Tile International 3/2018

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Contents

7 - Editorial

Slower growth for world ceramic industry

8 -

PhotoNews

South west architecture brings FMG to Doha

by Chiara Bruzzichelli

8 20 24 28 32 80 84 10 – Tilenews

In the spotlight 20 – Panariagroup addresses global challenges 24 – Italcer joins Italian ceramic industry top ten 28 – Saxa Gres, eco-ceramic for urban furnishing 32 – Colorker Group adopts an Industry 4.0 model

38 – 46 – 50 –

Statistics

by Daniel Llorens Vidal

by Luca Baraldi, MECS

World production and consumption of ceramic tiles The big players in the sector

Continued growth for Italian ceramic tiles in 2017

Economy & markets 54 – Construction in Europe, 86 Euroconstruct 56 – Growth continues in Spain 60 – The opinion of Vincente Nomdedeu Lluesma 61 – Spain: the macroeconomic outlook th

by Sabino Menduni

Cover picture: Porcelaingres

Cover picture by: Giancarlo Pradelli @ Cersaie 2018 Translations: Geoff Day / John Freeman

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#MCaroundCersaie2018 Increasing attendance from all over the world 5th ADI Ceramic & Bathroom Design Award POLLUTION 1972 – RefleAction 2018 The Gallery

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Editorial

by Chiara Bruzzichelli

Slower growth for world ceramic industry The leading players in the international ceramic supply chain gathered in Italy at the end of September for Cersaie and Tecnargilla.

The former, in Bologna, showcased a selection of outstanding products reflecting the latest trends, especially in terms of ever larger formats and thicknesses, while the latter, in Rimini, played host to some of the most advanced production technologies on the market.

At the end of January, the industry’s focus will be on Cevisama in the Spanish city of Valencia, before turning later in the year to Unicera in Turkey, Indian Ceramics in India, Revestir in Brazil, Batimat Russia in Moscow, and so on…

This continuous cycle of events reflects the increasingly fierce competition tak-

ing place between tile manufacturers on international markets. The high levels of international competition are also borne out by the statistics set out in the 6th edition of the annual report on “World tile production and consumption” produced by the Acimac Research Centre, first published in Ceramic World Review No. 128 and reprinted here with kind permission.

The study provides a snapshot of the industry and market at global level, which saw slower growth in 2017, with production and consumption on +2.2% (to 13.5 and 13.3 billion sq.m respectively), while import-export flows fell for the first time in 9 years, to 2,754 million sq.m (-1.4%).

These overall data, however, are the result of a pretty mixed picture across the various areas and between the

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largest manufacturing and exporting countries. While Europe and North America are consolidating their development, in Asia, the downturn in China (production down 1.5% and exports down 11.4%) and Indonesia is partly offset by new growth in Vietnam, Iran and especially India: Indian production is already over one billion sq.m (+13%) and exports are up 22%, having already risen by 36% a year earlier. Against this global backdrop, Africa has seen a number of new entries from the sub-Saharan area, to boost the line-up headed by Egypt and Nigeria, the continent’s largest producers.

In 2017, 13% of world tile production (about 1,830 million sq.m) originated from the world’s 26 largest groups, which are spread across four continents and are extremely

varied in terms of types and value of production, level of internationalisation and market penetration. Some of the year’s highest achievers were the American colossus Mohawk Industries, Lamosa in Mexico and two Spanish companies, Pamesa and STN. Good performance in Italy in 2017 was reflected by a general increase in revenues among the 30 largest tile manufacturers, of which only Fiandre-Iris, Gresmalt Laminam, however, reported double-digit growth.

The Spanish ceramic industry also reported continued growth, despite the fact that early data for 2018 point to a slowdown in exports. With total exports of 407 million sq.m (+3% on the previous year), Spain is still the world’s second largest exporter of ceramic tiles, with a 15% share of total exports.

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PHOTOnews

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SOUTH WEST ARCHITECTURE BRINGS FMG TO DOHA The Mondrian Doha, in Qatar, is a 24-storey skyscraper situated on West Bay, which accommodates apartments and a luxury hotel with 211 rooms and 59 suites.

South West Architecture (SWA) took care of the overall design, with the assistance of Marcel Wanders for the interior design.

Working to a design by SWA, Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti supplied the interior and exterior coverings for the project, starting with the ventilated façade that embraces the hotel’s tower: 15,000 square metres of FMG Parana beige 60x120 cm large-format tiles now envelop the building, replicating two enormous, stylised falcon’s wings, which are among the country’s traditional symbols.

Waterjet-cut Titanium white

MAXFINE and Ivory black gloss tiles were used in the lobby, for maximum visual impact and to generate spectacular floral effects (1,500 sq.m).

Thanks to the Iris Ceramica Group product development laboratory, numerous trim pieces were also produced, including 15,000 (15x15 cm) featuring motifs drawn from typically Qatari cultural traditions (race horses, falconry, camel racing, Aladdin’s lamp, mosques and various places from Middle Eastern imagery).

• Podium and hotel building wall coverings: Titanium white gloss 300x150 (4,000 sq.m) and 100x100 (3,000 sq.m) • Guest room wall coverings: Statuario venato Maxfine 300x150 (3,500 sq.m) • Bathroom wall coverings and trim pieces: Statuario venato Maxfine 100x100 (8,000 sq.m) • Guest room bathroom wall coverings: Statuario venato Maxfine 60x120 (10,000 sq.m) • Guest room and toilet facilities floor and wall tiles: Ardesia FMG products used in the nera honed (1000 sq.m) construction of the Mondrian • Beer & Burger restaurant floor Doha and wall coverings: Ardesia • Ventilated façade: Parana nera honed (1,000 sq.m) beige 60x120 (15,000 sq.m) • Lobby wall coverings: Titanium • Exterior wall coverings: Parana white Maxfine and Ivory black beige 60x30 (5,000 sq.m) gloss, waterjet-cut to custom

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design (1,500 sq.m) • Swimming pool area floor coverings: Titanium white Maxfine and Ivory black 60x60, waterjet-cut (1,000 sq.m) • Restaurant floor coverings: Lignum red and brown 15x120 (4,000 sq.m) • Podium, hotel building and spa interior wall coverings: Gold mosaic and platinum mosaic, 25x25 (3,000 pieces) • Podium, hotel building and spa area interior wall coverings: White bright mosaic (4,000 pieces), Titanium white and Ivory black 5x5 (25,000 pieces made to measure); 15x15 custom-made and thematic trim pieces (15,000 pieces) Photos: © Roberto Leoni

Tile International 3/2018

Tilenews

Companies, News & Markets CERAMICA FRANCESCO DE MAIO TAKES A TRIP TO PARIS WITH “TUTTO PONTI” Ceramica Francesco De Maio is another key player in the exhibition “Tutto Ponti, Gio Ponti archi-designer”, which tells the story of the design polymath’s creative genius, and is being held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) in the Marsan area near the Louvre in Paris, from 19 October 2018 to 10 February 2019.

This retrospective exhibition paying tribute to the artist is curated by Olivier Gabet, Dominique Forest, Sophie Bouilhet-Dumas and Salvatore Licitra in partnership with “Gio Ponti Archives”.

It features 500 pieces from all over the world, which illustrate the highlights of the designer’s career.

Within the framework of the exhibition, Ceramica Francesco De Maio, which holds the worldwide sole rights to Gio Ponti’s decorative creations, replicates a room at the Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento, with the sky and sea colours of

the white and blue majolica that the architect created between 1960 and 1962, to tile the floor of the hotel’s lobby and 100 rooms in different combinations. The replica uses the Decoro Tipo 8 from the “Blu Ponti” collection: rigorously handdecorated majolica in size 20x20 cm with a thickness of 12.5 mm, that reproduces the glaze, colours, decorations and thickness of the pieces made in the 1960s, and a reproduction in handmade terracotta of the three-dimensional white and blue pebbles designed by Ponti at the time to tile the walls of the lobby.

“The task of faithfully reproducing these beautiful majolica pieces was a challenge for us that we are proud and gratified to have overcome. In the same way, we are touched and honoured to take part in the world’s biggest retrospective of Gio Ponti,” commented Gianni and Patrizia De Maio, the company’s CEO and Art Director respectively.

SICIS OPENS NEW SHOWROOM IN MADRID Sicis, a leading manufacturer of top-end decorative mosaic, has opened a new showroom in Spain, in the prestigious Via Ortega y Gasset in the Salamanca district of Madrid.

Now fully furnished and outfitted with a selection of the brand’s own coverings and interior design products, the 400 sq.m showroom, designed by the inhouse team of architects and designers of Sicis Italy and Sicis Madrid, joins the company’s existing portfolio of showrooms in London, Paris, Istanbul, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai,Tokyo, Dubai, Milan Brera and Milan Spiga.

A wide range of materials and finishings are on display there, including new collections of mosaics and magnificent

Tile International 3/2018

large-format panels, plus a comprehensive interior design system spanning collections of luxury furniture, lighting and premium fabrics.

The goals of the Ravenna-based company, established in 1987, are to transpose the fruits of its Research & Development into its product lines, and to refine the concept of Distinctive Interiors that encompasses every aspect of home decor, from furniture to finishings.

10

BOERO PLAYS ROLE IN EMPIRE TOWER PROJECT IN IRAQ Boero, the Genoa-based manufacturer of paints for the construction and marine industries, has been commissioned to supply the paint for finishing both the exterior and interior of the two towers of the Empire Tower Project in Iraq. The two towers are the highest buildings in Sulaymaniyah, the capital city of governorate of the same name, and this is the second contract that Boero has won in the Iraqi city, after the German Village residential complex.

Tilenews

The chosen product for the interiors (200,000 sq.m) is Koala, an outstandingly washable, velvety finish offering high coverage, while the exteriors (50,000 sq.m) will be finished with a quartzbased anti-algae paint.

This major project, lasting some 18 months, is due for completion in 2019 and has benefited from the involvement of Boero thanks to an agreement with the company Pianeta Italia, one of the leading players in Iraq’s building materials sector.

binations of individual products and materials can give rise to comprehensive construction packages for use by specifiers to ensure first-class results,” explains Eugenio Ferrari Canni, CEO of Isolmant. “The work done with Poliespanso’s Plastbau is a practical response to what the market wants from us. As fieldleaders, we have a responsibility to supply end users with effective acoustic insulation products that can be integrated into the most specific construction systems.”

The catalogue – which includes data sheets, layering diagrams, estimates of the impact sound insulation rating (Ln,w) and airborne sound insulation rating (Rw) as a function of the geometry and mass of the Plastbau Metal structures (EPS floor slab) and supplementary layers of Isolmant UnderSpecial and Radiant Isolmant under-screed insulation – is therefore designed to provide specifiers with an up-to-date technical overview of acoustic insulation. The subject is especially relevant when it comes

ACOUSTIC INSULATION OF FLOOR SLABS: THE ISOLMANT AND POLIESPANSO GUIDE

to meeting regulatory requirements and the requirements of clients in relation to both traditional structures and structures with underfloor heating.

ABK SEALS NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH FACEMAG During Cersaie 2018, ABK and Facemag signed an agreement assigning Facemag the sole rights to sell ABK’s large-format gres porcelain panels in Morocco.

As a result of the partnership between the Italian manufacturer and the Moroccan distributor, the Wide ABK range, together with a selection of artistic decorations and technical tools, will go on display at the Facemag/ABK showroom in Casablanca. The showroom will also be used as a training centre for the delivery of courses in installation techniques for large-format panels, run in conjunction Assoposa’s master tilers, who will also offer an introduction to the use of Raimondi products for the handling and installation of large formats.

The partnership with ABK will provide Facemag with technical and industrial support, with a view to undertaking future production of large formats locally.

Deriving from a joint initiative by Tecnasfalti-Isolmant and Poliespanso, “Solutions for the design of acoustic insulation for floor slabs”, is a new technical catalogue that’s intended to help trade professionals by putting the technical know-how of the two companies at their disposal.

“Producing consolidated, joint solutions helps raise levels of know-how, especially in a sector like acoustics, where com-

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Tile International 3/2018

Tilenews

CERRAD SETS UP NEW PLANT FOR LARGE-FORMAT PANEL PRODUCTION Cerrad, a Polish manufacturer of ceramic tiles, has completed the construction of a new plant for the production of large-format gres porcelain panels, including a 160x320 cm size, which is an absolute first for the Polish market.

This means that Cerrad now has three production plants in the city of Starachowice (150 km south of Warsaw), where the company is based.

Already up and running, the factory occupies a covered area of 32,000 sq.m, has production capacity of 4 million sq.m/year and will need to recruit 80 more employees.

“Our new production plant is the result of a development strategy based on investments in technology and infrastructure aimed at offering innovative materials and setting new interior design trends,” explained Paweł Bak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cerrad, “and I’m in no doubt that our 160x32 cm format sold under the Ultime brand will set

Tile International 3/2018

such a trend. We are now capable of manufacturing products that have never been available on the Polish market before, so we’re not just meeting the aspirations of designers, but investors too.”

RUBINETTERIE STELLA INVOLVED IN RENOVATION OF MAISON BRÉGUET, PARIS Situated a stone’s throw from the Marais, one of the most authentically Parisian districts, La Maison Bréguet hotel stands out for its atmosphere and the close attention it pays to the well-being of its guests. For the recent remodelling of the building, its welcoming rooms and their luxurious bathrooms, the architects opted for the Eccelsa Series of taps with protected brass finish - the greatest classic of the Rubinetterie Stella range, which has been in production since the 1930s.

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QuattroR TAKES OVER CERAMICHE RICCHETTI QuattroR, an asset management company jointly owned by CDP, INAIL, Inarcassa and Cassa Forense, has taken over Ceramiche Ricchetti, which was founded in 1960 and is still indirectly controlled by the Zannoni family. In the view of Andrea Morante, Chairman of QuattroR, Ceramiche Ricchetti is a solid company that’s ripe for relaunch. Having established a price per share of 0.215 euros, the decision was taken to launch a takeover bid involving the formation of a newco to which to assign the controlling shareholding and the receivables deriving from funding channelled into the company by shareholders and related parties. The newco will be controlled

by QuattroR and part-owned by Fincisa and Ceramiche Industriali di Sassuolo e Fiorano, which will both hold an indirect minority stake in Ceramiche Ricchetti. If the newco holds a stake of more than 90% of the company after the takeover bid, “this will not restore sufficient floating stock to ensure proper trading”, says the note. The agreement requires the parties to invest up to a maximum of 40-45 million euros in the company through the newco, “depending on the progress of the takeover bid and the requirements of the new industrial plan being drawn up.” The existing management structure will be retained, with Maurizio Piglione as Managing Director and Matteo Davoli as General Manager, who will be invited to coinvest in the company through an incentive scheme.

Tilenews

PROFILITEC: WE’RE ON BIMOBJECT® CLOUD! Profilitec Spa is pleased to announce the publication of its products on BIMobject® Cloud.

Designers are an important reference point for the company, and are showing their appreciation for its products and solutions more and more frequently and consistently.

That’s why Profilitec SpA is committed to publishing digital copies of its products, in the form of BIM objects, and making them available to everyone on the world’s leading platform.

This makes it easy for architects, engineers and designers to browse, download and use these products in their models, from the concept phase all the way through to facility management.

BIMobject® Cloud is the leading international platform for specific BIM content from manufacturers. With over 750,000 professional users from the construction industry,a presence on BIMobject®Cloud makes products easily accessible to the global design community.

first-hand feel for the quality of the gres porcelain tiles and large-format panels of the company’s two brands: Ceramiche Piemme and Valentino.

Davide Colli, the new Chief Operating Officer of Ceramiche Piemme, has appointed Richard O’Sullivan, a longstanding expert in the field, to head up the British team as Specification Manager.

“I’m very pleased with this investment we’ve made, and it’s already generating new business opportunities in a key market,” explained Davide Colli. “With Richard now heading the team, we’ll be able to approach new distribution channels and gain maximum leverage from our brands and product quality.”

The opening of a base in London marks the start of an initiative aimed at consolidating the company’s positioning in the retail channel, and making it the first port of call for specifiers and designers working on major international architecture projects.

The new site is due to be inaugurated during Clerkenwell Design Week, from 21 to 23 May 2019.

CERAMICHE PIEMME OPENS NEW BASE IN LONDON

FIANDRE CELEBRATES “VIAGEM SEM PROGRAMA” The exhibition “Viagem sem Programa” dedicated to the Portuguese master Álvaro Siza, held in 2017 in the Fiandre FAB Architectural Bureau in Castellarano – a multi-purpose hub dedicated to the dissemination of architectural and design culture – has been included in the ADI Design Index 2018.

This important endorsement confirms the direction that the company has always taken, as a leading manufacturer of top-end through-body porcelain tile, with a view to forging links between architecture, applied arts, design and sustainability.

For the exhibition “Viagem sem Programa”, first presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale and deriving from a partnership between the editorial team of the Floornature portal and the firm of architects Dumbo Design, which curated it, Fiandre has designed a concept specifically tailored to bring out the best in the works on display. The 53 creations by the Portuguese architect, which symbolise a journey through the artist’s personal and professional life, found a spacious setting in one of the rooms of the bureau, an industrial environment in which ceramic tiles adorned furnishings, placing precise accents on certain salient features.

Ceramiche Piemme’s new London base is called “Piemme 40”, in a nod to the code M40 that’s used to identify tiles in UK project specification clauses.

In the heart of the design district of Clerkenwell, on the second floor of Unit 207, architects and specifiers can get a

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Tile International 3/2018

Tilenews

COESIA TAKES 60% OF SYSTEM System and Coesia have signed an agreement under which the latter will take a 60% stake in System SpA’s business related to the ceramic industry. The new company will take the name of System Ceramics.

With revenues of 329 million euros in 2017, EBITDA of 51 million and approximately 1,200 employees, System SpA is an international leader in the design and manufacture of ceramic industry process systems that are unique at a worldwide level.

