local counterparts. Correspondent also finds the overloaded inventory in some enterprises.

Last but not least, lack of brand building awareness and diversified market means. According to the staff in the county economy and information department, the authority actively encourages and leads enterprises to implement brand strategy by reinforcing high and midend products development and production to put it into the highlevel scope and make it well-known. However, the majority of local enterprises mainly pursue production and selling but less invest in brand, restricting transformed upgrading

Huairen: the new entrant

Qingxu in decline?

As a subordinate to Yuncheng city, Hejin city located in the southwest of Shanxi province, is home to 372,000 people with the area of 593 square kilometers. Mineral resources are common here, including coal, pyrite, limestone, quartz sandstone and refractory clay.

The first ceramic tile producer Zhongda Ceramics was established

by Shanxi Zhongda Aluminum Company to mainly make colorpenetrated tiles in 2010. In 2013 it upgraded the production lines with more than RMB 10 million and shifted into fully polished glazed tile products with the annual capacity of 5 million m2. It is the first, also the only fully polished glazed tile production line in Shanxi, accelerating and transforming and upgrading of ceramic tile industry.

Qingxu, located at the middle of Shanxi Province, hold the south pass of Taiyuan. With the area of 609 square kilometers, it has the population of 340,000, being well acknowledged as “culture-oriented city, the land of vinegar and grape”.

Qingxu famous for vinegar enjoys the advantage in ceramic raw materials. However, the ceramic industry has been shrinking rather than extending in past few years. Data shows it had 8 ceramic tile production lines in 2011 but only four left now, producing exterior wall tile, interior wall tile and polished tile, with capacity of 48,000 m2/d.

A local employee told the reporter there were many plants here

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Huairen is rich in ceramic raw materials, including bauxite, quartz, feldspar and rare earth. The ceramic industry here as the supplement to the coal resource development makes headway supported by the policy of “grow ceramics with coal”. At present, it has 45 ceramic enterprises with 90 production lines and many kinds of products, including household ceramics, ceramics for packaging, glazed ceramics, art ceramics, industrial ceramics and ceramic tiles.

Relying on the abundant raw materials, the government strives to push forward the ceramic tile industry. There are four manufacturers now, including Jingyi Ceramics, Shijia Ceramics, Fuxin Glazed Roof Tile and Jialong Glazed Roof Tile, with 4 lines for manufacturing polished tile, full body tile, western roof tile and glazed roof tile.

Moreover, the prefecture authority has unveiled Suggestions on Implementation of Reviving Ceramic Industry Policy that RMB 30 million are invested annually to be the special fund used in assisting fresh projects, production expansion and technical transformation and the reward for technological innovation and product development.

More support in terms of personnel introduction, labor force training and service will come from the local government, which will strongly drive the local ceramic tile industry.

Hejin polishes up

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Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Houzheyao, Fengcheng Town

Xinyang Xijie

Houzheyao, Fengcheng Town

Xiaobeicun, Qingyuan Town

Fenhe Erba, Qingyuan Town

Yangcheng Huade Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Defu Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Yufei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Yudong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Meitao Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Daji Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Yueliang Glazed Roof Tile Factory

Yangcheng Tongda Glazed Roof Tile Factory

Yangcheng Jingfeng Glazed Roof Tile Factory

Shanxi Wuxing Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shanxi Yangguang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gujiao Town

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Jinfangyuan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Gujiao Jiuxing Glazed Roof Tiles Factory

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Shidai Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Fanjiazhuang Industrial Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Tianyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shanxi Zhongda Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Huaguan Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yundong Development Zone

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Daziran Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Yundong Development Zone

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Hongtaiyang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shanxi Jialong Glazed Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Dongye Town

Yangcheng Xingguang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shanxi Fuxin Glazed Roof Tiles Co., Ltd.

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Fulong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jinshatan Town Ceramic Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Hengchang Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Jinshatan Town Ceramic Park

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Jinlong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Shuozhou Shijia Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 western roof tile lines: 50,000pcs/d

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Shanxi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Huairen Jingyi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Longfei Ceramics Co., Ltd.

2 western roof tile lines: 30,000 pcs/d

1 fully polished glazed tile line: 17,000m2/d

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

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

1 full body tile line: 8,000m2/d

1 polished tile line: 13,000m2/d

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

1 polished tile line: 13,000m2/d；1 interior wall tile line: 10,000m2/d

1 western roof tile line: 9,000pcs/d

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

2 small floor tile lines: 25,000m2/d

1 border tile line: 9,000m2/d

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

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

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

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

2 interior wall tile lines: 33,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 25,000m2/d；1 crystal tile line: 15,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 28,000m2/d

3 interior wall tile lines: 39,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 32,000m2/d；1 rustic tile line: 26,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 35,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 25,000m2/d；1 rustic tile line: 13,000m2/d; 1 exterior wall tile line: 27,000m2/d

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

2 interior wall tile lines: 70,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 32,000m2/d

2 interior wall tile lines: 45,000m2/d

1 interior wall tile line: 28,000m2/d

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Yangcheng Jinshi Ceramics Co., Ltd.

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

Tile line & capacity

Yangcheng Ceramics Industrial Park

Location

Yangcheng Jiulong Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Company

Ceramic tile companies in Shanxi

30,000 pcs/d

17,000m2/d

12,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

8,000m2/d

13,000m2/d

25,000m2/d

23,000m2/d

9,000pcs/d

10,000pcs/d

50,000pcs/d

13,000m2/d

25,000m2/d

9,000m2/d

13,000m2/d

12,000m2/d

12,000m2/d

18,000m2/d

33,000m2/d

40,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

39,000m2/d

58,000m2/d

1

1

2

1

3

4

4

3

3

6

4

6

65,000m2/d

35,000m2/d

1

11

6

5

2

Number of inkjet printer

9,000m2/d

70,000m2/d

32,000m2/d

45,000m2/d

28,000m2/d

8,000m2/d

Total capacity

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia

Shanxi，Henan, Northwest

Shanxi，Henan, Northwest

Shanxi，Henan, Northwest

Shanxi，Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Hubei

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi

Shanxi,Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei

Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Ningxia,

Shanxi, Henan, Gansu，Ningxia

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan

Shanxi, Henan, Northwest

Henan, Shanxi, Hubei, Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia

Hubei, Hunan, Hebei, Anhui

Shanxi, Henan, Southwest, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Southwest, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Southwest, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Southwest, Northwest

