Ceramics news roundup

News from the ceramics sector around the world - including a market update from Russia, innovations in energy-saving ceramics manufacture, the products on display at the MosBuild building and interiors exhibition, and more.

 

Technical ceramics well represented at MosBuild 2015

Russia’s largest building and interiors exhibition MosBuild took place last month, and technical ceramics was well represented in the TechnoCeramica section. Keller, Handle & Braun, Lingl, Tecton, Sacmi and Linco Baxo were among the producers and distributors showcasing their equipment and products.

Didier Detieu, the CEO of Linco Baxo, spoke about what his company had brought to Moscow: “We have come to present the whole range of products manufactured at our facilities – cast, alumina and magnesite refractory, ramming and plastic mixes, cements, aluminium oxide, and other products. Our plants produce refractories of complex shapes, different types of bricks, and refractory panels and tiles, which can all be used for a wide range of applications.”

The Italian firm Sacmi, represented in Russia by Interkeram, showcased ceramics for the construction sector, while Handle & Braun presented a system for storing raw materials.

Read more about what happened at this year's MosBuild.

 

Russian domestic ceramics production falls

Russia’s production of ceramic tiles fell by 0.6% compared to the previous year, according to a report from ceramicnews.net. The country’s factories produced 166 million square metres of tiling in total, with December the largest month for production with nearly 15 million square metres.

In terms of a sectoral breakdown, 55.4% of the tiling produced was for floor coverings, while 42.6% was for internal finishing and just 2.13% for external cladding. Russian production of flooring ceramic tiles fell by 2.8% last year. Source (in Russian)

 

Demand for proppants rises, but tight oil threatens growth

Ceramicindustry.com has reported that demand for ceramic proppants is increasing worldwide due to unconventional oil and gas production, citing a report from market research company BCC Research. However, the oil price slide is threatening growth in this sector – the American firm Carbo Ceramics reported a quarterly loss on the back of weak demand, and falling tight oil production in the US is leading to companies cutting expenses and moving towards non-ceramics alternatives, reports energyglobal.com.

 

Energy-saving ceramics technology produces first tiles

The British company Luceidon, which received a £2 million grant from the UK government to develop revolutionary firing technology to cut energy use in ceramics manufacturing, announced last month that they have produced their first set of ceramic tiles using the new method. “"We now have material that is a tile, and looks like a tile, feels like a tile, rings like a tile and that's a Eureka moment,” said the company’s Chief Executive Tony Kinsella. “We are confident we have a real success on our hands, which will have a profound impact on energy use and the economy of the ceramics industry in the future."

The project, which involved construction of a 25-metre kiln, can reduce the temperatures needed in the production process from 1,150 C to 850C, which could mean up to a 25% cut in the energy bills of ceramics manufacturers. Read more

 

3D printing combines ceramics and glasswork

Swedish ceramics artists have managed to combine glassblowing and 3D ceramics printing in a series of works called the Transaction Project. Traditionally difficult to combine due to their different contraction and expansion rates, the new works the team of researchers have produced are something of a technological innovation. “This is significant for artistic practice and material science because it opens up a new language of form and offers an inexpensive, non-patented method to explore these two ‘incompatible’ materials,” those responsible for the project told 3ders.com. Read more 

Related Article