Approximate reading time: 5 minutes

It is well known that the main problem of building material manufacturers in Spain is the large accumulated stock in recent years of unsold new homes, which at the end of 2009 reached an all-time record of 700,000 homes. This problem is very uneven geographically, with Andalusia, Catalonia and Valencia leading the rankings. However, the regions that suffer this problem most can be more clearly identified once we consider this stock in relation to the number of people in each region, as shown in the following table:

The ECTS group (European Suppliers Ceramic Tecnology) that brings together the leading European suppliers of ceramic technology, including BERALMAR, held its first meeting of 2010 in Osnabrück (Germany). As is traditional, each meeting is organised by a different member of the group which in turn opens the doors of its facilities to further the mutual understanding of the members. This time the organisation of the meeting was provided by BURTON and ELSTER, both located very close to Osnabrück.

The meeting served among other things to choose Luca Caramelli (Bongioanni MACCHINE) as the new Chairman of the Board of ECTS, and discuss business operations and other joint activities of the group.

The most emotive part of the meeting was the tribute the members paid to Hans-Joachim Giesselink (BURTON), who left the company to go into retirement after having done a remarkable job during the past 45 years.

The group's next meeting will take place in Imola (Italy) at the invitation of SACMI HEAVY CLAY on 28th September 2010

The use of solid fuels (petcoke, coal, biomass, etc.) as the main energy source for the firing process usually allows significant savings on the energy bill of the kiln. These savings depend mainly on the following variables: cost and energy power of the previous fuel (natural gas, fuel oil, etc.) cost and energy power of the solid fuel available, specific production and consumption of the kiln.

The savings which are usually generated and the firing quality obtained using BERALMAR technology explain why PROMATIC and MICROMATIC systems have been installed in more than 200 tunnel kilns since 1983 (about 100 since 2000).

Since fuel prices vary over time and from country to country, to calculate the savings that can be obtained in each case we attach an Excel file which can help assess the desirability of exploring the possibility of using solid fuels in the firing process.