Emilceramica starts up in India with Simpolo

India is the country that Emilceramica has chosen for the international expansion of its manufacturing operations thanks to the new 50-50 joint venture with the Indian tile and sanitaryware producer Simpolo, a group owned by the Aghara family and operating in the state of Gujarat.

The goal of the new company, called Simpolo Emilceramica Pvt Ltd, is to commence production of large-format ceramic tiles and panels by next spring using Gea technology from System. An ultra-modern new facility is already under construction as part of an investment of more than 20 million euros.

"The factory will be built in Morbi, not far from the Simpolo plant." - told us Luca Majocchi, CEO of Emilceramica Group, who has just returned from the Indian city where together with chairman William Tioli he took part in the cornerstone laying ceremony and the traditional blessing of the new production site.

"It will produce both traditional products and large-format panels using Gea technology from System, specifically the Gea 44000 line in the advanced high-productivity 2.0 version. The plant will have an initial production capacity of 3.5 million sq.m/year, but the factory is designed to accommodate future expansion. Along with the Gea press, it will also have a 191 metre ICF kiln and a dryer of the same length. The porcelain panels will be handled using machinery produced by System to ensure complete control over the product."

"These technological choices - Majocchi continued - clearly show that our decision to set up in India wasn't solely to benefit from low labour and production costs. In fact we aim to produce high-quality ceramic surfaces capable of meeting Asian demand, which would simply be too costly to produce and export from Italy."

Read the full interview with Luca Majocchi published on Ceramic World Review 113/2015