Shanxi, Henan, Southwest, Northwest

Main market

1990

2010

1999

1999

2009

2010

2002

1996

1998

1994

2004

2007

2009

2007

2003

2007

2005

2008

2007

2008

2004

2003

2014

2014

2006

2004

2014

2013

2008

2009

2005

Year est

2 lines to be built

2 lines to be built

1 line to be built

3 lines to be built

2 lines to be built

1 line to be built

4 lines to be built

1 line to be built

Plan

Analysis: Shanxi

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Analysis: Bricks

Building blocks key issues facing Asian brickmakers AC looks at some of the more pressing issues facing some of Asia’s brick industries as 2015 draws to a close…

The Red Brick debate

When it comes to choosing masonry material, more often than not, the price tag trumps the quality tag.

For centuries, the timeless and humble brick has been the ‘go-tomaterial’ in masonry. Even today, it continues to lend sustainability and durability to either traditional or contemporary architecture. But, the rapid advancements in the construction industry have brought about many changes in its modus operandi, and more and more people today prefer faster and much cheaper alternatives at the expense of environmental sustainability and durability.

The heated debate about the relative advantages of brick and block has been going on for some time now, but, the fact is, the choice between brick and block comes down more to the way one wants the actual building to progress and how flexible the space will be in the future. Bricks themselves have a high thermal mass (i.e. the ability to store heat). Practically speaking, this means that the walls will absorb heat during the day, and release it slowly at night, helping to maintain an even temperature.

Clay bricks are well noted for their remarkable thermal insulation properties. They have the ability to store heat energy, allowing them to amass energy during the day and release it at night. Bricks are also a surprisingly sustainable and eco-friendly product, often made from materials that would otherwise be heading for a landfill. They are fully recyclable at the end of their life too. It also goes without saying that brick walls are incredibly durable — maintain them well and they could quite easily last for centuries. The diverse and unique hues of the natural soil used in the production of red bricks and their mostly uniform shape makes them extremely adaptable to complex designs.

With organic materials becoming popular in architecture and interior design, the clay brick is experiencing a resurging popularity.

Currently, exposed brick work is a major trend in modern interiors.

In the move towards lofty apartments and business units, it is often the material of choice as it offers an industrial-type feel, as well as its durability and its great insulating qualities. The density of clay bricks also allows them to offer effective acoustic insulation. Red brick walls are extremely good at dampening sounds and work well near industrial zones, noisy areas, or simply in heavily populated residential areas.

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RED BRICK WALLS TAKE A VERY LONG TIME TO BURN Unlike conventional bricks, red brick walls take a very long time to burn. This is because compressed earth bricks are so dense that they offer little space for combustion to occur. Walls built from clay bricks receive a maximum fire rating, meaning that clay bricks will resist a fully developed fire for a longer duration, when compared to other building materials.

Red bricks make designing and cost evaluation of buildings much easier.

Regular construction sizes leave fewer gaps between the components, thus reducing the material and labour costs as the need for mortar to fill the gaps is decreased.

According to Ratheesh Kumar, the managing director of Beacon Projects, block masonry is cheaper than brick masonry. Currently, the market cost of brick masonry (per cubic metre) is Rs. 8,500 whereas block masonry is Rs.1,500 cheaper. Also, the cost of block walls per metre cube of hollow concrete masonry is 17.65 per cent less than that of brick walls. But one must keep in mind that barring the savings on initial cost, brick masonry construction is far more advantageous than cement hollow block masonry. If you consider the heavy maintenance cost in the long run, the initial cost saving becomes irrelevant.

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Analysis: Bricks

Vietnam: a country in demand?

The Ministry of Construction has estimated that Vietnam would need 42 billion bricks for construction works by 2020. The government has decided that the building material industry will gradually be shifting to ‘clean production’.

Unburnt building materials are light, heat insulated, fireproof, compressible, easy to use, and allow reduction of construction time and save materials and investment costs.

However, with the current production capacity, the total number of burnt bricks to be churned out in 10 years may reach 330 billion. In order to have this output, 500 million cubic meters of clay will be needed, equal to 25,000 hectares of fields.

The production will consume 40 million tons of coal and will produce 148 million tons of toxic gas.

When the real estate market froze, a series of burnt brick workshops had to shut down or run at half of the designed capacity.

As the market has warmed up, the burnt brick price has escalated in recent months. In HCM City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, the price has surged by 30-50 percent.

The market recovery has prompted investors to resume burnt brick factories, which do not require high investments, and have prices competitive with unburnt products.

Analysts have warned that the real estate market recovery, plus the increased demand for building materials, may lead to the ‘unfired brick factory boom’, which will once again raise worries about the danger to the environment.

While investors can easily build burnt brick factories because of the low investment rate, they have to think carefully when deciding to build an unburnt brick factory because of the high investment capital and unstable profit.

A report showed that there are 23 factories in the country which make unburnt building materials. The total output of the factories just accounts for 17-18 percent of total building materials used.

Tran Van Huynh from the Vietnam Building Material Association, said that unburnt bricks were used by the modern construction industry.

Meanwhile, the government has decided that unburnt building materials must account for 40 percent of total building material output by 2020.

Third- and higher-end urban areas have to use 100 percent of unburnt materials from 2013, while the required proportion is 50 percent for other areas. After 2015, unburnt materials must be used for 100 percent of construction works.

However, in 2014, unburnt materials were used for only 179 construction works in HCM City. Some contractors hesitated to use unburnt materials because these materials required new methods and instruments for the execution.

Various stakeholders on Wednesday launched a design manual for improved fixed chimney zigzag brick kiln that is expected to contribute to clean environment by reducing the emissions of harmful pollutants.

The Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and MinErgy jointly launched the design manual to support the construction of improved brick kilns after the massive earthquake destroyed almost 90 percent of such structures across the country.

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Nepal: taking a greener approach

Minister for Industry Mahesh Basnet released the ‘Design Manual for Improved Fixed Chimney Zig-Zag Brick Kilns’ amid a gathering of government officials, development agencies, and brick entrepreneurs from the Kathmandu Valley in the capital in early November.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Federation of Nepal Brick Industries, and the Ministry of Energy jointly launched the design manual to support the construction of improved brick kilns in Nepal.

The manual, which was prepared with inputs from local brick experts and entrepreneurs, national engineers, scientists, and architects, with external reviews from international experts, is the first of its kind in South Asia, ICIMOD informed.

“I am very positive towards the reconstruction of these brick kilns with a better design. The Ministry of Industry will always seek to play a key role in the modernisation of brick kilns,” Basnet said after launching the manual.

In the past, a majority of Nepal’s brick kilns were constructed in a rudimentary style without consideration of environmental or structural and engineering aspects, which is one reason why many of the kilns did not withstand the impact of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25. The earthquake resulted in damage worth more than Rs 1.26 billion to the brick industry.

This also presented the brick industry with an opportunity to promote a cleaner brick kiln designs that would reduce the emission of harmful air pollutants and improve fuel efficiency.

“With this improved brick kiln designs, Nepal’s brick industry can reduce its coal consumption by up to 30 per cent, which will result in cleaner air in the Valley, and up into the Himalayas”, said David Molden, director general of ICIMOD. “It can also serve as a model for brick entrepreneurs in other parts of the region to improve their kiln operations, both environmentally and economically.”

The collaboration between the three institutions resulted in a robust structural design for fixed chimney brick kilns that takes into account the need to improve seismic strength, reduce fuel requirements, reduce the emission of harmful pollutants, and improve social aspects of brick kiln production.

The manual is a practical tool to guide brick entrepreneurs as they rebuild their kilns. It includes engineered kiln designs, while two supplementary documents provide drawings and construction guidelines. “FNBI is proud to be a part of the development and publication of this detailed manual, which is the first of its kind in South Asia. I encourage all my fellow entrepreneurs to follow this design while constructing their kilns”, said Mahendra Chitrakar, president of the FNBI. Twenty brick kilns are targeted for the implementation of the design in the upcoming operational season, which will begin soon as the monsoon ends. As more entrepreneurs adopt the new design, knowledge on how to build stronger and cleaner brick kilns will improve. It is hoped that with the adoption of improved brick kiln technologies in Nepal, the nation’s brick industry can set an example for brick entrepreneurs across South Asia.

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Analysis: Bricks

A “biomass” approach to fuel?

The smoke, spread over the skies of north India and also threatening the environs of South Asia, is billowing out of agriculture farms in the country’s food bowl states — Punjab and Haryana.

Though it’s not a new phenomenon, its harmful effects on environment, human health and productivity have raised serious concern. The governments of the two states have been trying to curb the illegal bi-annual practice, but their efforts have been dwarfed by the enormity of the problem so far.

The reason: The Centre and the state governments spring into action when the seasonal problem surfaces and then lose interest when the smog settles down. There is no long-term strategy to find a solution as farmers continue to put their paddy and wheat crop residue on fire, causing severe air pollution. Hindustan Times tries to find a way forward to help farmers adopt effective measures and tackle this major environmental menace that is playing havoc with the health of people.

Mechanisation holds the key

“A three-year plan to mechanise the entire stubble-collection process was discussed last year. It involves an expenditure of `100 crore and active support of Union ministry of environment and forests. Currently, to collect the stubble and use it for economic benefit is a huge challenge,” says BS Sidhu, Punjab agriculture commissioner. The plan envisages mechanised collection of crop residue from across the state.

“We are working on a mechanism to incentivise farmers so that they feel encouraged to retain stubble for soil improvement and partly collect it for economic gains,” he said.

As per the plan, service providers are to be engaged to manage stubble and support the farmers economically. The state government feels farmers have to be given 100% subsidy without being expected to contribute anything and has conveyed the same to the Union ministry. While the plan has remained on paper so far, its implementation is going to be crucial because other initiatives of the authorities have not generated the anticipated response.

The Punjab government gives subsidy on farm implements and machinery such as the ‘happy seeder’, baler, zero till and choppercum-shredder to encourage farmers to stop burning their crop residue. However, not many farmers have opted for such equipment.

The reasons are obvious. Reeling under crop failures and dwindling returns, farmers don’t have the financial muscle to invest and thus choose the easiest option. “The prime reason for continued stubble

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burning is lack of access to new-age machinery. Rural cooperative societies also don’t have such equipment in sufficient numbers. The governments need to make these available to farmers,” said Mahesh Kumar Narang, agricultural engineer, farm machinery.

In Haryana too, the response to schemes for subsidy on such advanced implements has been tepid. While some farmers have purchased these machines, most marginal and small farmers continue with the age-old practice. Suresh Gehlawat, additional director, extension, told HT that the department was trying to form groups of farmers so that they could jointly buy and use farm machinery such as happy seeders and laser land levellers. “We will also be running awareness drives to inform farmers about the adverse impact of stubble burning on environment, health and soil. The deputy commissioners have also been told to persuade farmers not to burn crop residue,” he said.

Biomass power plants: A ray of Hope The way forward, according to experts, is to set up biomass-based power generation plants. Punjab has planned 30 paddy stubble-based power plants, mostly in paddy-growing areas of the state. There is hope of some gains for the farmers.

“These plants will consume 44 lakh tonnes of paddy stubble.

Already, seven such plants are operational with a total generation capacity of 62.5 megawatt,” said agriculture department joint director DR Kataria.

“Collection of stubble from one acre costs `2,500 to `3,500. In case a farmer sells it, he would earn `1,000 from an acre. We will have to create more avenues,” he said.

