Tile International 1/2015

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Batimat Russia & Coverings 2015

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Schlüter®-DITRA-HEAT-E Elektrische Flächentemperierung an Wand und Boden Electrical heating within walls and floors

Vom Boden an die Wand Keramik und Naturstein sind wegen Ihrer Fähigkeit, Wärme zu speichern und gleichmäßig abzugeben, nicht nur für die Bodentemperierung ideal geeignet, sondern auch für den Einsatz an der Wand. Daher haben wir konsequent die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten des innovativen Schlüter®-DITRA-HEAT-E Systems weiterentwickelt und bieten es nun auch für die Temperierung von Wandbelägen an.

From floor to wall Thanks to their ability to retain and evenly dissipate heat, ceramic tiles and natural stone are not only ideally suited for floor heating, but also for use in walls. We therefore have consistently expanded the application options for the innovative Schlüter®-DITRA-HEAT-E system, which is now also available to create heated wall coverings.

Funktionen auf einen Blick: Functions at a glance:

Argumente, die überzeugen: System benefits include: wohlige Wärme  schafft Creates instant cozy warmth

Entkoppeln neutralisiert Uncoupling neutralizes Formveränderung deflection forces

temperierte Zonen können individuell  ausgelegt werden Rissüberbrückung Crack-bridging

Heating zones can be configured individually für Renovierungen dank  ideal niedriger Aufbauhöhe Ideally suited for renovation projects thanks to low assembly height mit bewährter DITRA-Technologie  entkoppelt Uncoupling with proven DITRA technology

Lastabtragung

direkt in den Untergrund

Load transfer

directly into the substrate

Einfache Verlegung der Heizkabel Simple installation of heating cables

geprüft als Abdichtung zugelassen  AbP AbP certified – approved as waterproofing

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS ANALISI DI BILANCIO

WORLD MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

A N A L Y S I S 2nd EDITION year 2014

CERAMIC MACHINERY, COLOR&GLAZE Available from January 2015 MORE THAN 200 COMPANIES

WORLD CERAMIC TILES MANUFACTURERS PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI PIASTRELLE

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

DEPARTMENT ACIMAC RESEARCH

A N A L Y S I S

T

FINANCIAL STATEMEN

A N A L Y S I S

WORLD HEAVY CLAY MANUFAC ACIMAC TURERS Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI LATERIZI ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

RY MANUFACTURERS HEAVY CLAY MACHINE WORLD CERAMIC AND E MANUFACTURERS AND COLOR & GLAZ DI MACCHINARI PER PRODUTTORI MONDIALI IZIO E COLORIFICI LATER DEL E L'INDUSTRIA CERAMICA

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMEN

A N A L Y S I ST ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 WORLD SANITA E info@acimac.RYWAR it www.acimac.it

MANUFACTURERS

PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI SANITARI

2 EDITION

ACIMAC 84 Via Fossa Buracchione 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

nd

ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

CERAMIC TILES Available from January 2015 MORE THAN 300 COMPANIES HEAVY CLAY Available from February 2015 MORE THAN 200 COMPANIES SANITARYWARE Available March 2015 MORE THAN 100 COMPANIES

English and Italian text

FINANCIAL STATEMEN 3-year series: 2011-2013 3 anni di dati: 2011-2013 Is the company growing or decreasing?

L’azienda ha valori in crescita o in contrazione?

Assets, liabilities and capital structure Struttura dell’attivo e del passivo Balance Sheet Stato patrimoniale Income statement Conto economico

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT mr. Luca Baraldi studi@acimac.it T. +39 059 510336

Liquidity and Financial Structure Ratios Indici di liquidità e struttura finanziaria Is the company’s financial structure well-balanced?

L’azienda ha una struttura finanziaria equilibrata?

PRENOTA SUBITO I NUOVI STUDI! www.acimac.it - studi@acimac.it

WORLD PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF CERAMIC TILES PRODUZIONE E CONSUMO MONDIALE DI PIASTRELLE CERAMICHE

WORLD PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF CERAMIC TILES • Tile Production, consumption, export and import data by macro-regions and single countries • Time series: 2004-2013 • 66 countries examined

PRODUZIONE E CONSUMO MONDIALE DI PIASTRELLE CERAMICHE • Dati di produzione, consumo, export e import di piastrelle per macroaree e singoli paesi • Serie storiche 2004-2013 • 66 Paesi censiti

Available from

NOVEMBER 2014

SECOND EDITION

2 EDITION year 2014 nd

In italiano e inglese

NT ANALYSIS: MAIN CONTENTS Profitability, structure, operational, per employee rations and indexes Indici di redditività, struttura, operativi, per dipendente

Comparison between the company indexes and ratios with national and international ones Confronto dei valori aziendali con i valori medi nazionali e internazionali di redditività Does the company perform better than its competitors?

L’azienda performa meglio o peggio dei suoi competitors?

Financial stability and default probability ratings Rating di stabilità finanziaria e rischio default Is the company stable and solid?

L’azienda è solida?

ADVERTISING

N. 1/2015

Publisher: Tile Edizioni S.r.l.

Via Fossa Buracchione 84 • 41126 Baggiovara (Modena) • Italy Tel. +39 059 512 103 • Fax +39 059 512 157 info@tiledizioni.it • www.tiledizioni.it Codice Fiscale / P. IVA: IT02778050365 - Capitale Sociale: 51.400,00 € R.E.A. 329775 - Iscr. al Registro delle Imprese di Modena Periodico registrato presso il Tribunale di Modena al n. 1828 in data 21/02/2007 - Iscrizione ROC n. 9673 Editor and Publishing coordination: Chiara Bruzzichelli •

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Contributing editors: - Luca Baraldi - Paola Giacomini - Sara Falsetti - Sabino Menduni - Andrew Whitmire

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• Translation: Geoff Day / John Freeman • www.tiledizioni.it/subscription • Each copy: Euro 4 • Subscription: - Italy, 1 year: Euro 50 - Abroad, 1 year: Euro 70 - Italy, 2 years: Euro 70 - Abroad, 2 years: Euro 90 Spedizione in a.p. presso la Filiale di Modena. L’IVA sugli abbonamenti, nonché sulla vendita dei fascicoli separati, è assolta dall’Editore ai sensi dell’art 74 primo comma lettera C del DPR 26.10.72 N. 633 e successive modificazioni. © 1989 Tile Italia

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Print: Faenza Printing Industries SpA, Via Vittime Civili di Guerra 35, 48018 Faenza (RA) - Italy

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Contents

12 14 16 18 20 40 46 11 - Editorial

Worldwide economic palpitations

by Chiara Bruzzichelli

Photonews

12 - 1 4 - 16 - 18 - 20 -

EXPO 2015: Casalgrande Padana brings a new dimension to the shitang Seramiksan sanitaryware: a unique design Type 32 wins the Good DesignTM Award

Good Design Award for Evolution by Porcelanosa Raimondi S.p.A. celebrates 40th anniversary

22 - Tilefax

In the spotlight 40 - Thinking outside the box to keep one step aheads 4 6 - Kajaria, number 1 in India 50 - Achillea Mosaics: impeccable green credentials 54 - Wienerberger continues its growth

Cover picture by Giancarlo Pradelli @ Cersaie 2014: ABK "Unika" - www.abk.it Advertiser's list: page 91 Subscription order form: www.tiledizioni.it/subscription Translations: Geoff Day / John Freeman

FOLLOW US:

58 - Topics

Prodeso Heat System by Progress Profiles

Economy & markets 64 - 2014 U.S. Ceramic Tile Industry Update 72 - A new cycle for construction in Europe 76 - Russian Construction market: upturn in 2016 80 - World sanitaryware exports pick up

by Andrew Whitmire

92 50 54 58 88

by Luca Baraldi

Projects

88 - 92 -

Tagina tiles for San Lorenzo market in Florence Living Art: the world's largest work of art

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Editorial

by Chiara Bruzzichelli

Worldwide economic palpitations The upturn in the US economy appears to be consolidating, to the extent that one million new jobs have been created in the past three months, from November to January.

The commercial sector has been the biggest driver of employment, with 46,000 new appointments, followed by the construction industry with 39,000 and manufacturing with 22,000.

This marks a significant upturn, which has the potential to withstand the impact of international tensions caused by the European crisis, the slowdown in China, and more particularly the stand-off with Russia over Ukraine, and the nightmare of ISIS. Latin America's construction industry is also reporting good performance, partly on the strength of government social housing and infrastructure initiatives, with the result that construction growth in many

South American countries has outstripped growth in national GDP as a whole.

Europe is showing glimpses of an upturn in the property market. Having closed 2014 with growth of 1%, the property market is expected to see growth of 2.1% over the course of 2015, according to Euroconstruct forecasts, although there are still big differences between one country and the next.

On the macro-economic front, Europe is still mired in stagnation, as witness the German industrial output figures published in February, which showed growth of just 0.1% in December as against the forecast figure of 0.4%.

European markets now have to deal with the uncertainty of the situation in Greece, in the wake of the ECB's decision to no longer accept Greek sovereign bonds as security for

loans to banks. Pending the Eurogroup meeting scheduled for 11 February, calls are now being made for new solutions to get Greece and the rest of the Eurozone out of a hazardous impasse.

Construction output is also coming under pressure in Russia. According to a report by PMR Publications based on the latest data released by Rosstat (Russia's national statistics institute), after good performance in 2012 (+2.5% year on year), construction output grew by only 0.1% in 2013. This negative trend continued into 2014, resulting in a contraction of 4.8% over the first 11 months of the year.

The recently approved sanctions against the Russian government in response to the tensions in Ukraine have obviously contributed to the industry's downturn.

But the country's macro-eco-

nomic performance is also under threat, prompting Anton Siluanov, the Finance Minister, to announce that, due to falling oil prices, GDP could fall by 4% in 2015, while rouble exchange rates are expected to remain at about 66 to the dollar on average. Since the start of the new year, however, inflation has risen by 10.4%.

China, meanwhile, closed 2014 with its lowest growth rate since the 1990s, at “just” +7.4%.

One of the key factors behind this slowdown is the sharp downturn in the property market. Industrial output saw a year-on-year rise of 7.9% in December, however, which marked an improvement on November's figure of 7.2%, while retail sales in December showed an annual increase of 11.9%, as against the forecast figure of 11.7%.

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EXPO 2015: CASALGRANDE PADANA BRINGS A NEW DIMENSION TO THE SHITANG On 13 May 2014, Wang Shi, President of Vanke, the prestigious Chinese real estate company, unveiled the renderings of his pavilion to an audience that included Giuliano Pisapia, Mayor of Milan, Liao Juhua, Consul General of China, and Giuseppe Sala, Sole Commissioner for Expo 2015.

The work is now approaching completion and occupies a strategic position, not far from the Lake Arena and Palazzo Italia.

Overseen by Studio Daniel Libeskind, with interior design by Ralph Appelbaum and graphic design by Han Jiaying, the project commands attention with the strongly figurative nature of its shell, which reflects the theme of Expo 2015 (Feeding the Planet) by reinterpreting a traditional shitang or Chinese dining room.

The spectacular shell of the pavilion, covered entirely in three-dimensional, lacquer red, large-format porcelain tiles

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developed and manufactured

by Casalgrande Padana in partnership with Daniel Libeskind, is made with the exclusive Fractile line of ceramic.

This material features a distinctive finish that generates a dynamic, three-dimensional effect which, when exposed to sunlight, animates the shell by deconstructing and reconstructing its surfaces.

The design of the interior, meanwhile, stimulates reflection on the importance of rooms dedicated to food consumption and their ability to transcend their basic function: "The Vanke pavilion," explains Wang Shi, "is intended to draw attention to the delicate transition between traditional rituals and the habits introduced by contemporary society, and to bear witness to the possibility and the need to provide opportunities for socialisation within appropriately designed environments."

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SERAMIKSAN SANITARYWARE: A UNIQUE DESIGN Seramiksan, one of the most innovative brands in the ceramics industry, brings ceramic tile and sanitaryware together with a unique design.

After winning plaudits for its styling and high-tech designs,

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Seramiksan is now also impressing the market with its sanitaryware products.

Featuring solid oval forms and minimalist designs, Seramiksan sanitaryware creates a unique ambience in bathrooms, with impeccable taste and simple beauty.

Eco-friendly products offer

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a range of water-saving technologies, while product design embraces both form and function. Numerous new features, like “soft close” have also won the acclaim of customers. According to Selami Tek, Seramiksan’s Sanitaryware Plant Manager, Seramiksan products bring together the

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unique design and technology that enhance quality of life, and are the result of highly innovative production processes.

Seramiksan’s sanitaryware factory occupies a site measuring 112,000 square meters and has reached its target production of 1,000,000 pieces per year.”

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TYPE 32 WINS THE GOOD DESIGNTM AWARD Type 32 Slimtech, the Lea Ceramiche collection designed by Diego Grandi, won a 2014 Good Design Award in the worldwide design competition that's been held by the Chicago Athenaeum since1950.

Over 700 projects from 48 countries were selected by two juries, based in New York and Los Angeles, which picked the winners for each category, including Type 32 by Lea Ceramiche, the winner of the Floor and Wall Covering section.

The idea is based on the overlaying of two Tile International 1/2015

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distinct layers. The first, centring upon the material itself, comprises a screen-print that plays upon the theme of verisimilitude, and replicates a species of wood.

The second has a more graphic focus, and consists of a decoration based on the recurrence of oblique lines in four different patterns.

The project represents a fresh departure in every respect, including format. Instead of working with standard dimensions, the new line uses the Lea Slimtech long floorboard format (20 x 200 cm) in a new thickness of 5.5 mm. Type 32 starts with a material, but ends up transcending it and transporting it into an abstract dimension, where invention 16

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brings new meaning to the word "decoration", by writing a new but familiar language, like the first four letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. The sources of inspiration range from art to graphic design, but the work also touches upon the themes of illusion and memory.

As in certain dreams or visions, the object becomes something other than itself, and is reinterpreted as pure image through a 17

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contemporary language that transforms the material into a semblance of itself, while the classic ornamentation is transformed from a line into a potentially infinite surface, something like an immense carpet.

This is the second time that the Fiorano-based company has won the award, having been singled out in 2008 for City, another project by Diego Grandi, which revolves around the concept of urban maps.

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GOOD DESIGN AWARD FOR EVOLUTION BY PORCELANOSA PORCELANOSA Grupo kicks off the year with some good news, because in 2014, for the second year running, a Gamadecor kitchen, namely Evolution, won a Good Design Award.

Organised by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, in conjunction with the European Centre of Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, the Good Design Award is the world's most historic industrial design award (founded in Chicago in 1950, ed.) and among the best known at international level.

The Evolution kitchen by Gamadecor was selected from among thousands of products from 48 countries, all competing for honours in the 2014 Good Design Award.

The section about the Evolution kitchen is available on the Chicago Athenaeum Museum web site - www.chi-athenaeum. org - and will also be published in the 2014-2015 Good Design yearbook, along with all the other class winners of 2014.

Combining premium materials with the most advanced technology, Evolution consists of an island, which neatly conceals the domestic appliances and storages spaces that are essential to a modern kitchen. At the touch of a button, the Krion速 worktop slides open to reveal the domestic appliances, containers and drawers, which remain concealed within a single, cubic volume when the top is closed.

As for finishes, the kitchen combines the beauty and hygiene of Krion速, with the premium quality of natural oak veneer.

For a smooth, seamless look, the kitchen is made with imperceptible joints and fittings, and the drawers are free from handles.

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Ivan Raimondi, Carla Lucherini, Giorgio Sighinolfi Tile International 1/2015

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RAIMONDI S.P.A. CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY Raimondi was founded in 1974 at the initiative of Mirco Raimondi and his wife Graziella Fontanesi, and the company's first headquarters was at Via Allende 78, Modena.

In 1994 they opened a second site, at Via dei Tipografi 11, also in Modena, because business was booming and there was never enough space.

By then, after all, Raimondi S.p.A. had become a world leader in the field, and was exporting over 50% of its output.

In 2013, Raimondi S.p.A. opened its third site, at Via Raimondo Dalla Costa 300/A, and on 25 September, at the end of the fourth day of Cersaie, the Company celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The party was held at the “Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari� and the guest-list included all the company's agents and main international distributors (from as far afield as France, Germany, Spain, Benelux, the Balkans, Turkey, Russia, New Zealand and the USA), plus the entire Italian sales force.

There was nothing random about the choice of venue either. What could have been a more appropriate backdrop for celebrating 40 successful years in business for the Modenabased company Raimondi S.p.A.? And needless to say, the visceral appeal of Ferrari immediately grabbed the 70-plus guests, who were thrilled by their tour of the house in which the Drake was born, which has been finely restored and transformed into a showcase for vintage Ferraris.

They were equally thrilled by the beauty of the futuristic pavilion built in the shape of a car bonnet.

Celebratory paperweight of "Lupetto", the first product made

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Tilefax

Companies, News & Markets NEW SHOWROOM FOR OLYMPIA TILE + STONE Olympia Tile + Stone, Canada's largest tile importer and one of the top players on the US market too, inaugurated its new 3,500 sq.m showroom in Toronto (Ontario, Canada).

CEO Ralph Reichmann and the entire staff of Olympia Tile + Stone welcomed over 2000 illustrious guests from 45 different countries for the official opening of the company's new showroom, designed to showcase the best floor and wall coverings in the world, in the shape of ceramic, porcelain and natural stone tiles.

Occupying an entire block and also comprising 60,000 square metres of warehousing and office space, the building was designed by K.C. Au Architect Inc., while the interior design was handled by II by IV Designers, one of the top 50 design firms worldwide. The cost of the development as a whole amounted to some 10 million dollars.

Since its foundation over 50 years ago, Olympia has remained faithful to its mission of offering an exceptional variety of high-quality products, at fair prices and with excellent service. The preferred supplier of developers, contractors, dealers and private customers, Olympia is a byword for quality, innovation and assortment.

The company operates more than 50 distribution centres, showrooms and production facilities, and employs over 900 people. Its long experience has enabled it to foster excellent relations with tile manufacturers all over the world.

Over the years, Olympia has won numerous awards, such as "Supplier of the Year" from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) in Canada (2006, 2009 and 2013), the prestigious "North American Distributor

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Award" from Confindustria Ceramica (2003) and the "Best Distributor Award" from the Greater Toronto Home Builders Association (2006 and 2009).