Franco Stefani, who will keep 40% of the capital and continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new company, said: “I’ve been working for many years on maintaining the continuity of the company. I want to choose the best industrial partners in the world, who have the ability to expand the company, and that's why I chose Coesia, which

not only has deep roots in the local area, but is an Italian group with a pioneering vision of technology.”

Isabella Seràgnoli, Chairman of Coesia, added: “I’m confident that the two groups will be able to further develop the industrial policy and entrepreneurial culture that will help us work together to reap maximum value from the worldclass players that form part of our local industrial fabric.”

RILIEVI BY CEDIT WINS ARCHIPRODUCTS DESIGN AWARD 2018 The RILIEVI collection by CEDIT – Ceramiche d'Italia has won a prize in the “Finishes” category of the Archiproducts Design Awards 2018, which celebrates international design excellence.

A jury comprising some of the world’s most influential designers, journalists, photographers, curators and architecture firms examined over 600 products,

Tile International 3/2018

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entered in this third edition of the award by 400 companies from 15 countries.

The jury then picked a selection of products that stood out for their innovative nature and embrace of “design culture”.

Presented at Spazio CEDIT in Milan during this year’s Fuorisalone, RILIEVI was designed by Zaven (Enrica Cavarzan & Marco Zavagno) and reflects their research into the transformation of two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional products.

This visually striking collection breaks free from the traditional confines of ceramics: three-dimensional elements with different colours and geometries adorn CEDIT large-format tiles, in such way as to transform walls and habitats into fullblown scenographic compositions.

Tilenews

GIANNI VENTO APPOINTED AS NEW GENERAL MANAGER OF ITALFLOORING As of January 2019, Gianni Vento will join Italflooring as the company’s new General Manager.

Vento, aged 62, has a 40-year track-record of professionalism and technical know-how in the field of “warm” floor coverings, and over the years has earned the appreciation of the leading operators and specialists in the sector.

Italflooring, based in Meda, in the Brianza area of Italy, is a major distributor on the Italian market, offering a varied range of laminate, wood and LVT floor coverings. For over 20 years it has been the Italian importer and distributor of Cover-floor LVT flooring, Swiss Krono laminate flooring and Boen pre-finished wood flooring. Thanks to the top quality of its product range, Italflooring can offer a life-time guarantee on its Cover-floor flooring, a 15- to 35-year guarantee on its Swiss Krono products and a 20-year guarantee on its Boen floors.

ARCHITEC BY DURAVIT MARKS 25TH BIRTHDAY

Vital washbasin, which enables wheelchair-users to hold on and approach the basin using just one hand.

Back in 1993, Frank Huster embarked on a collaboration with Duravit, when he presented his Architec line. During the presentation, one of the points made by Professor Huster was: “Architec does not follow any transient fashions. In fact, it’s a by-word for continuity.”

25 years on, by combining top-level design with maximum functionality based on the essential architectural elements of the circle and the square, the Architec series has kept its promise of “continuity” in the best sense of the term. The Architec series has expanded over the years. Now, after 25 years, it includes 35 products, from sinks to toilets, which are ideally suited to integration and meet the requirements of the public, semi-public and private sectors alike.

Frank Huster’s work always takes account of everyday use, as shown by a series of details such as the ceramic filter in the drainage outlet of the sink, for improved hygiene, and the integrated edge of the

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Tile International 3/2018

Tilenews

ORIGAMI BY TUBES REACHES FINALS OF DESIGNEUROPA The Origami heater, designed by Alberto Meda for Tubes, is one of the finalists in the DesignEuropa Awards held by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

Divided into three categories (Industry, Small and Emerging Companies, and Lifetime Achievement), the DesignEuropa Awards celebrate excellence among Registered Community Design (RCD) holders. The jury nominated Origami Tubes as one of the finalists in the Industry Award category.

Luisa Bocchietto, President of the World Design Organisation and of the DesignEuropa Awards jury, explained that: “The designs selected as finalists contribute to the success of manufacturers and are an indicator of good company management of the intellectual property of designs or models, not to mention the high aesthetic value of the product itself.”

Christian Archambeau, Executive Direc-

tor of EUIPO announced: “This award testifies to the importance of design as a resource for companies and as a driver of job creation and economic growth.”

In fact, according to data collected in the course of EUIPO research initiatives, companies with a high density of designs and models generate 12% of all jobs in the EU and almost 13% of its GDP.

ABITARE LA TERRA BY CERASARDA EARNS PLACE IN ADI DESIGN INDEX 2018 The project “Abitare la Terra” by Cerasarda, a Romani Group brand, designed

by Maria Luisa Brighenti, a designer and ceramic artist, has been selected for inclusion in the ADI Design Index 2018.

Published by the Italian Industrial Design Association (ADI), the Index is an annual publication dedicated to the best of Italian design. Every year, the selection process is overseen by the ADI’s Permanent Design Observatory.

A public exhibition of the works selected

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for the ADI Design Index 2018 was therefore held in Rome from 20 November to 5 December.

Referring to Cerasarda’s participation in the prestigious design award, Paolo Romani, the Group’s CEO said: “This is a major achievement and a gratifying result for the whole company, because it recognises our commitment to technological and aesthetic research and innovation, and because the development of this project involved all our plants, so gave rise to new production synergies and marked the beginning of an ambitious new growth programme.”

Abitare la Terra, which the ADI Observatory has placed in the technological materials and systems section, draws inspiration from the warm soil of Sardinia and forms a collection characterised by a strong sense of texture and harmonious chromatic tones enriched by a range of contrasting colours and exclusive decorative structures. It’s an original ceramic material that combines the hand craftsmanship of its designer, with the state-of-the-art technologies of the Romani Group.

Tilenews

PORTOBELLO TO BUILD FACILITY IN THE USA Portobello, Brazil’s largest ceramic tile manufacturer, has announced the upcoming construction of its first manufacturing facility in the United States. The production facility and headquarters of Portobello America, Inc. will be built in Baxter in Putnam County, Tennessee. The new facility will create 220 jobs and is due to be completed by 2021 following an investment of approximately $150 million.

In 2017, Portobello produced around 39 million sq.m of tiles at its two facilities in Brazil (Portobello in Tijucas in the state of Santa Caterina and Pointer in the state of Alagoas in the northeast of the country). It sells its products in the export and domestic markets through an extensive network of multi-brand retailers, the Portobello Shop franchise and sales channels for engineering. Portobello has more than 2,600 employees.

“We are proud to present Portobello America,” said Portobello President Cesar Gomes Junior. “We believe in the strategy, the market potential and, above all, the combination of our knowhow with the American team and culture. Growing and developing in the American market, incorporating the local culture, generating job opportunities and investments through an integrated business model, from production to partnership with distributors, is what guides this new challenge.”

The official announcement held on 3 December was attended by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and the mayors of Putnam County and the

city of Baxter, where the Portobello project represents the biggest ever investment in the manufacturing sector.

Following the large-scale international promotional efforts carried out in recent months, ITF is aiming to set a new record of 100,000 professional visitors, including 20% from abroad.

Professional buyers from 128 countries, including delegations from the USA, Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Russia, Georgia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and Israel, will hold B2B meetings with exhibitors.

The exhibition will also feature a packed programme of seminars on new design trends featuring renowned designers from Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.

UNICERA 2019 TO BE HELD IN ISTANBUL FROM 5 TO 9 FEBRUARY The 2019 edition of Unicera, Turkey’s largest exhibition of ceramic tiles, sanitaryware, bathroom and kitchen furniture, will be held from 5 to 9 February at the CNR Expo Centre in Istanbul. Organised by ITF Istanbul Trade Fairs in collaboration with the Turkish Ceramics Federation (TSF) and TIMDER (Trade Association for Sanitary and Building Suppliers), the exhibition will occupy a total space of 160,000 square metres. The organisers’ aim is to continue to expand the show, particularly in terms of international reach following the excellent results achieved in 2018, when it attracted 11,219 international visitors (an increase of 37.5%) out of a total attendance of 84,320 professionals.

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Tilenews

MOHAWK INDUSTRIES TO ACQUIRE ELIANE In a further prestigious addition to its portfolio, US giant Mohawk Industries is set to acquire Eliane, one of the largest Brazilian groups in the ceramic tile sector with a production capacity of around 36 million sq.m/year and six factories located in the states of Santa Catarina (Cocal do Sul and Criciúma) and Bahia (Camaçari). This marks Mohawk Industries’ first investment in ceramic tile production in South America and joins the Calhoun, Georgia-based group’s operations in USA, Mexico, Europe and Russia.

Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Chairman and CEO of Mohawk Industries, announced the acquisition on 25 October during the presentation of the third quarter results: “On October 15, we executed an agreement to purchase Eliane, one of the largest ceramic tile companies in Brazil, for approximately $250 million,” he said.“Brazil is the world’s third largest ceramic tile market, where Eliane is a leader in premium porcelain with annual sales of approximately $215 million. We anticipate the acquisition closing in the fourth quarter.”

Edson Gaidzinski, Jr, Chairman of Eliane, noted that the acquisition of the company by the world’s largest group in the sector “will trigger a new cycle of development and enable the Eliane brand to maintain its leadership for long into the future by accelerating the strategic investment plan and adopting new technologies and best practices in the various areas of operation”. According to Eliane, the acquisition by Mohawk Industries will not involve any change in business practices, brand structure or

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management.

In 2017, 80% of Eliane revenues (940 million Real) was generated by sales in the Brazilian market, where the group’s products are sold at more than 15,000 stores.

The remaining 20% was earned from exports to more than 80 countries, including the United States (Eliane has a distribution centre in Dallas), Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Mohawk Industries posted 6% growth in net sales to $7.5 billion in the first 9 months of 2018, while net earnings fell by 4% with respect to the same period in 2017. Commenting on the figures, Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum confirmed that the third quarter results fell short of expectations.

“Most of our markets have experienced weakening demand, inflation and pricing pressures,” he noted, adding that the fourth quarter results are expected to continue the trends experienced in the third quarter with a slight slowdown in sales in most markets and product categories. Lorberbaum believes that going forward the group’s results should improve due to pricing alignment, an enhanced product offering and the completion of new investments. He also

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confirmed that Mohawk Industries will continue its strategy of growth through acquisitions. “We will continue acquiring premier companies like Eliane to expand our offering and geographic presence,” he said.

CERAMICA CIELO OPENS IN THE MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT The new showroom of Ceramica Cielo, a leading international bathroom furniture manufacturer based in Civita Castellana (province of Viterbo, Italy), was officially opened on 1 November in Miami as part of the company’s internationalisation process. Located in the heart of the Miami Design District, the flagship store brings the style and elegance of Italian design to the United States and opens a window onto the world of Italian handmade ceramics.

With its neutral shades and micro vignettes, each with a different mood designed to show off the displayed products to the full, the flagship store combines tradition and innovation and offers a contemporary interpretation of the brand’s rich cultural heritage through a wide range of bathroom solutions. Along with many of Ceramica Cielo’s successful collections, the store’s layout was designed by the company’s two Art Directors, Andrea Parisio and Giuseppe Pezzano.

ISO 9001 & ISO 14001 CERTIFIED

www.topcer.com

In the spotlight

Panariagroup addresses global challenges

Emilio Mussini Emilio Mussini, chairman of Panariagroup, the Italian multinational owner of leading brands with a reputation for innovation and sustainability in the high-end ceramic tile segment, declared at the end of Cersaie 2018 that he is “sure the right decisions were made” with regard to both the geographical locations of foreign plants and product positioning in international markets.

And despite the slowdown in the US market (where the group has

Tile International: - After 44 years of history, where is Panariagroup headed today?

Emilio Mussini: We have invested more than 110 million euros in the last three years (10% of our revenue) with two main aims. The first was to ex-

Tile International 3/2018

a direct presence with the Florida Tile brand and the factory in Kentucky) and the increasingly fierce competition from Spanish producers, he is particularly bullish about the investments the group has made here to date.

Following a strong performance in 2017 (revenue up 2% on 2016 to 385 million euros, 81% generated by exports), the group has seen a more uncertain trend in 2018 with first-half sales down 6.8% on the same period in 2017.

pand and modernise our production facilities, including the new complete line at Aveiro in Portugal and addition of a third line at the Fiorano plant to raise production capacity of large, thin ceramic panels by 60%.

The second was to improve our logistics network by expanding our distribution centre in the United States.

At the same time we are strongly focused on Industry 4.0 technologies and environmental sustainability.

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With the organisational structure and production capacity we have today, we are able to meet the competitive challenges of the coming years.

That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to invest in innovation on an annual basis.

In the spotlight

In 2018 we have again invested around 20 million euros, a level that has now become the norm. But we don’t have any large-scale projects lined up at present.

Our immediate goal is to increase growth through great-

er rationalisation of our international structure.

This means establishing greater synergies between our assets in Italy, the two facilities in Portugal and the one in the United States, as well as centralising general functions

and research while carrying out final product development abroad according to the needs of specific markets.

So instead of our previously highly compartmentalised approach with three totally autonomous units, today we intend to establish a high degree of coordination between our central and the peripheral units. This will allow us to maximise efficiency and maintain a distinctive corporate style that is recognisable across all our markets.

Tile International: Are you saying that Panariagroup will increasingly focus on the luxury segment?

E. Mussini: To remain competitive in the third millennium, it’s simply not sufficient to operate exclusively in the very high end of the market.

We have to continue to produce large volumes, although that’s not the same as making standard products.

And due to our size (more than 1,700 employees and over 10,000 customers), we don’t have the option of tailoring our production to the needs of individual customers, which is certainly a market trend across all sectors but is simply not feasible for us.

Instead, we’re working very hard with our entire distribution network to make our distinguishing characteristics clearer and more recognisable. This applies not just to our three most sophisticated de-

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sign brands but to all nine of our trademarks [Panaria, Lea and Cotto d’Este along with the Blustyle and Fiordo brands in Italy, Margres and Love Tiles in Portugal, Florida Tile in the USA and Bellissimo in India, Editor]. We need to emphasise our sophisticated style and the breadth of our range and decorations because the increasingly fierce competition tends to result in a lack of diversity in the market.

We stand out in particular in the extremely thin porcelain panel and porcelain laminate segments, as evidenced by the fact that we were chosen as the sole ceramic partner for construction of the first pavilion of the Holy See, the Vatican Chapels, at the international architecture exhibition running until the end of November at the Venice Biennale.

Tile International: Very large size, small thickness products were also in the spotlight at Cersaie 2018.

E. Mussini: This is certainly the trend in world ceramic tile production. At Cersaie we showcased large porcelain laminate panels and had six stands with a total space of 1,700 square metres.

But we also displayed our more established products, from traditional and highthickness porcelain for exteriors through to monoporosa wall tiles.

But the real challenge is to continue to innovate and ex-

Tile International 3/2018

In the spotlight

Ceramiche Lea “Walnut cinnamon”

ploit the opportunities open to ceramic as the most sustainable and versatile material available at a time of enormous growth in environmental awareness amongst global consumers. While the floor and wall coverings market is currently growing at an average pace of 1-2% a year, the ceramic industry is expanding at double that rate because it is winning market share from other materials and opening up new areas of application.

Given their excellent levels of design and environmental and aesthetic performance, large ceramic panels and slabs are preferable both to synthetic materials (which are easier to install but are all too often more polluting and less durable) and to natural materials which suffer from limited

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availability along with a high environmental impact and lower resistance to physical stresses. This was why we decided to set up our new specialist division for the contract furnishing sector, which was launched this year. It is now essential to communicate directly with architects and designers through a channel devoted to large-scale works and major architectural projects worldwide.

Tile International: Was this concept of the “universality” of ceramics behind your decision to be the first company in the sector to embark on the costly process of sustainability certification?

E. Mussini: For many years, Panariagroup has been adopting responsible policies in a number of different areas,

from attention to human resources to a reduction in environmental impact. Our pioneering production of large, thin porcelain laminate panels alone allows us to reduce electricity consumption by 20%, water use by 80% and atmospheric CO2 emissions by 30% compared to conventional porcelain.

As a further incentive to strive for continuous improvement, we decided to inform the internal and external community about our actions by drafting a Sustainability Report based on international standards, in keeping with the model adopted by large multinationals (the second edition of the report has just been published). Acting sustainably is one thing, declaring it is a much greater commitment.

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Due to the considerable expense involved, especially in the initial phase, we are the only company in the Sassuolo tile cluster to have taken this step. But the time that our personnel take out from their daily work to contribute to the drafting of the sustainability report is repaid in terms of greater awareness and engagement.

Tile International: Does it still make sense to continue to be based in Sassuolo when 80% of your sales are abroad?

E. Mussini: Definitely. The Italian tile producers would have disappeared from the market if we had not been concentrated in this area of the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. This cluster organisation enabled us to create a network of shared skills and in-

In the spotlight

Panaria “Nuance miel natural”

formation while we each continued to pursue our own goals. We are competitors and allies at the same time.

This synergy has enabled us to remain the world leaders in terms of recognisability despite having only a twentieth of the production capacity of the Chinese.

Tile International: What’s your view of the US market situation amid the government’s new protectionist policies and the Spanish competition?

E. Mussini: US domestic tile production is able to meet just 35% of demand, so there really isn’t much alternative to imports. Florida Tile protects us from the risks of Trump’s protectionist policies. The Spanish producers have undeniably gained a lot of ground over all foreign competition by offer-

ing high-quality tiles at very low prices. But we have decided to continue to invest directly in the US. I’m confident that in the medium to long term our ability to offer a high-quality product together with excellent service based on a local presence and an extensive and efficient logistics network will repay our efforts. Our Spanish competitors are reluctant to make foreign investments, and in any case it’s no surprise that they’ve seen see a boom in sales in the USA, where they lost market share in recent years in order to focus on the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. Price is the only lever they could use to regain lost ground.

Tile International: Hasn’t the Far East become an attractive market yet?

Cotto D’Este “Vanity” E. Mussini: Eastern markets remain limited and very difficult to enter. Local production is very strong and direct investments highly risky. Our exports to the Middle East, Asia and Oceania account for around 10% of our global revenues, but we only export the highest end of our range and growth prospects are limited.