Punjab Pollution Control Board member secretary Babu Ram said technology was being developed to use paddy stubble in brick kilns. “If it works, over 1 lakh tonne stubble will get consumed in kilns,” he said.

Haryana is also planning to set up two biomass-based power plants in addition to the three existing units. While the response to the state’s plans for biomass-based units has been lukewarm so far, a renewable energy department official was hopeful that efforts would show results with more incentives to generators and farmers.

However, the two states have been facing fund crunch. Punjab has been asked to make equal contribution to subsidy that the union agriculture ministry gives for the scheme to check paddy stubble burning. “Punjab has no funds and all projects are in limbo,” says an officer.

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Talking Shop

Talking Shop

Pakistan: back from the brink?

Mr Raza Ansari, CEO, Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd, Pakistan, talks exclusively to AC about the challenges facing the industry in the country.

AC: MR Ansari, many thanks for giving us the time to discuss Pakistan.

RA: Well thanks for giving us this opportunity to present Pakistan Ceramic industry globally.

Taking this opportunity I would also like to introduce briefly that SHABBIR TILES & CERAMICS LIMITED (STCL) is founded by the "House of Habib" in 1978 with strategic and technical collaboration of Agrob Anlagenbau GmbH of West Germany.

STCL was the first private sector enterprise in the Ceramic field in Pakistan. The Company Brand STILE enjoys leading position in the Ceramic and Porcelain Tiles industry in Pakistan, as our products are of international quality standards and we believe in constant product development. We offer wide range of sizes, colors, and designs in Porcelain and Ceramic tiles and other allied products, conforming to high quality standards of durability and aesthetic values. We are also exporting to Spain, Netherlands, KSA, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Srilanka, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

AC: With an installed capacity of close to 13 million square meters of ceramic tiles, Shabbir is one of the largest ceramic tile producers in Pakistan. Are you planning a capacity expansion of your manufacturing facility in short or mid term?

RA: Few years back, in 2009-2010 we installed our second plant having capacity of around 6 million Sqm and currently we are utilizing around 70%-80 of our total installed capacity, therefore the first challenge is to improve utilization up to 90% then we will definitely consider capacity expansion again as market has continuous growth.

AC: Power and Gas shortages are resulting in a lot of hardships for Pakistani ceramic industry for past few years. How is it affecting your company? Do you see the situation improving in coming years?

RA: Yes unfortunately it is very true that Power and Gas shortages are resulting in a lot of hardships for all major industrial sectors including the ceramic industry. As a company we believe it is one of the biggest challenges of its time and we are responding to this by installing coal plants as an alternate energy source. Definitely the initial investment cost has affected but surely we will be able to run the plant as per installed capacity.

Pakistan’s 2014 scorecard shows that the government has not done well in energy reforms It is still doubtful there will be any significant change in the energy picture in short term 2015.

Govt says that energy is a high priority and shortfall will be overcome within next 3 Years, but there is little to show for its efforts. Pakistan is in the midst of a serious energy crisis that is seen in country-wide electricity and Natural Gas shortages and daily cuts in power.

This creates considerable hardships

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Mr Raza Ansari, CEO Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics Ltd

for households — the English term ‘load shedding’ has actually entered Urdu and other local languages. Power shortages also have had a severe negative impact on ceramics industry, forcing many production units to operate at only 50–60 per cent capacity.

Increasing the energy supply would lead to an immediate jump in the growth rate without any need for additional capital investment as industry could utilise the idle capacity.

Installed physical capacity in Pakistan can produce about 22,000 MW of electricity, while peak demand is over 25,000 MW. But power plants are supplying only an average of 17,000 MW and the government has to find ways to close the large gap. It has to increase physical capacity, which is a long-term proposition; it takes time to construct new power plants and develop alternative energy sources. For example, construction of the Diamer-Basha Dam, which will produce 4,500 MW of electricity for the national grid, will take 5 years to complete. Under endless negotiations, the proposed Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline has been ridiculed in the press as a ‘pipe dream’. It also has to increase the supply of power from existing plants.

AC: Besides gas shortages, ceramic industry in Pakistan was removed from 3rd schedule of sales tax act, 1990, thereby increasing rate of sales tax by 2 %.How has this impacted overall ceramic tile production industry of Pakistan?

RA: Obviously this has impacted overall ceramic industry of Pakistan therefore

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Talking Shop

all-Pakistan Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers Association (APCTMA) has expressed great concern to this matter too. This is one of the important issue that has been raised by us because this will increase our product cost and subsequently prices comparing Chinese and Iranian available tiles in the local market.

AC: What steps/ factors, if implemented properly can have a positive impact on the growth of ceramic tile industry of Pakistan?

RA: We have to compete with exporters from China and India who are fully supported by their respective governments through incentives. We say the industry has both, comparative and competitive advantages due to abundant availability of indigenous raw material and cheap skilled and unskilled labor.

If supported, the sector will emerge as a major foreign exchange earner for the country and will also provide employment to thousands of families in the most underdeveloped areas of Pakistan. Following steps can have positive impact on the growth of ceramic tile industry of Pakistan; • Govt grants for research and development of the industry • Interest free loans.

• Concession in duties and taxes (including sales tax).

• Exemption of sales tax in electricity and gas, which is presently being offered to some sectors.

• lower ITP have given tough time to the industry. Despite these challenges, the government through FTA and by reducing ITP strengthened import from China that hit the local industry.

• Uncompetitive custom duty on the import of ceramic tiles, which does not seek to facilitate/encourage the local ceramic tiles industry.

• No incentives from the government to improve competitiveness of the industry i.e., reduction in cost to make and sell, subsidy etc.

• The import of Porcelain Tiles under incorrect heads is also hampering the growth of the local ceramic tiles industry.

• Unchecked clandestine measures of importing ceramic tiles into Pakistan.

• Import of ceramic tiles has not been subject to physical examination, which enables importers to mis-declare their product.

• Import of plant, machinery and equipment should be exempted from duty and taxes.