Olympia currently acts as agent and distributor for over 200 manufacturers worldwide. It enjoys very close links with all the major players in the ceramic industry, and has worked with many Italian manufacturers uninterruptedly for several decades: "We are grateful to the Italian ceramic industry for having supported us and worked consistently with us," commented CEO Ralph Reichmann, "with a view to creating the most modern and attractive product from a technical and stylistic point of view. Our aim is to continue this type of partnership, and we believe that loyalty and long-term relationships are extremely important for fulfilling our respective potential to best effect, and projecting our history of success into the future."

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ITALY 2014: VIGOROUS GROWTH FOR CERAMIC MACHINERY Italy's ceramic machinery and equipment manufacturers reported strong performance in 2014. According to preliminary figures published by Acimac Studies Centre (Italian Ceramic Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers' Association), the sector's 2014 turnover should total 1,890 million euros, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.5%. If this is confirmed by the final figures due to be published next June, it will be the second best result in the sector's history following the 1,937 million euros posted in 2007.

This excellent result has been achieved through growth in both the international and Italian markets. At around 1,500 million euros (up 9% year on year), exports continue to account for the lion's share of turnover in the industry (almost 79%).

This result is particularly significant considering the overall state of the world economy and the social unrest and economic slowdown affecting many geographical areas.

The sector also reported excellent performance in the Italian market with total domestic sales of 400 million euros, 16.6% up on 2013 (21.2% of total turnover). Tecnargilla, the world's most important ceramic technologies exhibition, held in Rimini in September, no doubt made an important contribution to this result. "The forecasts for 2015 are cautious," said Acimac's Chairman, Fabio Tarozzi. "In recent months we have seen a slowdown in the main economic indicators in many countries worldwide.

Based on the latest information in our possession, we are expecting current levels of business to be maintained."

fine porcelain stoneware

COVERINGS • ORLANDO APRIL 14-17, 2015 • ITALIAN PAVILION BOOTH 5046 From ancient rocks used to build fortresses today still standing, comes the inspiration for Castlestone, re-elaborated by Piemmegres technicians working for architecture.

Modern architecture founds its roots in history, reinterpreting the past in geometrical lines, but also in materials.

Castlestone represents the connection between the past and the future, the material for new fortresses, those made of design and engineering, of inspiration and technology. A tactile surface with natural shades combined with rectified edges and 3d surfaces which create the right mixture having an age old spirit and a modern design.

Industrie Ceramiche Piemme S.p.A. Via Del Crociale 42/44 41042 Fiorano - Modena - Italy - tel+39 0536 849111 - fax+39 0536 849402 - www.ceramichepiemme.it - info@ceramichepiemme.it

Tilefax

KALE STRENGTHENS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ITALY AND TURKEY The Turkey-Italy Business Forum, an important event aimed at promoting economic cooperation between the two countries, was held in Istanbul last December.

Attended by numerous Italian and Turkish business leaders, the event also involved major international decisionmakers, including the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.

A leading exponent of the constructive partnership between Italy and Turkey, Zeynep Bodur Okyay, President of Kale Group and of the Turkey-Italy Business Council, took part in the event in her capacity as a member of the DEIK Foreign

Economic Relations Board and a key player in the development of relations between the two countries.

In the course of 55 years in business, Kale Group has forged solid commercial relations with Italy, and promoted an innovative, global business culture.

Zeynep Bodur Okyay explained: "Various Turkish enterprises have acquired Italian companies in recent years, with a view to boosting business on the strength of Italy's worldwide manufacturing reputation. In parallel with these developments, Italian companies have been attracted by the entrepreneurial prowess and talent of Turkish companies. This has given rise to fruitful and highly strategic long-term partnerships."

The past five years have seen a substantial increase in trade between the two countries, which has risen from 13 billion dollars in 2009 to 20 billion in 2014.

WALLDOOR MASSIMA BY BERTOLOTTO: A FLUSH-MOUNT DOOR FOR ALL THICKNESSES

Picture, from left: Ă–mer Cihad Vardan (President of the Foreign Economic Relations Board), Zeynep Bodur Okyay (Member of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey and President of the Turkey-Italy Business Council), Matteo Renzi (Italy's Prime Minister).

Tile International 1/2015

Bertolotto Porte, a major Italian manufacturer of interior, contract and security doors, recently launched a unique flushmount door solution known as Walldoor Massima. Walldoor Massima by Bertolotto Porte is a coplanar/flush wall door system with extruded aluminium perimeter frame with white porous paint finish.

This model can be integrated into walls of the most common thickness (8-10-1216-18-20 cm), thanks to a series of different-sized extensions, which are part of the frame and ensure greater stability.

Walldoor Massima is the ideal solution for minimal spaces with end-to-end ceil-

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ings. The absence of crossbeams in the frame gives a sense of continuity, without interruptions between rooms and corridor.

Depending on the surface, this new door-frame system by Bertolotto Porte can be coated with wall paints or matt and/or gloss lacquer from the RAL and NCS ranges available in the collection.

This special finish, which also serves as a primer, allows for the use of water-based paints. The Walldoor Massima system is available with two different profile sections in both the push and pull versions.

The Maxima door is made with honeycomb core panels with a thickness of 58 mm. This model comes with a satin chrome magnetic lock with key, and three 3-axis adjustable concealed hinges (4 hinges for heights over 2400 mm) with satin chrome finish. Also available in a full-height version without upper crossbeams up to 3000 mm.

The Walldoor Massima frame can mount any door from the Bertolotto Porte design collection: Lacquered Fashion doors, Costellazioni, Natura, Venezia Pantografato and PantoQuadra, and 25° by Arnaudo.

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REALITYREMOD BY MATICAD: VIRTUAL REALITY TABLET APP FOR FLOOR AND WALL COVERINGS The new products presented at Cersaie 2014 included RealityRemod, an augmented reality app developed by the software house Maticad. Maticad has been in the business for many years with DomuS3D速, a professional product available in over 15 languages and used by major ceramic manufacturers and showrooms worldwide.

RealityRemod enables you to see how your interiors would look with alternative tiling solutions, which can be superimposed onto existing situations, all on a tablet, in real time and with no effort at all. The app is built around three key features: the ability to recognise - automatically thanks to the sensors supplied with the device - the perspective with which the tablet's camera is framing the scene; the ability to identify the entire surface to be tiled, once a single point of it has been indicated, thereby avoiding obstructions and overlaps of objects in the foreground; and the ability to apply the new virtual covering over the top of the real one, with the same perspective and the right scale, in order to give the scene a highly realistic appearance.

No other product in the world offers

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these three capabilities, which make RealityRemod a state-of-the-art, must-have technology in the field of augmented reality 3D simulation. Anyone who wants to generate a simulation, either at home or elsewhere, can do so by framing the scene with their tablet, selecting any of the published tiling and panelling solutions (the catalogues can be downloaded from the cloud), and seeing them applied in real time. All without the aid of any artifice, and with the possibility of playing around with the installation pattern, by moving and rotating pieces, and dynamically adjusting the colour and width of the joints.

The app has a wide range of features and applications: first and foremost, it is a simple, innovative tool for showing the visual impact of different materials on a furnished environment. As such, it is outstandingly useful for planning renovation work. Since it is available to everyone, what's more, it also serves as a promotional vehicle for floor and wall coverings, by bringing its selection of virtual proposals into people's homes, without any commitment, arousing the interest of end-users, and prompting them to get down to their nearest showroom for further technical and commercial details, with much clearer ideas than they would otherwise have had.

Lastly, it gives professionals (interior designers and showroom sales staff) the opportunity to share hypotheses and solutions dropped into their real context, at the homes of potential customers.

This service undoubtedly helps professionals get inside the minds of their customers and earn their trust.

The app can be downloaded free of charge and is available for iPad from the Apple Store. The Android version will soon be available on Google Play.

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MAPEI WINS LONG-TERM INVESTOR UK-ITALY BUSINESS AWARD Mapei received a Long-Term Investor Award in Milan on 22 January, at the awards ceremony for the UK-Italy Business Awards, an annual event held by the British government for Italian investors who have chosen the United Kingdom as a destination for their international business development. The ceremony was held at Palazzo Mezzanotte, home of Borsa Italiana. Mapei has been operating in the United Kingdom since 1989 through Mapei UK Ltd, which now generates revenues of 42 million GBP, representing a rise of 65% on 2010 and average annual growth of 13% over the past five years.

Mapei UK employs 180 people, including 12 who make up the efficient Technical Service Department, serving over 1200 customers. The company has a state-ofthe-art production facility in Halesowen, near Birmingham, with annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of cementitious and paste adhesives and a wide range of other building products. In addition to this facility and the company's offices in the West Midlands, Mapei UK has a dedicated team of Specification Managers working throughout Britain, and plans to open a new showroom and specification centre this year in Clerkenwell, in the heart of London.

Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei is now the world's largest manufacturer of adhesives and complementary products for the setting of all types of floor and wall tiles. It is also a specialist in other chemical products for the building industry, such as water-proofing compounds, special mortars, admixtures for concrete and products for the restoration of historic buildings. These figures reflect Mapei's

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performance: total revenues of 2.3 billion euros and over 7,500 direct Group employees. Mapei has built its strategy on three key principles: specialisation, Research & Development and internationalisation. The Group currently comprises 68 associate companies, with 64 production facilities in operation across 31 countries and 5 continents. Mapei has also developed an extensive sales and technical service network with offices all over the world, and offers an efficient technical support and on-site consulting service.

CERAMICHE KEOPE FOR 4SPA RESORT HOTEL Ceramiche Keope, a leading manufacturer of porcelain floor and wall tiles has written another first-class reference with its products, in the shape of the 4Spa Resort Hotel, one of Europe's most refined Luxury Beauty Thermal Spas.

Occupying a magnificent position on the Cyclops Riviera, a stone's throw from Catania, the 4Spa Resort Hotel is a 4-star complex nestling in a breathtaking landscape. With a surface area of 2,000 sq.m, the resort is the ideal place for regenerating the mind and body, in an atmosphere of complete relaxation. The factors that go into creating that atmosphere include

the building's design choices: for the coverings of the water and wellness area, which includes the swimming pool and gym, the architects opted for the Norge series by Ceramiche Keope, in the colour Teak and sizes 22.5x90 and 15x90 cm. Its natural tones give the entire complex a warm, welcoming and contemporary feel. This latest project, undertaken by the architect Tommaso Guerriero of Studio GMC, offers further evidence of Ceramiche Keope's strong bonds with the world of design and architecture.

Pictured: the coverings of the water and wellness area of the 4Spa Resort Hotel, made with the Norge series by Ceramiche Keope, in the colour Teak and sizes 22.5x90 and 15x90 cm.

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FILA: THE WINNERS OF THE 2014 EDITION OF “TREATED LIKE A KING” The winners of the 6th edition of “Treated Like a King”, the competition for Floor Treatment Experts that awards prizes to the best projects undertaken in Italy using treatment, restoration and conservation systems by Fila Surface Care Solutions, have just been announced.

First prize went to the Bergantin brothers for their treatment of the Reggia di Venaria Reale in Turin. A silver medal went to Roberto Rossetto, who undertook the treatment of Piazza Candiani in Mestre.

And third place went to Vincenzo Casolaro, who oversaw the treatment of the Cappella di San Severo in Naples.

23 projects from all over Italy took part in the project, including restoration and recovery work done in a vast range of different contexts, from recently built residential buildings to historic monuments and public premises. The works were assessed by a jury of representatives of technical publishers and the presidents of the sector's three most important trade associations, namely Paolo Colombo of Assoposa, Vittorio Borelli of Confindustria Ceramica, and Stefano Ghirardi of Confindustria Marmomacchine.

“Like its predecessors, this 6° edition of Treated Like a King featured Italian buildings that are known worldwide for their splendour," commented Fila's Chairman Beniamino Pettenon. "Thanks to the high degree of technical prowess in play, works that form part of the artistic and cultural heritage of our country have been revitalised, and we are proud to have played our part. This success involves the whole company, because it

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derives from the quality of Fila products and the coordinated commitment of our Treatment Technicians and technical laboratory.”

The winners of previous editions of the competition include projects in Castello di Murisengo (Alessandria), Centro Congressi Arezzo Fiere, ex-Convento dei Neveri in Bariano (Bergamo), Hotel Colzani in Cassago Brianza (Lecco), Palafuksas in Turin, Abbazia di San Gallo in Moggio Udinese (Udine), Palazzo Venusio in Matera, Palazzina di Caccia in Stupinigi, and Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari.

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IMPRONTA 125 BY CATALANO WINS GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2014 The Impronta 125 washbasin, designed

by Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas for Catalano, won the bathroom and accessories category in the Good Design Award 2014 run by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts.

First unveiled at Cersaie 2011 as part of the “Catalano for Architecture” project and already a winner of the Designer Kitchen and Bathroom Award, Impronta 125 features the soft styling with which Fuksas has interpreted the innovative and technological spirit of Catalano, by evoking the idea of sandy surfaces shaped by ocean waves, across which the water flows in sinuous patterns.

The organic matrix, which is a recurring theme in Fuksas's architecture, is skilfully contrasted with more rational structures and geometries and constitutes the common thread running through the entire collection, which also comprises shower trays, wall-hung, flush-mount and free-standing washbasins, which can be combined with towel rails, back-lit mirrors, dedicated vanity units and drawer units in polished steel and gloss white and black. The entire collection is now available on the market after a long process of fine-tuning necessitated by the complexity of the project.

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KORAMIC ESTABLISHES ALL-ITALIAN LUXURY HUB Koramic Chemicals&Ceramics, one of Europe's leading multinational manufacturers of ceramics and construction chemicals, has signed a letter of intent for the purchase of 14Ora Italiana, a trend-setting producer of luxury ceramic floor and wall tiles, headquartered in Castelvetro in the province of Modena.

With the due diligence and audit now successfully completed, Koramic Chemicals&Ceramics will take possession of a majority stake in 14Ora Italiana under a capital increase subscribed by its Italian subsidiary Petracer’s Ceramics, another renowned manufacturer of luxury floor and wall tiles and bathroom furnishings – for total turnover of approximately 9 million euros – which the Belgian group acquired in 2013.

The acquisition of 14Ora Italiana, a relatively young company that has achieved outstanding results (generating revenues of around 5 million euros and exporting its products worldwide), represents another step in the building of an all-Italian luxury hub, something which Graziano Verdi – Chairman and Managing Director of the multinational group since April 2013 – is very keen to do. In 2014, Petracer’s Ceramics also ac-

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quired a majority stake in “Toscane et Tradition”, an exclusive ceramic boutique in Rue D’Aboukir in the heart of Paris, five minutes from the Palais Royale, the Louvre Museum and Place Vendome, with a view to promoting Italian luxury products to Parisian architects and designers.

So in September, Petracer’s supplied the ceramics for the remodelling of “Negresco” in Nice, one of the world's most prestigious hotels, and then signed an agreement for the renovation of the private villa (wall tiles and sanitaryware) of a member of the Qatari royal family, for a value of approximately 1 million euros.

Koramic Chemicals&Ceramics intends to develop and expand its business further, on an international scale, with a luxury “floor tiles, wall tiles and sanitaryware hub”.

Koramic Chemicals&Ceramics Group – with consolidated turnover of almost one billion euros and about 500 million euros of its own resources – is majorityowned by Christian Dumolin, a well known financier and former Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Belgium.

In the ceramic floor and wall tiles sector, the multinational Koramic Chemicals & Ceramics owns Desvres and Sphinx, as well as Petracer’s, but also owns several companies that manufacture chemical products for the building industry, such as Cermix France, Cermix Switzerland and Cermix Turkey. It also owns Resiplast, which has headquarters in Belgium and the United States (the new HQ opened in October 2013) and specialises in the production of latest-generation resin flooring and in structural work in support of architectural projects.

But the Koramic Chemicals & Ceramics Group's full portfolio includes a whole

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array of companies, which employ a total of over 2,500 people, operate manufacturing facilities worldwide and have interests in business sectors as diverse as property, finance, textiles, telecommunications, plastics processing and metallurgy.

OVER 100 FANTINI DRINKING FOUNTAINS FOR AFRICA Soon after getting back to work at the start of the new year, Daniela Fantini, proprietor of Fantini Rubinetti, a major company headquartered in Pella sul Lago d’Orta, Italy, was pleased to announce that the target set in 2012 under the 100 FONTANE_FANTINI FOR AFRICA project – in other words to bring clean water to the population of Masango in Burundi – has been achieved.

In about two years, and in the face of considerable difficulties, the results on the ground are: 12 water sources that capture water from rock; 27 kilometres of aqueduct; 100 drinking fountains already in operation and 30 more close to completion.

The drinking fountains bring clean water to approximately 25,000 people.

Each fountain now has a number and is assigned to a named individual in the Masango community, who is responsible for looking after it and attending to its maintenance.

“The key goal of the project", explained Daniela Fantini "was to enable children to spend far less time fetching water and to spend that time on schooling in-

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stead, by way of a first step in laying the foundations for a better future. In the near future, meanwhile, there is plenty of scope for new projects aimed at consolidating and implementing the positive effects of "100 Fontane", and we are working on them!”

The target of building more than the 100 Fountains first planned was achieved through the enthusiasm and participation of everyone, in Italy and abroad, thanks to donations from Fantini's customers and agents, the campaign to reissue the I Balocchi collection, and unexpected donations from generous members of the public.

“Above and beyond the results achieved”, concluded Daniela Fantini, “100 Fontane has been an extraordinary adventure from a human point of view for all of us. Thank you all very much!”

The launch of the initiative, at a special event held during Cersaie 2012, was supported by the video 100 Fontane_ Fantini for Africa, made by the American film director Justin Tipping. The project's development, the feelings experienced and the current situation are now told in a new video, made by the Catalan film director Nilo Mur Zimmerman.

MAPEI WINS TRANSATLANTIC AWARD 2014 At the 9th edition of the Transatlantic Award Gala Dinner, held in Milan on 1 December, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, headed by Simone Crolla, assigned awards to the US and Italian companies that made the biggest investments in the transatlantic axis between Italy and the United States. The winners included Mapei, which won an award for the acquisition of GRT - General Resource Technology Inc., an American manufacturer of admixtures for concrete - which will help it step up its strategic presence on the US, Canadian and Mexican markets.

