Tecna 2022, the leading players give their views: Fabio Tarozzi, Chairman and CEO of B&T Group

Fabio Tarozzi, the Gruppo B&T's Chairman and CEO, talked to us about the key aspects of the company’s participation in Tecna, where the Group will be presenting more than 20 new products and solutions focused on innovation and energy saving.

What technological solutions have you been working on in recent years and are planning to showcase at the exhibition?

«B&T Group is a system integrator, a supplier of complete lines for the ceramic industry renowned for its green credentials, Smart 4.0 technologies and the highest levels of industrial efficiency. Over the years, the Group has worked hard to develop solutions that meet market needs for very high productivity and maximum attention to sustainability, including energy savings and lower production costs. At Tecna, B&T Group will be showcasing 20 new machines and technological upgrades tailored specifically to these needs.

As part of the revolutionary shift towards mouldless shaping, we are proposing an on-belt pressing process based on SUPERA® technology. This compact and versatile system was originally developed for large slabs and is now also available in a new RAPIDA version for the production of more traditional ceramic sizes with very high levels of productivity (20,000 m2 per day).

We have also been focusing strongly on technology for firing, the other key step in the production process, with the aim of developing hydrogen-powered kilns and helping ceramic producers prepare for the energy transition. At Tecna we will be presenting the results of a highly ambitious project aimed at developing a new generation of machines based on eco-friendly and carbon-free firing technology.

In the meantime, the soaring cost of natural gas makes it essential for ceramic manufacturers to find ways of reducing energy consumption as rapidly as possible to avoid loss of competitiveness and profitability. Our best-in-class TITANIUM 2.0 kilns guarantee outstanding energy performance with a 30% reduction in fuel consumption.

We are also presenting new solutions in the sorting line segment with a new proposal for large sizes (up to 120x120 cm) that represents a true innovation for the end-of-line stage. It includes a high-performance packaging machine that stands out for its versatility in terms of sizes, speed and quality of the packaged boxes and a new, much faster and much more compact stacking machine that will soon be launched on the market. Here too, the key words are productivity and process simplification.

The Ancora brand, a Group subsidiary and longstanding supplier of complete finishing lines, will be presenting the new TORNADO dry squaring machine, a top-of-the-range machine that stands out for its high level of automation. This technology features a self-adjusting and self-adapting laser tool wear detection system developed in accordance with Industry 4.0 criteria. It is the first of a new family of Ancora products that we will be presenting at the show (Matrix and Imperial lapping machines and Powerlux super gloss machine).

Projecta, a brand specialising in digital decoration solutions, will be offering its new PRO printer with extraordinary computing power based on a new hardware architecture and a new software platform, as well as a new generation of printheads called Fast Drop (a patented printhead with a very high discharge rate). Projecta will also be showcasing one of its flagship machines called DRY FIX, which boasts more than 100 installations worldwide.

How do you expect the market to evolve over the next few months?

«While our market has always been strongly cyclical in nature, we are currently seeing an astonishing recovery and a return to pre-Covid levels of demand. At the same time, we are focusing strongly on counter-cyclical technologies, i.e. those that relate to changing production requirements rather than changes in capacity.

We are also noting that each geographical area is finding its own individual equilibrium and that each country has specific demands and needs. That is why we have developed a network of subsidiaries across many countries with large ceramic markets».

What are your expectations for Tecna 2022?

«People want to meet again face-to-face and see technologies for themselves. Having the opportunity to explain in-person the value of the work we have been doing over the years will enable us – both as a company and as a country – to convey the true sense of innovation that Italian industry has always represented as a world leader.

Tecna is a strategic event and our industry’s leading trade fair. We have always invested in the show and will once again be displaying an unprecedented number of innovations».