• Allocation of land and infrastructure for establishment of showrooms/display centers for the ceramic tiles manufacturers in Gujranwala, Lahore, Karachi or Gwadar etc in the manner that the Chinese and Indian Governments have allocated in Foshan (ceramic city) Morbi (ceramics city) " This will attract major foreign customers due to availability of all the verities produced by Pakistani manufacturers at one stop.

AC: Volume sales of your company in FY 2013-14 decreased to 8.067 million sqm from 9.011 million sqm from a year earlier. This was second straight year, when volume sales of your company dropped. Do you see this as a result of negative demand of ceramic tile industry in Pakistan?

RA: We agree that this is challenging but definitely this is not due to the negative demand of ceramic tile industry, although the demand has grown up yoy basis over 5% but due to different factors, including

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high tariff, price-hike, lower GDP, poor law and order, low level of income and lower ITP have given tough time to the industry. Despite these challenges, the recent reducing ITP by government has strengthened import from China that hit the local industry, and last year a major manufacturer from the ceramics industry had to shut down its plant due to losses.

Secondly smuggling of tiles has reached 50 per cent of local production capacity, much to the chagrin of local industry which says it has left with little room for survival.

Around 30 million square metres (sqm) of tiles (mainly from Iran and China) found way into the local market during March 2014 and February 2015, while Pakistan’s current capacity is 60 million sqm.

Taking all these challenges this year we have changed the strategy and launched diversity of designs and sizes focusing inkjet designs in order to compete the China and Iran. We are also focusing international markets to gain higher volumes and utilization of production capacity.

AC: Pakistan is surrounded by the three of the largest global ceramic tile producers ( China, India and Iran in that order). Did this factor worked as a disadvantage for the development of Pakistani ceramic tile industry.

RA: Not really, we don’t think it has negative impact on the development of Pakistani Ceramic tile industry excluding some issues like lower ITP and tile smuggling from Iran that is hurting us from only sales point of view. Generally we see that being surrounded by these three largest global ceramic tile producers we can have good opportunity to attract international markets, while it provides sharing ideas and technology learning opportunity from neighbors. The region itself has very good potential for Ceramic consumption as well as production due to abundant availability of indigenous raw material and cheap skilled and unskilled labor.

AC: There is a huge inflow of Iranian and Chinese ceramic tiles in Pakistan. What is approximate volume of these imports in Pakistan? How is your company dealing with this situation?

RA: Well, the smuggling of tiles has reached 50 per cent of the local production capacity, around 30 million square metres (sqm) of tiles (mainly from Iran and China) found way into the local market during March 2014 and February 2015, while Pakistan’s current capacity is 60 million sqm. Increasing presence of Chinese tiles over the last many months needed to be controlled as 925,869 sqm tiles were imported from the country in October 2014; 1,236,601 sqm in November 2014; 1,895,327 sqm in December 2014; 1,407,419 sqm in January 2015; and 1,873,980 sqm in February 2015.

This all put us in very challenging situation as discussed earlier we also trying to increase our production by utilization of capacity in order to reduce production costs, secondly we are going to launch variety of designs and sizes to be competitive and giving better choices to our buyers, last not the least we are demanding our government to address industry issues on a priority basis in the budget 2015-16 by imposing higher import tariff and introducing technical restrictions to stop dumping of tiles in the local market.

AC: With almost all the right ingredients needed for a successful and vibrant ceramic industry, Pakistan has been largely unable to cash on the opportunity provided. What are the reasons behind it?

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Talking Shop

RA: As said earlier the industry has both, comparative and competitive advantages due to abundant availability of indigenous raw material and cheap skilled and unskilled labor. If supported, the sector will emerge as a major foreign exchange earner for the country and will also provide employment to thousands of families in the most underdeveloped areas of Pakistan. I do agree that Pakistan has not been able to cash the benefit due to many reasons for instance Energy issues, out dated technology, law and order but top of all I would say it is very much depends on government support that was not available in term of incentives, supportive import/exports policies and grants for the development of the industry.

AC: What are the three most important challenges (excluding gas shortages and imports from China and illegal trade from Iran), which Pakistani ceramic tile industry is currently facing?

RA: In Short I would like to say three major challenges that are facing by Pakistan Ceramics tile industry are: Day by day changes in advance manufacturing technology while industry in general still having out dated technology for instance most of the manufacturers are still focusing on small sizes like 20x20cm, 30x30cm, 25x33cm, 40x40cm on the other hand due to imports buying trend is being diverted toward bigger sizes 80x80cm including rectangular sizes 30x60, 30x 90cm, 30x120cm etc.

Secondly I believe that it was easy for manufacturers to keep

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expanding tile plants during good economic times when we can sell easily anything we make. Now we need to concentrate on improving our organizations covering all aspect of management resulting reducing costs and improving production quality. It will increase the competition from cheaper Chinese and Iranian producers.

Thirdly as we are facing lack of skilled people this is due to lack of vocational institute and engineering institute focusing Ceramics field.

AC: One of your immediate neighbours and regional ceramic tile powerhouse, India has been able to develop a vibrant ceramic tile production industry. Ceramic hub in Morbi in particular has been able to achieve great success in terms of tile production. On the other hand Pakistan has been unable to replicate a ceramic hub. Do you see the development of a ceramic hub in Pakistan in near future?

