Epicenter K makes major investment in Sacmi technology

Ukrainian retailer Epicenter K is about to start up a new complete Sacmi plant for the production of 12 million sq.m/year of monoporosa and porcelain tiles.​

The Epicenter K Group, the Ukrainian retail giant with over 25,000 employees and some sixty shopping centres across the country, has chosen Sacmi to set up a complete ceramic manufacturing plant. When fully operational, it will produce a range of wall and floor tiles in various sizes with a total capacity of 12 million sq.m/year. This will allow the group to self-produce the ceramic items already sold through its retail outlets.

The new factory has been built in Kalynivka, in the Kiev region, alongside the main Epicenter K logistic centre. Two lines are currently undergoing final assembly, one for the production of monoporosa wall tiles, the other for large-size porcelain floor tiles.

Sacmi also supplied all the key parts of the lines, including the PH 6500 presses equipped with the new Powerlink automation, the modular mills, the latest-generation spray dryers and two single-layer kilns( among the longest and most efficient ever installed in Ukraine). Completing the plant is the Sacmi H.E.R.E. Manufacturing Execution System, which ensures integrated, efficient control of the entire production process.

But the Kalynivka plant is just the first step in a broader and highly ambitious programme of investments in ceramic production which Epicenter K intends to implement in a very short timeframe. The plan also includes modernising and upgrading the Kalush manufacturing facility, where Sacmi will install a new small and medium-size tile line with a capacity of 2.5 million sq.m/year.

These major orders for Epicenter K have prompted Sacmi to set up Sacmi Kiev, an after-sales service centre which will support the local market with a team of technicians and a spare parts warehouse.