The American ceramic tile market: the opinion of Adriano Lima

Mar 09, 2006

09/03/06 - Adriano Lima (chairman of Gyotoku and chairman of Anfacer): “In 2005, Gyotoku’s exports reached 10 million dollars, 50% of which was generated in the United States. We have expanded by 20% in this market and intend to grow by another 20% during 2006 in spite of the unfavourable dollar/real exchange rate.
We are continuing to invest in order to develop our production. Until just two years ago our production capacity was 30-40,000 sq.m/month, whereas in June we will be able to produce 250,000 sq.m/month.

The United States is an interesting market not only for porcelain tile but also for other types of ceramic tiles (which account for about 30% of our sales). It is a very competitive market but our philosophy remains the same here as everywhere else: to work hard to create a high-quality product and provide a good service.

Brazilian ceramic has improved a lot from the point of view of design and technological content and it has an attractive price. I believe we can compete on equal terms with Italy and Spain because there is not a big different between Brazilian tiles and the average European product. For this reason we will continue to expand in this market.

In 2004, more than 47% (in value) of Brazilian exports were concentrated in North America.
And in the United States the Brazilian ceramic industry sold 36.7 million square metres (15.9% of total imports to the United States). Initial calculations for 2005 indicate growth of 22% in value and 12.5% in quantity”.