We’ve established a foothold in India through a 50% joint venture with AGL Asian Granito India, a leading player in the Indian ceramic sector. This is an exploratory move aimed at seeing how the market operates and deciding whether it would be worth making a local direct investment. At present I think the answer to that is “no”, so for the time being we will remain observers while gaining experience. What we

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have learned from our presence in Gujarat is that Asian consumers and markets are very different from our own and that the appeal of Italianmade ceramic tiles is limited to the luxury segment. Although China and India are the largest consumer markets in the world, I think that the idea of exporting large volumes to the East really is wishful thinking. The distribution system is simply not developed enough for our premium tiles to reach the high-end customers who are spread out across the region. Both logistics and expertise are lacking. We haven’t regretted the investment, but any decision to withdraw or make further investments in Asia will be taken in the medium term, not now.

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In the spotlight

Italcer joins Italian ceramic industry top ten

from left: Lorenzo Stanca, Lauro Giacobazzi and Graziano Verdi On 15 October, Italcer announced its acquisition of full ownership of Rondine Group.

With this fourth acquisition - in the wake of its recent acquisitions of La Fabbrica Spa, Elios SpA and Devon&Devon SpA - 16 months since its formation, Italcer Group has joined the ranks of the Italian ceramic industry’s leading players, with revenues of almost 200 million euros and EBITDA of 35 million euros.

Under the leadership of Lauro Giacobazzi, the company’s outgoing owner, and its Turkish shareholder Seramiksan, Rondine Group achieved solid results in terms of both growth and profit margins, and closed 2017 with revenues of approximately 110 million euros.

We interviewed Graziano Verdi, CEO of Italcer Group, a subsidiary of Mandarin Capital Partners

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II (MCP), which is headed by Alberto Forchielli.

Tile International: At the inauguration of the La Fabbrica showroom in the historic Palazzo Dal Monte Casoni in Imola, you announced that a major new transaction was in the pipeline: so the transaction in question was the acquisition of Rondine?

Graziano Verdi: “Yes, the negotiations for the acquisition of Rondine Group had been going on for some time, but it’s always better to avoid commenting on these things publicly until the deal is actually in the bag.

We’re now free to reveal that the “Italcer project” is going ahead at the expected pace and will lead to the creation of a cluster of medium-to-high-end ceramics manufacturers. These will all benefit from significant commercial

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"Deco Anthology" by Elios

In the spotlight

"Gioia 3D" by Rondine Group and production synergies, in an industry which is still highly fragmented, despite its competitiveness at worldwide level. Alberto Forchielli and Lorenzo Stanca, the Managing Partners of MCP, often point out that larger groups can deal with competition more effectively, and invest more in the Research & Development that plays such a vital role in success on world markets.

Personally, I’m increasingly convinced that the days of

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“small is beautiful” are numbered: the way forward is to focus on European markets, obviously, but also on America and the East, because that’s where demand is growing and that’s where we can really turn the Made in Italy label to account.”

Tile International: How did you go about making the acquisition of Rondine?

G. Verdi: “We had recourse to a share capital increase underwritten by MCP, in con-

Tile International 3/2018

In the spotlight

MANDARIN CAPITAL PARTNERS (MCP) is a private equity platform that invests mainly in medium and large Italian companies, with a view to generating value by expanding on international markets.

A deep-rooted presence in the Far East enables MCP to provide the companies it invests in with decisive support in markets with strong growth potential. Its focus on international growth is not confined to the Far East, however.

The 15 companies in which MCP has invested so far have made 34 acquisitions, mainly in Western Europe, China and the USA. MCP launched its first fund in 2007.

The fund made 10 investments, all of which were sold at a profit, generating an overall return of approximately twice the sum invested.

Its second fund, launched in late 2013, has made 8 investments, 4 of which have been sold and generated a return of over twice the sum invested.

pictures: Graziano Verdi and Alberto Forchielli at the inauguration of the prestigious La Fabbrica showroom in Imola, in the Italian province of Bologna.

The showroom - comprising a total area of more than 750 square meters spread over two floors - is located in the 15th Century Palazzo Dal Monte Casoni and, against a backdrop of vaulted ceilings frescoed with landscapes by 18th Century painters such as Alessandro Della Nave and Antonio Villa, displays ceramic collections under the AVA brand and large-format porcelain tiles by La Fabbrica.

“It’s a uniquely evocative experience,” says Graziano Verdi, “especially for our top customers from all over the world.”

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In the spotlight

junction with Capital Dynamics, a leading British alternative investment manager, which thus joins the shareholding structure alongside MCP itself, Idinvest of France, HQ Capital of Germany and a group of Italian entrepreneurial families.”

Tile International: How do the product ranges of La Fabbrica, Elios Ceramica, Devon&Devon and Rondine Group complement one another?

G. Verdi: “The ability to innovate and develop products that continue to meet everchanging needs is one of the common features of Italy’s top manufacturers, and it’s this feature that explains our leadership at the top end of the ceramic market. The companies we’ve acquired all have distinctive features that set them apart from each other and will enable the Group to establish itself as an elite force on the world stage, and boost the development of each member company.

The Florence-based company Devon&Devon is a worldclass player in the bathroom furnishing market. It exports its products to over 80 countries through a network of boutiques, retailers and flagship stores in some of the world’s most prestigious capitals, from Europe to the USA, Russia, the Middle East, China and Australia.

Our acquisition of Elios Ceramica, based in the EmiliaRomagna region of Italy, has brought us an ideal partner for La Fabbrica, because the two companies complement each other in terms of formats, positioning and the geographical areas they cover.

It’s a strong, historic, well positioned brand that has all the necessary ingredients for a successful relaunch, including a production facility offering high levels of industrial efficiency.

La Fabbrica, Italcer’s first acquisition, dating back to April 2017, is a specialist in the production of top-end ceramics, in the form of its AVA collections and the large-format porcelain tiles sold under the La Fabbrica brand. The addition of Rondine will consolidate the Group’s structure, and bring us a highly qualified team of managers.”

Tile International: So Italcer has its sights firmly set on achieving its second objective, to generate revenues of 300 million euros by the end of 2019?

G. Verdi: “In the meantime, Italcer Group has already achieved its first objective.

Now we’re looking at the potential of setting up an Industry 4.0 production facility in the United States in 2020: suffice it to say that tile consumption in the United States rose from 200 million sq.m to

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almost 300 million sq.m over a five-year period between 2012 and 2017. Local tile production in the USA has seen similarly strong growth, and rose to over 90 million sq.m in 2017, representing a year-onyear rise of 3%.

With regard to our stock market flotation, we believe that Italcer, as a major player at the top end of Italy’s creative industries, still has plenty of growth potential for both its internal and external lines, which the stock market will recognise, value and finance.

That’s why we’re planning to start the flotation process in the second half of 2019.

It’s worth remembering that about 80% of Italcer’s revenues come from exports, and its brands are some of the most competitive and highest-performing in the industry.”

Tile International: So everything is running to schedule then?

G. Verdi: “The Industrial Plan we announced at the beginning of 2017 is taking shape day by day in what we’re doing on the ground, including the quality of the acquisitions we’re making, and this latest acquisition of Rondine Group confirms Italcer’s focus on the top end of the market and on the Made in Italy label. As we move forward, we still have our eye on the possibility of making other major new acquisitions.”

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Tile International 3/2018

In the spotlight

Saxa Gres, eco-ceramic for urban furnishing

Francesco Borgomeo Saxa Gres was formed in 2013 at the initiative of Francesco Borgomeo, who decided to take over the former Marazzi Sud production plant in Anagni, Italy, to start manufacturing a patented, ecosustainable type of porcelain tile. These ceramic products are made from a body mix containing up to 25-30% of aggregates recovered from municipal waste.

Aesthetically, they replicate various types of natural stone, and have a thickness of 2 to 7 cm.

Strong enough to withstand vehi-

cle traffic, they are ideal for urban furnishing, a sector with an estimated worldwide value of over 239 billion euros in 2015, which is forecast to rise to over 325 billion by the end of 2020.

Saxa Gres was on show at Cersaie 2018 with a stand replicating a street paved entirely with 7mmthick Sampietrini cobblestones made of gres porcelain manufactured at the Anagni plant… and we interviewed Francesco Borgomeo, Chairman of the Saxa Gres- GrestoneTM Group.

Tile International: - Could you give us a brief outline of the history of this latest adventure of yours?

Francesco Borgomeo: “It’s certainly been an adventure, but also something of an obstacle course: the core idea was to recover the former Marazzi Sud production

plant in Anagni, which was about to be decommissioned, and relaunch it, around a concept of sustainability, with the aid of an agreement that was backed by 97.5% of the creditors and saved all the existing jobs.

So Saxa Gres was founded in 2013,

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but it took over three years to get a permit to develop trials of the product, and two years to transfer ownership of the clay quarry to Saxa Gres. In the meantime, we restarted production by sourcing our

In the spotlight

FRANCESCO BORGOMEO

turned it into a support and consultancy firm specialising in business conversion and restrucis 51 years old and holds a deturing, with prestigious clients gree in philosophy from the Uni- such as Enel, Eni, Wind, IBM and versity of Rome “La Sapienza”.

Glaxo Smith Kline, eventually atHe started his career with Censis tracting Nomisma to make an founded by Giuseppe De Rita, equity investment in the firm. and CNEL (the Italian National At the age of 40, Borgomeo shifted from consultancy work to enCouncil for Economics and Latrepreneurship and, by buying bour). companies to develop and resell At the age of 29, he took over at a profit (in France he set up Irses, the research institute founded by his father, Luca, and the Area Franceram Group, laun-

raw material from Sassuolo.

In the first quarter of 2018, the Saxa Gres plant in Anagni reported EBITDA of over 2 million

euros and revenues of 11 million, generated by the sale of high-thickness products on behalf of third parties. We also

won orders for the whole of 2019.”

Tile International: And then you made further acquisitions

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ched in 2010 with the acquisition of the first Marazzi France factor ed.), he embarked on the major turnaround of the ceramic industry that then led to the formation of Saxa and the conversion of Ideal Standard and Tagina.

“There’s clay in my blood,” says Borgomeo: Fornaci LDM in Formia, founded in 1890 by his great grandfather, was the largest brickworks in Southern Central Italy for almost a century.

in 2018, didn’t you?

F. Borgomeo: “On 12 February 2018 I signed an agreement giving rise to the formation of

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In the spotlight

Saxa Grestone SpA, a new-co 100% owned by Saxa Gres SpA. It’s a new conversion project relating to the former Ideal Standard plant in Roccasecca, a municipality on the outskirts of Anagni.

The project is being implemented jointly with the appropriate authorities, and preserves the existing employment levels at the plant. It’s a new challenge aimed at establishing a single hub for the manufacture of eco-ceramics and green gres porcelain for urban furnishing in the area surrounding Frosinone.”

Tile International: What will

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the Roccasecca plant produce?

F. Borgomeo: “The former Ideal Standard plant in Roccasecca will be a future-oriented facility for the production of Sampietrini cobblestones made of the only material capable of competing with natural stone - gres porcelain.

Once the plant is up to speed, we expect to process 300,000 tonnes of raw materials, of which at least 90,000 tonnes (30%) will be aggregates from the nearby San Vittore municipal waste incinerator, managed by ACEA, with which Saxa Gres has entered into a wide-ranging strategic part-

nership based on the circular economy, and from other industrial players.

The product we intend to make at the Roccasecca plant is a reproduction of the classic sanpietrino cobblestone, with a stronger, more lightweight and more economical formula, made by reusing “secondary raw materials” and thus reducing the environmental impact associated with the importation of raw materials from abroad, and embarking on the manufacture of an all-Italian product.

The plant will also see the production of urban furnishing

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products with a thickness of 4.5 cm, in sizes ranging from 20x40 to 40x60, plus kerb stones, storm drains, gutters and kerbside drainage outlets, all made of GrestoneTM gres porcelain.

Production at Roccasecca will get under way in 2019 and revenues are expected to rise from approximately 40 million euros that year to almost 90 million in 2020, following ramp-up to full capacity.”

Tile International: In April, you then acquired the Tagina production plants in Gualdo Tadino…

F. Borgomeo: “Tagina is a gem, a real beacon of Italian

In the spotlight

THE FUNDING BEHIND SAXA GRES Francesco Borgomeo’s experience in the field of corporate restructuring, with the structuring and fund-raising support

ceramic manufacturing. We are proud and honoured to have brought thousands of years of Umbrian ceramic history and culture into our Group.

With this acquisition, Saxa Gres now has the full substance of an industrial group destined to play a leading role in the Italian ceramic industry, by focusing on innovation, sustainability, craftsmanship and top-end products.

As I said, we want to become a hub for the production of eco-sustainable, high-thickness gres porcelain: Gualdo Tadino will manufacture 2 cm products, Anagni will do 3 cm,

of Flexagon Capital Solutions, has helped him win support for the Saxa Gres project from high-profile international investors such as Flaxagon, Halcyon, BlueBay and Italy’s Fn Investments.

and Roccasecca will take care of “four & more”. And with Tagina, we’ll also take specific action to recover the Atelier Tagina brand, which we intend to turn into a byword for ‘ceramic haute couture for urban furnishing’ at the disposal of architects, specifiers, public sector agencies and major private groups.”

Tile International: How would you sum up Saxa Gres’s industrial and commercial strategy?

F. Borgomeo: “Everything is based on the production of one material - known as GrestoneTM - which is revolu-

It is also thanks to the issue of two 15 million euro bonds at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2017, that Saxa Gres has attained its first targets.

The Saxa Group has now issued a new bond, with maturity date tionary because it includes up to 30% of aggregates made from municipal waste.

It’s a high-performance product, born of a combination of technology and circular economy, that we have high expectations of on the world market. Until now, Saxa Gres has based its business model on a range of highly specialised products and carefully selected customers - including major players in the ceramic and other industries with a preference for a B2B approach that facilitates planned production and dependable payments.

Public sector agencies and local authorities tasked with the upkeep of urban areas represent another key market for Saxa Gres, because materials produced through the reuse of inert materials from municipal waste qualify for significant incentives under the terms of Green Public Procurement procedures. We’re already very active in this field, as a result of our relations with the municipality of Rome, the city that inspired our shift towards stone products for urban furnishing.

The final pillar of our business model is our embrace of industrial conversion, which has enabled us to achieve high margins by reusing and, as far as possible, maintaining existing industrial fabric and production capacity.”

Tile International: Did your

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of 2023, for 75 million euros, which is already half subscribed, earmarked for developing the industrial plan and looking at other possible acquisitions that would help deliver Saxa’s strategic goals. stand at Cersaie 2018 generate the results you were hoping for? And how much interest did international players take in your product?

F. Borgomeo: “We were deeply gratified by the high levels of interest our stand attracted at Cersaie: replicating a street paved entirely with our Sampietrini cobblestones, our stand aroused a lot of curiosity, and removed any remaining doubts about the validity of our product.”

Tile International: What are the international growth forecasts for your field?

F. Borgomeo: “Analysts have calculated that the worldwide market for urban paving products was worth 239 billion euros in 2015 and is expected to grow at a rate of more than 6% per year to 325.4 billion euros by the end of 2020. The main driver of this growth is a huge boom in the emerging economies of Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.

We’re already taking action on the German market, which is our largest direct and indirect sales channel. We’re also operating in other Central European countries but our main focus is on the United States at the moment, because it is offering especially valuable incentives for industrial regeneration and because there is particularly high demand for urban furnishing products there.”

5

Tile International 3/2018

In the spotlight Daniel Llorens Vidal

Colorker Group adopts an Industry 4.0 model

Manuel Ángel Murillo With annual growth that has remained stable at around 8% for several years, Colorker Group posted revenues of close to 60 million euros last year and is expected to maintain a similar growth rate in 2018.

After completing a 20 million euro investment launched in 2016 that has enabled it to expand production capacity to the current figure of 7 million sq.m/year of

tiles, the Castellón-based ceramic company is now involved in a pioneering project to convert its facility to an Industry 4.0 model, the first project of its kind adopted by the Spanish ceramic industry.

The company has completed the pilot state and has now proceeded to implementation.

We spoke to Colorker Group’s CEO Manuel Ángel Murillo.

Tile International: How is the Industry 4.0 conversion proceeding and what advantages will it bring?

Manuel Ángel Murillo: We are making rapid progress. The pilot stage has been completed and we are now at the stage of implementing an Industry 4.0 model throughout the production plant.

The use of new digital technologies will provide real-time informa-

tion on all factory departments. We will begin building a database that will enable us to analyse and monitor the plants so as to plan predictive maintenance and improve the efficiency of machinery.

The biggest contribution that this manufacturing model will make in terms of value is the improvement in company competitiveness thanks to real-time analysis and

Tile International 3/2018

32

In the spotlight

use of information. The large quantity of data and knowledge will allow us to rapidly make the best decisions to solve problems.

Tile International: Will this involve transforming your entire business activity?

M. à . Murillo: Definitely. The upgrade to a more digitised management model must be tackled as part of an overall vision that encompasses all the company’s business areas. We can now draw from an enormous quantity of vitally important data relevant to our business, including information on markets, customer requests, product trends and other sectors with specific characteristics similar to our own.

Without the aid of digital systems, it would frankly be difficult to analyse this information in a sufficiently short space of time for today’s decision-making processes.

If we factor in the information generated internally on plant performance, human resources and production processes, the potential advantages will be obvious.

Moreover, digitalisation will help to improve the interaction between our brands and customers. Today we have a range of new tools for communicating with the market that can help us to cater more effectively for the needs of our clientele.

Tile International: Could you

33

Tile International 3/2018

In the spotlight

tell us about the recent expansion in production capacity and the launch of the ZYX brand?

M. Á. Murillo: We have invested around 20 million euros in these projects.

The most important steps were the installation two years ago of a new kiln and modernisation of the line in order to produce larger sizes, improve the efficiency of several stages of the process and upgrade the decoration depart-

Tile International 3/2018

ment. At the same time we launched the new ZYX brand, a catalogue of products specially developed for architecture and interior design professionals while at the same time expanding the range of offerings for our customers. In particular it caters for specific market demands with solutions, materials and services that lend a distinctive and exclusive touch to any project.