RA: We have already demanded to the Government that there should be allocation of land and infrastructure for establishment of showrooms/display centers for the ceramic tiles manufacturers in the manner that the Chinese and Indian Governments have allocated in Foshan (ceramic hub) Morbi (ceramics hub) in order to attract major foreign customers due to availability of all the verities produced by Pakistani Ceramics Industry. Unfortunatily so far we have not got any positive response from the authorities. Although taking this idea few years back we have launched more than 7 One stop Tile Shops in different cities of Pakistan.

november 2015

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45

Insight

ZIRCON

All information supplied courtesy of Ruidow.com, our preferred zircon industry information supplier"

Zirconium Silicate Price in Fujian (RMB/t)

Zirconium Silicate Price in Foshan (RMB/t)

Specification

Specification

(Zr.Hf)O2≥63.0%, D50=1.2μm (Zr.Hf)O2≥64.5%, D50=1.1μm

Time

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Time

Early October

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,700

8,600-9,100

Early October

Mid October

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,500

8,600-8,900

Mid October

Late October

8,400-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,200-9,500

8,600-8,900

Average Price

8,500

7,900

9,350

8,750

Zirconium Silicate Price in Yixing (RMB/t)

(Zr.Hf)O2≥63.0%, D50=1.2μm (Zr.Hf)O2≥64.5%, D50=1.1μm EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

7,800-8,000

9,500-10,000

8,800-9,400

8,500-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,500-10,000

8,800-9,400

Late October

8,500-8,600

7,800-8,000

9,500-10,000

8,800-9,400

Average Price

8,550

7,900

9,750

9,100

Zirconium Oxychloride Export Data (September 2015) Aug-15

Specification

(Zr.Hf)O2≥64 .5%, D50=1.0μm EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early October

10,000-10,200

9,300-9,500

Mid October

9,800-10,000

9,100-9,300

Late October

9,800-10,000

9,100-9,300

Average Price

9,950

9,250

Time

Vietnam Zircon Price, RMB/Ton Specification

(Zr.Hf)O2≥65%, TiO2≤0.15%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

Change % Year on Year

Quantity(t)

Amount (USD)

Unit Price (USD/t)

Quantity

Amount

Total

3,553

5,307,691

1,494

-12.9

-13.7

Japan

2,044

3,112,399

1,523

13.2

11.5

Destinations

US

912

1,325,853

1,454

-37.5

-38.6

Canada

120

175,966

1,466

-50

-50.7

France

100

147,846

1,478

0

0

India

60

84,736

1,409

-62.4

-64.6

Finland

60

89,546

1,492

200

199.4

Australia

60

86,955

1,449

-25

-23.7

Korea

45

68,358

1,509

3,675

2,180.90

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

German

40

57,300

1,433

0

0.4

Time

Slovenia

40

57,000

1,425

100

101.4

Early October

7,300-7,500

6,600-6,800

Argentina

25

31,250

1,250

0

0

Mid October

7,300-7,500

6,600-6,800

Ukraine

20

28,387

1,419

0

0

Late October

7,300-7,500

6,600-6,800

Russia

16

23,780

1,490

3092

2568.9

Average Price

7,400

6,700

Taiwan

11

18,315

1,665

0

-3.8

46

asian ceramics

november 2015

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Indonesia Zircon Price, RMB/Ton

Zirconium Silicate Price in Shandong (RMB/t)

Specification

Specification

(Zr.Hf)O2≥66%, TiO2≤0.1%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

Time

Time

2 tons bag/CIF (USD/ton)

Early October

1,060-1,090

Mid October

1,060-1,090

Late October

1,060-1,090

Average Price

1,075

(Zr.Hf)O2≥64 .5%, D50=1.0μm EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

Early October

9,500-9,800

8,900-9,200

Mid October

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

Late October

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

Average Price

9,550

8,950

Zirconium Oxychloride Price (RMB/t), (Zr,Hf)O2≥36%

Hainan Wenchang Zircon Price, RMB/Ton

Specification

Specification

(Zr,Hf)O2≥36% Fe2O3≤0.002% SiO2≤0.01%

(Zr.Hf)O2≥65%, TiO2≤0.15%, Fe2O3≤0.1%

Region Time

Shandong

Zhejiang

Jiangxi

Guangdong

Henan

Time

EXW Price (Incl. Tax)

Early October

8,400-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,900

9,800

Early October

9,500-9,800

8,900-9,200

Mid October

8,400-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,900

9,800

Mid October

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

Late October

8,400-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,600-9,000

8,900

9,800

Late October

9,500-9,600

8,900-9,000

Average Price

8,700

8,800

8,800

8,900

9,800

Average Price

9,550

8,950

Zirconium Carbonate Price (RMB/t)

Fused Zirconia Price (RMB/t)

Specification

Specification

(Zr,Hf)O2=(38-42)% Fe2O3≤0.003% SiO2≤0.02%

EXW Price (Excl. Tax)

(Zr、Hf)O2=98.5% 、D50=6-10μm

Region Time

Shandong

Jiangsu & Zhejiang

Liaoning

Jiangxi

Region Time

Henan

Fujian

Anhui

Early October

12,500-13,000

13,000

13,500-14,000

13,000

Early October

20,000-20,500

20,000-20,500

20,200-20,500

Mid October

12,500-13,000

13,000

13,500-14,000

13,000

Mid October

20,000-20,500

20,000-20,500

20,200-20,500

Late October

12,500-13,000

13,000

13,500-14,000

13,000

Late October

20,000-20,500

20,000-20,500

20,200-20,500

Average Price

127,50

13,000

13,750

13,000

Average Price

20,250

20,250

20,350

Concentrate and Tailings of Zircon Import Data (September. 2015) (By Origins)

Finished Zircon Import Data (September. 2015) (By Origins)

Quantity(t)

Amount (USD)

Unit Price (USD/t)

Total

41,490

11,597,923

278

Sierra Leone;

24,779

4,225,087

171

Mozambique

3,588

1,343,025

374

South Africa

2,927

1,987,449

679

Australia

2,796

1,155,499

413

Pakistan

2,543

1,302,541

512

India

2,380

223,970

94

Nigeria

Origins

Quantity(t)

Amount (USD)

Unit Price (USD/t)

Total

27,777

29,117,241

1,048

South Africa

13,943

14,064,659

1,009

Australia

9,993

11,099,658

1,111

Indonesia

2,616

2,721,800

1,040

Kenya

893

857,581

960

Thailand

300

277,800

926

US

19

68,043

3,493

Origins

1,681

826,800

492

Korea

10

21,565

2,157

Madagascar

500

400,000

800

Taiwan

3

5,238

1,746

Indonesia

297

133,552

450

Japan

0.16

897

5,606

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47

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China: the mid-year review Kiln furniture demand cycles Gujarat p2: sanitaryware - growth or consolidation?