The award was collected by Giorgio Squinzi - President and Sole Director of Mapei Group - from John R. Phillips, United States Ambassador to Italy, in the presence of Philip T. Reeker, US Consul General in Milan, and Armando Varricchio, Diplomatic Councillor to the Italian President. On receiving the award he said: "We are delighted to have been able to welcome GRT into the Mapei family. The Mapei Group has a long history of worldwide operations in the concrete admixture business, and GRT will give us the boost we need to increase our market share in the Americas.Thanks to synergies with its own product lines, we expect to increase our market share in both the east and west of the United States, as well as in Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. By complementing the Group's portfolio with concrete admixture production directly in the Americas, we will also speed up growth in our line of systems for concrete. What's more, since our Underground Tunnelling Technology division is

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enjoying ongoing expansion, GRT will provide an ideal source of highly specialised products for the important market of major works worldwide. The Group operates 23 production facilities in the Americas, including GRT's two sites, and two distribution centres, plus the headquarters of Mapei Corporation and Polyglass USA in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Mapei is an environmentally aware manufacturer, as borne out by its membership of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2001 and of the Canadian Green Building Council since 2008. Mapei Americas is also an AIA/CES accredited supplier, and offers training through its dedicated training facility, the Mapei Technical Institute.The majority of Mapei facilities hold ISO 9001 Quality System certification and LEED certification. The acquisition of GRT marks another milestone in Mapei's expansion in the Americas, and the investment will make Mapei Group a significant player in the concrete admixtures market."

As well as to Mapei, 2014 Transatlantic Awards were assigned to Accenture, BlackRock, IBM, Philip Morris, Whirlpool, Brembo and Chiesi Farmaceutici. Two special prizes were also given to Cloud4WI and Friends of the USA Pavilion.

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NEST SLIMTECH BY LEA WINS BEST OF YEAR AWARD Nest Slimtech, the Lea Ceramiche collection designed by HOK Product Design, has won Interior Design’s Annual Best of Year Award 2014 in the Flooring: Tile and Stone category. Celebrating its 9th edition this year, the prize is promoted by the American magazine Interior Design and represents one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions.

Nest won the Best of Year Award 2014 in the tile and stone floorings category within the products section. Drawing inspiration from forms found in the natural world, Nest is made of irregular elements (edge measurement 100 cm) which are combined to create large hexagonal shapes. This infinite woven puzzle, which offers a new and unconventional use of ceramics, gives a unique touch and a structural element to surfaces, with a view to transforming the architectural and domestic landscapes of any city.

Nest offers an infinite variety of combinations of shape and colour, which become patterns that can be used to ex-

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press the creativity of any designer. "Nest is a range of hexagons and triangles, affectionately named Pac Man, which can be used in many aesthetic solutions and allows architects and designers to truly use their imagination", explained Susan Grossinger of HOK Product Design. Nest is made with Lea Ceramiche's Slimtech ultra-thin laminated porcelain tiles. Strong and durable despite its thickness of just 3mm, this product has revolutionised the ceramics sector in recent years.

UNICERA 27TH INTERNATIONAL CERAMIC, BATHROOM AND KITCHEN FAIR Home to the latest designs and technological innovations of leading global brands, UNICERA 27th International Ceramic, Bathroom and Kitchen Fair was held at the Tüyap Fair and Convention Center, Büyükçekmece, Istanbul between February 24 and 28, 2015.

Being one of the world's leading events, UNICERA attracts a very large number of visitors and hosted more than 350 exhibitors from 17 countries (including United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ukraine, India, China and Taiwan) in 11 halls and 98.000 square meters. The array of products on show included floor

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and wall coverings, ceramics, granite, marble, natural stone, mosaic, bathroom and kitchen furniture and accessories, sinks and embedded equipment, vitrified products, fixtures, and radiators and towel racks. The CERAMICTECH Ceramic Processing Technologies specialty section in Hall 9 further expanded the scope of the event with chemicals, raw materials, ceramic machinery, machinery spare parts and components.

The programme of side events that took place during the show was also very rich, featuring a number of matter expert speakers on designs influenced by the latest trends and the most advanced technologies enabling participants and exhibitors to stay abreast of the necessities of changing times.

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TEUCO: NEW BLOG AND HOME PAGE FOR “DESIGN LOVERS” Teuco, a global brand dedicated to the creation of exclusive total-look bathroom collections, has stepped up its digital presence, by launching a new company blog and creating a new look for its home page, which now features even more eye-catching graphics, with a view to creating a fully fledged community of “design lovers” around the brand.

Available in English, the new blog provides a hub from which to explore the world of Teuco. Users of the site will find a wide range of constantly updated information and other content, not only on company-related news, but on more general topics too, such as interior design and spa@home. Full of useful content and emotionally appealing images, the blog provides a new source of reference for people who love design and want to keep up to date with the latest bathroom furnishing trends.

Thanks to its social feeds, what's more, the blog enables users to make direct contact with Teuco's Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest profiles.

Teuco has also restyled its home page,

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which offers users news and updates on the most significant contract projects, new developments and the company as a whole, while also enabling users to access the new blog, subscribe to the newsletter and check out the store locator.

Making everything accessible at the click of a mouse is a strategic choice that forms part of a broader digital plan designed to step up the brand's web presence and maximise interaction with users.

And in Via Frattina in Rome, Caesar supplied the coverings for the Elena Mirò shop near Piazza di Spagna. The premises were comprehensively restyled using the Gate collections in the colour Breath in size 60x120 cm.

CAESAR SUPPLIES THE WORLD OF FASHION Major names from the world of Italian and international fashion have opted for Caesar's style for the interior design of their stores. Caesar has successfully interpreted the style and requirements of each of the brands it has worked with, and studied their structural needs, overall philosophy, lines and trends. It has then offered each brand an extensive range of opportunities, so that they can choose the ceramic collection that best matches their profile in terms of colours, sizes and surface finishes.

In Milan, for example, we have the Concept Store Bassetti in Corso Buenos Aires, whose floors are tiled in Wabi wood-effect porcelain, in the Sawcut version; the Les Copains store in Via della Spiga, which is tiled with the Brera version of the Concept.s series in size 60x120 cm; the La Perla showroom, also located in the heart of Milan's fashion district and equipped with magnificent windows, through which the light enhances the Barrique colour of the ceramic based on Wabi natural oak, in size 30x120 cm.

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CLOSER BY ZUCCHETTI WINS GOOD DESIGN™ AWARD 2014 The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies gave a 2014 Good Design™ Award to the Closer shower head designed by Diego Grandi for Zucchetti.

Established in Chicago in 1950, the Good Design™ Award is the most historic and internationally recognised award for design excellence.

Out of more than 700 projects and product images from over 36 countries, all selected for the design quality, the eclectic Closer won the award thanks to its innovative stylistic and functional features, thereby re-asserting Zucchetti's excellence in bathroom design.

Elena Zucchetti, an architect and CEO of Zucchetti and Kos, commented: “We are very proud to have received anoth-

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er Good Design™ Award, this time for Closer. We had faith in this unusual, innovative product right from the start, and dedicated significant resources to its design, production and communication, in close partnership with Diego Grandi. I believe that the nature of industrial design is such that it cannot originate from the creativity of a single person, but has to be the result of understanding and cooperation between a team of people who contribute to formulating and producing the project.

This important award will encourage us once again to maintain our commitment to researching new and original designs.”

Dynamic, flexible and iconic, the Closer shower head reinvents the physical actions involved in showering: it reflects the styling of a lamp, while the cylindrical counterweight at one end of it keeps it stable whatever height or position it is set to. The entire structure is designed to be simply and intuitively adjustable and extendible.

Thanks to Closer, water can dance through the air, free itself from conventional constraints, and become a free expression of our needs.

PIEMME EXTENDS RANGE WITH “PIEMME 20MM” Piemme is extending its product range with a new thickness of 20mm.

The extreme versatility of this new material makes it ideally suited to a vast range of outdoor design applications, while at the same time offering the ut-

FERRARI&CIGARINI EXPANDS COMPACT-LINE RANGE Ferrari&Cigarini's CompactLine series of automatic machines continues to earn plaudits from both manufacturers and resellers of floor and wall tiles. Designed for multi-disc cutting, profiling and edgegrinding, these machines offer top quality production but occupy only a minimum of space; and because they are so easy to use, they can be operated by personnel with no particular expertise.

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most coordination between interior and exterior.

Piemme 20mm is a strong, reliable designer covering, which retains its original appearance year after year.

Applications: Walkways, terraces, gardens, public parks, parking areas, street furnishing, beach resorts.

The machines are capable of quickly producing strips, mosaics, skirting boards, trim pieces, mitre cuts, polished marble plinths with straight edge, bullnose, half bullnose, etc. This makes them ideal for ceramic, marble and natural stone dealers, who are thus equipped to offer their customers an additional service.

Ferrari&Cigarini will be presenting their new CompactLine models at Batimat Russia in Moscow and at Coverings in Orlando.

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TEK ARREDAMENTI GEARS UP FOR COVERINGS 2015 To meet the spatial and product presentation needs of showrooms, Tek Arredamenti offers two series of extremely practical display cabinets equipped with specifically designed mechanical systems, known as Jolly Girevole and Jolly Swing. Jolly Girevole enables you to extract the panels by vertical rotation, so that products can always be positioned in the foreground.

Jolly Swing enables you to extract the panels by horizontal rotation, thus offering an innovative solution for the display of floor tiles.

Both models are available in versions with 3, 6 or 10 two-sided frames for the display of a total of 6, 12 or 20 series of ceramic tiles, which are easy to change over. The two-sided frames, measuring 100x200 cm, are made of metal and available in RAL colours. To find out more, visit www.tekarredamenti.it

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NUOVOCORSO AT MAISON&OBJET ASIA 2015, SINGAPORE Nuovocorso, the only Italian manufacturer of large-format, edge-ground, extruded porcelain panels, made a successful appearance at the Maison & Objet trade fair in Singapore from 10 to 13 March.

Nuovocorso is no newcomer to this market, however, as the Far East has been particularly receptive towards large formats and therefore represents an important opportunity for the company.

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore are just some of the countries to which Nuovocorso exports its products.

Although Nuovocorso's main focus is on graphics that reinterpret natural stone, such as the 7Stone series (pictured), and wood-inspired products, such as the Essenze, New Biolegni and Fossil series in sizes 20x180 and 30x180.

The 120x120 range has been very successful too, thanks to the immense graphic variety made available by the use of digital technology.

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INVESTMENT AND GROWTH FOR CERAMICA RONDINE Ceramica Rondine, an Italian company which has been manufacturing and selling floor and wall tiles for residential and public premises since 1961, is investing in the extension of its production facilities and the fine-tuning of new production processes.

Operating from three production sites in Italy's ceramic cluster, namely Rubiera, Vetto and Sassuolo, the company has launched two new automatic sorting and packaging lines at its Rubiera plant, as well as an innovative, green-oriented, dry cutting and edge-grinding line, which operates without water, so is more environmentally friendly. The dust generated by edge-grinding is then recovered and re-introduced into the ceramic body production process.

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These major investments have enabled Rondine to extend its range of sizes to include a new 45x90 format, with sub-multiples in 22.5x90 and 15x90m, and a 60x120 format, with sub-multiples in 20x120 and 30x120. The investment programme is fully in line with the Group's philosophy of embracing technological development and state-of-the-art design research.

MONTOLIT PRESENTS FLASH Brevetti Montolit has always kept a close watch on developments in the ceramic industry, with particular reference to the latest large-format porcelain tiles, measuring in excess of 3 metres. As such, it presents the new FLASH line of manual tile-cutters, which are capable of making perfect cuts on porcelain tile to lengths of up to 340 cm, even on slimgauge panels (3mm).

Flash Line is a very user-friendly product consisting of a lightweight alloy guide bar, comprising three parts which snap together easily without using any tools, a sliding carriage supporting the small-diameter scoring wheel, which is titaniumcoated for maximum penetration, and a special separating gripper, all of which are contained in a handy, robust carrying bag.

One major advantage of Flash tile-cutters over conventional tools lies in the new system for positioning and securing the guide on the ceramic surface.

Based on the powerful friction forces generated between the two parts by special rubbery strips on the underside of the aluminium bar, it is entirely free from suction cups and mechanical clamping systems.

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Scoring is quick, easy and intuitive: to get the cut you want, all you need to do is run the scoring-wheel carriage along the guide, while pressing down. By simply adjusting the pressure you exert, the special separating gripper supplied, which can be used both in leverage and gradual advance mode, completes the cutting operation.

Flash Line is a revolutionary product because of its immediacy, ease of use, practicality and versatility. It cuts the widest imaginable range of ceramic tiles and panels, in all sizes from 0 to 340 cm and thicknesses of up to 15 mm.

And like most Brevetti Montolit products, it is covered by an international patent.

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In the spotlight

Thinking outside the box to keep one step ahead

Federica Minozzi

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We spoke to Federica Minozzi, appointed operations manager of the Iris Ceramica – GranitiFiandre Group (consolidated turnover of 440 million euros in 2013, Editor’s note) by her father Romano Minozzi, the Group’s founder, chairman and managing director.

This major generational shift confirmed the decision to keep the company in the hands of the family and to continue to invest, an important strategy in a period of crisis as it enables the group to look to the future and keep one step ahead of the competition.

The Group has also made a major investment of 30 million euros at the Castellarano facility for the production and processing of large ceramic panels alongside a further 60 million euros for the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Russia. These investments are entirely self-financed. “We have no problems of liquidity,” declared Romano Minozzi in an interview given to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera during Cersaie. “We won’t be launching on the stock market, we’re not selling up and we have no need of partners.”

Tile International: Iris-Fiandre Group is

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completing two investments at the facilities in Castellarano. 22 million euros was used to double up the large panel production line and a further 8 million euros to build an automated logistics centre for storing semi-processed panels and subsequently cutting them to customers’ specifications. Could you tell us about this latest innovation project carried through in cooperation with the company Elettric 80 owned by Enrico Grassi?

Federica Minozzi: It’s been a very interesting venture. The project was developed by Elettric 80 based in Viano, prov-

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ince of Reggio Emilia, a supplier of logistics systems to multinationals such as Coca Cola, Ikea and Barilla. Having had previous negative experiences with the ceramic sector, the owner Enrico Grassi initially said he was not interested in designing a system for the storage of semi-finished ceramic material and subsequent cutting. It was only the longstanding friendship with my father and the idea of creating something truly innovative for us that finally persuaded him to accept the challenge.

In just six months we built a fully automated factory using intelligent robots to

In the spotlight

guarantee maximum flexibility.

The semi-finished panels are now produced in their maximum size (320x160 cm, Editor’s note) and stored in the new centre built inside the former Ariostea factory. The final production schedule is determined by individual orders and is performed automatically inside the same facility, where robots controlled by highly advanced software pick up, move, cut, number and package the products

ready for shipment.

Tile International: So after using yards as open-air warehouses where goods are prepared for shipment and then installing automated vertical warehouses, this system has now superseded the warehouse entirely.

F. Minozzi: That’s right. In addition to automation of the manufacturing process and the possibility of rapidly changing the sizes and even the thickness of products directly on

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Tile International 1/2015

In the spotlight

the line, we have entirely eliminated the need to store different size panels. We simply store semi-finished products in their largest size ready to be cut to order.

Tile International: What about the traditional market?

F. Minozzi: Our Group’s current strategy is to focus on two different markets. The first is the end consumer market, which we reach through the traditional channel of retailers with showrooms. For this market, which accounts for about half of our sales, we produce, store and distribute our products using conventional methods under the Group’s various brand names, particularly Iris Ceramica but also Fiandre, Ariostea and FMG. To ensure that each product type achieves its full potential, we also use the Iris Ceramica brand name for red body products as the highest expression of colour, aesthetics and decoration.

The other half of our turnover is generated through largescale projects carried out in cooperation with international engineering and architecture firms, for which purpose we supply large-format panels under the GranitiFiandre, FMG and Ariostea brands. Our internal team not only creates products according to the designer’s specifications, but also sends out groups of tile setters capable of training the people who are actually carrying through the project,

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wherever they are in the world.

Tile International: So in this segment you have effectively overcome the limitations of the traditional market. In this model the manufacturer not only supplies standard products ready for installation but also offers customers its services in creating a specific product for a given project.

F. Minozzi: Yes, the ground rules have changed in this market segment. A transaction-based relationship has been replaced by a fullyfledged partnership between buyer and producer. Moreover, new technologies have led to forms of cooperation that would have been unimaginable only a short time ago and allow for the highest degree of product customisation.

One of the best examples of a project we have carried out in cooperation with leading architecture practices is the ExpoForum in St. Petersburg. This 40,000 sq.m consignment consisted of 3,700 panels, each cut in a unique way to form 24 designs, faithful reproductions of eighteenth century prints to be used for the entrance façades to the six pavilions of the ExpoForum.

The panels, produced with a tolerance of ±2 mm, were numbered to make it easy to recompose the individual pieces of the design.

The project by architects Evgeny Gerasimov and Sergei Tchoban engaged the com-

In the spotlight

pany’s entire staff of engineers and workers, who worked tirelessly and with great enthusiasm throughout the difficult undertaking. It’s great to be able to work like that.

Another example is the Mondrian, a 6 star hotel in Qatar.

The Dutch designer from the famous interior design firm commissioned to design the interiors of the hotel had initially chosen natural marble.

South West Architecture, a major architecture practice located in Doha, organised a presentation in which they showed him two different solutions, one natural marble and the other an FMG panel.

When he discovered he had chosen the industrially-made product, he sportingly acknowledged the qualities of an innovative material he had previously been unfamiliar with.

And so we won the supply contract for their entire hotel, including more than 300 bathrooms complete with vanity tops and shower trays. We were also commissioned to create all the accessories, including soap dishes!

Tile International: Do you

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think this innovative ceramic material will conquer the world of architecture.

F. Minozzi: I recently coined a phrase that I feel aptly describes our mission: for many years Iris-Fiandre Group drew inspiration from great architecture, but today it is the Group’s new products that are influencing the world of architecture. It is a totally new form of ceramic material. Rather than just floor and wall coverings, our products are ideal for use on curved surfaces (the panels have a curvature of up to 17 cm, Editor’s note), for cladding tables and doors, and for creating countertops and furnishing accessories. It is a material that can be transformed into a second skin.

Tile International: At Cersaie you announced that you had purchased an area to build a new production facility near Stupino in Russia. Have you experienced any problems due to the political climate and the EU sanctions?

F. Minozzi: Strangely enough, the opposite has been the case. We are one of the few European companies to invest in manufacturing operations

in Russia and I must say that the authorities are being very helpful. For the time being we have purchased the land and are designing the structures.