This is an entirely different range of products to those

solder under the Colorker brand although in some cases it is possible to establish important synergies between the two brands.

Tile International: Are you planning to make new investments in the near future?

M. Á. Murillo: We are in the process of concluding several investments aimed at producing larger floor tiles, but our current focus is to consolidate the significant growth in production we have just com-

34

pleted.

Tile International: What share of your business consists of exports?

M. Á. Murillo: About 65% of Colorker Group’s revenue is generated by exports, which are mainly sold in Europe.

The group’s longstanding markets are France, the UK, Germany and Belgium. We are also devoting a lot of attention to the North American market (United States, Mexico and Canada) and focusing

In the spotlight

in particular on physical proximity to customers. In total we export to more than 80 countries.

Tile International: What is the differential value proposition of your products in the context of increasingly fierce global competition?

M. Ă . Murillo: In this increasingly challenging environment, the product is key to the success of a company and its customers.

Of course, there are other less

tangible factors that contribute to the competitiveness of a brand like ours.

These include the professionalism of our team, the desire for continuous improvement that underpins our day-to-day work, the service we offer our customers and the care with which we prepare our products when delivering them to a store. All these aspects are clearly perceived and contribute to our partners’ market success.

5

35

Tile International 3/2018

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Statistics Luca Baraldi, MECS - Machinery Economics Studies by ACIMAC (studi@acimac.it)

World production and consumption of ceramic tiles The sixth edition of the publication “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles” produced by the Acimac Research Department was released in October.

Consisting of 260 pages of charts, tables and commentary, it provides detailed analysis of the tenyear trends up to 2017 in industry, markets, per capita consumption and export flows in large geographic regions and in the 76 largest tile producer, consumer, exporter and importer countries.

Here we present a preview of the key figures. *** 1) Following a fairly dynamic performance in 2016, global tile production and consumption saw weaker growth of around 2% in 2017. And after slowing during the previous year, import-export flows dropped by 1.4%, the first fall since 2009. tile produc2) World tion grew by 2.2% with respect to 2016 to 13,552 million sq.m.

Production in Asia accounted for 69.6% of global output, rising from 9,358 to 9,438 million sq.m (up 0.9% on 2016).

This very small overall growth was the combined effect of a fall in production volumes in China and Indonesia and growth in

Tile International 3/2018

India, Vietnam and Iran.

The European continent produced a total of 1,977 million sq.m (14.6% of world production) as a result of 4.4% growth from 1,304 to 1,362 million sq.m in the European Union (EU28) and more substantial 7.3% growth to 615 million sq.m in non-EU Europe.

In the American continent, total production remained essentially stable (down from 1,444 to 1,436 million sq.m), equivalent to 10.6% of world production, with volumes produced in Central and South America down very slightly (1,074 million sq.m; -1.1%) and marginally up in North America (362 million sq.m; +1.1%).

Africa has seen very significant growth over the last 2-3 years, reaching an output of 696 million sq.m in 2017, 5% of world production. Egypt strengthened its position as the biggest producer country in the continent with 300 million sq.m, followed by Nigeria with 110 million sq.m.

While Morocco, South Africa, Algeria and Tunisia all maintained their 2016 levels of production and rankings, a further 7 SubSaharan countries (Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya) have now joined the ranks of African tile producers, albeit with fairly low output volumes of between 10 and 30 mil-

WORLD MANUFACTURING AREAS 2017 (Sq.mt Mill.)

% on world production

% var.

17/16

EUROPEAN UNION (28)

1,362

10.1

+4.4

OTHER EUROPE (Turkey included)

615

4.5

+7.3

NORTH AMERICA (Mexico included)

362

2.7

+1.1

AREAS

CENTRAL-SOUTH AMERICA

1,074

7.9

-1.1

ASIA

9,438

69.6

+0.9

AFRICA

696

5.1

+21.9

5

0.0

0.0

13,552

100.0

+2.2

OCEANIA TOTAL

In Asia, demand reached 8,983 million sq.m (+1.6%), equivalent to 67.7% of global consumption. As for Europe, consumption grew in both European Union countries (from 964 to 1,020 million sq.m; +5.8%) and in nonEU Europe (from 527 to 565 million sq.m; +7.2%).

lion sq.m. Most of these countries began developing their tile industries between 2015 and 2017 as a result of Chinese investments in the continent. tile consump3) World tion in 2017 increased from 12,973 to 13,270 million sq.m (+2.3%).

38

WORLD EXPORTING AREAS 2016 (Sq.mt Mill.)

% on world exports

% var.

17/16

EUROPEAN UNION (28)

914

33.2

+1.2

OTHER EUROPE (Turkey included)

165

6.0

+12.2

NORTH AMERICA (Mexico included)

56

2.0

-6.7

CENTRAL-SOUTH AMERICA

138

5.0

-2.1

ASIA

1,443

52.4

-4.6

38

1.4

+26.7

AREAS

AFRICA OCEANIA TOTAL

0

0.0

-

2,754

100.0

-1.4

Statistics Entire contents Copyright MECS - Machinery Economics Studies by ACIMAC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

MORE INFO? www.mec-studies.com!

WORLD CONSUMPTION AREAS 2017 (Sq.mt Mill.)

% on world consumption

% var.

17/16

EUROPEAN UNION (28)

1,020

7.7

+5.8

OTHER EUROPE (Turkey included)

565

4.3

+7.2

NORTH AMERICA (Mexico included)

569

4.3

+4.0

AREAS

CENTRAL-SOUTH AMERICA

1,160

8.7

-1.7

ASIA

8,983

67.7

+1.6

AFRICA

920

6.9

+7.2

OCEANIA

53

0.4

-5.4

13,270

100.0

+2.3

TOTAL

Consumption saw a further contraction in Central and South America to 1,160 million sq.m (-1.7%) but grew by 4% in North America from 547 to 569 million sq.m (this growth was spread evenly across the United States,

Mexico and Canada).

Almost all African countries continued to see consumption growth, resulting in a continentwide upturn of 7.2% from 858 to 920 million sq.m.

4) Following three years of

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 2017 (on Total World Consumption)

Domestic sales 79.2%

Exports 20.8%

fairly limited growth, in 2017 world exports fell for the first time since 2009, dropping by 40 million sq.m to 2,754 million sq.m (-1.4%).

The downturn was attributable to the sharp fall in Chinese exports (a drop of 117 million sq.m), only partly offset by growth in the other 5 large exporter countries, namely Spain, Italy, India, Iran and Turkey.

As for macro-regions, Asia saw a fall from 1,513 to 1,443 million sq.m (-4.6%) and accounted for 52.4% of world exports.

By contrast, Europe marked up export growth from both the European Union (914 million sq.m; +1.2%), equivalent to one-third of the world total, and non-EU European countries (from 147 to 165 million sq.m, +12.2%).

As for the Americas, the continent saw a slight fall in export volumes from Central and South America (down from 141 to 138 million sq.m; -2.1%) and from North America (from 60 to 56 million sq.m, -6.7%).

Finally, Africa saw 26.7% growth in exports to 38 million sq.m, albeit still with very limited volumes.

5) Looking at the export propensity of the various continents or macro-regions, the European Union remained the area with the highest export share at 67.1% of its production. All

39

MECS

Machinery Economic Studies

the other areas lagged well behind: non-EU Europe exported 26.8% of its output volumes, North America 15.5%, South America 12.8%, Asia 15.3% and Africa just 5.5%.

The trend in import/export flows over the years is perfectly consistent with our long-held view that tiles tend to be produced close to the place of consumption.

Although world exports stand at 20.3% of production and 20.8% of global consumption, well over half (60.3%) of this volume consists of exports shipped within the same geographical region as that of production (for example, 80% of South America’s exports remain in South America, 71% of North America’s exports remain within the NAFTA region, and 67% of Asian exports are shipped to other Asian countries).

The EU is a partial exception in that almost 50% of its exports are sold in nonEU countries. This analysis is confirmed by the fact that the shares of world production and consumption tend to be similar in each continent.

In other words, Asia accounted for 69.6% of production and 67.7% of world consumption, while the corresponding figures for Europe (EU + non-EU) were 14.6% and 12%, for

Tile International 3/2018

Statistics

TOP MANUFACTURING COUNTRIES COUNTRY

2013 (Sq.m Mill.)

2014 (Sq.m Mill.)

2015 (Sq.m Mill.)

2016 (Sq.m Mill.)

2017 (Sq.m Mill.)

% on 2017 world production

% var.

17/16

1.

CHINA

5,700

6,000

5,970

6,495

6,400

47.2%

-1.5%

2.

INDIA

750

825

850

955

1,080

8.0%

13.1%

3.

BRAZIL

871

903

899

792

790

5.8%

-0.3%

4.

VIETNAM

300

360

440

485

560

4.1%

15.5%

5.

SPAIN

420

425

440

492

530

3.9%

7.7%

6.

ITALY

363

382

395

416

422

3.1%

1.6%

7.

IRAN

500

410

300

340

373

2.8%

9.7%

8.

TURKEY

340

315

320

330

355

2.6%

7.6%

9.

INDONESIA

390

420

370

360

307

2.3%

-14.7%

10.

EGYPT

200

220

230

250

300

2.2%

20.0%

TOTAL

9,834

10,260

10,214

10,915

11,117

82.0%

1.9%

TOTAL WORLD

11,980

12,428

12,460

13,255

13,552

100.0%

2.2%

Source: MECS, Acimac Research dept. “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles”, 6 edition 2018 th

the Americas 10.6% and 13% and for Africa 5.1% and 6.9%.

6) China, the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of ceramic tiles, saw a fall in both production and exports in 2017.

Although the Chinese industry and market remain difficult to quantify due to the very large discrepancies between the available figures, our estimates suggest that Chinese production totalled about 6,400 million sq.m in 2017 (down 1.5% on 2016), equivalent to 47.2% of world production, while domestic consumption is estimated at

Tile International 3/2018

5,498 million sq.m, 41.4% of world consumption.

This compares with a production capacity calculated by official Chinese sources at more than 11 billion sq.m, spread over some 1400 companies and 3500 production lines. The same sources indicated a fall in production of 8.4% in 2017 to 10.1 billion sq.m.

Exports fell for the fourth year running from 1,025 to 908 million sq.m (-11.4%, the biggest fall in the past four years), equivalent to 33% of world exports. This included a 6.7% fall in exports to Asia, which absorbs 60% of Chinese exports (543.7 million sq.m); a sharp -23.3% de-

40

cline in Africa (151.7 million sq.m, 16.7% of the total), where the fast-growing local industry is tending to replace the historically high levels of imports from China; a 10% downturn in Central and South America (72 million sq.m, 8% of Chinese exports); -a 9.5% fall in exports to the EU (14.4 million sq.m, 1.6% of the total); and a 3% decline in Australia-Oceania (33.7 million sq.m).

The only exceptions were growth in exports to North America (from 2 million sq.m to 80 million sq.m) and to nonEU European markets (12.4 million sq.m).

Looking at individual countries, the most sub-

stantial falls were again in Saudi Arabia, China’s largest export market in 2015 with 64 million sq.m, which in 2017 plummeted to 12th place in the rankings with 24.7 million sq.m (-50%); in African countries including Ghana (-48% from 27 to 14 million sq.m), Nigeria (-65.6% from 15 to 5 million sq.m), Kenya (-41% from 22 to 13 million sq.m) and Tanzania (-37.5% from 19 to 12 million sq.m); and in Mexico (-70% from 9.3 to 2.8 million sq.m) and India (-47% from 12 to 6.3 million sq.m).

The Philippines remained the largest market for Chinese tiles (73 million sq.m, +8.5%), followed by South Korea (67 million sq.m,

Statistics Entire contents Copyright MECS - Machinery Economics Studies by ACIMAC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

6 EDITION th

year 2018

WORLD PRO CONSUMPTION DUCTION AND OF CERAMIC TILES ACIMAC/MECS - Machinery Econo mic Studies

MECS

Machinery Economic Studies

ACIMAC Via Fossa Buracchi one 84 41126 Baggiova ra (MO) • ITALY T. +39 059 510 336 info@acimac.it • info@mec-studies. www.acimac.it • www.mec-studies.com com

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TOP CONSUMPTION COUNTRIES COUNTRY

2013 (Sq.m Mill.)

2014 (Sq.m Mill.)

2015 (Sq.m Mill.)

2016 (Sq.m Mill.)

2017 (Sq.m Mill.)

% on 2017 world consumption

% var.

17/16

1.

CHINA

4,556

4,894

4,885

5,475

5,498

41.4%

0.4%

2.

INDIA

718

756

763

785

760

5.7%

-3.2%

3.

BRAZIL

837

853

816

706

708

5.3%

0.3%

4.

VIETNAM

251

310

400

412

580

4.4%

40.8%

5.

INDONESIA

360

407

357

369

336

2.5%

-8.9%

6.

USA

230

231

254

274

283

2.1%

3.3%

7.

TURKEY

226

215

234

241

254

1.9%

5.4%

8.

EGYPT

170

190

190

215

252

1.9%

17.2%

9.

MEXICO

187

197

218

235

242

1.8%

3.0%

10.

SAUDI ARABIA

235

244

263

248

203

1.5%

-18.1%

TOTAL

7,770

8,297

8,380

8,960

9,116

68.7%

1.7%

TOTAL WORLD

11,601

12,132

12,280

12,973

13,270

100.0%

2.3%

Source: MECS, Acimac Research dept. “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles”, 6 edition 2018 th

+2%), Indonesia (62.5 million sq.m, +9.5%) and the USA (61 million sq.m, +8.4%). China’s top 10 export markets, all of which are in Asia apart from the USA, account for 49% of the country’s exports.

7) In 2017, India strengthened its position as the world’s second largest tile producer and consumer country. Production increased from 955 to 1,080 million sq.m (+13%), while domestic consumption fell by 3% to 760 million sq.m.

The ceramic cluster in Morbi (Gujarat) has continued its rapid growth and is now estimated to have more than 500 production lines, many of

which are devoted to products for export (some Gujarati sources already indicate a much higher level of production).

Exports have continued to grow strongly, rising from 186 to 227.6 million sq.m (+22.6%), consolidating India’s position as the 4th largest world exporter country. In value terms, exports reached 728 million euros, equivalent to an average selling price of 3.2 €/sq.m, one of the lowest figures of all exporter countries.

Saudi Arabia remained the largest export market with a 25% share of total exports despite a 5% contraction from 60 to 57 million sq.m. Next came Iraq

(18 million sq.m, +64%) and Mexico (which only became an Indian export destination in 2016) with 16.3 million sq.m (+122%). Exports to all the other major markets (UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Nepal) increased by between 20% and 30% to reach volumes of between 10 and 15 million sq.m.

Overall, the Asian continent absorbs 72% of Indian exports (163 million sq.m; +18%), Africa 12% (26.6 million sq.m; +10%), North America (NAFTA) 7.7% (almost entirely Mexico), Europe (EU + nonEU) 5.5% (12 million sq.m; +39.5%), and South America 3% (7 million sq.m; +28.6%).

41

8) In 2017, Brazil maintained its production and domestic consumption at 2016 levels with an output of 790 million sq.m (-0.3%) and consumption of 708 million sq.m (+0.3%).

These levels remain fairly low compared to installed capacity, which according to Anfacer figures stands at 1,055 million sq.m/year.

Exports likewise dropped from 94 to 90 million sq.m (-4.3%) to a value of US $344.5 million (+11.5%).

These exports are almost entirely shipped to Latin American markets and the USA, the second largest foreign market for Brazilian tiles at 11.3 million sq.m (up 11.8% on 2016).

Tile International 3/2018

Statistics

TOP EXPORTING COUNTRIES COUNTRY

2014 2015 2016 2017 (Sq.m Mill.) (Sq.m Mill.) (Sq.m Mill.) (Sq.m Mill.)

% on 2017 national production

% on 2017 world exports

% var 17/16

value 2017 (million €)

average export price (€/sq.m)

1.

CHINA

1,110

1,089

1,025

908

14.2%

33.0%

-11.4%

4,056

4.5

2.

SPAIN

339

378

395

407

76.8%

14.8%

3.0%

2,686

6.6

3.

ITALY

314

316

332

338

80.1%

12.3%

1.9%

4,704

13.9

4.

INDIA

102

134

186

228

21.1%

8.3%

22.6%

728

3.2

5.

IRAN

109

112

126

148

39.7%

5.4%

17.5%

n.a.

n.a.

6.

TURKEY

85

77

81

93

26.2%

3.4%

14.8%

488

5.2

7.

BRAZIL

69

77

94

90

11.4%

3.3%

-4.3%

300

3.3

8.

MEXICO

62

61

56

53

19.9%

1.9%

-5.4%

243

4.6

9.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

55

54

48

46

64.8%

1.7%

-4.2%

186

4.0

10.

POLAND

42

42

46

45

30.4%

1.6%

-2.2%

250

5.6

TOTAL

2,287

2,340

2,389

2,356

22.6%

85.5%

-1.4%

TOTAL WORLD

2,705

2,746

2,794

2,754

20.3%

100.0%

-1.4%

Source: MECS, Acimac Research dept. “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles”, 6 edition 2018 th

9) With a further 3% growth in exports to 407 million sq.m in 2017, Spain strengthened its position as the world’s second largest exporter country. It also accelerated its recovery in terms of production with output volumes up 7.7% to 530 million sq.m, a figure that establishes it in 5th place in the rankings of world producers. This was in no small part due to the further recovery in domestic sales, which grew to 138 million sq.m (+10.4%) and saw a similar growth in value to 824 million euros.

France confirmed its position as the top export market in terms of both volumes (40.3 million sq.m;

Tile International 3/2018

+6.7%) and value (278 million euros; +8%), followed by the United States where exports grew from 20.7 to 27 million sq.m (+30.6%) corresponding to a value of 234 million euros (+24.5%). Saudi Arabia slumped to third place with a 23% contraction to 21 million sq.m (-19.5% in value to 118 million euros), followed by the UK (20.7 million sq.m; +2.5%).