Bangladesh: a new tile centre SPECIAL FOCUS: Freight options for difficult markets SEE US AT: Cerafair, Iran; ISH, China

AC16-6

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Iran in focus: the heavy clay options Cost control in Asian tiles Middle East sanitaryware: evolution or revolution?

Asian Tableware: a change in focus SPECIAL FOCUS: tableware decoration techniques SEE US AT: Ceramic Industry Club of ASEAN, Thailand

■ Shared freight: cost savings for Asia ■ Iranian porcelain spreads regional influence ■ Tile trade: winners and losers ■ Heavy clay industries

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

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BONUS DISTRIBUTION: Yearplanner; Indian Ceramics 2016 SPECIAL FOCUS: Asia: the brick industry forecast

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Province Profile: Guangdong Turkey: a tableware hotspot Pakistan: an industry in turmoil?

ASEAN in focus: the leaders' debate SPECIAL FOCUS: Asian porcelain tiles SEE US AT: Ambiente, Germany; Unicera, Turkey; Cevisama, Spain

AC16-2

Province Profile: Fujian Sri Lanka: a new day dawns Cost saving strategies for heavy clay Bangladesh: land of opportunity?

SEE US AT: Official Magazine: Indian Ceramics; Tile & Sanitaryware China

AC16-3

Province Profile: Qinghai & Tibet Kiln design tech: conflicts of interest?

Gujarat p1: changing tiles, changing times Building blocks: heavy clay markets in ASEAN SPECIAL FOCUS: Tile inspection and certification SEE US AT: Keramika, Indonesia; Mosbuild, Russia; 27th Cerambath, China

AC16-4

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

SEE US AT: Cersaie, Italy

AC16-8

■ Rajasthan: a rival for Gujarat?

■ Chinese sanitaryware markets and makers ■ South Korea: setting a future stage ■ Egyptian tile markets ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Raising investment funds

SEE US AT: Tecnargilla, Italy

AC16-9

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ASEAN tile manufacturing trends ■ Fuel choice: powering the factories of tomorrow ■ China tile demand analysis ■Asian trading blocs: winners and losers ■ SPECIAL FOCUS: Asian tile makers

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

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■ ■ ■ ■

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Province Profile: Xinjiang Iran in focus: tableware and sanitaryware options?

J-V or OEM: decisions for tile makers Technical ceramics demand in South Asia SPECIAL FOCUS: Chinese machinery exports SEE US AT: Official Magazine: Ceramics China; Middle East Stone & Ceramic, Dubai

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The Casting Couch: Asia decides Vietnam sanitaryware markets and makers Tile decoration: choosing the right option Brick opportunities in North Africa SPECIAL FOCUS: Printing technology SEE US AT: The Big 5, Dubai

AC16-10

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

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Roof tile markets in southern Asia Export patterns for Asian tiles Thailand: the Lampang factor Southern India: a tile and sanitaryware centre FREE INSIDE: YOUR 2017 YEAR PLANNER

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Hunter and the hunted

Is Slavery Such a Bad Thing?

Dear Blog, On one of my first trips to Bangladesh I was being driven to visit a tableware factory, as we left Dhaka and headed into open country I was amazed to see slim, tall chimney's seemingly rising out of the sea. What on earth is this all about? My Bangladeshi colleague explained that they were brick kilns and as it was the time of year when Bangladesh floods they were not in production and many were indeed under water. I thought this was fascinating. Apparently when the flood waters recede the silt that is left is dug and used to make the bricks. So there is a definite brick making season (from November for about 6 months it transpires). This I had to see, my interest in traditional kilns bordering on nerdy sadness. Sure enough my next visit during the dry season I got to see the brick kilns in production and marveled at how much pollution such kilns spewed out. As we drove down the road further we saw the brick breaking and grading operations. Bricks that are broken are hand bashed in to pieces and hand graded through metal meshes into various sizes and used in road building. This work too being as hard as the manual labour needed to make and fire the millions of bricks needed by the construction industry supporting the building boom.

Unfortunately brick kilns have poor reputations in this part of the world. Looking for news items on the internet I find stories going back to 2004 in China in Shanxi and Yunnan of 'Black Brick Kilns' – in this case the black meaning illegal. Children as young as 8 and disabled men (mentally and physically) were kidnapped and sold for RMB300 – 500 each (US$47 - 80) to work in illegal brick kilns. The stories were still being reported ion 2011 though the authorities claim to have closed many illegal kilns and penalized 'businessmen' and minor officials.

India 2014 – it is estimated that there are over 100,000 brick kilns making 150 million to 200 million bricks per year. Investigations show that indentured servitude is common.

Forced seasonal labour, bonded labour, child labour, 16 hour days, lack of Occupational Health and Safety...you name the exploitation it is considered by Anti Slavery International as 'endemic to the brick industry'.

Pakistan, among the brick kiln reports from that country mention bonded labour and also point out that workers suffer from anemia and health disorders including cancers of the lung and bladder, heart disease and poor nutrition. The environment suffers as the hydrogen fluoride emissions along with other noxious gasses reduce crop yields in the vicinity by 40% to 60%.

Nepal, February 2015, 'Blood Bricks' from the approximate 1100 brick kilns are found to have been used in the construction of the Marriott hotel in Kathmandu and in the new airport terminal and in projects of the World Food Program funded by $3.2 million of UK aid money. It is noted that children from 8 years old work up to 15 hours a day again in bonded labour conditions.