The next step is to build the plant itself.

Tile International: What kind of technologies will you install in Stupino?

F. Minozzi: We haven’t yet begun designing the production line. We are still at the stage of defining the structural projects, but whenever our Group starts up a production activity we always make sure we use the most advanced technology available. This will be the case here too, although I don’t want to give away too much about it.

Tile International: Will you use the same large panel production technology that you installed in Castellarano: Continua+ from Sacmi and GEA from System?

F. Minozzi: Yes, although we haven’t yet finalised the details of the project, the first and only experiment of its kind to combine the two most advanced technologies for pressing large panels currently on the market. We are also

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working on a secret technological project. We expect to see the final results in the spring and will present them at the next Cersaie. In any case, production in Russia is not expected to begin for another 18 to 24 months.

Tile International: Do you think that research will enable the Italian ceramic industry to maintain its leadership position?

F. Minozzi: We believe that the Sassuolo ceramic cluster is still the world leader in terms of hitech, innovative products. It is here that we can find the human resources capable of carrying through ambitious projects, which is why we are continuing to invest here. And when Iris Group invests abroad it naturally takes the very best of its technology with it.

The Italian market has returned to the levels of the 1990s and remains stagnant.

We are continuing to grow because 95% of our turnover is generated through exports and direct sales from the Porcelaingres factory in Germany and the Stonepeak facility in the United States.

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50%

In the spotlight

Kajaria, number 1 in India

Ashok Kajaria



When we met Mr. Ashok Kajaria one year ago, the company’s goal was very clear and ambitious: “We aim to reach an output of 100 million sq.m/year by March 2018,” he told us. With that aim in mind, the year 2014 has been a year of great production investments, bringing the installed capacity of the Indian giant from 45 to 54 million sq.m/year and positioning Kajaria as the largest Indian ceramic tile manufacturer. At the end of 2014 we met again Mr. Ashok Kajaria and asked him which further steps are planned to support the company’s growth.

Tile International: Which are the most relevant outcomes and results that Kajaria achieved last year?

Ashok Kajaria: In one of the most challenging years marked by declining consumer spending and spiraling gas prices, our company reported an allround improvement.

We commissioned 5.60 million sq.m fresh capacity (14% of its year-start capacity); the topline increased by close to 17% over the previous year. We focused on value-added products; the blended realizations improved from Rs 347 per sq.m (4.47 €/sq.m) in 2012-13

Tile International 1/2015

to Rs 354 per sq.m (4.56 €/sq.m) in 201314. And in a year when the average Indian focused on keeping his money close at hand, Kajaria managed to shrink its working capital cycle to 25 days – an industry benchmark. We attracted an investment of Rs 1.50 billion (about 19.3 million Euros) from WestBridge Crossover Fund, LLc. in a year when foreign investments in India ran dry -- an important watermark to our business model.

Tile International: How many plants belong today to your group?

Ashok Kajaria: Kajaria has seven manufacturing plants across the country – one in Gailpur (Rajasthan), one in Sikandarabad (Uttar Pradesh), one in

46

Andhra Pradesh and 4 in Gujarat. We have around 2300 employees on the roll of Kajaria.

Tile International: Can you describe your latest investments and in which plants have they been made?

Ashok Kajaria: Kajaria decided to put up a 5 million sqm plant at new location in Rajasthan, the plant is expected to complete by July 2015.

The company also decided to put a Brownfield facility at its existing location in Gailpur (Rajasthan) for production of 3 million sqm capacity of ceramics wall tiles.

The production is expected to complete

by March 2015. The company also en-

In the spotlight

tered in to another joint venture with Taurus Tiles P Ltd, which is putting up a 5 million sqm polished porcelain tile capacity at Morbi (Gujarat). So by December 2015 we should reach a total installed capacity of 67 million sqm/year. This is 25% growth in current capacity.

Tile International: What technologies have been and will be installed?

Ashok Kajaria: Our new production lines are mostly supplied by Sacmi and include the latest bigger kilns,

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In the spotlight

as well as the 6500 ton press for bigger tiles. We are also increasing the number of printers for the digital decoration: in our 7 plants we use a total of 9 digital units and we have just sourced another one from Spain.

Tile International: Are you also increasing your product range?

Ashok Kajaria: We have launched new sizes, 40x80 cm in glazed porcelain and 25x75 cm in ceramics and bigger sizes in 80x80 cm and 80x120 cm in polished porcelain.

Currently Kajaria is producing more than 1200 products across its various product category.

Tile International: Which are your forecasts about the Indian tile consumption and demand?

Ashok Kajaria: Despite being the No.3 consumer in the world, the per capita consumption of tile is one of the lowest in the world. As the Indian GDP progresses at a CAGR of 6-7% between 2013 and 2023, urbanisation is expected to increase from 32% to 37%, catalysing home building (and hence tile offtake).

Besides, India is getting younger, wealthier, aspirational and aesthetic. Also the replacement market is growing very fast. Also, there is a big thrust on “Clean India” by the newly elected Government, which will boost the demand for tile and sanitaryware.

Tile International: What are your future projects?

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Ashok Kajaria: In addition to enhancing tile capacities in our facilities, we are looking at a lateral yet synergic shift.

Kajaria initiated the manufacture of sanitaryware in Morbi with the objective to complement its trading model – a differentiated approach from the existing practice of tile companies selecting to outsource sanitaryware.

We have also initiated setting up a faucet plant of 1.50 million pieces facility at Rajasthan.

This response has been inspired by two reasons: Tiles, sanitaryware and faucets are marketed by a majority of the tile retail outlets, so the decision to manufacture sanitaryware will help address a larger share of the dealer’s business and customer’s wallet. Over the last number of years, we seeded sanitaryware demand through prudent outsourcing (imports) for which it is now creating a captive manufacturing back-end. This diversification will position Kajaria as a holistic bathroom solution provider. Strengthening mind share and wallet share among discerning customers.

Tile International: How is your ongoing expansion reflecting on company’s revenues and what is the goal you forecast in the next 2 years?

Ashok Kajaria: In 2014 we closed with a top line of Rs.20 Billion and a market cap of Rs.50 Billion and our target is to reach top line of Rs.30 billion by 2016.

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In the spotlight

Achillea Mosaics: impeccable green credentials

Margherita Moruzzi and Stefano Oppimitti



Achillea Mosaics srl was established in 2013 in the wake of Oppimitti Group’s acquisition of the former Aquileia plant (a historic brand of the Fincuoghi Group) in Borgotaro di Parma, Italy.

At the time of the takeover, production had been mothballed for over four years, but the new company re-hired more than half of Aquileia's former employees in 2014 and re-launched the production of top-quality mosaic with a thickness of 4 mm, while endowing it with the green credentials that are the hallmark of everything that Oppimitti Group does. The plant engineering and managerial strategies adopted result in a substantial reduction in emissions of pollutants and consumption of natural resources.

At Borgotaro, we met Margherita Moruzzi, Achillea Project Manager, and Stefano Oppimitti, Group representative, who talked us through the

Tile International 1/2015

company’s first steps forthcoming projects.

and

Tile International: What is Oppimitti Group's main line of business?

Stefano Oppimitti: “Oppimitti Group operates chiefly in the environmental sector and in power generation from renewable sources, mainly by building and managing wind farms. When we bought the former Aquileia plant, we felt that it was essential to apply our environmental principles to the production of porcelain mosaic. That’s why we have set things up so that the entire production process is powered by renewable energies.

So Achillea has risen from the ashes of Aquileia, and added some valuable ecological input to the already outstanding intrinsic qualities of the material. We find it deeply satisfying to explain that our porcelain tile ‘is fired by wind’.”

Tile International: What special features does the Achillea

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plant offer?

S. Oppimitti: “Every stage in the production of Achillea mosaics is geared towards the highest environmental standards because our plant engineering and managerial strategies substantially reduce emissions of pollutants and consumption of natural resources.

The spray-dried body and glaze powder (colour) are combined by means of a dry pressing process, without the use of water and therefore

without generating any effluent, while at the same time ensuring higher product strength and quality, despite the low thickness that makes our materials ideal for all the typical applications of porcelain tile.

Firing takes place in a modern electric kiln, powered by renewable energy (like the rest of the line), thus avoiding the use of fossil fuels, while processing waste is reduced to a minimum and sent to recovery plants.”

Tile International: What are

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the technical properties of your product?

Margherita Moruzzi: “In technological terms, because of its reduced thickness (4 mm), Achillea is a lightweight, versatile product that’s easy to install, even over existing flooring, thus avoiding demolition work and reducing the cost of renovation projects.

Achillea mosaics are 100% made in Italy and endorsed with a full complement of certifications: they are frost-resistant and resistant to tempera-

ture changes (and therefore suitable for both interior and exterior use); impermeable to water and stains (thus making day-to-day cleaning a whole lot easier); extremely resistant to bending, surface abrasion, cracking and chemical attack.”

Tile International: And how does your pre-mounting system work?

M. Moruzzi: “Our mosaic pieces are made in several sizes and put together on sheets measuring 31.6x31.6 cm by

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In the spotlight

ISSUU

multimedia

means of a spot-glueing process performed automatically by a dedicated production line. The result is an extremely strong, practical, manageable sheet, which is easy to install even on curved surfaces thanks to the low thickness of the mosaics.

We’ve opted for pre-mounting on sheets using spot glueing because it offers the same flexibility as fibre netting, but greater strength and better retention of joint gaps, so it simplifies installation and gives surfaces unrivalled regularity.”

Tile International: How many

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collections do you produce?

M. Moruzzi: “Achillea currently produces porcelain mosaic in various sizes (1.7x1.7, 1.7x3.8, 1.7x7.8, “mixer 1” and “mixer 5”), but the production technology enables the company to create custom sizes to customer specification at any time. We produce eight series Arcobaleno, Derby, King, Metall, Natural, Rocks, Snoopy and Tiffany - all of which differ from conventional mosaics because of their special surface finishes, such as matt and gloss, rough and smooth, and vitreous, metallic or textured effect. Achillea Mosaics are a

testament to the holistic belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Tile International: How do you plan to approach the market?

M. Moruzzi: “Our top priority is to get ourselves known and recognised by Italian showrooms, so we have set up a website - www.achilleamosaics.com - and printed our first Achillea Mosaics catalogue, which presents the eight collections we produce. Now we are making vigorous efforts to set up an effective sales network, with a view to introducing Achillea to dealers, and

52

forging close relations with partners, who will receive consultancy, merchandising systems and appropriate salessupport services.”

Tile International: Are you interested in the world of architects?

M. Moruzzi: “Absolutely, and we are well aware of the fact that green manufacturing credentials are of particular interest to specifiers, especially when combined with the ability to produce mosaics with totally customised patterns and images.

But the adaptability of Achillea’s production, combined

In the spotlight

with all the certifications that guarantee its outstandingly high quality, is also a big plus for dealers, who know that they can rely on all-Italian production of mosaic with the utmost flexibility in terms of both the sizes of the individual tesserae and the reproduction of designs and images.”

Tile International: What are your goals for 2015?

Stefano Oppimitti: “We are only too aware that we have yet another “difficult” year ahead of us, but we are choosing to believe the Cresme forecasts, which point to a slight upturn in building activity in 2015, after eight consecutive years of recession.

We know that this growth will derive exclusively from investments in refurbishment, especially in the residential and public non-residential sectors.

That’s fine by us, because Achillea mosaic is well suited to this type of application: ideal for both interior and exterior floor and wall tiling, its slim gauge means that it can be laid over existing coverings, thus offering savings on demolition costs.

At the same time, the unique qualities of the “sheet” mean that it is flexible and easy to install even on curved surfaces.

We have major expansion plans for our sales network in 2015, and we also plan to step up our presence on export markets, which yielded very promising results in 2014.”

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In the spotlight

Wienerberger continues its growth

Heimo Scheuch, Ceo Wienerberger



The Wienerberger group is continuing its expansion.

The results for the third quarter of 2014 show that the revenues of the Vienna-based multinational rose by 3% to 798.9 million euros for the period from July to September, compared with 773.4 million euros in 2013. Operating EBITDA increased 8% to 113.0 million euros, compared with 104.2 million euros in the previous year.

Heimo Scheuch, Chief Executive Officer of Wienerberger, explained: “This performance is very satisfactory considering the more challenging market conditions in the third quarter.

There were no signs of recovery in Europe, above all in new residential construction.

A number of markets, including France and the countries in Southern Europe, continued to weaken, and the German market cooled significantly. In contrast, new

Tile International 1/2015

residential construction in Great Britain remained on a sound course.

We reacted quickly to benefit from this situation and began to restart mothballed plants during the third quarter.

Central-East Europe recorded generally favourable development for the reporting period in line with our expectations.

On a positive note, the Ukraine crisis has not had any major negative direct effects on our business up to now.

The third quarter earnings growth was supported, above all, by the scheduled cost savings, our efficiency improvement program and the earnings contribution from the recently acquired Tondach Group.”

Clay Building Materials Europe The Clay Building Materials Europe Division recorded an increase of 8% in revenues to 446.8 million euros and 15% in

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In the spotlight

operating EBITDA to 77.8 million euros in the third quarter.

The negative market developments, above all in Western Europe, were offset by the initial consolidation of Tondach Gleinstätten as well as 6 million euros of savings from the cost reduction program and further optimization measures.

cent negative shifts in the product mix.

This was reflected in an earnings decline in the North America Division, where operating EBITDA fell by 6% to 4.9 million euros.

Conclusion of the Tondach Gleinstätten acquisition

Pipes & Pavers Europe Revenues in the Pipes & Pavers Europe Division were 4% lower than the comparable prior year period at 283.5 million euros in the third quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA remained constant during this period and totalled 34.7 million euros (compared to 34.5 million euros in the third quarter of 2013).

Continued recovery in US new residential construction Revenues in the North America Division rose by 8% to 67.3 million euros. The continuing recovery in US new residential construction led to higher revenues and earnings in the brick business, even though the price situation was less than satisfactory.

Wienerberger also expanded its positions in the relevant markets. In contrast, the market environment in Canada remained challenging.

Full capacity utilization in the plastic pipe business allowed for only limited reactions to re-

An important strategic milestone in the third quarter was the takeover of Tondach Gleinstätten, the leading producer of clay roof tiles in Central-East Europe.

Tondach operates 14 plants in eight countries and is the market leader in this region. Heimo Scheuch is pleased with the positive conclusion of the takeover: “This major growth step will strengthen our profitable clay roof tile business in Europe and create further opportunities to expand our position on the renovation market.

Tondach made a positive contribution to the Wienerberger Group in the third quarter, and I expect a contribution of roughly 90 million euros to Group revenues and 15 million euros to operating EBITDA in 2014.”

euros. The initial consolidation of the Tondach Gleinstätten Group contributed 47.3 million euros to Group revenues.

Operating EBITDA rose by a significant 18% to 248.1 million euros due to the positive development of key markets like Great Britain, Poland and Belgium, efficiency improvement measures and higher capacity utilization in the plants.

Tondach Gleinstätten contributed 10.0 million euros to operating earnings. The program to sell non-operating assets generated income of 2.6 million euros (6.4 million euros in third quarter of 2013).

Third party revenues in the Clay Building Materials Europe Division rose by 9% to 1,166.4 million euros and operating EBITDA by 33% to 174.9 million euros in the first nine months.

The Pipes & Pavers Europe Division recorded stable third party revenues of € 801.6 million, compared with € 792.6 million in the previous year. EBITDA remained constant at 80.5 million euros.

The North America Division recorded a 3% increase in third party revenues to 175.7 million euros. EBITDA fell from 9.6 million euros in the previous year to 7.2 million euros.

Business development from January to September 2014

Increase in profits and cash flow

The Wienerberger Group grew by 6% during the first nine months of 2014 and generated revenues of 2,148.4 million

The Wienerberger Group recorded a significant improvement in operating EBIT to 89.2 million euros in the first nine

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In the spotlight

months of 2014 (54.8 million euros in 2013). After the deduction of financial results totalling -19.5 million euros, profit before tax for the period from January to September 2014 was substantially higher at 69.7 million euros (6.4 million euros in 2013). Wienerberger recorded net profit of 55.7 million euros after the deduction of taxes, a big improvement on the -5.6 million euros of 2013.

Gross cash flow improved by 35.5 million euros due to the substantial increase in operating earnings and totalled 185.9 million euros for the reporting period.

Expenditures for maintenance, technical upgrades for production processes and smaller growth projects amounted to 77.5 million eu-

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ros for the first nine months, compared with 63.6 million euros in the previous year.

Growth investments amounted to 35.9 million euros and included the purchase price for the shares in Tondach Gleinstätten that were purchased at the beginning of July, less liquid funds recognized during the initial consolidation.

Outlook and Strategy The current market trends in Europe and the USA are projected to continue during the remainder of this year. In the Clay Building Materials Europe Division, Wienerberger expects a stable environment in the European core markets with positive developments in Great Britain, Belgium and Poland as well as declines in

France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Germany will be stable to slightly weaker.

The consolidation of Tondach Gleinstätten will make a positive contribution to Group results. The pipe business should see continued healthy development in the Nordic markets and Eastern Europe as well as weaker markets in the Netherlands and France. The concrete paver segment should record an improvement in earnings for the full year. Forecasts for the US market call for a further increase in new residential construction.

Annual targets confirmed “Our targets for the full year remain intact,” said Heimo Scheuch. The Wienerberger

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Group has emerged from an intensive and far-reaching reorientation period.

Our portfolio is well-balanced, and we have reduced the dependence on new residential construction.

Our strategy to pursue organic growth through innovative, energy-efficient and ecologically friendly products is confirmed by our customers, who increasingly choose to rely on our system solutions. Wienerberger has returned to the growth path, and we are increasingly outpacing our markets.

I am therefore confident that we will meet our targets to generate operating EBITDA of 315 million euros and complete our return to the profit zone in 2014.”

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Topics

Prodeso Heat System

by Progress Profiles

ď ‘

Technological innovation for high levels of home comfort

Progress Profiles, a leading manufacturer of technical and decorative trims and waterproofing and decoupling membranes, headquartered in Asolo in the Italian province of Treviso, chose Cersaie 2014 to showcase Prodeso Heat, the company's new underfloor heating system, which heats rooms effectively while significantly reducing installation costs and energy wastage through heat dispersal.

Long remodelling times are now a thing of the past because Prodeso Heat can be installed in a single day, directly over existing flooring.

