10th Acimac Annual Meeting proves a big success at Tecnargilla

The 10th Acimac Annual Meeting, the traditional conference organised by Acimac in collaboration with the magazine Ceramic World Review and Tecnargilla, attracted strong interest on the part of ceramic industry professionals. Entitled “Ceramics 4.0: large, digital and sustainable”, the conference was held on 25 September and maintained the successful formula of previous editions. It was attended by more than 300 Italian and international professionals keen to find out more about the latest developments in materials and technologies for the production of the ceramics of the future.

Eight speakers gave presentations during the morning, moderated by Prof. Paolo Zannini, a professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and vice chairman of the Italian Ceramic Society.  The topics of discussion covered the entire production process and provided a concise but exhaustive picture of the directions in which ceramic production is currently moving.

The first topic was the full digital process, with a special focus on materials. Alessandro Giovannini (Torrecid) presented the EcoInk-Cid range, then Armando Meletti (Esmalglass-Itaca) described a range of solutions including low-odour inks, water-based glazes, materials for the creation of digital textures without the use of punches, and a cadmium-free red ink. In her presentation, Denia Mazzini (Colorobbia) also focused on environmental sustainability and argued that collaboration between the various players in the production chain is essential for ensuring perfect integration between digital machines and materials. Norbert von Aufschnaiter (Durst) discussed the latest developments in machinery for a 100% digital and 4.0 glazing and decoration process, then Andrea Bresciani (Sacmi) extended the analysis to the entire integrated factory in which 4.0 digital systems are capable of managing the entire production cycle through to end-of-line logistics. In a particularly interesting talk, Franco Stefani (System) addressed the theme of logistics and the benefits of rethinking the current warehouse concept given the availability of technologies for a production-to-order approach.

The high levels of efficiency achieved by 4.0 technologies and environmental sustainability were the focus of two presentations, the first given by Emilio Benedetti (LB) on new powder preparation plants (including microgranulation with Migratech 4.0 technology) and the second by Marco Sichi (BMR) who discussed the most innovative large-size slab finishing technologies with dry squaring.

In the video: The TG Tecnargilla feature devoted to the event.