In 2017 the breakdown of Spanish export destinations by volume saw Europe in first place with 42% (47.2% in value), followed by the Middle East and Asia with 27.2% (24% in value), Africa with 15.5% (10.6% in

value) and the Americas with 15% (17.3% in value).

Export revenues rose to 2,685.7 million euros (+4.5%), while average selling price remained stable at 6.6 €/sq.m. The Spanish industry’s total turnover amounted to 3,510 million euros (+5.9%).

10) In 2016 Italy saw a further recovery in production (+1.6%), which increased from 416 to 422.5 million sq.m, and total sales of 421.9 million sq.m (+1.8%). This included 83.7 million sq.m sold on the domestic market (+1%), corresponding to a val-

42

ue of 842,4 million euros (+1.6%). Including imports, domestic consumption reached 106 million sq.m.

The world’s third largest exporter, Italy again registered an increase in volume (from 331.7 to 338.2 million sq.m, +1.9%) and even more significantly in value (from 4,588 to 4,704 million euros, +2.5%), largely thanks to the higher average selling price of 13.9 €/sq.m.

The sector’s total turnover rose to 5,546.5 million euros (+2.4%), of which 85% was generated by exports.

Exports to Western Eu-

Statistics Entire contents Copyright MECS - Machinery Economics Studies by ACIMAC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

6 EDITION th

year 2018

WORLD PRO CONSUMPTION DUCTION AND OF CERAMIC TILES ACIMAC/MECS - Machinery Econo mic Studies

MECS

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TOP IMPORTING COUNTRIES COUNTRY

2013 (Sq.m Mill.)

2014 (Sq.m Mill.)

2015 (Sq.m Mill.)

2016 (Sq.m Mill.)

2017 (Sq.m Mill.)

% on 2017 national consumption

% on 2017 world imports

% var.

17/16

1.

USA

165

164

179

194

202

71.4%

7.3%

4.1%

2.

SAUDI ARABIA

170

156

188

167

131

64.5%

4.8%

-21.6%

3.

IRAQ

121

102

106

112

129

98.5%

4.7%

15.2%

4.

FRANCE

96

99

99

104

112

87.5%

4.1%

7.7%

5.

GERMANY

89

95

100

115

109

87.2%

4.0%

-5.2%

6.

PHILIPPINES

46

53

60

75

82

66.1%

3.0%

9.3%

7.

SOUTH KOREA

65

76

72

75

78

64.5%

2.8%

4.0%

8.

INDONESIA

36

46

45

57

64

19.0%

2.3%

12.3%

9.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

54

54

64

59

62

72.1%

2.3%

5.1%

10.

ISRAEL

48

44

52

57

58

93.5%

2.1%

1.8%

TOTAL

889

889

965

1,015

1,027

64.2%

37.3%

1.2%

TOTAL WORLD

2,670

2,705

2,746

2,794

2,754

20.8%

100.0%

-1.4%

Source: MECS, Acimac Research dept. “World production and consumption of ceramic tiles”, 6 edition 2018 th

rope, the biggest market for Italian tiles with a 51% share of total Italian exports, rose to 172 million sq.m (+3%).

Sales recovered in Central and Eastern Europe (33 million sq.m; +6%) and also performed strongly in the Balkans (18 million sq.m; +5%). Overall, the European continent absorbed 223 million sq.m of Italian tiles, 66% of all exports by volume.

Italian exports to the NAFTA region dropped by 1.3% to 48 million sq.m, 14.2% of total exports. Sales in the Far East performed well, albeit remaining at small

porter countries, China, Spain and Italy, accounted for 60% of world exports in 2017, while the top ten countries made up 85.5%.

Amongst the largest exporter countries, Italy and Spain maintained the highest share of exports as a percentage of production (80% and 77% respectively), compared to the 65% of the UAE, 40% of Iran, 30% of Poland, 14% of China and shares of between 11% and 26% in India, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico. But the real sign of Italy’s leadership position is its average selling price of 13.9 €/sq.m

volume levels (21 million sq.m; +8%), but fell in the Gulf states (12 million sq.m; -8.5%) and in North Africa and the Middle East (11 million sq.m; -2.7%).

The rankings of Italy’s largest export markets remained unchanged.

Germany was again the largest market with 55 million sq.m (+1.3%), followed

by France (46.4 million sq.m, +5.7%), the USA (37.2 million sq.m, -3.9%), Austria, Belgium, the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

11) The three largest ex-

43

compared to the 6.6 €/ sq.m of Spain and between 3.2 €/sq.m and 5.6 €/sq.m of the other countries.

12) Vietnam and Indonesia remained the largest producer and consumer countries in the Far East. In 2017, Vietnam increased its installed capacity to an estimated 700 million sq.m and production to 560 million sq.m (+15.5%), in response to sharp growth in domestic demand to around 580 million sq.m (+40%). By contrast, Indonesia continued the process of rationalisation of its production

Tile International 3/2018

Statistics Entire contents Copyright MECS - Machinery Economics Studies by ACIMAC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

(from 360 to 307 million sq.m; -14.7%) in parallel with the fall in domestic consumption (from 369 to 336 million sq.m; -8.9%) and the increase in imports (from 57 to 64 million sq.m), almost entirely from China.

13) Iran confirmed its position as the largest producer in the Middle East (7th in the world rankings) with a 2017 output of 373 million sq.m (+9.7%), continuing the recovery that began in 2016 following the sharp contraction over the previous two years. The increase in production was driven not so much by the recovery in domestic consumption, which remained stable at 170 million sq.m as by the growth in exports, up from 126 to 148 million sq.m (+17.5%), corresponding to 40% of the country’s production. This included 102 million sq.m exported to Iraq and the rest to neighbouring markets.

14) In 2017 Turkey maintained the positive growth trend of 2016.

Domestic consumption rose from 241 to 254 million sq.m (+5.4%) and was entirely covered by Turkish production, which grew by 7.6% to 355 million sq.m (imports totalled just 5 million sq.m). The country’s export business continued to recover, expanding from 81 to 93 million sq.m (+14.8%) correspond-

Tile International 3/2018

6 EDITION th

year 2018

WORLD PRO CONSUMPTIO DUCTION AND N OF CERAM IC TILES ACIMAC/MECS - Machinery Eco nomic Studies

ing to a value of 488 million euros (+5.4%).

Turkish exports were mainly spread out over three macro-regions: 49% to the European Union (45 million sq.m, +11.8%), 22% to the Middle East and Asia (20 million sq.m, +7.8%) and 21% to the NAFTA region (20 million sq.m, +20.2%). Germany became the largest market for Turkish tiles with 25% growth with respect to 2016 (11.7 million sq.m), pushing Germany into second place (11 million sq.m, +2.3%). Next came Israel (11 million sq.m; +6.7%), the UK (8.6 million sq.m; +8.6%), Canada (8.1 million sq.m; +17.7%) and France (4.8 million sq.m; +28%).

15) In 2017 the top 10 importer countries imported a total of 1,027 million sq.m, equivalent to 37.3% of total world import/export flows and a 1.2% increase over 2016. With the sole exception of Indonesia which imported just 19% of its consumption, in all the other top-10 countries imports accounted for more than 60% of domestic demand, with peaks of 98.5% in Iraq and between 87% and 93% in France, Germany and Israel.

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Machinery Econom ic Studies

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16) In 2017 the USA confirmed its position as the world’s biggest importer country with growth in imports from 194 to 202 million sq.m (+4.1%) in response to the 3.3% growth in demand from 274 to 283 million sq.m. Imports stood at 71.4% of domestic consumption, despite the fact that local production, partly attributable to Italian-owned groups (Del Conca USA, Florida Tile, Florim USA, Landmark and Stonepeak), grew for the eighth year running to reach 90.6 million sq.m (+3.4%), including 88 million sq.m sold in the domestic market.

No less than 80.5% of US imports originated from the 4 largest supplier countries: China (61 million sq.m, +8.4%), Mexico (37 million sq.m, -14.4%), Italy (37 million sq.m, -3.9%) and Spain (27 million sq.m, +30%).

Italy remained the market leader in terms of sales value (on a CIF basis) at US $748 million, a 33.7% share of total value of imports (US $2 billion).

44

17) Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest importer, responded to the fall in domestic demand in 2017 (203 million sq.m; -18%) by reducing both imports (down 21.6% from 166.8 to 130.5 million sq.m) and domestic production (80 million sq.m; -11%). India remained the largest exporter to Saudi Arabia (57 million sq.m; -5%), followed

by China (24.8 million sq.m; -50%), Spain (21.3 million sq.m; -23%), UAE (15 million sq.m; -3.2%) and Oman (4.9 million sq.m; -19%)

5

ACIMAC Research Department mr. Luca Baraldi studi@acimac.it T. +39 059 510336 www.mec-studies.com

Statistics Luca Baraldi, Acimac Research Department (studi@acimac.it)

The big players in the sector

1

2

SCG GROUP

USA

Thailand

estimates on official company data

187.0

210.0

n.a.

14

tile segment), we also report turnover generated purely from the sale of ceramic tiles.

This allows a more accurate

Main Tile Brands / Companies

Tile plants / Location

Total turnover (mill. €)

(mill. €)

Turnover

230-250

the main data for installed capacity, real production, export share and number and locations of facilities (in the only tile segment

230-250

Export share

Installed capacity

the sector’s leading groups and companies, ranked by output volumes and updated to 31/12/2017. Along with

Production (mill. sq.m)

MOHAWK INDUSTRIES, INC

Country

Group / Company

To supplement the world tile production and consumption figures, Tile International is publishing key data on

$ 3,405 mill.

$ 9,491 mill. (tiles, carpet, laminate & wood)

19 in USA, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Russia

American Olean, Dal Tile, KAI, Kerama Marazzi, Marazzi, Ragno, Emilgroup

709.0

855.0 (tiles + sanitaryware)

21 in Thailand, 7 in Vietnam, 4 in Indonesia, 1 in the Philippines

Cotto, Prime, Mariwasa, Sosuco, Campana, Kia, DK, Trend

9 in Mexico, 2 in Argentina, 1 in Colombia, 3 in Peru

Lamosa, Porcelanite, Firenze, Italica, San Lorenzo, Cordillera, Scop, Princesa, Mallorca

10 in UAE, 6 in Bangladesh, China, India, Iran (only tiles)

RAK, Elegance

4 in Brazil

Cecafi, Pisoforte, Fioranno, Idealle, Arielli

8 in Indonesia

Mulia

3

GRUPO LAMOSA

Mexico

170.8

175.3

41

647.5

n.a.

4

RAK CERAMICS PJSC

UAE

81.5

113.0

45

452.0

690.0 (tiles, sanitary, tableware)

5

CERAMICA CARMELO FIOR

Brazil

81.0

84.0

16.5

172.0

172.0

6

PT MULIAKERAMIK

Indonesia

77.9 (sales 2016)

80.0

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

7

PAMESA

Spain

74,0

80,0

73,0

435,0

580,0

6 in Spain

Pamesa Ceramica, TAU Ceramica, Ecoceramic, Geotiles, Navarti, Prissmacer

8

GRUPO FRAGNANI

Brazil

73.5

74

7

152.7

152.7

3 in Brazil

Incefra, Incenor, Tecnogres, In Out

9

KAJARIA CERAMICS

India

64.0

69.4

1

343.0

360.0 10 in India (tiles, sanitaryware)

Kajaria

10 CERSANIT SA

Poland

60.0

74.0

22

281.0

4 in Poland, 6 in 472.0 Russia, Romania, (tiles, sanitaryware) Ukraine, Germany

Cersanit, Opoczno, Meissen Keramik

11 STN GROUP

Spain

59.8

61.0

74

239.6

Tile International 3/2018

46

239.6

2 in Spain

STN, Alaplana, Keratile, Tesany

Statistics Entire contents Copyright TILE EDIZIONI srl - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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segments of the ceramic industry (sanitaryware, tableware, heavy clay) and the sup-

4

191.0

191.0

3 in Thailand

Dynasty, Tile Top, Jaguar, Mustang, Value, Cosmo, RCI, M

13 VITROMEX

Mexico

55.0 (2016)

57.0 (estimates)

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

5 in Mexico

Vitromex, Construpiso, Artemis, Arko

Indonesia

53.0

57.4

0

120.0

120.0

5 in Indonesia

Arwana, UNO

20 Turkey

Canakkale Seramik, Kalebodur, Edilcuoghi, Edilgres, Campani, IDA

14

ARWANA CITRAMULIA

15 KALE GROUP

16

LASSELSBERGER GROUP

17 GRUPO CEDASA

Main Tile Brands / Companies

Tile plants / Location

75.0

Total turnover (mill. €)

56.0

(mill. €)

Thailand

Turnover

Export share

12 DYNASTY CERAMIC

Group / Company

Installed capacity

and kitchen furnishings, nonceramic surface coverings, building materials, chemicals,

Production (mill. sq.m)

only tile segment

ply chain (raw materials, adhesives, distribution), as well as other sectors (bathroom

Country

comparison to be made between large groups which often operate across multiple

MECS

Machinery Economic Studies

Turkey

52.1

62.0

33

225.0

277.0 (tiles, bathroom, others)

Austria

50.5

51.0

52.0

275.0

n.a.

5 Czech Rep., 2 Hungary, 1 Romania, 1 Russia

Rako, Cesarom, LB, Zalakeramia

Brazil

48.5

70.0

10

n.a.

n.a.

1 in Brazil

Majopar, Cedasa, Vistabella, Lorenzza

18

CELIMA (Trebol Group)

Peru

42.0

54.0

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

3 in Peru

Celima, San Martin

19

WHITE HORSE CERAMIC IND.

Malaysia

42.0

56.0

15

176.9

n.a.

3 Malaysia, 1 Vietnam, 1 Taiwan

White Horse

20

CERAMIC INDUSTRIES

South Africa

42.0

49.0

20

n.a.

n.a.

5 in South Africa, 1 in Australia

Gryphon, Pegasus, Samca, Vitro, NCI

21 SAUDI CERAMICS

Saudi Arabia

40.7

64.0

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

4 in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Ceramics

India

40.0

64.0

4

187.8

229.7 (tiles, sanitaryware)

13 in India

Johnson, Marbonite, Endura, Porselano

Mexico

40.0

44.0

28

345.0

463.0 (tiles, sanitaryware, others)

4 Mexico, 1 USA

Interceramic

24 PORTOBELLO (PGB)

Brazil

39.0

46.0

15

321.9

321.9

2 in Brazil

Portobello, Pointer

25 ELIZABETH

Brazil

37.5

55,0

2

n.a.

n.a.

5 in Brazil

Elizabeth

Colombia

35.4

41.6

10

163.0

486.0 (tiles, sanitaryware)

5 in Colombia

Corona, Orchid

22

H&R JOHNSON (INDIA)

23 INTERCERAMIC

26 CORONA

47

Tile International 3/2018

r u o y GR W

BUSINESS

MECS

Machinery EConomic Studies Machinery Economic Studies

“In a constantly changing global market, advance knowledge of the rate of growth or decline of the market is essential for effective planning of corporate strategies”

6 EDITION year 2018

4th EDITION year 2018

th

WORLD PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF CERAMIC TILES

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS WORLD CERAMIC TILE MANUFACTURERS

ACIMAC / MECS - Machinery Economic Studies

ACIMAC/MECS - Machinery Economic Studies

Volume 1 - A/G

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Statistics etc.). To provide a more complete picture of group size, we also include total or consolidated turnover and the segments that generated it. The figures were supplied directly by the companies themselves or obtained from public sources, and in some cases are based on estimates. However, the rankings are not exhaustive. A number of groups have been omitted due to the lack of sufficient data, including the largest Italian manufacturer, Concorde Group, which would certainly have ranked amongst the top three in terms of turnover. Other players that would have entered the rankings include the largest Egyptian group, Cleopatra and a number of Chinese manufacturers.

5

In the 2017 rankings of the top 26 world groups, the positions of the four largest tile producers remain unchanged.

The American giant Mohawk Industries, Inc. remains firmly at the top of the rankings with an estimated 2017 output of between 230 and 250 million sq.m.

The US multinational is well ahead of all its competitors, especially in terms of revenues.

As of 31/12/2017, it reported sales of US $3.405 billion in the tile segment alone, equivalent to 36% of the group’s total revenues. The Thai group SCG is in second place in terms of output volumes (187 million sq.m), but well behind in sales revenues (709 million euros). The Mexican group Lamosa increased its tile production to 171 million sq.m and registered revenues at 751.4 USD million (about 647 million euros).

We remind that Lamosa strengthened its

position as the third largest world group and the leader in Latin America following the acquisition of the Argentinian group San Lorenzo on 3 October 2016, with manufacturing facilities in Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

A total of 13 companies occupy the production range between 50 and 100 million sq.m. Of these, both Spanish groups in the rankings saw a particularly strong performance in 2017.

Pamesa increased its output to 74 million sq.m and tile segment revenues to 435 million euros (about +16%). STN group also marked up doubledigit growth reaching an output of 60 million sq.m (up 17% on 2016) with revenues up 21% to 240 million euros Total 2017 production of the 26 largest world groups in the sector amounted to around 1.83 billion sq.m, 13% of world tile production.

5

Statistics

by MECS, Acimac Research Department - studi@acimac.it - www.mec-studies.com

Continued growth for Italian ceramic tiles in 2017 The new 2017 financial statement data of the Acimac sample of ceramic tile manufacturers worldwide, analysed by the Acimac Research Centre, show further improvements in Italy’s performance compared with its international competitors.

Both production efficiency and profitability have improved.

Sales growth has slowed, however, compared with the exceptional results of 2016.

The improved results of Italian companies start to look particularly significant, however, when compared with the results of the non-Italian companies in Acimac’s worldwide sample (this sub-sample, designated “Foreign manufacturers”, consists predominantly of Eastern European and Asian ceramic tile manufacturers, although it also in-

cludes numerous Western European firms).