First you lay the Prodeso special membrane, which is made of waterproof polypropylene with square-shaped reliefs and serves to separate and compensate for any tension arising between covering and substrate.

Then you lay the electric cable, apply the adhesive and set your floor covering.

Ceramic tiles are excellent heat conductors, so when laid directly on top of the heating cable, they ensure first-class heat diffusion.

Thanks to its low-profile design - the Prodeso membrane is just 5.5 mm (Âź inch)

Tile International 1/2015

thick - this innovative heating system provides the perfect solution for remodelling projects, because it enables the new covering to be laid di-

rectly over the existing floor.

Thanks to the specific characteristics of the membrane, what's more, the underfloor heating and tiles can be in-

58

stalled on a wide variety of difficult substrates, without using the expansion joints that would otherwise be necessary.

Topics

area (even remotely), thus eliminating waste.

You can choose to install the Prodeso Heat electrical heating cable in only the most strategic areas, thus reducing overall running costs and in-

creasing home comfort. But more importantly, the special thermostat means that the heat can be differentially controlled and programmed by

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The Prodeso Heat system, which is patented by Progress Profiles, ensures real well-being in the home, because there are no bulky radiators sending dust into the air, there's less humidity and there's better sound insulation between floors. Unlike traditional waterbased heating systems, Prodeso Heat requires no commissioning and is ready for use as soon as it's installed: heat is transferred quickly and effectively to the floor, and is controlled according to the actu-

al needs of each room.

Progress Profiles exports to more than 50 countries worldwide and offers over 12,500 articles made of stainless steel, aluminium, brass, PVC and real wood, in addition to decoupling and waterproofing membranes for the installation of ceramic and wood flooring for residential applications and other coverings for industrial premises.

This vast range of products is 100% certified original Italian, and combines elegant styling with high technology.

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Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets Andrew Whitmire - Tile Council of North America

2014 U.S. Ceramic Tile Industry Update

ď ‘

U.S. ceramic tile consumption, which has increased for each of the last four years, levelled off in 2014. In spite of healthy gains in both the construction and housing markets, as well as positive signs from other key economic indicators, the U.S. tile market did not respond similarly.

In the residential market, total new home starts increased for the fifth consecutive year and were at their highest annual level since 2007. The 1,006,000 units started in 2014 represented an 8.8% increase from the previous year.

However, even with the steady growth in housing, 2014 starts were down 44.2% vs. 2006, the year before the recent recession began (Fig. 1).

Single family new home starts in 2014 increased 4.9% from 2013 to 648,000 units, and multi-family housing starts were up 16.4% from 2013 to 358,000

units.

New home sales were at a sixyear high of 435,000 units, up 1.2% vs. 2013.

Compared to historical levels though, 2014 new home sales were down almost 60.0% vs.

2006 (Fig. 2).

Existing home sales in 2014 were at a level of 4.34 million units, down 3.1% vs. 2013 and the first year-over-year decrease since 2009-2010.

Despite the decline in existing home sales, the National Association of Homebuilders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Index, which takes into account both current remodeling activity and indicators of future remodeling activity, was at an all-time high in 4Q 2014. Remodeling is closely linked to existing home sales, as buyers often look to renovate their newly purchased home.

Another key indicator of the residential market’s health is foreclosure activity. There

were 1.12 million foreclosure filings on U.S. properties in 2014, down 17.9% from 2013, and the lowest annual total since 2006. Four consecutive years (2010-2014) of declines in foreclosures indicate stabilization of the U.S. housing industry.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 3.98% in 2013 to 4.17% in 2014. Even with this increase the 2014 annual rate was still the third lowest on record.

As of Dec. 2014 the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.6%, down from 7.4% in 2013 and the lowest rate since 2008.

U.S. construction spending (includes both private and public residential and non-residential construction) in 2014 was $961.4 billion, a 5.6% increase from the previous year.

The overall U.S. economy also experienced solid growth in 2014, as GDP increased 2.4% vs. 2013. This represented five consecutive years of growth

U.S Ceramic Tile Consumption Overview Through 3Q 2014 U.S. ceramic tile consumption was at 1.87 billion sq. ft. (173.8 million sq. m), down 1.1% vs. 3Q 2013 YTD (1.89 billion sq. ft./175.8 million sq. m) (tab. 1).

Based on data available to date, we estimate 2014 U.S. ceramic tile consumption to be 2.49 billion sq. ft. (231.4 million sq. m), up 0.5% vs. 2013 (fig. 3).

Imports Through 3Q 2014, 1.28 billion sq. ft. (119.3 million sq. m) of ceramic tile arrived in the U.S. This was a 2.0% decrease from 3Q 2013 YTD, in which 1.31 billion sq. ft. (121.7 million sq. m) of ceramic tile were imported into the U.S., but an 11.7% in-

FIG. 2 - USA: New single family home sales

FIG. 1 - USA: New Housing Starts

Tile International 1/2015

and was the largest year-overyear increase since 2009-2010.

60

Economy & markets

crease from 3Q 2012 YTD. Imports through 3Q 2014 made up 68.6% of U.S. tile consumption (in sq. ft.), down from 69.6% in the previous year.

Mexico, the top exporter to the U.S. from 2008-2012, lost its top exporter status (in sq. ft.) last year to China. However, through 3Q 2014, Mexico was once again the top exporter to the U.S. with a 30.5% share of imports. China was in second place with a 28.9% share, followed by Italy, which was in third place with a 17.7% share.

Spain and Turkey rounded out the top five with a 5.9% and

FIG. 3 - U.S. consumption of ceramic tile, 2005-2014

4.4% share of imports, respectively (tab. 2).

Of the top ten countries from which the U.S. imported tile (in sq. ft.), Turkey (+33.2%) had the highest increase in exports to the U.S. (3Q 2014 YTD vs. 3Q 2013 YTD), and Thailand (-36.2%) had the largest decrease over the same timeframe.

Italy remained the top exporter to the U.S. on a dollar basis (3Q 2014 YTD), comprising 34.7% of U.S. imports. China was second with a 25.3% share, and Mexico was third with a 17.0% share (tab. 3).

TAB. 1 - U.S. ceramic tile shipments, imports, exports, and total consumption Year

U.S. shipment

Imports

Exports

U.S. Consumption*

% var. in consumption from previous year

2014 (Jan-Sep)

56.9

119.3

2.4

173.8

-1.1**

2013

73.7

160.1

3.7

230.2

12.9

2012

69.5

138.6

4.2

203.9

5.4

2011

66.7

131.1

4.2

193.6

4.0

2010

60.3

129.6

3.9

186.0

7.7

2009

53.1

123.9

4.2

172.8

-18.1

2008

58.9

156.6

4.7

210.9

-15.2

2007

50.6

202.4

4.4

248.7

-19.3

2006

58.5

253.8

4.2

308.1

1.8

2005

61.1

245.1

3.4

302.8

3.5

2004

64.6

231.2

3.2

292.6

11.8

2003

57.1

207.2

2.7

261.7

6.6

2002

60.3

189.0

3.1

245.5

16.2

2001

54.9

159.5

3.1

211.3

0.5

* U.S. Shipments + Imports - Exports ** % change from 3Q 2013 YTD Values in million sq.m Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce & Tile Council of North America

Del Conca "Fast" 61

Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets

U.S. Shipments

were (54.5 from 582.5

Through 3Q 2014 YTD, domestic shipments (less exports)

at 587.0 million sq. ft. million sq. m), up 0.8% 3Q 2013 YTD, in which million sq. ft. (54.1 million

TAB. 2 - US Ceramic tile imports by country of origin, in volume (Jan-Sept.)

2012 Sq.m

Country

2013 Sq.m

Var. % 2013/2012

2014 Sq.m

Var. % 2014/2013

% on total 2013 2014 imports

Mexico

34,111,980

36,896,428

8.2%

36,435,623

-1.2%

30.3% - 30.5%

China

28,894,337

35,631,432

23.3%

34,435,793

-3.4%

29.3% - 28.9%

Italy

18,256,526

21,099,764

15.6%

21,165,205

0.3%

17.3% - 17.7%

Spain

5,751,432

6,925,557

20.4%

7,056,629

1.9%

5.7% - 5.9%

Turkey

3,323,447

3,957,646

19.1%

5,272,298

33.2%

3.3% - 4.4%

Brazil

5,376,852

6,043,467

12.4%

4,964,171

-17.9%

5.0% - 4.2%

Peru

2,823,566

2,801,623

-0.8%

2,886,860

3.0%

2.3% - 2.4%

Colombia

2,156,997

2,359,711

9.4%

1,890,886

-19.9%

1.9% - 1.6%

Thailand

1,447,758

1,306,030

-9.8%

833,035

-36.2%

1.1% - 0.7%

Portugal

451,567

577,554

27.9%

549,060

-4.9%

0.5% - 0.5%

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce

sq. m) of ceramic tile were shipped domestically.

In dollar value U.S. FOB factory sales of domestic shipments (less exports) through 3Q 2014 were $866.1 million, up 4.8% vs.

3Q 2013 YTD ($826.6 million).

The per unit value of domestic shipments (less exports) rose from $1.42 sq. ft. to $1.48 sq. ft. from 3Q 2013 YTD to 3Q 2014 YTD.

Exports U.S. exports through 3Q 2014 were at 26.1 million sq. ft. (2.4 million sq. m), down 16.1% vs.

3Q 2013 YTD. The vast majority of these exports (in sq. ft.) were to Canada (63.8%) and Mexico (16.2%).

The value of U.S. exports fell 0.9% from $30.6 million (3Q 2013 YTD) to $30.3 million (3Q 5 2014 YTD).

TAB. 3 - USA: Ceramic tile imports by country of origin, in value* (Jan-Sept.)

Country

2012 US $

2013 US $

2013/2012 % Change

2014 US $

2014/2013 % Change

2013 - 2014 Average price US $/sq.m

% on total 2013-2014 imports

Italy

381,150,405

445,918,738

17.0%

471,972,521

5.8%

21.1 - 22.3

34.3% - 34.7%

China

251,914,697

327,984,124

30.2%

344,695,559

5.1%

9.2 - 10.0

25.3% - 25.3%

Mexico

207,889,992

229,965,470

10.6%

231,488,116

0.7%

6.2 - 6.3

17.7% - 17.0%

Spain

89,713,659

106,345,308

18.5%

120,081,499

12.9%

15.4 - 17.0

8.2% - 8.8%

Turkey

32,374,578

41,313,443

27.6%

60,634,057

46.8%

10.4 - 11.5

3.2% - 4.5%

Brazil

35,872,099

41,430,037

15.5%

37,334,335

-9.9%

6.9 - 7.5

3.2% - 2.7%

Peru

14,843,619

14,982,617

0.9%

15,134,126

1.0%

5.3 - 5.2

1.2% - 1.1%

Colombia

13,468,918

14,818,506

10.0%

11,439,531

-22.8%

6.3 - 6.0

1.1% - 0.8%

9,500,348

9,523,613

0.2%

9,556,090

0.3%

n.a.

0.7% - 0.7%

11,396,345

8,062,417

-29.3%

7,862,246

-2.5%

n.a.

0.6% - 0.6%

1,102,934,452

1,298,801,427

17.8%

1,359,805,159

4.7%

Japan Argentina All Countries

Including duty, freght and insurance - Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce Tile International 1/2015

62

Economy & markets

The construction industry in Latin America



The Latin American countries have seen rapid economic growth over the last decade, much of which is attributable to the dynamic construction industry. Driven by government-backed social housing initiatives (aimed at reducing the housing deficit that afflicts many countries) and modernisation of national infrastructures, in many countries the sector’s growth has outstripped that of GDP. Growth across the region slowed in 2013, however, albeit with significant differences between the various countries.

According to the 2013/2014 economic report published by

the Federación Interamericana de la Industria e de la Construcción (FIIC, an organisation that embraces the sector associations of 19 Latin American countries: Panama, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay and Venezuela), in 2013 the overall GDP growth of Latin American countries was 2.6%, smaller than the 3.1% growth of 2012 in line with the downward trend that began in 2011.

According to the FIIC report, the negative results of 2013 were largely caused by the non-optimal performance of the continent’s two largest

economies, Brazil and Mexico (GDP growth respectively +2.4% and +1.1%). Excluding these two countries, the regional average rises to 4.1%.

Against this economic backdrop, the construction sector has also seen modest growth (below 2%), although the situation remains very heterogeneous at a country level. For example, Colombia saw growth of more than 10% while Nicaragua and Panama marked up record performances (respectively +17.2% and +30.5% year on year). Very good results were also achieved by Peru (+8.9%), Ecuador (+8.6%), Bolivia (+10.6%) and the Dominican Republic (+7.5%). The forecasts for the end of 2014 and 2015 are cau-

tiously optimistic, indicating that the construction industry in some countries such as Argentina and Mexico will gradually pick up in line with the recovery in the national economies.

ARGENTINA

In Argentina the construction sector has grown considerably since 2002. It now accounts for almost 5% of GDP and is the country’s second most impor-

TOTAL GDP TREND AND TOTAL CONSTRUCTION GDP IN LATIN AMERICA IN 2013

Tile International 1/2015

64

Economy & markets

ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES IN 2013 Country

Total GDP billion US$

Argentina

Var. %

Per capita GDP

GDP Construction

% GDP Construction/ Total GDP

Inflation

Population

Unemployment

US$

Var. %

%

%

Million

%

488.2

2.94

11,766

1.8

4.8

10.1

41.5

7.1

29.8

6.78

2,700

10.6

2.6

4.4

11.0

5.4

Brazil

2242.9

3.02

11,311

1.6

4.6

5.5

199.9

6.0

Chile

277.0

4.07

15,776

3.2

7.8

3.0

17.6

6.5

Colombia

381.8

4.68

8,098

12.0

8.7

2.4

47.2

10.3

Costa Rica

49.6

3.50

10,433

2.4

5.1

5.0

4.7

6.5

Ecuador

94.1

4.48

5,968

8.6

8.7

2.7

15.5

5.8

El Salvador

24.5

1.29

3,875

-1.9

3.9

0.8

6.3

5.7

Guatemala

54.4

3.69

3,513

1.7

4.1

4.5

15.5

n.a

Honduras

18.8

2.60

2,323

-2.8

5.8

5.9

8.4

4.4

1258.5

1.06

10,630

-4.5

7.2

3.8

118.4

4.9

Nicaragua

11.3

4.56

1,840

17.2

5.3

6.9

6.1

7.8

Panama

40.3

8.35

10,839

30.5

12.2

3.7

3.7

4.2

Paraguay

28.3

13.55

4,170

14.0

6.9

3.7

6.8

5.4

206.5

5.82

6,674

8.9

6.9

2.9

30.9

6.8

Dominican Rep.

60.8

4.06

5,834

7.5

5.1

3.9

10.4

12.5

Uruguay

56.3

4.40

16,609

1.4

8.9

8.5

3.4

6.5

374.0

1.34

12,472

-2.3

7.7

56.1

30.0

7.8

Bolivia

Mexico

Peru

Venezuela

Source: Evolución de la Economía de los Países Miembros de la FIIC 2013-2014

tant sector after manufacturing.

According to ISAC (Indicador Sintético de la Actividad de la Costrucción, a sector indicator based on a number of representative factors and concern-

ing both public and private construction), the sector grew by a total of 4.6% in 2013. The trend was positive in the public works segment (+13%) but more timid in the private residential sector, which regis-

tered +1.9% in the fourth quarter. In the same period, commercial and industrial building grew by 7.6%.

In 2014, however, the Argentine economy was shaken by two events: in January the devalu-

65

ation of the Peso by 21.3% against the US dollar, and in July the country’s technical default (the second in 13 years, although far less severe than the previous one in 2001).

The uncertainty deriving from

Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets

the economic instability has also reflected on the construction sector. According to figures released by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC), in May alone the sector experienced a 4.6% contraction on the same month the previous year, while the total contraction for the first five months of 2014 was 3%.

The downturn affected all segments with the exception of road infrastructures, which grew by 1.2%. The residential building sector also experienced a negative trend, which Gustavo Llambías, vice president of the Asociación de Empresarios de la Vivienda (AEV), argues is due to poor access to credit. Llambías believes that Pro.Cre.Ar (the government programme granting mortgages for the construction of first homes) is little help given that homes built as a result of this programme amount to just 10% of the 200,000 built across the country every year.

According to the estimates of the international agency BMI, 2014 will close with a 2% contraction in the building sector, while 2015 will see a small recovery with 1.1% growth.

To give fresh impetus to the sector, the president of the Cámara Argentina de la Construcción, Gustavo Weiss, recently announced that the investments in public works in 2015 would amount to 3% of GDP (15% more than the current expenditure), or around

Tile International 1/2015

162 billion Pesos (15.4 billion euros). This should create 2.5 million jobs, both direct and indirect. Finally, as early as August this year Prime Minister Jorge Capitanich announced the construction of 108,000 homes, which will create 400,000 new jobs in the sector.

vestment plan for 2015 (PGE, Presupuesto General del Estado) with an estimated expenditure of US $ 6.18 billion dollars, 37% up on the $ 4.52 billion of the 2014 PGE. 69% of this will be devoted to infrastructures and the manufacturing sector.

BOLIVIA

BRAZIL

According to figures provided by the Cámara Boliviana de la Construcción (Caboco), the construction sector saw 8.53% growth in the first nine months of 2014. In March 2014 the Bolivian economy expanded by 6.49% with respect to the same month the previous year as a result of growth in the building, manufacturing and commerce sectors.

The president of Caboco, Christian Eduardo, said that the main driver of the sector’s growth is residential building, where demand is boosted by easier access to credit.

Contributions to the sector’s growth also came from investments in public works, especially road infrastructures (estimated at 58% of expenditure), urban works and social housing. The Government recently announced a new public in-

Construction sector growth in 2015 is expected to be close to zero following the very small (0.5%) growth in 2014. These are the estimates released recently by José Romeu Ferraz Neto, president of SindusConSP (the Civil Construction Sector Syndicate of the State of São Paulo), who maintains that the current stagnation is a consequence of the credit crunch and macroeconomic adjustments. Ana Maria Castelo, coordinator of the construction projects of the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), believes that to revive the sector the Government should try to curb inflation, increase investments in infrastructure and begin construction of new housing units as part of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida government public housing programme.

Further falls in employment

66

(-2%) and demand for building materials (-1.5%) are expected in 2015.