Bangladesh – said to manufacture 12million to 20 million bricks a year depending upon the report in some 6000 brick kilns. As there is a definite brick manufacturing period middlemen are paid to find seasonal labour by the kiln owners. To guarantee their employment the workers are given a cash advance, if they can bring more family members they can get more of an advance; this encourages child labour. They are then charged interest on the 'loan'. It is common also in all these countries to charge rent for the area of land the workers work on. The brink kiln owners then decide how much to pay so the workers never know when they will have paid off the loan and aren't paid until

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Hunter and the hunted

the end of the season – so they can't leave and if they try to then the middlemen will want paying back plus interest – consequently no one is free to leave. Tales of violence and torture never mind abuse are common in any search about brick kilns and labour practices; in one report workers who tried to leave a kiln in India had their hands cut off.

Pollution is commonly mentioned too as the kilns use wood, poor quality coal and waste tyres and plastics as fuel. Hurting the people in the brick factories and those outside.

How bad is it to work in a brick kiln? The U.S. Department of Labor has a report on Child labor and in it Production of Bricks is listed under 'Categorical Worst Forms of Child Labor' alongside Forced Begging, Use in Drug Dealing, Sex Exploitation / Human trafficking, Street work and domestic work as a result of human trafficking. That's quite some reputation.

But is slavery really that bad? These people want to – indeed need to work. The children need to work because their families are poor. If they didn't work their families would starve. The people in bonded labour – they are poor and quite ignorant – many, most do not understand their rights. They come from poor rural areas and the brick kilns pay more money than working in the field. The brick kiln owners are feeding a demand.

Let us not forget how badly new buildings are needed, cheap buildings for homes and offices and call centers and factories. Just imagine the problem if construction companies had to pay a fair price for bricks made by willing workers who were fairly paid and working in safe conditions. Green house gasses and global warming – that's a luxury the developed world has to worry about. Though the flooding in Bangladesh and land erosion can hardly be ignored...and as for work place accidents and industrial disease then that's simply the cost of advancing the economy and building a better future. Slavery and indentured labour were used by western countries in the past and they became wealthy because of it – many rich people today owe their family wealth to slavery and exploitative labour practices. This is simply free trade – the freedom of workers to take a job and the freedom of employers to pay the market rates!

Certainly these arguments have been used in the past to defend these self same practices in other countries and cultures. But we are no longer living in the 18th or 19th centuries and this indentured and bonded labour can not be defended simply because these practices have been carrying on for 150 years.

Our industry needs to take action on this – it is a blight on the ceramic industry – just because it is heavy clay in the developing world doesn't mean that kiln and factory owners get to exploit people and the environment. In 2014 the International Labour Organisation of the Bangladesh brick industry noted 'little oversight by government or stake holders', over the the Nepal blood bricks the WFP mentioned 'investigate supply chain'.

This isn't good enough – taking action after the fact is tantamount to supporting and approving slavery as it happens. Inspection and auditing should be before buying. For those of us in the industry who play by the rules there is a very simple fact that should encourage us to insist on change – the people that use slave and bonded labour have an unfair commercial advantage – it isn't one they should be allowed.

s t h g t h ou

e ly t a n rt u n s o f n “ U c k k il bri poo r n i e v s a h at i o n er put rt o f a p s i t h o rld." w e h t

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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MEETING REPORT

Second edition of Sanitaria, the B&T White event devoted to technology and fun Enthusiastic participation on the part of many of the leading international producers of ceramic sanitaryware

The second edition of the Sanitaria event, organised on 29 September by SITI-B&T Group’s sanitaryware business unit B&T White, was attended by around 40 representatives of more than 15 companies from all over the world (UK, France, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil, Morocco and Egypt). Participants were able to get a close-up view of the most modern ceramic sanitaryware production technologies and shared a day of fun and relaxation.

The day began with an interesting technical and economic conference held in Villa Marchetti, headquarters of the association Acimac. Participants were welcomed by the CEO of SITI-B&T Fabio Tarozzi, the General Manager of B&T White Eugenio Ferragina and the managing director of Acimac Paolo Gambuli.

Entitled “High Pressure Casting and Robot Glazing: Influence of new technologies on Body and Glaze Composition”, the conference began by comparing the different production scenarios in 2004 and 2014 and discussed how traditional manufacturing methods can be used alongside technologically advanced solutions.

Luca Baraldi from Acimac’s Research Department then gave a presentation on production, trade dynamics and trends

in sanitaryware technologies over the period 2004-2014. Next up, Alastair Kearton and Phil Edwards from Sibelco Europe discussed raw materials and body recipes with a view to introducing the latest production technologies. An overview of the role and function of chemical additives with the aim of fine turning these recipes was given by Marco Antoniotti from Lamberti.

Finally, Riccardo Grassi from S.R.C Engineering Consulting explained how process control can be used to facilitate change and support the combined use of traditional and cutting-edge technologies.

The conference was followed by a visit to SITI-B&T Group’s Technology Centre to offer participants a close-up view of the new generation of resin moulds for high-pressure sanitaryware casting and the new Circle 4WD machine for battery casting of WCs. The participants showed a keen interest in the technology and had a chance to see B&T White’s new solutions in operation.

The afternoon was set aside for fun and recreation, including a go-kart Endurance Grand Prix where B&T White customers were divided into 10 teams.

Afterwards, awards were presented to the three winners.

The day ended with a delicious and very enjoyable dinner where participants had a chance to savour the traditional flavours of local food and wine specialities.

SITI B&T Group SITI B&T Group is a manufacturer of complete plants for the world ceramic industry with a strong presence in all global markets.

It delivers outstanding technological solutions and innovative services with a special focus on energy efficiency and reducing production costs.

It offers customers a complete, personalised service including technical assistance with installation, maintenance and modernisation of production lines.

SITI B&T Group operates through the following divisions: Tile (complete plants for tile production), Projecta Engineering and Digital Design (digital decorating machines and digital graphic design projects) and B&T White (complete plants for sanitaryware).

The Group currently has a turnover of around 180 million euros and an export share of more than 80 percent.

The company Ancora, a leading manufacturer of complete lines for ceramic tile finishing operations, joined SITI B&T Group in February 2015. Ancora has installed more than 800 lines in 40 countries worldwide and has an annual turnover of 23 million euros. www.sitibt.com

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asian ceramics

november 2015

www.asianceramics.com