Levantina Techlam chooses Sacmi technology for large slab firing

Sacmi drying and firing technology has been chosen by the Spanish company for its new large-format production plant in Castellón. This includes the new FMA Maestro kiln and the 7-level dryer.

Levantina Group, a leading world player in the natural stone sector, is due to start up its newly built Levantina Techlam plant in the coming months following the acquisition of the industrial assets of Keros Ceramica in Nules (Castellón). The €55 million investment will consolidate the Spanish group’s position in the large ceramic slab sector, a segment in which it played a pioneering role in Spain when it began manufacturing the first Techlam® brand sintered stone slabs in 2007.

The new factory will produce ceramic slabs in a 1600x3200 mm size and thicknesses of between 6 and 20 mm. The technology partner for drying and firing technology is Sacmi, which will deliver an FMA Maestro kiln with pre-dryer and a 7-level dryer by May. Specifically, the Spanish company chose a 51.5-metre E7P 200 horizontal dryer with inflow and outflow automation and a 195.3-metre FMA 217 kiln equipped with a 12.6-metre EUP 217 pre-dryer and state-of-the-art heat recovery systems. The FMA Maestro kiln is the world’s best-selling model and stands out for its modulated air-gas management system, which guarantees perfect firing of the slabs with very low consumption.

“The new Sacmi machines enable us to focus on the recognised quality of our product while at the same time achieving the highest levels of consumption efficiency,” said José Manuel Herraiz, director of Levantina Techlam.

This latest order confirms Sacmi’s role as the go-to supplier of large slab firing equipment in Spain and brings to 18 the total number of such kilns supplied to major Spanish producers, nine of which have been delivered since 2020. In addition to the high technological standards, Sacmi also guarantees a high level of customer support thanks to the approximately 120 employees of the Sacmi Iberica branch, which celebrated its first 40 years in business in 2022.