COLOMBIA

In the period 2009-2013 the Colombian construction sector grew at an annual rate of 11.91%, largely due to public investments and private sector participation through publicprivate partnerships (PPP). This growth is expected to continue during the four-year period 2014-2018 as a result of Government investments in infrastructure and residential building, with further 10.96% growth forecast. According to the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (Colombia’s national statistics institute DANE), in the first quarter of 2014 the value of the construction sector at constant prices increased by 16.9% with respect to the same period the previous year, from 6.3 billion Pesos (2.2 billion euros) to 7.3 billion Pesos (2.6 billion euros). In terms of real added value, this is equivalent to 12% growth for the sector in 2013, driven by public investments in infrastructure and by the construction of social housing to meet the growing

Economy & markets

demand.

The Government is planning to invest a total of 190.4 billion Pesos (67.2 billion euros) in infrastructure by 2021, of which 47.6 billion Pesos (16.8 billion euros) will serve to construct 8,000 km of roads throughout the country. The residential construction market will also be sustained by social housing projects. According to Jorge Enrique Gómez, president of Lonja de Propiedad Raíz of Bogotá, these investments are expected to bring 7.1% growth in the building market in 2015.

ECUADOR

Since 2009 the Government of Ecuador has made a number of investments in the construction sector, largely in the infrastructure segment, which have stimulated the country’s economy and made a significant contribution to GDP growth. As a result, the construction sector has the second highest growth rate (+9% average over the last four years), surpassed only by Defence (+14%).

In 2011 and 2012, the construction market achieved double figure growth: 21.6% in 2011 and 14% in 2012. This

Tile International 1/2015

strong growth slackened considerably in 2013 (although the year ended with a reasonable +8.6%) and is expected to slow further in 2014 and 2015.

According to the estimates of the international research agency BMI, construction market growth for the end of 2014 is expected to be 6.5%, while 2015 is expected to bring a further slowdown to 5.1%, with an average of 4.1% over the next 5 years. However, this is still a good result, especially when compared with the regional average. The slowdown is largely due to a reduction in public spending for the sector, in turn caused by declining oil revenues. In recent months the country’s largest refinery was closed for 40 days for maintenance and is expected to continue to operate at 50% of its capacity for much of 2015, further reducing public expenditure on the infrastructure sector.

MEXICO

brought a sharp contraction (-4.5%), mainly due to the reduction in public spending which triggered a 4.2% downturn in the civil engineering sector alone. Employment also fell by 3.9% with the loss of 21,700 jobs. At a regional level, the building sector crisis mainly affected 19 out of 32 states, of which the worst affected were Chiapas, Tlxcala, Morelos, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Michoacán and Yucatán.

A return to growth is expected in 2014. According to figures released by the Cámara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construcción (CMIC), following a negative trend in the first five months of the year, there was a turnaround in June with 2.2% growth with respect to the same period the previous year.

In the second half of the year the sector benefited from the positive effects of the country’s economic recovery and the year is expected to end with overall growth of 2%. The forecasts for 2015 point to 4% growth.

PANAMA

2013 was a difficult year for the Mexican construction industry.

Following strong growth in 2011 (+4%) and a small slowdown in 2012 (+1.9%), 2013

The Panamanian economy has grown rapidly in recent years, propelled above all by

68

the construction sector which in 2013 marked up 30.5% yearon-year growth. Over the last five years the sector has expanded at an average rate of 20.8%, largely due to infrastructure works including expansion of the Panama Canal, line 1 of the Metro, upgrading of the road system both in the capital and in the interior of the country, and the construction of airports. Private investments made a major contribution, growing by 32.4% in 2013. Again in 2013 there were a total of 11,572 building projects (19.3% more than the previous year), including 11,200 residential building projects and 372 for commercial applications; investments in the sector totalled US $1.81 billion (up 32.3% on 2012), of which 45.8% was in residential building; the constructed surface area increased by 28.1% (4 million sq.m). In the first 8 months of 2014, investments amounted to around $651 million, concentrated in the northern, eastern and western regions of Panama, especially the districts of Arraijan and La Chorrera. At the recent CAPAC Expo Habitat 2014, Roderick McGowen, president of the Cámara Panameña de la Construcción (CAPAC), announced that investments in the sector to the end of 2014 will total $5.6 billion, including $3.2 billion from the public sector and the remaining $2.4 billion from the private sector.

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Economy & markets

PERU

The Peruvian real estate sector has grown by a total of 61.8% over the last five years with an annual average of 10.1%. However, this trend has slackened in the last two years, dropping from +15.8% in 2012 to +8.9% in 2013. According to the estimates of the Instituto de Economía y Desarrollo Empresarial (IEDEP) of the Cámara de Comercio de Lima (CCL), the construction sector is expected to record 6.8% growth

Tile International 1/2015

in 2014. These estimates are based on the projects announced in July by the President of the Republic Ollanta Humala, which include urban building and property redevelopment programmes. A total of 500 million Soles (around 137 million euros) will also be allocated to support household incomes alongside the Bono Familiar and Bono del Buen Pagador funds that form part of the MiVivienda project (state subsidies for home purchases or renovation). According to the estimates of the agency BMI, the sector will grow by 7.1% in 2015 as a result of a major Government commitment to infrastructure development projects. The forecasts for the next 5 years point to an average growth of

5%, lower than that of recent years but still a good result compared with the regional average.

VENEZUELA

In 2013 the construction sector suffered a 2.3% contraction as a consequence of non-implementation of public works (-2%), especially in the field of non-residential building. In contrast, the residential building sector saw significant (5.8%) growth, largely as a re-

70

sult of the Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela (GMVV) programme.

Since being launched by the then President Hugo Chávez in 2011, the programme has led to the construction of 630,000 housing units throughout the country.

These figures were released in October by the Minister for Housing Policies, Ricardo Molina, who said that the Government aims to build a further 600,000 homes by the end of 2015. The goal of the so-called Plan Remate is to complete 125,000 homes by the end of 2014, while a total of 3 million houses will need to be completed by 2019 to eliminate the country’s longstanding housing deficit.

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Economy & markets

ď ‘

The European construction market in 2014 has entered a new phase of growth. After seven years of deep crisis, during which the market has lost 21% in volume, and after a further negative year 2013 (-2.7%), the 78th Euroconstruct conference held in Milan on 19/20th November confirmed that 2014 will be the first year of recovery in construction output. Growth is expected to be moderate in 2014 (+1%) but it will consolidate in the near future: +2.1% in 2015 and +2.2% in the following two-year period.

Economy in Europe Even with strong disparities within the 19 Euroconstruct countries, the economy is recovering in Europe. The recent forecasts indicate a slower return to growth than it was expected six months ago. The recovery has been gaining momentum in the United Kingdom; growth has been accelerating also in Northern European countries outside the Eurozone. In the Euro Area, by contrast, the recession ended (except in Italy) but an economic impasse has set in. Output, wages and prices are stagnating and levels of unemployment are at record highs, after four years of general austerity measures. The European Central Bank (ECB) is starting to deploy non-conventional measures in an at-

Tile International 1/2015

A new cycle for construction in Europe CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN EUROPE (EC-19) AT 2012 PRICES

Source: 78th Euroconstruct Conference - Milan, 2014 tempt to stimulate the economy.

Eastern European economies, on the other hand, have returned to robust growth after a sharp slowdown in 2012-2013. All in all, economic growth will be weak, since the labour market is fragile in many countries, the credit market is tight and public accounts correction is still underway. And mainly in the Euro Area, concerns over the risk of deflation are now more discussed than six months ago.

2015-2017 forecasts In this weak but slowly improving economic scenario, the new outlook for construction activity in Europe indicates that sectorial production bottomed out in 2013 and stabilized at a very modest level in 2014. Thus this new phase can be described as one of modest recovery, and of low productive levels, even if the sectorial growth rates, after some years, will once again overtake

the pace of the economy. According to the new estimates, all three main segments within the construction market are expected to grow in the shortto-medium term but with some peculiarities. The residential sector is still suffering, especially new production which, after the further severe reduction last year (-4%), is stagnating (0.1%) in 2014, but in the shortto-medium term will be a very important engine for the European sector close to 4 percentage points on average in the three year period 20152017.

The trend is similar for new non-residential investment, for which the drop in 2013 was even steeper, but the forecasted growth is more moderate than the one for residential (little more than 2% in the period 2015-2017).

For civil engineering the recovery in 2014 is stronger if compared to the building segments (+1.4%) even if it has been the market segment with

72

the most marked downward revision with respect to six months ago (mainly due to the UK downward revision). But the sector will continue to grow at a speed set at 2.5% in the next three years, which is expected to accelerate year by year. Finally, renovation building activity continues to have an important cushioning effect for the entire construction sector, indeed it has been able to absorb part of the decline in the past period, and will stabilize the trend in the next future.

Differences within the EC-19 Countries More heterogeneous, not surprisingly, is the scenario for the different territorial areas. At a macro level, Eastern Europe is once again a driving force in the market, showing a relevant growth rate in 2014 (+4.8%) which will surpass 3% in the next two years. Thus the construction market in the Eastern

Economy & markets

European countries is expected to enter into a new phase not far from the previous period of growth, mainly thanks to an improved capability in using EU project funds, which will mainly boost the segment of infrastructure. In the current phase these results appear even more relevant when compared to the ones envisaged for the Western countries: in 2014 they will not reach a growth rate of 1% (0.8%) and in the next three years should not exceed 2%. Growth in France, Italy and Spain, among the big 5, is still decreasing in 2014. Germany is set to slow down in the near future and could also stop increasing in two years time.

In this context, UK is set for a very strong general growth: the residential market is booming again, (+16% new investment in 2014) even if it should slowdown in the next three years; nonresidential will be boosted by a strong demand for commercial, industrial and educational building; finally, after a halt in 2014, new civil engineering works should also return to growth (+4.5% in the two-year period 2015-2016).

5

EUROCONSTRUCT is a group of 19 specialised research organisations in Europe, which has been active since 1975. Over its period of operation, it has gained international recognition, both thanks to its unique nature and also especially thanks to the high quality of information offered. Euroconstruct regularly provides analyses of the construction market including expert forecasts of further development.

The following are member countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The 79th Euroconstruct conference will take place in Warsaw on 11-12nd June 2015.

73

Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets

ď ‘

Things at last appear to be changing for the Italian construction industry.

The turnaround is confirmed by the 22nd Economic and Forecasting Report produced

by Cresme and presented during the 78th Euroconstruct conference. According to the report, building activity will resume growth in 2015 with an overall 1.1% upturn following eight years of decline.

However, this timid recovery is attributable solely to the renovation market, which will grow by 3.5% and compensate for the further 3.4% contraction of the new build segment.

Nonetheless the Cresme Report has some bad news regarding the preliminary endof-year figures for 2014, which in spite of the encouraging signs at the beginning of the year showed a worse performance than expected (down

Tile International 1/2015

Renovation rescues the Italian building industry 2.9%) due to the sharp downturn from June onwards.

As Cresme director Lorenzo Bellicini explained, this downturn “extended unexpectedly to the residential renovation sector in spite of the 65% and 50% tax incentives, one of the major driving forces behind the market in recent years�.

Looking in greater detail, renovation investments rose by 1.7% in 2014, and although they account for around 70% of the total market (118 billion euros in 2014, including 82 billion euros for extraordinary maintenance and 36.3 billion euros for routine maintenance), they were insufficient to offset the 10.6% fall in the new build segment.

The biggest falls in this segment in 2014 were investments in new housing (-14.5%), new non-residential buildings (-11.9% private investments and -4.9% public investments),

ITALY: BUILDING INVESTMENTS (Var. % on previous year, calculated on constant values 2005) 2014

2015

New building investments

-10.6

-3.4

Residential

-14.5

-9.5

- Private non-residential

-11.9

-2.9

- Public non-residential

-4.9

+1.8

- Civil engineering

-6.0

+2.0

+1.7

+3.5

- Residential

+3.0

+4.1

- Private non-residential

+2.9

+2.0

- Public non-residential

-3.3

+4.7

- Civil engineering

-3.5

+2.8

-2.9

+1.1

Investments in renovation

TOTAL

and public works (-6%).

Public investments also performed poorly in the renovation sector (non-residential -3.3% and civil engineering -3.5%), offset by private investments (+3% residential and

74

+2.9% non-residential).

However, the situation is expected to change in 2015 when public works will once again contribute to the general recovery in terms of both new building and renovation.

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Economy & markets

Russian Construction market: upturn in 2016



Over the past three years, the Russian construction market has seen a sharp slowdown. According to a report by PMR Publications based on the latest data released by Rosstat (Russia's national statistics institute), after good performance in 2012 (+2.5% year on year), construction output grew by only 0.1% in 2013 (although preliminary data pointed to a downturn of 1.5%). This negative trend continued into 2014, resulting in a contraction of 4.8% over the first 11 months of the year.

According to PMR, this recession has been driven by three main factors: firstly, the Russian economy as a whole, which saw GDP growth of just 1.3% in 2013 (a marked slowdown compared with the figure of 3.4% in 2012) and an even more modest +0.5 in 2014; secondly, lower levels of fixed capital investment, which fell

by 0.2% in 2013 compared with the previous year, with a further drastic drop of 2.8% in the first 11 months of 2014; and lastly, the recently approved sanctions against the Russian government as a result of the tensions in Ukraine, although the negative effects of these are expected to be confined to the first half of the year.

The segment with the biggest negative impact on the construction market as a whole was civil engineering, as a result of the delayed launch of many new construction projects. The fall in private and public investments, especially those earmarked for transport infrastructures, also adversely affected this segment. Suffice it to say, for example, that the total value of regional funds for road infrastructures in 2014 (RUB 338 billion, approximately EUR 7 billion) was 22% lower than in 2013, while on the private investment front,

Gazprom reduced its investments from 775 billion roubles (18.3 billion euros) in 2013 to 698 billion (14.5 billion euros) in 2014.

These falls were then compounded by a contraction (-16.3%) in the Southern Federal District following completion of the works for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which had given the sector a big boost in the period 2010-2013.

It's a different story, however, for the non-residential construction segment.

According to PMR's report entitled “Construction sector in Russia H2 2014. Development forecasts for 2015-2020”, the segment's output has risen consistently over the past three years: 19,035 buildings were completed nationwide in 2013, representing a rise of 3.8% on 2012, and the positive trend continued throughout 2014. According to preliminary figures, the construction of

GRAPH. 1 - Investments in fixed capital in Russia (RUB bn) and real change (%, y-o-y), 2010 - November 2014

Tile International 1/2015

7,339 non-residential buildings was commissioned in the first six months of the year, representing a 19% increase on the previous year, while the total housing space built rose by almost 12% year on year.

The residential segment also reported substantial growth, almost reaching its 1987 record of 72.8 million square metres. 2013 saw the completion of 929,400 housing units (+10.9% on the previous year), while the total surface area of residential building rose by 7.2% on 2012, to a figure of 70.5 million sq.m.

This trend continued throughout 2014 to the extent that, in view of the industry's growth rates in the period January-August 2014 (an increase in completed housing space of 28.2% compared with the same period in 2013), PMR estimates that the housing space completed nationwide reached 70 million square metres by the

GRAPH. 2 - Construction output in Russia (RUB bn) and real change (%, y-o-y), 2006 - November 2014

76

Economy & markets

GRAPH. 3 - Construction output in Russia (RUB bn) and real change (%, y-o-y), 2010 - 2020

end of the year.

A report from the Russian state statistical service Rosstat stated that 7.4 million sq.m of housing was completed in September alone, which is an 8.8% rise on the amount finished in September 2013. In terms of regional breakdown, from January to September 2014 the largest amount of housing was completed in the Moscow Region, where 9.7% (4.695 million sq.m) of the Russian total came into use. 3.509

GRAPH. 4 - Russian GDP and the oil price

million sq.m was completed in the Krasnodar Region (7.3% of the national total), 2.333 million sq.m (4.8%) in the city of Moscow, 2.125 million sq.m (4.4%) in St. Petersburg, 1.859 million sq.m (3.9%) in the Republic of Bashkortostan, 1.841 million sq.m (3.8%) in the Tyumen Region, and a further 1.727 million sq.m (3.6%) in Tatarstan. Builders of ‘individual housing’ (houses not in apartment blocks) finished 167,200 homes covering 22.4 million

sq.m in the same period, 18.6% more than last year. This helped bring the share of individual house building in all Russian residential construction to 46.5%.

In conclusion, PMR's mediumto long-term forecasts for the entire Russian construction market are optimistic. While 2015 is expected to remain in negative territory (-0.8%), due to the continued effects of political uncertainty and lack of investment, 2016 should mark

a return to positive growth (+2.4). The main drivers of this upturn are the numerous multibillion-rouble public projects aimed at expanding and modernising the country's infrastructure, and building affordable housing. The construction industry will then get another shot in the arm from the launch of building projects in preparation for the 2018 Football World Cup, the construction of the Moscow-St Petersburg motorway and the

TAB. 1 - Completition of housing space in Russia and change in main residential construction support factors (%, y-o-y), 2010 - August 2014 2010

2011

2012

2013

Jan-Aug 2013

Jan-Aug 2014

Completition of housing space

-2.4%

6.6%

5.6%

7.2%

7.9%

28.2%

Real disposable income (y-o-y)

5.9%

0.5%

4.6%

3.2%

4.2%

0.7%

Average mortgage rate (RUB-denominated)

13.1%

11.9%

12.3%

12.5%

12.6%

12.3%*

Del Conca "Fast"

Source: PMR based on Rosstat, Central Bank of Russia, 2014

77

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Economy & markets

central Moscow ring road, an increase in projects for the Siberian railway and in the Far Eastern Federal District, and the construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.

GRAPH. 5 - Production and consumption of ceramic tiles in Russia (million sq.m), 2006 - 2014

Tile production After peaking at 166 million sq.m in 2013 (+7.8%) on the back of two years of strong growth, initial estimates point to a sharp slowdown in Russia’s ceramic tile production in 2014, with volumes expected to remain virtually unchanged at 2013 levels or below. Floor and wall tiles are following opposite trends, with floor tile production down by about 2% and wall tile output up by around 2.3%.

In a fiercely competitive market, demand continues to be met mainly by domestic production, although imports have also risen in recent years. Russia’s top tile producer is Kerama Marazzi (Mo-

hawk Group), which increased its output to 30.5 million sq.m in 2014 (up 4.8% on 2013) and has maintained strong investments in production. In April 2014 it started up a second porcelain tile line (the previous one was installed in June 2012), while the latest investment was made in February this year with the start-up of the new wall tile production line.

