The American ceramic tile market: the opinion of Vitromex Usa

Mar 31, 2006

31/03/06 - North America is an important outlet market for us because of its high growth rates and large imports of ceramic tiles.
In 2005 we enjoyed major expansion (sales up by 40%) in both the traditional ceramic and porcelain tile segments. We expect to see continued growth in 2006.

North America is a demanding market that requires high-quality tiles. Porcelain tile is the most popular product, and our range reflects this while not neglecting other products.
Some companies have been pushed out of the market while others are turning their production entirely over to porcelain tile, so significant opportunities are opening up in traditional product segments. With this in mind, we built a new porcelain tile plant which was already operating 4 lines with a total output of 50 million square feet at the end of 2005, but without reducing production of other types of products. If the market continues to expand, we intend to capture further new shares, so we cannot rule out a further increase in production capacity.
We enjoy good production conditions in Mexico although raw materials for porcelain tile are not easy to acquire. Americans are appreciative of products manufactured in their continent, and through NAFTA the tariffs on movements of goods will continue to fall until 2008.

The competition is tough for everyone, but we are convinced that customers appreciate the value of our products and the service we offer.
Since 1998 we have been running a distribution centre in San Antonio, Texas, and this presence in the United States means we can assure rapid deliveries for all kinds of orders without customers having to organise warehouses themselves. We know that Italian tiles are still very popular, but we believe that our product quality is very similar to that of the European companies.”