New Sacmi FMA+ kiln installed by the Italgraniti Group

Italgraniti has chosen the new firing technology to achieve maximum energy efficiency and low environmental impact.

In keeping with its focus on energy consumption and recovery, Italgraniti Group has installed a new FMA+ kiln from Sacmi at its factory in San Martino in Rio (Reggio Emilia), the first such kiln to come into operation since its launch at Tecnargilla 2018.

It is a new-concept machine that uses an air/gas modulation system in which the combustion ratio can be set from zone to zone.

The new burner geometry allows combustion to be completed inside the cone and ensures that infeed into the firing channel always takes place at high speed, thus optimising efficiency. These were the characteristics that persuaded the Italgraniti management to adopt the machine.

According to General Manager Giuseppe Pifferi, the main advantage of the new kiln is that it always ensures excellent levels of consumption in relation to the product and, even more importantly, it allows manufacturing conditions to be replicated with total flexibility.

CEO Francesco Maturo adds that the investment has enabled Italgraniti to run the dryers with “zero calories” thanks to the use of heat recovered from the new kiln. “This latest purchase therefore completes a 5-year period of investment in which we have sought to combine greater efficiency with ever-lower environmental impact,” he said.

Other FMA+ kilns are currently undergoing assembly in the Sassuolo ceramic district.