The second largest Russian producer is Unitile Holding, which has two factories in the provinces of Voronezh and Rostov and a total output (according to PMR) of 26.9 million sq.m following strong growth in 2013.

Another major investment was made in 2014 by the Rovese Group, which in April 2014 started up a second production line at the Kuchinski ceramic plant (acquired in 2011), bringing the facility’s capacity to 9 million 5 sq.m/year.

TAB. 2 - Main social and economic indicators for Russia, 2012-2017 2012

2013

2014 f*

2015 f*

2016 f*

2017 f*

GDP growth (%, y-o-y)

3.4%

1.3%

0.6%

-0.8%

2.3%

3.0%

Industrial production (%, y-o-y)

3.4%

0.4%

2.0%

1.1%

1.7%

2.1%

Investment in fixed capital (%, y-o-y)

6.8%

-0.2%

-2.8%

-3.5%

1.6%

2.9%

Real disposable income (%, y-o-y)

4.6%

3.2%

0.6%

-2.8%

2.6%

3.3%

Note: according to base development scenario *f - forecast Source: Rosstat, Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation, 2014

Tile International 1/2015

78

Economy & markets

by Luca Baraldi - Acimac Research Department, studi@acimac.it

World sanitaryware exports pick up

ď ‘

After remaining substantially stable in 2012, world ceramic sanitaryware export volumes picked up again in 2013 to reach 2.5 million tons, 6.2% up on 2012.

This figure is consistent with the 5.8% average world growth recorded over the last decade (total world exports increased by 66% between 2004 and 2013).

Imports/exports by geographical area However, analysing the exports of the various geographical areas (Table 1), we find a number of different trends and behaviours.

Asia, the world’s largest sanitaryware exporter with a total of 1.34 million tons, marked up an 11.6% increase in 2013 and average annual growth

of 18.4% over the decade, up from 19.5% of world exports in 2004 to its current share of 53.8%.

In second place amongst the exporting areas is the European Union with 503,000 tons, 3.3% down on 2012.

This corresponds to a total share of 20.1% of world exports.

Next comes the NAFTA region (320,000 tons, 10.2% up on 2012, equivalent to 12.8% of the world total), then with smaller volumes non-EU Europe (up 1.1%, 6.8% of the total), Central and South America, Africa and Oceania.

The distribution and trends for imports were much more balanced with the various geographical areas broadly maintaining their percentage shares of the world total (Table 2), although total world import volumes rose from 1.5

BREAKDOWN OF WORLD EXPORTS

BY AREA IN 2013

BREAKDOWN OF WORLD IMPORTS

BY AREA IN 2013

TAB. 1 - EXPORTS OF SANITARYWARE BY AREA (TONS) 2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

EU

551,363

572,680

630,549

666,472

613,001

500,693

520,588

530,520

520,692

503,411

-3.3%

-1.0%

20.1%

Other Europe

145,218

153,334

161,570

165,503

146,536

124,118

131,063

144,673

168,073

169,838

1.1%

1.8%

6.8%

Asia

294,514

381,583

439,391

493,758

505,439

976,104

1,092,198

1,232,621

1,205,016

1,345,072

11.6%

18.4%

53.8%

NAFTA

294,183

270,193

286,986

296,347

271,861

262,645

268,325

303,495

290,678

320,295

10.2%

0.9%

12.8%

South America

176,180

196,202

174,118

162,447

120,423

83,660

97,643

105,199

100,023

88,015

-12.0%

-7.4%

3.5%

39,165

39,807

41,824

53,888

47,041

35,534

35,822

37,151

68,554

73,638

7.4%

7.3%

2.9%

Oceania

2,702

4,035

1,688

1,821

1,968

2,058

1,959

1,063

875

608

-30.5%

-15.3%

0.0%

TOTAL

1,840,236

1,706,269

1,984,812

2,147,598

2,354,722

6.2%

5.8%

100.0%

Africa

Tile International 1/2015

80

2,500,877

2008

2,353,911

2007

1,736,126

Shares 2013

2006

1,617,834

CAGR 13/04

2005

1,503,325

Var % 13/12

2004

Pictures in article: Tile Edizioni’s archive, Cersaie

Economy & markets

to 2.5 million tons over the course of a decade.

The world’s biggest sanitaryware importing area in 2013 was the NAFTA region with 701,000 tons (up 12.7% on 2012), equivalent to 28.1% of the total.

Next came the European Union with 648,000 tons (25.9% of the total), 2.5% down on the previous year, closely followed

by Asia with 645,000 tons (a share of 25.8%), up 11.2% on

Top sanitaryware exporters and importers

2012. In fourth place was Africa with the highest average annual increases since 2004 (+19.9%), then Central-South America, non-EU Europe and Oceania.

Interestingly, only Asia and non-EU Europe had higher exports than imports, while all the other areas imported greater volumes than they exported, with NAFTA and the EU displaying the biggest trade deficits.

Looking at individual countries (Table 3), we find China firmly established as the top exporter with total exports of more than 1 million tons (up 10.6% on 2012), equivalent to 40.5% of the world total.

The biggest market for Chinese sanitaryware (Table 5) is the United States (279,000

tons, up 11.8% on 2012), although Chinese exports also saw significant medium-term growth in India (+53.7% annual average since 2004), Nigeria (+52.6%) and Malaysia (+51.7%).

It is worth noting that China is almost unique amongst the top sanitaryware exporting countries in that it has significant export shares in all continents.

Scrolling down the rankings of

TAB. 2 - IMPORTS OF SANITARYWARE BY AREA (TONS) Var % 13/12

CAGR 13/04

Shares 2013

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

603,083

641,629

703,274

752,112

660,771

656,286

690,300

709,948

664,848

648,549

-2.5%

0.8%

25.9%

86,501

94,825

107,301

120,432

122,416

90,991

96,237

107,673

115,733

123,955

7.1%

4.1%

5.0%

Asia

206,425

235,006

256,191

279,943

284,497

427,481

476,513

616,240

580,619

645,372

11.2%

13.5%

25.8%

NAFTA

EU

493,566

512,866

516,888

516,792

449,744

572,172

616,636

601,235

622,760

701,541

12.7%

4.0%

28.1%

South America

56,913

59,121

70,548

76,982

78,966

90,091

119,484

138,698

146,726

133,472

-9.0%

9.9%

5.3%

Africa

39,682

53,972

61,445

70,179

86,755

117,838

107,745

140,084

183,089

202,606

10.7%

19.9%

8.1%

Oceania

17,155

20,415

20,479

23,796

23,120

29,953

40,683

40,844

40,136

45,382

13.1%

11.4%

1.8%

TOTAL

1,503,325

1,617,834

1,736,126

1,840,236

1,706,269

1,984,812

2,147,598

2,354,722

2,353,911

2,500,877

Other Europe

6.2%

5.8%

100.0%

81

Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets

top exporter countries, we find in second place Mexico (268,000 tons, up 12.8% on

mainly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE), followed by Turkey (119,000 tons, +5.3%) and Po-

2012, 90.9% of which is sold in the United States), third India (130,000 tons, +13%, sold

land (70,000 tons, +6.2%).

Turkey and Poland have the same top four destination

TAB. 3 - WORLD TOP SANITARWARE EXPORTING COUNTRIES Var % 13/12

CAGR 13/04

Shares 2013

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

China

102,564

149,076

199,636

260,386

244,264

766,344

899,642

955,990

915,450

1,012,181

10.6%

29.0%

40.5%

Mexico

255,721

233,672

245,833

245,536

227,734

223,709

226,569

245,964

237,954

268,502

12.8%

0.5%

10.7%

29,522

49,814

42,917

46,383

81,313

68,947

n.a.

87,811

115,681

130,737

13.0%

18.0%

5.2%

Turkey

110,242

117,909

121,199

118,369

101,154

84,925

94,339

101,272

113,424

119,404

5.3%

0.9%

4.8%

Poland

43,809

56,007

72,479

84,084

85,166

59,326

67,572

70,341

66,722

70,889

6.2%

5.5%

2.8%

Portugal

84,055

88,390

104,651

108,959

85,517

78,286

75,025

65,543

67,245

68,502

1.9%

-2.2%

2.7%

Thailand

69,606

75,911

70,619

73,039

71,919

52,833

57,134

58,694

56,954

68,096

19.6%

-0.2%

2.7%

UAE

40,239

40,097

48,980

49,769

49,404

41,891

44,433

47,439

52,261

59,907

14.6%

4.5%

2.4%

Germany

44,126

45,758

52,528

63,550

66,057

58,721

63,742

68,291

66,708

56,554

-15.2%

2.8%

2.3%

Bulgaria

50,794

44,112

51,327

51,294

45,042

35,829

40,565

47,955

51,895

53,082

2.3%

0.5%

2.1%

Other countries

672,647

717,088

725,957

738,867

648,699

514,001

563,731

605,422

609,617

593,023

-2.7%

-1.4%

23.7%

1,503,325

1,617,834

1,736,126

1,840,236

1,706,269

1,984,812

2,147,598

2,354,722

2,353,911

2,500,877

India

6.2%

5.8%

100.0%

TOTAL

2012

2013

438,818

458,144

455,966

448,828

384,692

475,333

497,866

492,476

506,277

584,026

UK

98,771

90,264

98,510

109,703

92,927

98,257

103,693

107,782

106,420

Germany

76,665

78,690

86,740

98,519

93,914

99,477

107,212

114,306

110,894

France

87,389

94,405

106,842

112,861

102,284

111,130

114,995

118,796

Canada

50,219

52,058

56,062

63,017

58,032

84,325

104,607

Korea

12,972

13,692

15,655

20,998

18,966

69,341

Saudi Arabia

28,537

30,395

28,927

31,158

33,909

Spain

115,733

129,060

148,721

144,305

Russia

44,057

46,697

51,809

Italy

36,214

41,193

44,599

Other countries

513,950

583,236

TOTAL

1,617,834

USA

Tile International 1/2015

Var % 13/12

CAGR 13/04

Shares 2013

15.4%

3.2%

23.4%

112,208

5.4%

1.4%

4.5%

107,180

-3.3%

3.8%

4.3%

117,954

105,470

-10.6%

2.1%

4.2%

92,321

105,648

104,113

-1.5%

8.4%

4.2%

84,340

105,232

94,913

99,654

5.0%

25.4%

4.0%

45,733

33,470

48,067

62,993

73,549

16.8%

11.1%

2.9%

104,878

82,375

83,633

84,752

70,244

69,796

-0.6%

-5.5%

2.8%

55,949

55,692

39,682

44,230

55,465

63,215

65,167

3.1%

4.4%

2.6%

48,300

44,484

54,730

60,738

61,457

52,025

51,310

-1.4%

3.9%

2.1%

642,295

706,598

716,491

824,429

912,814

1,074,068

1,063,327

1,128,404

6.1%

9.1%

45.1%

2,500,877

2011

2,353,911

2010

2,354,722

2009

2,147,598

2008

1,984,812

2007

1,706,269

2006

1,840,236

2005

1,736,126

2004

1,503,325

TAB. 4 - WORLD TOP SANITARWARE IMPORTING COUNTRIES

6.2%

5.8%

100.0%

82

Economy & markets

markets, with Germany, France, Italy and the UK absorbing 42% of Turkey’s and 58.6% of Poland’s exports.

Looking at trade flows from the perspective of importers (Table 4), we find that the United States is the top importer with a 23.4% share of the total and a volume of 584,000 tons (up 15.4% on

2012).

The biggest suppliers to the USA are China and Mexico (Table 6), which alone make up 89.7% of US imports (524,000 tons). Both countries saw a growth in export volumes to the USA in 2013, 11.8% and 16.1% respectively.

Most of the other top sanitaryware importer countries are

in the European Union (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy) and in Asia (South Korea, Saudi Arabia). On the whole, import growth has been limited to the Asian countries (South Korea +5% and Saudi Arabia +16.8%), while the UK was the only EU country to have shown an increase (+5.4%).

The first six months of 2014 The first six months of 2014 saw a further acceleration in export flows.

All the major players reported growth in their results, with China marking up the fastest growth rate between January and June 2014 (+32.1%).

TAB. 5 - MAIN DESTINATIONS OF CHINESE SANITARYWARE EXPORTS USA

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Var % 13/12

CAGR 13/04

Shares 2013

33,010

45,373

63,281

81,885

78,581

212,068

243,325

222,420

250,552

279,998

11.8%

26.8%

27.7%

Korea

9,322

10,230

12,819

17,689

16,447

67,272

81,897

104,027

93,999

99,209

5.5%

30.1%

9.8%

Nigeria

1,039

1,326

2,372

1,776

3,876

20,058

26,280

36,010

41,478

46,533

12.2%

52.6%

4.6%

Canada

2,766

5,257

6,914

8,521

10,448

41,463

49,324

38,387

45,430

46,143

1.6%

36.7%

4.6%

UK

5,997

9,765

12,475

15,737

10,651

32,710

36,644

40,274

30,984

39,537

27.6%

23.3%

3.9%

Philippines

1,508

1,207

1,069

1,567

2,310

18,694

22,872

27,687

37,280

32,425

-13.0%

40.6%

3.2%

Saudi Arabia

2,898

2,848

2,645

2,098

2,317

16,942

14,548

20,700

22,369

25,973

16.1%

27.6%

2.6%

Australia

1,308

3,078

4,358

6,526

5,947

17,564

23,524

22,502

22,236

24,483

10.1%

38.5%

2.4%

Malaysia

545

645

733

928

2,444

12,381

8,140

8,523

8,271

23,135

179.7%

51.7%

2.3%

Spain

3,336

5,186

5,965

7,142

5,285

16,868

19,081

18,943

16,616

20,508

23.4%

22.4%

2.0%

India

425

1,025

1,717

3,266

4,177

13,930

22,914

25,055

20,049

20,379

1.6%

53.7%

2.0%

684

1,051

2,158

3,960

2,930

15,291

19,534

24,688

25,484

17,030

-33.2%

42.9%

1.7%

5,584

7,415

9,480

8,091

7,396

8,204

9,597

12,125

14,529

16,562

14.0%

12.8%

1.6%

UAE

864

967

1,173

1,682

2,744

9,873

9,099

12,447

10,754

15,015

39.6%

37.3%

1.5%

Thailand

112

321

563

436

735

5,227

6,738

8,583

9,711

13,707

41.1%

70.6%

1.4%

Other countries

33,166

53,382

71,914

99,082

87,976

257,799

306,125

333,619

265,708

291,544

9.7%

27.3%

28.8%

102,564

149,076

199,636

260,386

244,264

766,344

899,642

955,990

915,450

1,012,181

Singapore Russia

TOTAL

83

10.6%

29.0%

100.0%

Tile International 1/2015

Economy & markets

ISSUU

multimedia

Smaller increases were recorded by Mexico (+9.3%), India (+0.9%), Turkey (+7.8%), Poland

(+2.7%), Portugal (+12.5%), Thailand (+16.4%) and Germany (+1%). By contrast, Italy

(-4.9%), Colombia (-9.2%) and Spain (-1.1%) all experienced a decline in exports.

5

TAB. 6 - MAJOR EXPORTERS OF SANITARYWARE TO USA China Mexico

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

33,010

45,373

63,281

81,885

234,280

215,298

227,236

224,865

Var % 13/12

CAGR 13/04

Shares 2013

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

78,581

212,068

243,325

222,420

250,552

279,998

11.8%

26.8%

47.9%

210,010

206,241

198,354

223,242

210,310

244,113

16.1%

0.5%

41.8%

Thailand

19,170

30,426

31,311

32,832

27,131

17,264

18,221

15,369

15,701

24,286

54.7%

2.7%

4.2%

Colombia

31,725

40,647

35,045

30,140

24,525

15,351

13,449

11,000

10,108

8,686

-14.1%

-13.4%

1.5%

105

182

417

264

84

157

786

1,265

3,191

7,290

128.5%

60.2%

1.2%

Turkey

18,455

19,486

16,320

12,635

7,093

3,719

4,377

3,877

4,554

5,244

15.2%

-13.0%

0.9%

Costa Rica

4,658

5,337

4,600

4,280

2,500

154

922

1,203

1,241

1,819

46.6%

-9.9%

0.3%

Ecuador

12,606

13,056

11,571

7,788

6,073

6,555

4,369

4,019

2,370

1,463

-38.3%

-21.3%

0.3%

Canada

2,238

1,392

1,727

839

600

686

1,436

1,808

1,700

1,449

-14.8%

-4.7%

0.2%

India

Germany

902

993

1,363

1,323

1,464

612

704

699

737

1,177

59.7%

3.0%

0.2%

Other countries

81,669

85,954

63,095

51,977

26,631

12,526

11,923

7,574

5,813

8,501

46.2%

-22.2%

1.5%

TOTAL

438,818

458,144

455,966

448,828

384,692

475,333

497,866

492,476

506,277

584,026

15.4%

3.2%

100.0%

The Acimac Research Department produces a wide range of documents for the benefit of companies, analysts and economists, journalists and students, including studies, surveys and economic and statistical forecasts for the ceramic machinery industry and the sectors making up the ceramic production chain.

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT DEPARTMENT ACIMAC RESEARCH

T FINANCIAL STATEMEN

A N A L Y S I S

For the Sanitaryware sector in particular, a financial statement analysis covering more than 100 of the world’s leading sanitaryware producers is due to be published in early 2015. This will include three-year economic and financial figures (20112013) and allow a comparison to be made between the performances of each company as well as average national and global profitability values.

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT mr. Luca Baraldi - studi@acimac.it T. +39 059 510336

Tile International 1/2015

MANUFACTURERS WORLD SANITARYWARE DI SANITARI PRODUTTORI MONDIALI

A N A L Y S I S WORLD CERAMIC TILES MANUFACTURERS PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI PIASTRELLE

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

A N A L Y S I S ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

ACIMAC 84 Via Fossa Buracchione 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

WORLD HEAVY CLAY MANUFAC TURERS PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI LATERIZI

2nd EDITION year 2014

ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

ACIMAC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

A N A L Y S I S

Click

here for more info!

84

WORLD CERAMIC AND HEAVY CLAY MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS AND COLOR & GLAZE MANUFACTURERS PRODUTTORI MONDIALI DI MACCHINARI PER L'INDUSTRIA CERAMICA E DEL LATERIZIO E COLOR IFICI

ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchione 84 41126 Baggiovara (MO) ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it www.acimac.it

Forgiarini Vendenheim

MAROCCHI AT

COVERINGS 2015 ITALIAN PAV • BOOTH 4206

DISPLAYS & SHOWROOMS - CONCEPT, DESIGN & MANUFACTURING Marocchi s.r.l.