The slowdown in revenue growth (although revenues are still growing overall) is clearly visible in graph 1, which shows the percentage of companies (Italian and foreign) whose revenues have grown. For Italian companies, this share is considerably smaller than it was in the boom year of 2016 (when it stood at over 80%), having dropped to 53%, but it is still significantly higher than the share enjoyed by foreign companies (40%, down from 60% the previous year). The graph also shows the percentages of firms in profit in 2017: 45% of Italian firms are still in profit (down from 85% in 2016), as against 44% for foreign companies.

2017 saw a further shift in in-

vestment patterns among Italian companies: running counter to the trend set in 2016, investments in industrial fixed capital and stock have started rising again (7% and 1.5%, respectively), while intangible capital investments have fallen. There has been a further slowdown, meanwhile, in staff restructuring processes. Investment patterns among companies in the rest of the world point to a reduction in investment across all components of capital goods.

It is also worth noting that Italian companies show a higher level of utilization of installed production equipment (ROT, see Table 1) compared with the rest of the world, which indicates that Italian businesses are making slightly more effective use of the capital they invest.

Source: Acimac Research Dept. - www.mec-studies.com

GRAPH 1 - PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES IN PROFIT AND COMPANIES WITH REVENUE GROWTH 2017/2016

Tile International 3/2018

50

The accumulation of high levels of stock, however, suggests that Italian companies are still a long way from making full use of their installed production capacity.

The virtuous cycle under which the substantial investments made in recent years translate into significant growth in productivity, once production equipment is operating at full capacity, was also confirmed in 2017: in fact, productivity per employee (value added/employee), which was growing strongly in Italian companies the previous year, shows an increase of approximately 2,000 euros per employee in 2017 (roughly in line with the increase in payroll costs per employee). So although productivity is still rising, the pace at which it is doing so has slowed significantly. The productivity of companies elsewhere in the world, however, is stagnant.

As regards the profitability of Italian companies, both return on investment (ROI) and return on sales (ROS) rose by almost half a percentage point. EBITDA is following a slightly less dynamic pattern, and stands at just over 10% again in 2017: this is because value added and payroll costs both remained virtually unchanged compared to the average for the last threeyear period. Italian companies have, however, managed to keep payroll costs unchanged as a percentage

Statistics

of revenues, although payroll costs per employee are very high and saw a further average annual increase of over 2,000 euros per employee (to an average of 57,600 euros per employee as against 55,500 for the three-year period 2015-2017). What matters in this respect is not average payroll costs, which include a sizeable fiscal wedge in Italy, but the percentage of payroll costs for each unit produced.

This parameter, which stood at approximately 20% for the three-year period 2015-2017 (as against 17% in the other countries studied), therefore represents a component of competitiveness in which Italy is not only keeping pace with other Western manufacturers, but is not even falling far behind Asian manufacturers.

Ultimately, Italy’s high degree of competitiveness is attributable to high levels of technological/production investment per employee (the highest of all manufacturers worldwide), which in turn is facilitated by economies of geographical proximity and the continuous two-way technological transfer between the ceramic manufacturing machinery sector and the tile manufacturing sector. In addition to these factors, from the point of view of production process technology and its costs, part of Italy’s competitiveness derives from its positioning in the highest segments of the world market, in terms of design and quality. In

fact Italian tiles do not compete, or compete only marginally, in the standard-quality and mass-market production segments dominated by Asian manufacturers, whose payroll costs are still low enough to allow high profit margins. Italian products, however, are extremely competitive in the high qualityhigh price segments, in which they are better equipped to fend off competition.

The growing technological maturity of many manufacturers around the world (especially in Eastern Europe), combined with lower payroll costs, still puts non-Italian manufacturers at an advantage in relation to profit margins, amounting to an additional half percentage point in terms of ROI, just above one percentage point in terms of ROS and 3 to 4 percentage points in terms of EBITDA. The business management of non-Italian manufacturers appears to be less efficient than that of their Italian counterparts, however, with the result that Italian companies achieve only marginally lower net profit, amounting to just half a percentage point on sales.

Lastly, the equity ratio

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trend of Italian ceramic tile manufacturers is now running in the opposite direction to previous years, and is showing an improvement of almost 2 percentage points compared with the three-year period 2015-2017: this means that

MECS

Machinery Economic Studies

companies which are increasing the ratio of their own capital have become more significant, overall, than those which are still increasing their financial leverage by recourse to third-party capital, on the back of low interest rates.

5

TAB. 1 - SELECTED FINANCIAL STATEMENT INDICATORS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA Rest of the world

Italy 2017

Ave. '15-'17

2017

Ave. '15-'17

ROI

5.57

5.16

6.05

6.34

ROS

6.55

6.15

7.86

8.14

ROT

0.85

0.85

0.77

0.77

Value added /revenues %

33.18

32.61

32.55

32.08

Value added/employee .000 €

91.96

89.68

28.00

28.56

Payroll cost/revenues %

20.36

20.34

16.97

16.22

EBITDA

10.72

10.52

14.00

14.12

EBIT

6.20

5.94

7.98

8.25

Profit/Loss %

4.53

4.59

5.12

5.46

57.63

55.54

14.70

14.56

385.26

372.17

141.42

149.05

37.48

35.69

46.36

46.88

Payroll cost/employee .000 € Capital/employee .000 € Equity ratio %

Source: Acimac Research Dept. - www.mec-studies.com

51

Tile International 3/2018

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Construction in Europe: Peak reached in 2017 Thanks to a simultaneous construction output growth in the 19 Euroconstruct countries for the first time since years, 2017 recorded a growth peak of 4.1% (volume). The construction market should keep growing at 2.8% in 2018 and slow down at a yearly average rate of

1.6% (in volume) over the forecast period (2019-2021) supported by smoothing but still positive GDP’s evolution.

In the very short term, confidence for households is reaching a peak in 2018 fuelling the new-residential sector.

On a more structural point

of view, the 2021 construction market volume would stay still 15 % behind 2007’s level for the EC 19 countries, but when eliminating the extrema situations in Ireland, Spain and Portugal, the level of output would be recovered for the sum of the other countries.

Total Construction Output (% change in real terms) Estimate 2015

2016

2017

Forecast

2018

2019

Outlook

2020

2021

Austria

0.1

0.4

3.5

2.3

1.5

1.6

1.1

Belgium

2.2

3.6

2.5

2.3

1.8

4.6

2.5

Denmark

2.7

3.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.2

2.0

Finland

0.4

7.1

2.8

2.8

-1.2

-2.9

-1.6

France

-2.0

2.6

3.8

3.2

1.1

0.7

2.2

Germany

0.0

2.6

2.7

1.3

0.1

-0.6

-0.9

Ireland

9.4

5.6

14.6

6.1

3.8

1.0

0.5

Italy

0.9

1.0

0.5

1.7

2.1

2.0

1.8

Netherlands

8.1

6.8

4.2

6.3

4.6

3.7

2.2

Norway

-1.2

4.5

6.6

0.9

4.0

3.8

3.9

Portugal

3.4

-1.6

9.0

7.6

7.2

6.3

5.6

Spain

2.9

1.8

4.6

5.7

4.5

3.0

1.0

Sweden

5.7

5.9

6.2

2.0

-3.8

-0.7

-2.4

Switzerland

1.7

0.2

1.2

2.5

1.0

0.5

0.7

United Kingdom

3.9

4.2

7.0

-0.8

1.3

2.7

1.1

Western Europe (EC-15)

1.4

2.9

3.9

2.2

1.5

1.4

1.0

Czech Republic

6.8

-5.6

3.3

10.0

6.9

4.3

10.0

Hungary

1.8

-18.3

27.0

24.7

10.3

1.7

5.6

Poland

4.1

-5.0

8.8

12.9

10.1

4.7

5.4

Slovak Republic

18.7

-11.4

3.8

5.9

3.7

0.1

-0.7

Eastern Europe (EC-4)

5.3

-7.3

9.3

13.4

9.1

3.9

6.0

Eurocostruct Countries (EC-19)

1.6

2.3

4.1

2.8

2.0

1.6

1.3

Source: 86th EUROCONSTRUCT, November 2018 Tile International 3/2018

54

Residential construction The gap between new building and building renovation markets has recently reduced, especially thanks to the 2017-2018’s new-residential growth. However, building renovation’s growth should take over new activity starting 2019 because of the slowdown of new building output.

Collective housing progressively overrides individual dwellings with 58% of collective vs. 42% of individual completions expected in 2021.

This should have positive consequences for countries CO2 emissions by the reduction of transport distance (less sprawling), and shorter networks for utilities.

From a structural point of view, the EUROCONSTRUCT area’s population should keep growing over the 3 next years but at a slower pace than in the past.

Despite this demography dynamic, we observe that household’s growth would not necessarily be linked to the housing completions growth, leading to an imbalance between offer and demand in some countries with consequences on prices and poor housing issues.

In the short term, offer and policy drivers impact stronger the residential markets.

Economy & markets

Non-residential construction

progression in the UK.

Graph. 1 - Total construction output and GDP from 2015 to 2021 (EC19-year to year change in %)

Civil engineering As a whole, non-residential construction output (new and renovation) is growing at a pace of 1.5% per year with 14 growing countries over the 20192021 period.

But it should be noted that public buildings and offices are reversing the non-residential market in the UK and Germany.

This is mainly due to public budget allocation and anticipated effects of the Brexit. An abrupt stop is expected in offices’ sector

With a phase lag, civil engineering would become the new driving force during the forecast period with annual growth rates between 2.5 and 5% in volume. Civil engineering will still benefit from European Commission infrastructure’s plans and from national plans supporting especially roads and railways renovation, and from the global healthy economic situation.

5

EUROCONSTRUCT is a network of 19 European research institutes founded in 1975. Over the years it has gained international credibility due to the high quality of the information it publishes. Euroconstruct provides regular analysis and forecasts for the construction market in its member countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

The 87th edition of the Conference will be held in Rome on 12 and 13 June 2019.

Graph. 2 - Households growth and housing completions per 1,000 households (annual rates over 2018-2021)

55

Tile International 3/2018

Economy & markets Sabino Menduni

Growth continues in Spain The Spanish ceramic industry has reported continued growth, despite the fact that early data for 2018 point to a slight slowdown in exports.

According to the Acimac Research Centre report on “World tile production and consumption”, tile production in Spain rose by 7.7% in 2017, from 492 to 530 million sq.m (see Table 1 and Graph 1).

Domestic tile consumption rose for the fifth year running, to 147 million sq.m (+7.3% on 2016), which is a positive result, although still a long way from pre-crisis levels, which peaked at over 300 million sq.m per year.

There was also a rise in imports, from 8 to 9 million

TABLE 1 - MAIN INDICATORS (in millions of sq.m) 2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2017

% change 2017/2016

% change 2016/2015

Production

392

404

420

425

440

492

530

7.7%

11.8%

Exports

263

296

318

339

378

395

407

3.0%

4.5%

Imports

9

6

6

6

7

8

9

12.5%

14.3%

129

109

108

111

121

137

147

7.3%

13.2%

Consumption

Source: ASCER data processed by ACIMAC Research Department

sq.m, equating to an increase of 12.5%.

More importantly, there was a further increase in exports, to 407 million sq.m, up 3% on the previous year.

In the worldwide rankings, Spain thus remained the

second largest exporter of ceramic tiles in 2017, with a 15% share of total exports (Table 2).

Lastly, according to the data published by ASCER, total revenues rose by 6% to over 3.5 billion euros.

GRAPH 1 - TREND IN KEY INDICATORS 2010-2017 (millions of sq.m)

Source: ASCER data processed by ACIMAC Research Department Note: Values for imports are on the right axis

Tile International 3/2018

2016

56

2018: exports in the first 9 months According to the 2018 data released by ASCER (Table 3), the value of sales to export markets continued to rise, although at a slower pace than the previous year.

In the first nine months of the year, total exports amounted to 2,098 million euros, up 1.6% on the figure of 2,066 million euros in the same period in 2017, when the growth rate, however, stood at 5.4%. The main cause of the slowdown is the sharp drop in sales in Asia and the Middle East, compounded by less vigorous performance in Europe and the Americas compared with the previous year.

• Once again, Europe is naturally the main market for Spanish exports, accounting for almost 50% of the total (see Table 3 and Graph 3), which rose year-on-year from 981 to 1,024 million

Economy & markets

MORE INFO? www.mec-studies.com!

TABLE 2 - TOP 5 WORLD TILE EXPORTERS (million sq.m) Area

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

% of 2017 world exports

China

1,015

1,086

1,148

1,110

1,089

1,025

908

33%

Spain

263

296

318

339

378

395

407

15%

Italy

298

289

303

314

316

332

338

12%

India

30

33

55

102

134

186

228

8%

Iran

65

93

114

109

112

126

148

5%

Source: “Production and consumption of ceramic tiles” by ACIMAC Research Department

euros, equating to +4.4%.

This is positive performance, but not as strong as in the same period of the previous year, when the value of exports increased by more than 7%. Exports to Eastern Europe, meanwhile, fell by 0.9% (a reduction of 1.1 million euros).

As for Europe’s individual countries, France holds on to first place in the top 10 importers of Spanish tiles (Table 4) with 230.4 million euros, representing a rise of 6.5%; the United Kingdom stays in third place, despite a 2.0% fall in imports over the course of 2018.

Italy moves up one place to fourth, with 83 million euros (a rise of 4.5% compared with 2017), while Germany moves up two places to fifth, with a rise of 8.3%.

With tile imports worth 58.9 million euros, Russia slips down to last place, having seen a year-on-year fall of

3.8% in the early months of 2018.

• In the wake of a continuing downturn, Asia and the Middle East saw a 4% fall in imports of Spanish tiles, which now account for 20% of total imports to the

region. In the first nine months of the year, the value of sales was down 14.5% on the same period of 2017, equating to a reduction of 71.9 million euros (Table 3 and Graph 3).

At regional and country

MECS

Machinery Economic Studies

level, the trend is negative for Southeast Asia (-5.1%) and the Far East (-1.2%), with the heaviest falls occurring in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia (-22%, -21 % and -17% respectively). Total exports to the Middle East are also still falling, and dropped from 405 million to 338 million euros (-16.5%).

Sales to China were down 13%, from 19.3 to 16.7 million euros, a decline of over 2.5 million euros (the largest fall in absolute value in the entire area).

It is also worth noting that these results in China mark a complete reversal on 2017, when sales increased by 54.8%, from 12.5 to 19.3 million euros. Exports to the

GRAPH 2 - MARKET SHARE OF SPANISH EXPORTS (% of total exports January-September 2018)

Source: ASCER

57

Tile International 3/2018

Economy & markets

TABLE 3 - EXPORTS JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2017/JANUARY SEPTEMBER 2018

BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA (million €) Jan-Sept 2017

Jan-Sept 2018

% change Jan-Sept 2018 / Jan-Sept 2017

Europe

980.9

1,024.3

4.4%

47.5%

48.8%

- EU-28

827.6

875.5

5.8%

40.1%

41.7%

- EU-15

685.7

721.9

5.3%

33.2%

34.4%

- Eurozone

573.5

616.4

7.5%

27.8%

29.4%

- EU new members

142.0

153.6

8.2%

6.9%

7.3%

- Eastern Europe

127.6

126.5

-0.9%

6.2%

6.0%

Asia

496.3

424.4

-14.5%

24.0%

20.2%

- Middle East

405.1

338.1

-16.5%

19.6%

16.1%

- Far East

54.0

53.4

-1.2%

2.6%

2.5%

- South East Asia

26.9

25.5

-5.1%

1.3%

1.2%

America

345.3

383.1

10.9%

16.7%

18.3%

- NAFTA

236.8

259.7

9.7%

11.5%

12.4%

- USA

173.3

197.6

14.0%

8.4%

9.4%

- Central America

62.6

66.1

5.5%

3.0%

3.1%

- South America

46.0

57.3

24.7%

2.2%

2.7%

Africa

223.3

245.1

9.8%

10.8%

11.7%

- North Africa

138.4

158.7

14.7%

6.7%

7.6%

19.9

22.0

10.3%

1.0%

1.0%

2,065.7

2,098.9

1.6%

100.0%

100.0%

Area

Oceania TOTAL

% of Total Jan-Sept 2017

% of Total Jan-Sept 2018

Source: ASCER

GRAPH 3 - TREND IN MARKET SHARE OF SPANISH EXPORTS (millions €, Jan-Sept 2015-2018)

•

Source: ASCER

Tile International 3/2018

58

Philippines, however, bucked the trend and rose from 7 to 8.6 million euros (+21%).

Falling from 4th to 7th place in the top 10 importers of Spanish tiles (Table 4), Saudi Arabia reported the worst performance in the Asia region in the first 9 months 2018, with sales down 32%.

Compared with 2015, when sales to Saudi Arabia totalled 134.5 million euros, Spanish exports to the country have fallen by over 50% (Graph 4). Israel remains in 6th place in the top 10, despite reporting a 2.4% fall in sales.

Two other markets in the region, Jordan and United Arab Emirates, saw particularly poor performance, with sales down by 23.4 and 22.6% respectively.

By contrast, Qatar (+17%) and Syria (+99.6%) saw the highest increases in the region.

America, the third largest market for Spanish tiles, with a share of 18.3% of the total, is catching up with the Asian market, on the back of an increase of 37.7 million euros in the value of sales, which rose from 345 to 383 million euros.

Economy & markets

TABLE 4 - TOP 10 EXPORT MARKETS FOR SPANISH TILES (millions of €) Country

Over two thirds of exports to the continent go to North America and are worth 259.7 million euros, up 9.7% on the previous year.

The main player on the entire continent (holding second place in the top 10 importers of Spanish tiles) is the United States, where sales rose by 14% in the first 9 months of 2018.

Spanish exports to the US have risen by over 80% since 2015, equating to a value of 89.2 million euros (Graph 4). Exports to Mexico, however, fell by almost 4 million euros, from 45.2 to 41.2 million (-8.8%).

