Raw Materials

From the uncertainties surrounding gas availability and prices to the race to replace Ukrainian raw materials. The Italian ceramic tile industry is facing the challenge of rising costs against the backdrop of a very buoyant market.

Increases of up to 320% are threatening companies’ profitability and R&D investments.

According to preliminary figures published by Confindustria Ceramica and Prometeia, total sales reached 458 million sqm, up 12% on the pre-Covid year 2019. Exports climbed by 15% against 2020 and by 13% with respect to 2019, while Italian domestic sales returned to growth after 20 years (+9% compared to 2019).

According to the preliminary figures compiled by the MECS - Acimac Research Centre, the sector’s year-end turnover will rise to €2,145 million, 45% up on 2020. Almost 6 months of production is guaranteed in 2022

Energy bills, that have more than tripled since the beginning of the year, are wiping out the effects of the economic recovery. The risk for some companies is to be forced to reduce production in the coming months

Soaring prices of raw materials, components, logistics and energy are driving up production costs in the ceramic machinery sector by 30%. Mongardi (Acimac): “We risk wiping out the entire recovery in a matter of weeks”

Revenues in the second quarter of 2021 totalled 417 million euros, 11.5% higher than in the first quarter of the year. The excessive increase in costs is a cause for concern.

UMS, leader in extraction, transport and mining logistics in West Africa, announced the takeover of Alteo, the French producer of specialty aluminas.

Witgert, a long-running German producer of clays and ceramic bodies with a history dating back no fewer than eight generations, completed the construction of its new storage warehouse at its site in Herschbach in August this year.

Drawn from Sibelco’s deposits in Norway, Spectrum® nepheline syenite enhances the aesthetic and functional characteristics of matt glazes in a number of ways, as well as helping to reduce production costs.

The Iranian group has launched its new PS234 range of high-performance deflocculants for the ceramic industry.

To support its market growth in India, Alteo has announced the opening of its new branch Alteo India Aluminas Private Ltd. in Mumbai.

The innovative ready-to-use system for 3D printers allows for rapid prototyping of ceramic items such as tableware, pottery and sanitaryware.

With more than 70 years of experience in research and development of high-quality ceramic raw materials and state-of-the-art laboratories, Stephan Schmidt Group is today one of the world’s leading producers of specialty clays and minerals for the ceramic industry.

The German group has for the third time been honoured with the Innovation Award for the Raw Materials Industry of Rhineland Palatinate.

It has also purchased the building at the site in Veggia (Casalgrande).

This step includes the technical and sales offices, the customer support and R&D laboratory and the meeting spaces.

Stephan Schmidt Group, one of the world’s leading producers of specialty clays and minerals for the ceramic industry, will be presenting several new products at Ceramitec 2018.

Discover the world of Kaltun Mining Company, for more than 50 years serving the ceramic and glass industries with its feldspars, quartz and mica.

As of 1 November 2016, Vincenzo Torre has been appointed the new Vice President of the Global Ceramics division of Sibelco Group, a well-known raw materials multinational based in Antwerp, Belgium.