Via G. Di Vittorio, 3

Tel. +39 0542 666136 Fax +39 0542 666762

marocchi@marocchi.com www.marocchi.com

Economy & markets

n.a.

2

Kohler Group

USA

22*

18*

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

3

Sanitec

Finland

14.0

12.0

n.a.

532.1

701.8

21,000

78 (total group).

Sanitaryware plants in: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Czech Rep. Bulgaria, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Egypt, Malaysia, India, China 12 in USA, Mexico, Brazil, France,

32,000 Morocco, Thailand, India, China 6,211

18 (total group).

8 sanitaryware plants in: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ukraine, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland, UK

Main Brands / Companies

85

ramic industry (tiles, tableware, heavy clay) and the supply chain (raw materials, distribution), as well as other sectors (bathroom and kitchen furnishings, non-ceramic surface

Sanitaryware plants / Location

35.4

Exports share

n.a.

Production (mill. Pcs.)

Spain

Installed acpacity (mill. Pcs.)

Roca

Country

1

1,572.0 (sanitaryware, tiles, distribution)

Group / Company

Total group turnover (mill. â‚Ź)

generated purely from sales of sanitaryware.

This allows for a more uniform comparison between large groups which often operate in multiple segments of the ce-

Turnover only SANITARY segment (mill. â‚Ź)

To round off the international trade figures for the sanitaryware sector, we are presenting

the key figures for the sector (large multinationals, groups or individual companies) updated to 31 December 2013.

Where available we also provide the figures for turnover

Employees (total group)

THE BIG PLAYERS IN THE SECTOR

Roca, Laufen, Celite, Incepa, Parryware, Jika, Ying, Santeri, Santek

Kohler, Jacob Delafon, Sterling, Ann Sacks Kolo, Keramag, Ido, Ifo, Colombo, Koralle, Selles, Allia, Pozzi Ginori, Porsgrund, Sphinx

On Oct. 14th 2014, the Swiss company Geberit announced a tender offer of USD 1.4 billion to acquire Sanitec

4

5

Toto

Corona

Japan

Colombia

16*

12.0

16*

9.3

n.a.

3,902.0 (bathroom, tiles, other)

25

224.5

398.0 (sanitaryware, tiles) 1,252.0

6,733.0

15

6

Duratex

Brazil

12.2

n.a.

n.a.

424 (Deca division only)

7

Lixil Corporation

Japan

10-12*

7-8*

40*

n.a.

18 in: Japan, China (8), Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,

25,000 Thailand, India, USA, Mexico,

TOTO

Brazil, Germany

13,000 3 in Central America

Corona, Mansfield, Incesa Standard, American Standard, Ecoline

11,733 6 in Brazil

Deca

2 in Colombia, 1 in USA,

10 in Japan, China, Vietnam,

13,978 Indonesia, Thailand

AS, Lixil, Inax.

In the year 2013 Lixil acquired Grohe and American Standard Asia, as well as the majority of Vaal Sanitaryware (South Africa)

8

Rovese

Poland

7.4

6.0

72.3

111.8

9

Ideal Standard

Belgium

5.5*

4.0*

n.a.

n.a.

10

Lecico

Egypt

6.7

5.2

46.1

77

11

Eczacibasi VitrA

Turkey

5.5

4.4

n.a.

n.a.

Tile International 1/2015

464.8 (tiles, sanitaryware, other) 749.9 156.8 (sanitaryware, tiles) 499.3

86

7,137

n.a.

6,500 n.a.

10 (total group).

4 sanitaryware plants in: Poland, Romania, Ukraine

Cersanit, Opoczno

2 in Italy, 1 Czech Rep., 1 in Bulgaria, 1 in UK

Ideal Standard, Jado, Armitage Shanks, Dolomite

5 (incl. tiles) in Egypt

Lecico

1 in Turkey, 1 in Russia,

VitrA

Economy & markets

Total group turnover (mill. €)

Employees (total group)

UAE

3.8

3.8

n.a.

84.0

671 (tiles sanitary, tableware)

14,000

13

Corporación Ceramica Lima (Trebol)

Peru

n.a.

3.6*

30*

39.8

39.8

n.a.

14

CISA Group

Chile

4.3*

3.5*

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

15

Duravit

Germany

4-5*

3.5

81

n.a.

Sanitarios 16 Lamosa

Main Brands / Companies

Turnover only SANITARY segment (mill. €)

RAK

ing that the international imports/exports of sanitaryware partly consist of exchanges within the group, although it is not possible to determine the share of total exports.

5 Sanitaryware plants / Location

Exports share

12

Group / Company

Production (mill. Pcs.)

Considering the corporate structure of the leading companies in this sector, which in many cases are multinationals with production facilities in various countries, it is worth not-

Installed acpacity (mill. Pcs.)

employees.

The figures were supplied directly by the companies themselves or in some cases were based on estimates or obtained from public sources.

Country

coverings, building materials, chemicals, etc.).

To provide a more complete picture of group size, we also include total or consolidated turnover and the number of

1 UAE, 1 Bangladesh, 1 India

RAK

2 in Peru

Trebol

3,500*

2 in Chile, 1 Ecuador, 1 USA

Edesa, Briggs, Fanaloza, Colina

380.0

5,700

11 in Germany, France, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, India, China

Duravit

1,200 (only sanitaryware)

2 in Mexico

Lamosa, Ambiance, Vortens

4,000

3 in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Ceramics

14 (total group).

Sanitaryware plants in Germany, Mexico, Thailand

Villeroy & Boch

630

2 in Argentina

Ferrum

Mexico

2.8

2.7

45

48

530.2 (tiles, sanitaryware, adhesives) 309.0 (sanitaryware, tiles)

17

Saudi Ceramics

Saudi Arabia

2.5

2.5

3

n.a.

18

Villeroy & Boch

Germany

3.5*

2.4*

73*

456.0*

745.0*

19

Ferrum

Argentina

n.a.

2.4*

n.a.

n.a.

120.6

20

Ceramica Cleopatra

Egypt

2.5*

2*

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

2 in Egypt

Cleopatra

21

Golsar Fars

Iran

1.3

1.3

20

n.a.

n.a.

500

12 (total group) in Iran

Golsar

22

Kalevit

Turkey

2.0

1.3

n.a.

n.a.

330.0 (tiles, bathroom products)

3,300

1 in Turkey

Kale

7,745

* estimates - Source: Acimac

87

Tile International 1/2015

Project

Tagina tiles for San Lorenzo market in Florence



Tagina Ceramiche d’Arte plays a starring role in the regeneration project recently undertaken on Florence's central market, 140 years after it was first built. Overseen by Archea Associati, the work has transformed the San Lorenzo market into a meeting place with a sophisticated atmosphere, which is now nothing short of a “theatre of taste”.

For the flooring, the specifiers opted for the 20mm compact version of the Hard Rock Beton collection*. In order to preserve the original appearance of the market in terms of wall tiling, meanwhile, they opted for the Deco Perlage series**, featuring sophisticated geometric patterns and floral decorations.

The aim of the San Lorenzo market regeneration project is to put one of Florence's historic sites firmly back on the map of contemporary life, and to re-mobilise areas that had been left abandoned for years. With the first floor now fully restored, the San Lorenzo market has become a new staging-post on a European itinerary of historic, eno-gastronomic markets. Here you can savour the excellence of Florentine culinary tradition sideby-side with street food.

Everything is painstakingly managed by the tradespeople who run the various shops, and cook exclusively with produce sold in the market itself,

Tile International 1/2015

from bread to fresh fish, vegetables, meat and patisserie.

Florence Central Market represents a meeting point between modernity and tradition, and the aim of the

architectural regeneration plan drawn up by Studio Archea was to create a covered, urban plaza to showcase a fusion between food and culture.

The conceptual origin of the

88

project revolved around rehabilitating one of Italy's most attractive historic markets, by introducing contemporary usage systems aimed at meeting the needs of an increasingly varied and educated

Project

*The HARD ROCK BETON collection reinvents the texture of concrete and transforms it into a work of ceramic art.

Hard Rock Beton warrants a closer look, because it's only when you get up close that you discover the full depth and richness of its nuances.

Tagina's master-ceramicists have worked intensely to replicate the poetry of time-worn industrial coverings, with the result that every tile is a square of modern art and an elegantly aged surface at one and the same time. **The DÉCO PERLAGE collection - Colours, decorative motifs and contrasts.

These are the three hallmarks of this collection of ceramic wall tiles, which are renowned for the visual lightness that strikes a perfect balance between tradition and modernity. Painstakingly original and distinctly tactile, this collection by Tagina Ceramiche D’Arte combines industry, craftsmanship and a spirit of exploration.

With the “Déco Perlage” collection, decoration meets interior design under the banner of quality.

public. The work was not confined to interior design, however, and is an example of the complex regeneration of protected architectural heritage.

The lightness and luminosity of this magnificent 19th Century

89

Tile International 1/2015

Project

structure, comprising a steel and cast-iron framework, was accentuated by the use of simple, natural materials (wood, matting, ceramic and coloured concrete) and flexible furnishings. These were accompanied by a series of large wicker lampshades, which discreetly fill the immense volumes of the market.

The overall architecture accentuates the traditional craft vocation of the shops that line its aisles in an orderly sequence. And this, in turn, provides an open display system that gives visitors a clear view of the shops and kitchens dedicated to food preparation.

Within the limits of their own specific functional requirements, each of the preparation, service and sale areas of the shops, and the market's toilet facilities too, are designed to generate a cohesive, joyful market atmosphere.

Although steeped in the spirit of the past, the site steers rigorously clear of wistful nostalgia, and asserts itself as a contemporary venue at the disposal of a city in which architecture, and the history that goes with it, still plays a central role.

5

Tile International 1/2015

90

Advertiser's list Abk 45 Asean Ceramics

79

Bien

67

Buzon 7 Casalgrande Padana Inside Front Cover China Cerambath

43

Gambarelli 3 Impertek 75 Intono 96 Litokol 29 Marocchi 85 Maticad 2 Mlts Europe

37

Montolit 33 Niro 57 Nuovo Corso

63

Piemme 23 Polcart 69 Progress Profiles

49

Profilitec 71 Raimondi 25 Rondine Group

10

Schl端ter-Systems 1 Tagina

Back Cover

TCNA 27 Tek Arredamenti Inside Back Cover Top Cer Turkish Ceramic Federation

91

39 6

Project

Living Art: the world's largest work of art



An Italian-Russian partnership has spawned a residential complex of immense artistic and architectural value in Moscow.

Aptly named “Living Art”, it is a habitable work of art built in an area which, until recently, was simply swamped with cars. Once completed, in 2016, the complex will earn itself a place in the Guinness Book of Records as “the largest work of art in the world”.

Two of the five towers have so far reached completion.

Presented in Milan on 25 November last year, this residential project derives from a partnership between Alexey Alekseevich Dobashin, the founder of KROST (currently one of the largest investment groups in the building sector in Russia), the architect Dante Oscar Benini - and the avantgarde artist and master of colour Mario Arlati.

Living Art is a unique architectural formula built on a site measuring 45,000 square metres, which will include four 160m skyscrapers, each with 45 storeys accommodating six hundred 50m2 apartments; one 33-storey skyscraper measuring 110m in height; an arts park; a sports complex; underground car parking, and every other modern, urban convenience, all close to hand.

The project was conceived as part of an urban regeneration

Tile International 1/2015

programme aimed at promoting sports and cultural activities and providing homes for all social classes.

“I wanted to give the future inhabitants of Living Art a range of places to congregate in, with an old-fashioned courtyard atmosphere, while at the same time creating an environment steeped in Italian art.

I wanted Moscow to have a place like this, and thanks to Benini and Arlati that is exactly what we are achieving”. “The aim of regenerating a suburb like the one where we're building Living Art”, explained Benini “is to take a run-down area and give it a new identity and new distinction, without simply following the tired old conventions associated with affordable housing. So we decided to turn these homes into fullblown works of art. You can't sell them as works of art, of course, because no-one can sell the façade of a skyscraper, but they do have the same unrepeatability and iconic status of an artwork, while at the same time being habitable.”

That's how we came up with the idea of getting Mario Arlati, a Milan-based artist, to decorate the buildings with frescoes: harnessed 160m above the ground, and with the aid of a workforce of 1,500 people operating round the clock, the painter has managed to transform this residential complex

92

Project

into a kaleidoscope. “Behind the skyscrapers,” explained Arlati,“against the grey skies of Moscow, you can make out the coloured roofs of Saint Basil's Cathedral. This has been a great source of inspiration for me, together with the knowledge that playing in the suburbs is really exciting, because with elegance and high-quality work, you can give an area a complete makeover”.

Arlati’s team painted the first two towers in five different colours: blue and red (which happen to be the colours of the Russian flag), white, black and yellow. Most of the surfaces were sprayed on, but the finishing touches and final adjustments were done entirely by hand.

Mario Arlati

Dante Oscar Benini

93

Tile International 1/2015

Project

The result is an enormous painting involving over 45,000m2 of colour, planned and supplied by Mapei.

Right from the initial design phase, Mapei worked alongside the artist, designer and client in selecting the product with the best possible performance in relation to the far from simple requirements associated with a work of this type.

Once the client had opted for traditional plaster, in order to reduce construction costs by using internal wall insulation instead of exterior thermal cladding, Mapei's researchers prepared numerous colour samples in order to achieve a three-dimensional effect from the paint, without overlooking its performance in terms of durability.

Work phases: • First, the surfaces were undercoated with coloured acrylic QUARZOLITE BASE COAT*, to regulate the absorption of the substrate and promote adhesion.

• Then, a white base coat of QUARZOLITE GRAFFIATO SP 1.8 mm (made for the Polish market) was applied. This is a flexible, fibre-reinforced, single-spread coating with a rustic finish for interior and exterior walls, comprising acrylic resins dispersed in water, selected fillers, quartz and light-resistant pigments.

• The project also involved

Tile International 1/2015

94

Project

the use of COLORITE PERFORMANCE**, a pure acrylic resin-based paint dispersed in water and formulated to protect and decorate interior and exterior surfaces where a smooth, semi-gloss silk finish is required, together with a high level of protection against environmental aggressors and sunlight.

• COLORITE METALLIC GOLD,

meanwhile, offered the same characteristics, but was tailor-made for this site.

Colourful interior resin floors In Living Art, colour also dominates the interiors, with particular reference to the resin flooring in the communal areas of Tower No. 2.

These were first treated with

* QUARZOLITE BASE COAT A coloured acrylic base coat for the preparation of concrete surfaces before application of the coloured top coat, for the purpose of regulating the absorption of the substrate and promoting adhesion. QUARZOLITE BASE COAT can also be used to give the surface a uniform finish, and cover any minor imperfections. It is also essential in the application of “scratch-effect” finishes, in order to prevent the substrate showing through surface finish. Contributes up to 3 points to LEED certification. ** COLORITE PERFORMANCE An exterior and interior wall paint comprising pure, unsaponifiable acrylic resins dispersed in water. COLORITE PERFORMANCE is fully weather-resistant, and resistant to sunlight, airborne salt and the aggressors carried by smog. It

95

PRIMER SN, and then completed with MAPEFLOOR I 300 SL***, a two-component epoxy formulation that's ideal for resin floors and offers an attractive smooth or non-slip finish.

The artistic chromatic effects were obtained by mixing this product with a small proportion of MAPECOLOR PASTE, a specific colouring system.

5

therefore provides a long-lasting protective coat for the substrate. After prior application of MALECH, it is also suitable for indoor application on all types of bare wall or over existing paint, provided that the surface in question is free from flaking or crumbling. COLORITE PERFORMANCE protects surfaces and gives them an attractive, uniform, silk effect. It is available in a wide range of colours, which can be obtained with the ColorMap® automatic colouring system. It can contribute up to 3 points towards LEED certification. ***MAPEFLOOR I 300 SL A neutral-coloured, multi-purpose, two-component epoxy formulation for industrial flooring up to 4 mm thick. Suitable for self-levelling and/or multi-layer resin coverings and/or as a paint with an attractive smooth or non-slip finish. Mapefloor I 300 SL is safe for the environment and particularly suitable for use in the food, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. Application of Mapefloor I 300 SL gives surfaces a flat, continuous and attractive finish.

Tile International 1/2015

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Determined

→

Content for websites, blogs and social media.

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Database creation.

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Dignified

Solemn

R e s p e c t f u l

Economic and technical articles, case histories, interviews and product data sheets.

Accomodating

Determined

HUMOROUS

Respectful Determined

Forceful

EMPHATIC Restrained F i r m L i v e l y Determined CONSIDERATE

Sincere

Emphatic

Direct Passionate

gentle

Earnest RESTRAINED

National and international press office.

Forceful

Passionate Discreet

Sophisticated

Diplomatic

Lively

lemn Formal dS o e t e r m i n e d Sophisticated Familiar

F o r c e f u l

relaxed

INFORMAL f i r m

Measured

L o f t y

Humorous

→

Accommodating

DETERMINED

Respectful

Direct

Determined

→

Firm

RESTRAINED

Sincere Resolute

gentle

Considerate

Emphatic

Resolute

T a c t f u l Forceful Emphatic

Determined

INFORMAL LOFTYS o l e m n

SERIOUS

Passionate

informal

Ta c t f u l

Discreet

Choose the TONE of your communication.

Organisation of events, technical conferences, open houses, workshops and educational initiatives.

INtono Comunicazione offers the services of Villa Marchetti, an eighteenth-century villa in Baggiovara (Modena) that has rooms equipped for any kind of event. www.villamarchetti.it

INtono Comunicazione S.r.l. - Via Martinella, 71 - 41043 Maranello (MO) - c/o Omniadvert S.p.A.

ufficiostampa@intonocomunicazione.it www.intonocomunicazione.it

JOLLY SWING

METALDRAW

EXTENSION

OBLIQUA NEW

DÊco d’Antan: a true and real ceramic system dedicated to furnish with renewed elegance the residential living spaces and ideal for contract projects. The colour, the decors and the contrasts are the three distinctive elements of the collection that combined together can offer a great visual lightness and compositional freedom.

The geometrical patterns and the engraved floreal decors exalt the surface as to become true and real furnishing additions, smooth to the touch and precious on view thanks to the skikful mix of the glazes and the grit powder. www.tagina.it