Gulf Construction Online - Shaping the ‘Future’ of ceramics in region

Ceramics & Sanitary Ware

Future Ceramics factory in Dammam ... taking shape.

Shaping the ‘Future’ of ceramics in region

01 February 2009

With machinery having already arrived at the site of Future Ceramics’ factory in Saudi Arabia, installation and commissioning work is currently under way to ensure that the facility is on track to commence trial production of ceramic tiles by July.

“Installation and commissioning is expected to take five to six months due to the size of the project, says Mazen Al Hammad, managing director of Future Ceramics. “We aim to start trial production for ceramic tiles between May and July this year; our focus, however, is on the quality of the product.”
The factory, taking shape over a 277,500 sq m area in the Second Industrial City of Dammam, comprises two production lines — the first for ceramic tiles, and the second for porcelain tiles which is scheduled for start-up in August. The project will have a daily capacity of 120,000 sq m of ceramic and porcelain tiles by 2012.
The facility is being fitted with the latest Italian technology. Al Hammad elaborates: “We wanted to build a modern, efficient and technologically-advanced factory. For this purpose, we chose exclusively Italian technology. The lines will be equipped with kilns, presses and spray dryers supplied by Sacmi, for handling equipment we turned to Tecnoferrari whereas for inspection, sorting and packing equipment we chose Qualitron, Easy Line, and Falcon from System. System will also supply Rotocolor decoration technology.”
He adds: “The delicate and important press decoration stage was assigned to technologies supplied by LB Officine Meccaniche. We also have an Italian technical director, Maurizio Garagioni, a professional with many years of experience who has held the same position at leading Italian companies such as Pastorelli, Coop Imola and Fincuoghi.

Design and sizing
Al Hammad says extensive efforts have been exerted that Future Ceramics’ designs are in line with the latest trends and market choice.
“Deals have been signed with some Italian designers. Gamma Due, considered one of the leading ceramics and porcelain designers, is our main designer. For glaze suppliers, we are joining hands with Colorobbia, Esmalglass and Sicer,” he says.
“We want to ensure that we have the best of world creativity, while at the same time also catering to the tastes of our Saudi Arabian clientele. The consulting services provided by these professionals will also be essential for training of our product research department,” adds Al Hammad.
The company will produce tiles of various types and sizes. These include the single-fired ceramic tile range, covering sizes of 43 by 43 cm, 33 by 33 cm, 50 by 50 cm and 20 by 20 cm floor tiles; wall tiles, covering sizes of 20 by 20 cm, 20 by 43 cm and 33 by 50 cm; and porcelain tiles, in sizes of 30 by 30 cm, 30 by 60 cm, 45 by 45 cm, 60 by 60 cm and 60 by 120 cm.

Brand image & pricing
The company has chosen to differentiate brand names according to product type. “Orient Tiles will be used for single-fired tiles; Future Tiles for single-fired and porcelain tile collections; while the Elite Tiles brand will be reserved for higher quality porcelain tile, hence the name “elite”, he continues.
Pricing of the products has been set keeping in view two different aspects; first, the grade of the product, and; second, the number of applications and processes involved in the production of the tiles.
“All our brands will have the same quality. However, the number of production applications is less in the Orient Tiles (ceramic red body only), so they cost less. The process is medium in the making of the Future Tiles brand (ceramic red body and porcelain) and so they have mid-range prices.
“Similarly, our top-end product which involves higher input is Elite Tiles brand (only porcelain), making their prices high,” he says.

Marketing
Future Ceramics has met with initial success to its marketing efforts.
“We have signed MoUs with renowned clients, including some from Europe, who have their own designs but would like us to produce their products. We also have letters of intent from various distributors,” Al Hammad says.
He says the company will sell on a project basis, and will also have a project sales department that will visit sites and try to get samples approved by clients. The clients would then decide whether to buy directly from the company or through its distribution network.
Future Ceramics will focus on marketing its products in the GCC for the first two years, eyeing a 10 to 20 per cent share of the Saudi Arabian ceramic tile market.
A network of distributors and showrooms will be set up in Saudi Arabia and throughout the GCC to promote products. “The first one has already been opened in Bilda Mall, Riyadh,” Al Hammad says.
“Later, we will expand into world markets, particularly as we benefit from relatively low transport costs,” he concludes.