4 new VitrA showrooms in Russia

In June, new VitrA stores were opened in the Russian cities of Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Serpukhov as well as a second showroom in Moscow, to be followed by another in St. Petersburg next year. Through these new openings, Eczacibasi Group Building Products Division is intensifying its activity of promoting and marketing the VitrA brand in Russia and neighbouring countries in anticipation of the start-up of the first kiln in the new Serpukhov facility in October this year.

"We have analysed the potential of the Russian market together with the building firms, including a large number of Turkish companies who confirm that building activity is picking up again after months of complete stagnation," explained vice president Ahmet Yamaner  "The Russian market is now demanding more competitive prices so the Russian manufacturers will have to lower their production costs in spite of the fact that labour and gas costs are a third of the European average and electrical energy costs a quarter of those of Turkey. But regardless of the more advantageous production costs, given the logistic problems involved we believe that local production is the only way to tackle this market effectively and to achieve our goal of positioning VitrA amongst the leading Russian brands."

The first kiln, used for the production of mosaic, will be followed at intervals of three months by a second kiln for 45x45 cm size porcelain tile and a third kiln for the large 60x60 cm size, resulting in a total production capacity of 3.5 million sq.m/year by the end of 2011. The facility uses advanced technology from Sacmi and LB and will produce products both for the mid-range and project segments under the VitrA brand name and high-end collections for the retail segment under the Villeroy & Boch brand.