Approximate reading time: 5 minutes

Last 14 November the members of the European Ceramic Technology Suppliers association (ECTS) held one of its biannual meetings in Amsterdam.

You may remember that the objectives of the ECTS, of which BERALMAR is a member, are the defence of common interests, dissemination of market information and the promotion of improved mutual understanding and cooperation between the members.

In this latest meeting the economic situation in the sector and participation in fairs were discussed. The following presentations were also given: one of a technical nature on the manufacture of manual parts from clay and fly ash given by Hans van Wijck of the TCKI technology centre (Holland) and another on European funding for research and development given by Dr. Frank Knecht.

We take this opportunity to offer our thanks to our colleagues from Machinefabrik De Boer B.V. and Stafier Holland B.V. for their impeccable organisational work. The next ECTS meeting will take place in spring 2009 in Italy.

On 6 and 7 November the “23rd Téglás Napok” Brick Conference was held in Hungary. This event was organised by the Hungarian ceramists' association, MAGYAR TÉGLÁS, in the town of Balatonfüred, on the banks of the impressive Lake Balaton.

The first day of the conference consisted of a series of technical presentations in the morning and a visit to the PÁPATESZÉRI TÉGLAIPARI KFT ceramics plant in the afternoon. Mr. Valdinger Imre, the owner of the plant, was kind enough to show all the attendees the new facilities built by BERALMAR.

The subjects covered during the second day of the meeting were of an economic and administrative nature.

Mr. Aladár Kató and Mr. Robert Kis must be congratulated for their organisation of the event and Mr. Valdinger Imre must especially be thanked for the detail of opening the doors to his plant to the other colleagues from the sector and saying so many kind words about BERALMAR.

BERALMAR's website has its own life and its contents are continually updated.

The section with information for ceramists will soon be complete, with lots of technical documentation available to everyone.

The latest update was related to the Newsletters. As of now you can look up all the Newsletters published in the “Sign up to Newsletter” section, selecting a Newsletter in the “Consult previous Newsletters” box. A new window will open with the consulted Newsletter.

BERALMAR has just started up a pre-kiln in the CERABRICK ceramics plant in Fuenmayor (La Rioja province, Spain). This is an atypical pre-kiln due to its dimensions: 68 metres long and 9.80 metres wide, with capacity for 15 wagons. The new pre-kiln is dimensioned to provide service for the production of 1,000 tonnes/day of large format pieces and thermoblocks.

This investment is a commitment to quality: “The objective pursued with this plant is to ensure that the material enters the kiln dry.Previously, some pieces, especially large format ones, used to twist due to uneven loss of residual moisture caused by temperature differences in the preheating zone”, says Artur Massaguer, BERALMAR's technical manager.

The pre-kiln took only 10 weeks to build, due in part to the fact that a prefabricated structure was chosen.

This is an investment for our times: directed at quality improvement or an increase in energy efficiency.