Sacmi supplies Continua+ technology for the new SAMCA facility

The new facility, successfully started up by SAMCA in Hammanskraal, South Africa, adopts a revolutionary technological approach while using locally sourced raw materials.

SAMCA (Ceramic Industries Group) will use Sacmi’s Continua+ 2180 technology to produce ceramic slabs and sub-sizes at its cutting-edge facility in Hammanskraal in the north of the province of Gauteng in South Africa. The production site is the first in South Africa to adopt this innovative technology and most importantly will produce ceramic surfaces using locally sourced raw materials.

The Sacmi Ceramic Lab team provided support at every stage of the project, beginning with an analysis of the raw material samples supplied directly by the South African company. Product quality tests were also performed and gave better-than-expected results, especially in terms of density and bending strength.

A manufacturer of red body tiles, until now processed on traditional presses, SAMCA adopted the Continua+ 2180 prevalently for the production of thin sub-sizes (5 mm thickness) and has achieved record levels of productivity (9 linear metres per minute with an 1800 mm width) and the lowest energy consumption on the market (0.04 kWh per sqm).

“Our investment approach takes a decidedly long-term perspective,” explains Tshepo Molefakgotla, CEO of Ceramic Industries Group. “We have sought to maximize our advantage by investing in the best ceramic manufacturing technologies available.”

Compared to traditional pressing, Continua+ makes it possible to revolutionize the approach to production in terms of versatility, largely thanks to on-machine cutting solutions, and the sheer number of products it can produce. But one of the biggest advantages is that this can be done using traditional raw materials.

With five tile factories and two sanitaryware plants as well as offices in South Africa and Australia, the Ceramic Industries Group has decided to equip the new SAMCA factory with a 241-metre, energy-efficient kiln and sorting lines, also supplied by Sacmi.