South America reported double-digit growth (+24.7%), with tile sales rising from 46 to 57.3 million euros. South America’s top performers were Chile (+71.9%) and Peru (+43.1%).

Sales to Brazil were down (-4.1%, from 5 to 4.8 million euros).

Central America also reported strong performance, with a 5.5% increase in sales.

• In Africa, after several years of decline, the first 9 months of the year saw Spanish exports rise from

223.3 to 245.1 million euros (+9.8%). The main driver of the upturn is Northwest Africa, which saw double-digit growth (+14.7%), from 138.4 to 158.7 million euros. Other good performers in the region include Algeria, which is back at number 8 in the rankings, after dropping out of the top 10 in 2017*, and Morocco, which has regained 9th place from Russia, on the back of a 7.0% increase in imports, taking their total value to 65.2 million euros.

Exports to the Libya also

Jan/Sept Jan/Sept 2017 2018

% change Jan-Sept 2018 / Jan-Sept 2017

1

France

216.4

230.4

6.5%

2

USA

173.3

197.6

14.0%

3

United Kingdom

130.8

128.2

-2.0%

4

Italy

79.4

83.0

4.5%

5

Germany

73.4

79.5

8.3%

6

Israel

77.6

75.7

-2.4%

7

Saudi Arabia

99.5

66.8

-32.9%

8

Algeria

51.4

65.9

28.2%

9

Morocco

60.9

65.2

7.0%

10 Russian Fed.

61.2

58.9

-3.8%

Source: ASCER data rose, from 9.5 to 11.8 million euros (+21%).

• Lastly, sales to Oceania remained strong in the first 9

*Export to Algeria have returned to fall since summer, due to the closure of the market.

months 2018, with a 10.3% increase, to 22 million euros.

5 Next page: Mr. Vincente Nomdedeu Lluesma, Ascer's Chairman, talks about the Spanish ceramic tile industry »»

GRAPH 4 - TREND IN TOP 10 EXPORT MARKETS (million €, Jan-Sept 2015-2018)

Source: ASCER

59

Tile International 3/2018

Economy & markets

Vincente Nomdedeu Lluesma

The opinion of Vincente Nomdedeu Lluesma, Chairman of Ascer Tile International: How do you judge the evolution of the industry in 2018?

Vincente Nomdedeu Lluesma: Export sales growth has slowed this year, to 1.6% over the first nine months.

Major markets have either seen a slowdown in the pace of growth or an actual downturn, as in the case of Saudi Arabia and Algeria. The domestic market has also grown at a more modest pace than was forecast at the beginning of the year.

Tile International: In the last couple of years the Spanish tile industry invested a lot in production capacity and conversion to porcelain tiles. Is there now a risk of overcapacity?

V. Nomdedeu Lluesma: The aim of the investments that the industry has made in technological upgrades in recent years was not simply to increase production capacity. It was also to improve productivity, reduce energy consumption, enhance product quality through the digitalisation of processes, install digital printing technologies, etc.. We have also made efforts to diversify and broaden our product range (for example with large-format panels) and increase our production of porcelain tile compared with traditional red-body tiles.

Tile International: In the first 9 months of 2018 the value of Spanish exports has decelerated: how do you judge the global lower market demand and the

Tile International 3/2018

strong price competition on many markets?

V. Nomdedeu Lluesma: On the one hand, international competition has had a big impact. In 2017, approximately 16.7 billion sq.m of tile was produced worldwide, compared with 530 million sq.m produced by Spain. On the other hand, there is a growing trend toward protectionism in certain countries, which makes it difficult to export to their markets because of technical and trade barriers. Here at ASCER we have brought the seriousness of the matter to the attention of the European authorities, and in many cases we are working side by side with our Italian colleagues.

Over the past few months, our exports have been affected by the negative performance of certain markets, such as most of the countries in the Middle East and Northwest Africa, plus the United Kingdom, the latter mainly as a re-

60

sult of the uncertainty caused by Brexit. Eastern Europe, and Russia in particular, has lost the momentum it had the previous year, thus also contributing to the marked decline. The United States is still performing well at the moment, but even there, the pace of growth is slowing. Growth is slowing in the European Union too, but it is still our main market.

Tile International: What are your forecasts for the whole of 2018?

V. Nomdedeu Lluesma: It is difficult to make forecasts when there are so many different factors that influence market performance, and they are mostly beyond our control. According to our latest estimates, however, we should close 2018 with a total increase in sales of 2% compared with 2017.

5

Economy & markets

Spain: the macroeconomic outlook Spain’s economy grew by 3% in 2017, well above the European average.

After four consecutive years of growth (three of which saw growth rates in excess of 3%), the country is now just a stone’s throw from pre-crisis levels.

The drivers of Spain’s economic growth and renewed competitiveness are an upturn in domestic demand, rising investment levels and better access to credit, in addition to a number of favourable external factors, such as low oil prices, a weak euro that boosted exports, and the availability of capital at low interest rates.

formance in recent years: unprecedented export levels, as of 2015, bear witness to the renewed competitiveness of the country’s production system; the creation of around 2 million new jobs (over 611,000 of which were added in 2017 alone) brought unemployment down from 26.1% in 2013 to 17.2% in 2017; and the tourist industry has been reporting record numbers for some years (Spain received approximately 82 million visitors in 2017, leapfrogging the United States in the inbound tourism rankings and moving up to second place worldwide after France).

As well as GDP growth, however, other indicators confirm Spain’s strong economic per-

After the tightening of fiscal policy in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, the reforms

of recent years have kickstarted an upturn in Spain, although the reduced majority of the second Rajoy government imposed limits on its reform programmes.

The goal of the Rajoy government - which took office in late 2016 before being challenged at the beginning of June 2018 and replaced by Pedro Sánchez, leader of the PSOE - was to consolidate growth and pass on its benefits at a social level.

In line with this approach, the draft budget launched by the government for 2018 envisaged significant expansionary measures, such as raising the income tax exemption threshold, reducing income tax rates for the lowest earners, helping families with children and increasing

minimum pensions.

At the same time, the government has managed to bring the budget deficit (which reached 9.6% in 2011 during the Zapatero administration) down to 3.1% in accordance with the parameters agreed with the European Commission. If it meets its targets for 2018, the country could therefore leave the excessive deficit procedure opened against it in 2009.

Against this backdrop, the crisis arising from calls for Catalan independence appears to have had limited impact on the Spanish economy as a whole, which, according to the latest government forecasts, is expected to carry on growing at a rate of 2.7% in 2018.

ABK showcases its tailor-made creativity at From bathroom furniture to extra-thick worktops, new material effects and exclusive ceramic wallpapers, ABK Group offers a wide range of products for the world of architecture and interior design.

To open up new opportunities for the use of ceramic, at Cevisama 2019 the ABK Group’s brands ABK and Flaviker will be displaying a selection of new 160x320 cm WIDE slabs in 6 mm and 12 mm thicknesses.

The 12 mm version is ideal for use on kitchen countertops and coordinates perfectly with the range of floor and wall tiles in the company’s catalogue.

ADVERTORIAL

WEDI

for installers

In the early 1980s, the master tiler Helmut Wedi was looking for ways to speed up the task of installing bathtubs, so he

started experimenting with the use of dry construction panels with a core made of extruded polystyrene.

His innovative solution

turned out to be a winner, because it slashed installation times and enabled tilers to lay ceramic tiles immediately.

So in 1983, he founded Wedi Badewanneplatte Gmbh (bath panels) in a small industrial unit in the town of Emsdetten in West Germany.

Wedi Gmbh saw rapid expansion on the German market right from the start, as customers spread the word about how quick and easy the dry construction panels were to use. But the real turning point came in 1998, when the company patented Wedi Fundo: a

comprehensive system for the installation of flush-tofloor showers designed to be tiled, with all the design and fitting work already integrated into the product.

Although a small step for mankind, it was a giant leap for plumbers, who loved the way it simplified their work so effectively.

The Wedi Fundo system, in fact, is equipped with secure, waterproof drainage systems, which can be optionally pre-fitted in the

structure of the shower tray.

The solution eliminates all critical issues, because it includes panels with a pre-defined gradient, and membranes and coverings that are already shaped and ready for use.

From the drainage grille to the single anchor, Wedi’s flush-to-floor shower system includes everything the plumber/installer needs to make a highly efficient shower, from scratch, in a very short timeframe.

ADVERTORIAL

Two types of shower tray are available, both with guaranteed perfect drainage: • Fundo Primo is the classic square or rectangular version • Fundo Trollo is a rounded shower that’s ideal for wellness centres, but can also be adapted to fit the most compact residential bathrooms because its diameter can be reduced to just 1 metre.

So Wedi Fundo makes bathroom renovations easier, quicker and simpler for installers. In view of their strength, light weight and flexibility, furthermore, Wedi panels with extruded polystyrene core, are also ideal for constructing partition walls, support systems and even fully fledged furnishing elements. Especially in remodelling projects, Wedi panels eliminate the need for costly, time-consuming

masonry work, and ensure perfect waterproofing of all surfaces coming into contact with water.

1. Waterproofness: the light blue XPS core is 100% waterproof, even if it gets damaged 2. Stability: the cementitious surface forms an extremely strong base for adhesion thanks to the incorporated fabric 3. Insulation: all the panels are thermally insulating, reduce energy costs and provide long-term protection against damp and mildew 4. Certifications: abP*, CE, VOC, ETA approvals testify to the effectiveness of Wedi waterproofing products. The Class A+ classification also denotes the absence of harmful substances in accordance with German and European standards.

Stephan Wedi, son of Helmut, the company’s founder, has been CEO since 1998, and is still developing the business, which is not confined to the supply of products, but also extends to the design phase, with solutions specifically tailored to the needs of hotels and wellness centres.

Wedi Group is now an international enterprise, operating in 35 countries worldwide, but it still has the traditional strengths of a family business, with a commitment to sound values and looking after people.

Wedi Italia has a sales network covering the whole country, plus a state-of-theart logistics hub, a training centre and a showroom at its headquarters in Ornago, in the province of Monza and Brianza.

Hollefeldstr. 51 - D-48282 Emsdetten Tel.: +49 (0)2572 156 0 Fax: +49 (0)2572 156 133 info@wedi.de www.wedi.de

Report Cersaie 2018

#MCaroundCersaie 2018 Increasing attendance from all over the world The 36th edition of CERSAIE has confirmed its status as the flagship event for the world ceramic market, with a total of 112,104 visitors (+0.4% compared to 2017), and a further increase in the number of international visitors (+1.6%), to 54,025 – no less than 48.2% of the total. The number of Italian visitors, however, fell slightly (-0.6%) to a total of 58,079.

The exhibition space for the 2018 edition rose by 5,000 square meters to 161,000 square meters, thanks to the availability of the new halls 28, 29 and 30.

The event hosted a total of 840 exhibitors, including 314 foreign companies, from 40 different countries.

The ceramic tile sector accounted for the highest number of exhibitors (452), followed by bathroom furnishing (181).

Broad representation and international scope thus remain the salient features of CERSAIE, which again included wood flooring and natu-

Tile International 3/2018

ral stone coverings, alongside ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings. Visitors also showed their usual high levels of interest in the increasingly sophisticated range of products and technologies for tile installers and distributors.

Without compromising on its commitment to indepth exploration of the architecture and interior design world, CERSAIE 2018 demonstrated to the increasing importance attributed to the world of tile-setting, which was given its own space for the first time, in halls 31 and 31A. There were high levels of participation in the “works in progress” and training seminars for technicians and designers on topics relating to large-format tiles and panels held in “Tiling Town”, and trade operators paid equally close attention to ASSOPOSA and the services it offers its members.

the most closely followed events was the keynote speech by Pritzker Prize winner Richard Rogers, which attracted an audience of 1,800 people to the Europa Auditorium and marked the high point of BUILDING, DWELLING THINKING, the cultural programme that won considerable acclaim, including for its conversations with Mario Botta and Guido Canali. Another memorable event was Silvia Camporesi’s Lesson in Reverse, which was at-

pictures: Tile Edizioni's staff at Cersaie

The exhibition’s extensive calendar of events on architecture were also very well attended. One of

64

tended by over 1,000 students.

The partnership with Bologna Design Week, which is now in its fourth year, produced a varied and much acclaimed programme of evening events to coincide with Cersaie, starting from its headquarters in Palazzo Isolani and spreading across the entire historic centre.

This is undoubtedly an event that offers plenty of scope for future development.

5

Report Cersaie 2018 us llow o F

m

gra a t s n I on

@MaterialiCasa

Many people visited the Tile International / MaterialiCasa.com stand at Cersaie, and subscribed to our newsletter.

Did you? Subscribe! http://www.materialicasa.com/mc-en-newsletter/

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Tile International 3/2018

Report Cersaie 2018

5th ADI Ceramics & Bathroom Design Award The 36th edition of Cersaie provided the backdrop for the 5th ADI Ceramics & Bathroom Design Award, which came into being as part of the Building, Dwelling, Thinking programme, with a view to awarding due recognition to Italy’s most innovative products in the ceramic and bathroom furnishing sectors.

The award-winning companies in the ceramics category were: • Ceramica Fondovalle Spa with 20Pure • Mosaico+ with Nuova Gamma • Decoratori Bassanesi with Segments.

• Plus a special mention for 41zero42.

1

The selected products will be automatically included in the pre-selection for the ADI Design Index 2019 published annually by the Italian Industrial Design Association (ADI).

The publication presents the best examples of Italian design, selected by the ADI’s Permanent Design Observatory and comprising products from all categories of goods and branches of research applied to design.

2

Tile International 3/2018

3

66

4

Report Cersaie 2018

POLLUTION 1972 – RefleAction 2018

Piazza Santo Stefano, Bologna

by Iris Ceramica Group and studio MC A and SOS School of Sustainability During the course of CERSAIE 2018, Iris Ceramica group presented an installation – in the evocative Piazza Santo Stefano in the heart of Bologna – based on the original installation and exhibition entitled Pollution 1972, aimed at inviting industry to forge a new and more balanced relationship between man and nature.

In 1972, at the height of the economic boom, the same company became the only organisation to give voice to a prescient environmental message, by setting up an event called “Pollution: per un’estetica dell’inquinamento” (for an aesthetic of pollution), also in Piazza Santo Stefano. On that occasion, Iris produced 10,000 tiles replicating clods of earth, which were used to pave the entire piazza. Once the piazza had thus been made to look, once again,

67

like the field it had once been, it was used as a showcase for the works of 26 artists, all of which drew inspiration from nature.

Now, in 2018 and in the same square, Iris Ceramica Group has reiterated the same message of respect for the environment, by highlighting the progress made so far in the drive to achieve zero impact in the ceramic production process. Examples of the milestones reached include Active Clean Air & Antibacterial Ceramic™ technology, which turns tiled surfaces into “smog-catchers” designed to clean urban air, and new production techniques that use increasing amounts of recycled material, while at the same time reducing atmospheric emissions to 0.

The architect Mario Cucinella explains the idea that connects RefleAction 2018 with the original Pollution 1972, as follows: “46 years after the clods of earth, a wood rises up and cracks the confines of a city, metaphorically represented by the defined geometry of a panel that infiltrates the design of a piazza. The shiny panel is also designed to represent a “reflection” that mankind makes about itself and what it produces, and that makes it aware of being part of a larger ecosystem.”

Tile International 3/2018

Report Cersaie 2018

Impertek Until now, the idea of constructing raised flooring using joists was unthinkable for ceramic and stone products, especially large ones.

Now, however, Rail System

by Impertek makes it possible to construct raised outdoor flooring with large-format gres porcelain panels.

Rail System forms part of the Pedestal Line, and adds three new elements to Impertek’s range of pedestals and accessories: • Rail is a new joist, made of strong, lightweight aluminium, designed to be fastened to the heads of pedestals from the Pedes-

tal Line; used in conjunction with MegaMart pedestals, it provides load capacity and solidity that cannot be matched by joist-free installation systems; • the second major new development is Click Rail Head, a new head for the MegaMart line, which can be quickly fastened to the aluminium profile to ensure the utmost stability and safety of installation; • lastly, the new Top Rail AS Heads are designed with a diameter of 120mm so that they can accommodate ceramic panels of

any size, and provide topclass acoustic performance, thanks to the AS anti-shock and anti-slip rubber designed for soft, secure support. The tabs at the top, which are 10 mm high and 2 or 4 mm thick, help create a precise, elegant joint between tiles, and are prescored for easy removal when laying tiles along perimeters or end-to-end.

Top Rail AS Heads have two clips at the bottom for fixing them to the joist, but they can still slide longitudinally to facilitate alignment in the right position.

Rondine Group With Gioia 3D, the marble effect continues to amaze with its veins faithfully reproduced in a three-dimensional version.

This collection represents the perfect combination of practicality and design, for

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modern spaces with a sophisticated flavor.

Ideal for modernizing a studio, elegant bedroom or refined bathroom, Gioia 3D is the optimal result of the union between the safety and practicality of porcelain

stoneware and the timeless beauty of marble.

All the realism of the marble stone available in five different shades, in the 15x61 format, and with a thickness ranging from 7 to 11 mm, to create scenographic rooms.

Report Cersaie 2018

Schlüter-Systems Schlüter-Systems will be showcasing a wide range of new developments at the 36th edition of Cersaie.

A wide range of products, including the new SchlüterSHELF wall shelves, which can be installed without drilling through tiles and are available in brushed stainless steel, aluminium and in the colours of the Schlüter-TRENDLINE range.

Featuring the elegant CURVE and FLORAL motifs, they are available in five variants, which can be installed in bathrooms and kitchens alike.

The corner shelf comes in three different shapes, and the

classic linear wall shelf comes in two different sizes. These sizes reflect the measurements of the Schlüter-KERDI-BOARD-N prefabricated flush-fitting niches, so the shelves can also be used as separating elements within the niche.

One of the distinctive features and big advantages of Schlüter-SHELF is the fact that it can be installed either at the same time as the ceramic tiles or at a later date, after the wall tiling has been done.

The shelves are equipped with small fixing tabs 2 mm thick, which are easy to insert into the joint between two tiles by simply cutting into the grout.

