Number of Made-in-Sacmi large tile plants in Mexico continues to grow

On one side, a market - Mexico - that continues to grow steadily. On the other, three companies that have, in order to reinforce and innovate their output capacity, asked Sacmi to equip their factories with the best plant engineering solutions available.

The first is Interceramic, a Mexican company established in 1979 which has always been on the cutting edge of innovation; they've chosen Sacmi to implement expansion at their facility in Chihuahua. Thanks to this new plant, called "Planta 9B", large porcelain tile output, both glazed and technical, will increase by a staggering 3.5 million square metres a year. The two stars of this project are two powerful Sacmi-designed-and-built PH 3800 presses, equipped with an innovative rapid mould changeover system that allows a rapid response to a wide range of market needs. These high performance presses can produce tiles as large as 600x1200. Also being supplied by Sacmi is the firing department, where a modern FMP 2950 kiln over 140 metres long has been installed; it is equipped with a heat recovery circuit and, most importantly, the innovative Hercules control system to optimise performance and consumption. The plant will officially come on line on 15^th July 2013 and represents just the first step in a series of Interceramic brand investments.

Mexico will also see implementation of an ambitious plan by the Lamosa-Porcelanite Group, another leading Mexican producer that has decided to focus on large size tiles by choosing Sacmi plant engineering solutions. Their modernisation and output enhancement programme involves several factories: from Planta Benito Juarez - where red body production line capacity is being doubled, again with PH 3800 presses combined with a FMP 2950 kiln - to Planta Porcel, which is installing a PH 3200 (also with a rapid size changeover system) and Planta San Luis Potosì which is adding a new dryer for two new glazing lines. Lamosa-Porcelanite has also placed orders for the San Josè Iturbide Italgres 2 plant where a PH 6500, the largest press currently operating in Mexico, will soon come online; moreover, the production line (spray drying department included) will be boosted to manage not only large tiles (600x1200) but also those of considerable thickness.

The investment plans of Vitromex - another ceramic company based in Saltillo at the San Josè Potosì facility - also focus on the presses. This plant, which already specialises in large tiles, will receive a boost in terms of both output capacity and flexibility thanks to the installation of two PH 3590 presses, which will allow production of standard sizes (600x1200 and 600x900) and their every sub-multiple obtained by cutting and polishing.