Top Cer Hollywood, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle And Portland.

These are the names of the new tile proposal based on pressed lozenges back mounted on fiberglass nettings in modules of 284x305 mm.

An eclectic coating for interior with a contemporary and bold taste.

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Report Cersaie 2018

Kajaria Ceramics Ultima is a glazed porcelain tiles collection with high flexural strength, made with mould based technology.

Marble effect slabs are available in format 120x180 cm and with different surface finishings: polished, matte, gloss matte, metal-

lic, translucent.

Ultima can be used for both indoor and outdoor environments to enrich floors and walls.

Raimondi RLS: tiles chipping (and scratching) preventing platform and multi-size spacer. There are tiles that have a particularly delicate top finishing. To avoid potential accidental damage during their installation, Raimondi presents a new (patented) anti-chipping and antiscratch platform to be used in combination with the well-known RLS leveling system. To avoid potential accidental damage during their installation, Raimondi

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presents a new (patented) anti-chipping and anti-scratch platform to be used in combination with the well-known RLS leveling system.The platform performs two functions at the same time: • Anti-chipping: prevents the stems of the RLS clip to touch the edge of the tile during wedge insertion. • Anti-scratch: prevents the wedge to touch the tile.

Furthermore, to give further added value to the product, the platform can also be used as a removable and reusable multi-size-spacer (1,5, 2 and 3 mm).

28/01 - 01/02 2019 - Valencia (Spain) THE EXCELLENCE IN ITALIAN CERAMICS

Pavillion #1 - 3rd Floor - Booth #B80

Via Giardini Nord, 231/233 41026 Pavullo n.F. (MO) - Italy Tel. +39 0536 301711 www.energieker.it

Report Cersaie 2018

Profilpas At this year’s Cersaie, Profilpas presented XL Design, a new range of profiles dedicated to large-format tiles and panels. Thanks to their length of 320 cm, these profiles are the perfect finish for even the largest formats, and bring an air of elegance and refinement to any environment.

XL Design includes a new line of decorative listels, profiles for external corners and skirting boards, featuring modern lines that generate original effects of light and shade. The new skirting board and decorative listels with LED lights make the line even more special with their distinctive light effects.

Buzon The polypropylene supports proposed by Buzon respond promptly to the market needs on the front of raised floors, presenting an ergonomic design, a highly resistant structure and an adjustable height that makes them particularly suitable for the realiza-

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tion of terraces of different sizes.

These adjustable floor pedestals can be used with different types and forms of terrace coverings.

The extensive range of BUZON solutions ensures easy, stable and durable installation of concrete tiles, natu-

ral stone, ceramic.

Moreover, the range of levelling accessories can correct the level by up to 5% and in some cases 10%. In specific, the pedestal collection includes 3 series PB, BC, DPH – with different properties depending on the context of use.

Report Cersaie 2018

Dural The profile manufacturer Dural presents new mat systems for tile and natural stone, as well as shower channels which expands the current level-access shower system product range.

The new Durabase ET-S sealing system includes all the required components such as sealing tape, brackets and polymer adhesive. The new Durabase FGT mat system made of fibreglass matting and fabric is dedicated to substrate stabilisation and decoupling: thanks to this special design, it prevents the transmission of stress from the substrate to the floor covering and thus effectively

prevents the formation of cracks.

Dural presents further development of its well-known linear shower channel with the VarioLine Plus.

It has an EPS core, available in a variety of lengths and supplied completely pre-assembled.

Furthermore, the Xflat line is the successor to the proven BasicLine product range, featuring a second drainage level, and Wall Line to be installed directly on the wall.

The system therefore allows for a level shower floor which can be tiled without interruption.

Progress Profiles Prodeso Heat Grip System, the electric heating system that combines flexibility, innovation and energy efficiency. This revolutionary system for floors and walls provides warmth in a matter of minutes, only where it’s needed and without wasting energy.

The system consists of two elements: • Prodeso Heat Grip Membrane, a waterproofing, decoupling membrane with a thickness of just 7.5 mm, made of polythene and equipped with a heat-sealed polypropylene non-woven fabric on the bottom.The new form of the membrane is suitable for any type of floor or wall covering. It vents out vapour, optimises performance and ensures

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better anchoring to the adhesive, to offer five times more tear strength than the previous model. It’s also equipped with slots so that you can fasten the electric heating cable easily and only where needed.

• Prodeso Heat Grip Cable is an electrical cable, with a new diameter of 6.5 mm, equipped with several resistors in parallel.

It’s made in such a way that if damaged, it shuts down the operation of only a very small area of the system as a whole.

Prodeso Heat Grip System is covered by an international patent which testifies to the first-class quality, strength and performance that make it incomparable to any other product on the market.

Report Cersaie 2018

Marazzi Mineral is the Marazzi tile collection based on reflective, iridescent, metallic effects, designed with contemporary, minimalist environments in mind.

The 75x75 cm format is available in three different surface finishes, Natural, Velvet and Brill, and five colours that reprise the hues of different metals: platinum, iron and silver for the cold colours Black, iron and silver; and bronze and corten steel for the warm colours, which reveal deep traces of copper in its various

nuances.

Technical specifications: • Porcelain tile • 5 colours: black, bronze, iron, silver, corten steel • 5 edge-ground formats: 75x150 - 25x150 75x75 - 60x60 - 30x60 cm • 3 surface finishes: “natural”, available in all sizes and colours; “velvet” and “brill” available in size 75x75 cm in all colours • accents and mosaics: “rough cut”, “decorative” and “traditional”.

MLT System MLT System™ (Mechanical Lippage Tuning System) is a patented, simple and revolutionary floor and wall installation system, integrating 100% Italian technology and quality, as a result of an ItalianAmerican partnership which has strengthened the company’s presence on foreign markets in recent years, particularly in the United States.

In this respect, the system fully complies with the new installation standards for thin materials as required by the new ANSI 108.19 regulation issued by the Tile Council of North America (TCNA).

MLT System™ is simple, fast to use and reliable, and enables both professionals and nonprofessionals to tile floors, walls

TM

and ceilings quickly and impeccably. The most successful products in recent years have been the Slim and Ready lines of straps. The increasingly widespread use of ultra-slim tiles (3-5mm) and large formats has prompted the development of special technical solutions that meet the needs of working with minimal joints.

One such solution is the Slim line, whose reusable T1 straps enable tilers to create joints as narrow as 0.5 mm, which is impossible with any other system

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on the market. The Ready strap T2 line, by contrast, meets the needs of largescale commercial installations. Because they are already connected to the plate, they require no pre-assembly, so reduce installation times.

Furthermore, two Starter KITS (Ready and Slim series) have been put together to enable users to test the quality of the products at minimum outlay.

Sold in handy containers, they include everything you need for tile setting (photo).

Report Cersaie 2018

NG Kutahya 120x240 cm sized Albatros (pictured) and Vista, equipped with modern desings, are preffered by who can not dispense with nature.

Albatros’ unique design and Vista’s minimal visual provide the perfect combination in contemporay spaces.

30x240 cm sized Iroko reflects the pure beauty of nature with the texture of the wood, while Bluetta - sized 120x240 cm – reveals a unique appearance

thanks to special patterns. 120x240 sized Statuario is among the classics with its dark gray lines floating on white Italian marble effect, making a difference with its high technology.

Stella, which can be applied both indoors and outdoors, creates stylish places with glamorous design.

60x120 cm sized, Stella provides a variety of color alternatives and surface texture beyond what is known.

Emilgroup Level is a new line of large-format ceramic panels, measuring 160x320 cm, in which exquisite aesthetics meet the excellence of porcelain tile, to give rise to innovative design projects.

The two variants - one measuring 160x320 cm with a thickness of 6.5 mm in an edge-ground format, and the other measuring 162x324

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with a thickness of 12 mm in a non-edgeground format - are ideal for creating continuous tops and backsplashes for kitchens and bathrooms, worktops, tables, doors and floor and wall coverings, including for outdoor environments, with unprecedented scope for detailing, customisation and crosscoordination.

ADVERTORIAL

POWERGAME

TM

the official floor covering for FIBA 3 x 3 B asketball

On 9 June 2018, the International Olympic Committee announced that 3x3 basketball will become an Olympic discipline at the 2020 TOKYO Olympic Games.

pictures: a selection of sports complexes around the world fitted with PowerGameTM flooring

by Gerflor

This is a gratifying result for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) - the organiser of the World Championships, European Championships and WorldTour for this discipline of basketball, which began to gain a following in the 1980s, when the rules of the game were formalised and the first tournaments were held in the United States.

Three days later, on 12 June, in Manila, the Italian women’s team won the World 3x3 Basketball Championships, defeating

the sport’s top teams - the United States, China and Russia - one after the other!

The authors of this historic victory, described as “legendary” by the sports newspapers, were Marcella Filippi, Raelin D’Alie, Giulia Ciavarella and Giulia Rulli, together with their coach Angela Adamoli.

It’s the first time that an Italian national basketball team has won a world title: “It’s a dream come true. The girls will be Italy’s first basketball players to receive Gold Medals from the Italian National Olympic

Committee,” pointed out Giovanni Petrucci, President of the Italian Basketball Federation. “We’re very excited about it and deeply satisfied, but we’re also acutely aware of the hard work put into the 3x3 discipline by our Honorary President, Fausto Maifredi, his two Vice-Presidents, Gaetano Laguardia and Mara Invernizzi, our outstanding team members and their fabulous coach, Angela. They were absolutely magnificent.

To beat teams like the USA, China and Russia, which are world-leaders in basketball,

ADVERTORIAL

is nothing short of amazing, and they really deserved the title.”

PowerGameTM: the ground beneath their feet This is all great news for Gerflor, the manufacturer of PowerGameTM, the sports court covering with a duallevel surface - consisting of modular plates made of high-density polypropylene copolymers and a highimpact interlocking system which is used as the flooring for the world’s foremost 3x3 basketball courts.

PowerGameTM flooring, which has been selected

as the “official FIBA 3x3 floor covering” is made of UV-stable recyclable polypropylene plates with a patented cross-linked finish formulated to ensure: • GRIP: PowerGameTM is the best solution on the market, with the right levels of grip to keep the world’s top players safe as they vie for supremacy • BOUNCE: PowerGameTM delivers the best bounce performance, which is comparable to traditional hardwood flooring for basketball courts • HIGH PERFORMANCE AND SHOCK ABSORPTION: PowerGameTM sports court

flooring incorporates Lateral Forgiveness technology that helps reduce stress on the joints, and is certified by the FIBA (basketball), IHF (handball), ITF (tennis) and FIVB (volleyball). It also provides better antiabrasion performance than any other outdoor court surface.

To mark the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics, Ennova Solution, Sports Court by Gerflor’s Italian distributor and the official supplier of Italy’s National Basketball League (LNP), is offering a complete package made up of PowerGame flooring and Schelde Sports baskets.

Gerflor - 50, cours de la République 69627 Villeurbanne Cedex France www.gerflorgroup.com

Project

The Eiffel Tower: top-flight flooring

Unrivalled as an emblem of Paris and of France as a whole, the Eiffel Tower is one of the best-known and bestloved monuments in the world.

Built in 1889 for the opening of the Universal Exposition, it re-

Tile International 3/2018

cently underwent major renovation, involving the use of Schlüter®-DITRA 25 decoupling membrane.

The imposing “iron tower”, which takes its name from its designer, Gustave Eiffel, was

completed in record time: two years, two months and five days.

Rising to a height of 324 metres and consisting of over 18,000 metal parts, it opened to the public in May 1889 and has received 7 million visitors

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a year since then.

Four arched pillars form the base of the structure, while three platforms, one above the other, each provide visitors with a vantage point that affords a magnificent view over the whole of Paris.

Project

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The latest renovation, undertaken at a total cost of 25 million euros, focused on the first and largest of the three platforms, which accommodates two restaurant areas: the Eiffel Pavilion and the FerriĂŠ Pavilion.

A building in continuous motion‌ For the new flooring of the first platform, the architect in charge of the upgrade wanted to use large-format natural stone tiles (1x1 m). On the ad-

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vice of EDM Paris, the tiling contractor, the decision was therefore taken to use Stone Performance large-format tiles, which are lightweight because they consist of a layer of just 10 mm of marble on a fibreglass substrate, while also

offering extremely high bending, compression and perforation strength.

So the chosen coverings included 300 square metres of natural stone floor tiles and a further 85 square metres of wall tiles. The same material

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Project

was also used to cover a range of stairways, benches, counters and other furnishing elements.

First, however, it was necessary overcome two critical issues relating to the specific nature of the Eiffel Tower, so Schlüter-Systems were called to the rescue.

Being made entirely of metal, the Eiffel Tower is constantly subject to the vibration caused by the huge influx of visitors, and to the high thermal stresses that put the entire structure under continuous tension, which inevitably gets transferred from the substrate to the flooring, causing cracking over time.

Sebastien Sollier, Project Manager for EDM Paris, explained “[…] when we took the laserreadings, we never managed

Tile International 3/2018

to get the display to settle on a single value. This clearly shows that the Tower is in constant motion, especially during peak visiting times. The only time the level remained fairly stable was early in the morning, before the Tower opened its doors to the public.”

So it was impossible to lay a rigid material like marble directly on the metal substrate.

…and the Schlüter Systems solutions To ensure the long-term integrity of the new flooring, it was vital to use a Schlüter®-DITRA 25 decoupling membrane.

Installed between the metal structure and the natural stone flooring, the Schlüter®DITRA 25 decoupling mem-

brane proved to be the best solution not only for neutralising the normal tensions that occur between the substrate and a natural stone floor, but also for absorbing the high level of vibration to which the building is subject.

Schlüter®-DITRA 25 is a multifunction 3 mm polyethylene membrane with a grid structure of square cavities, each cut back in a dovetail configuration, and a special nonwoven fabric coating on its underside. Two layers of adhesive, with the Schlüter®-DITRA 25 membrane laid between them, create a horizontal sliding layer capable of preventing the transfer of cracks to the flooring, by cancelling out the tensions generated between two bodies moving in different ways.

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The entire tiled surface was divided into sections of 40 square metres, using Schlüter®-DILEX-EKSN joints, in order to absorb the thermal expansion and retraction of a floor constantly subject to significant temperature changes.

The use of Schlüter®-DITRA 25, with its thickness of 3 mm, also made it possible to minimise the height of the flooring and reduce the installation time by a considerable amount. The membrane does not require any curing time after laying, and is immediately ready to be walked on and tiled, so sites that use it do not have to close their doors to the public for more than the minimum time necessary.

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Project

PORCELANOSA Grupo: 95 sq.m in Alicante

For the remodelling of an apartment in the heart of Alicante, interior design firm De Palacios opted for a combination of industrial and Mediterranean styles, and chose Mini Eden Texture natural wood-effect tiles by L’Antic Colonial, bathroom furnishings by Noken Porcelanosa Bathrooms and the Arquitect and Land collection by Systempool.

ates an intimate feel and a minimalist tone.

The interior design played a vital role in creating this special atmosphere, which also benefits from optimum use of natural light and a discerning choice of finishing materials, all of which are by PORCELANOSA Grupo.

Located in the centre of Alicante, the capital of the Costa Blanca, this 95 sq.m home was remodelled by the interior design firm De Palacios.The designers’ approach, involving a fusion of industrial and Mediterranean styling, gener-

Featuring the exposed iron columns that formed part of the original industrial interior, the space extends from the living room and opens up to the rest of the house. Even the kitchen and dining areas are directly linked with the living

Tile International 3/2018

Open spaces, industrial style

room, corridors, bedroom and guest bathroom.

Within this open layout, which almost amounts to a natural corridor converging into a single, large, light-filled living room, the flooring plays a key role as a connecting element, and throughout almost the entire apartment, it consists of porcelain tile that perfectly replicates natural wood, from the Mini Eden Texture collection by L’Antic Colonial.

Simplicity prevails in the bathrooms The desire to keep things simple and avoid anything Baroque sets the tone of this remodelling project, and is

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naturally reflected in the two bathrooms. Both the main bathroom and the one for the bedroom share a similarly relaxed atmosphere.

The functional, minimalist design of the interiors is reprised in the bathroom furnishings by Noken Porcelanosa Bathrooms, all of which were carefully chosen to highlight the weightless design of the wall-hung sanitaryware (toilet and bidet from the Arquitect series), the bathroom taps (from the Urban collections), the Neptune shower head, the Contract radiator and the bathroom accessories by Noken Porcelanosa Bathrooms and Gamadecor.

To complete the project, Sys-

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Project

tempool supplied the bathtub (Arquitect collection) and the shower tray (Line series).

Throughout the apartment, the materials were installed with close attention to detail, right up to the use of Butech

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chromed profiles, for a perfect finish.

Evolutionary interior design Francisco Palacios, owner of De Palacios interior design,

based in Calpe- Alicante (Spain), develops his projects as timeless, evolutionary spaces: “The art of interior design has nothing to do with interesting configurations or originality. Interior design is about the inner vision of peo-

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ple, and of mental and physical space; it’s about desire, truth and the culture underlying the design.

And maybe unexpected truth is poetry, and it needs tranquillity to emerge.”

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Schlüter®-SHELF

Ablagesysteme: Schön, stabil und schnell montiert Shelving systems: Attractive, stable and quick to install

Passend zu unserer Schlüter-KERDI-LINE-STYLE-Serie für elegante und moderne Entwässerung haben wir Schlüter-SHELF entwickelt. Die attraktiven Ablagen machen nicht nur in der Dusche eine gute Figur. Sie bieten überall da eine praktische Ablagefläche, wo Fliesen verlegt werden oder bereits vorhanden sind. Schlüter-SHELF ist in zwei Designs und fünf verschiedenen Formaten erhältlich.

Schlüter-SHELF was developed to match our Schlüter-KERDI-LINE-STYLE series for elegant, contemporary drainage solutions. The attractive shelves not only are a stylish addition to showers. They create practical storage within tile and stone applications.

Schlüter-SHELF is available in two designs and five different formats.

www.schlueter-systems.com