Success Stories
CASE STUDY IV: TRANSFORMATION OF THE BORJA S.A. ROOF TILE FACTORY IN ALICANTE

Corporate
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE CERAMICS SYMPOSIUM IN MADURAI (INDIA)
BERALMAR AT THE 2017 KYIVBUILD FAIR

In 1998, TEJAS BORJA, one of the leading roof tile manufacturers in Spain, selected BERALMAR to carry out a comprehensive upgrade of its Alicante plant. The century-old factory had been built on the outskirts of the city, but by the end of the twentieth century the city had engulfed it and it was unable to add warehouses or expand its existing facilities. This space limitation was BERALMAR’s main challenge in achieving the project objectives, which were:

• Increase production by 50%, from 35,900 (455 x 275 mm and 3.2 kg) to 53,000 mixed roof tiles daily.
• Improve energy consumption.
• Change fuel to natural gas.

BERALMAR built a new seven-chamber dryer in two phases, thus minimizing total factory downtime, which only stopped manufacturing for 2.5 months. The seven new chambers achieved the expected increase of 50% in production compared to the nine old chambers thanks to their large interior dimensions: 27.5 m long, 6.9 m wide and 4.8 m high. Each trolley had 16 shelves and each chamber was equipped with conical recirculating fans and a VA-500 model, 500,000 Kcal/h gas burner unit resulting in a 19-hour drying cycle.
 
BERALMAR also built a pre-kiln equipped with seven kiln cars to remove residual moisture. The kiln was also modified and equipped with gas burner units replacing the previous fuel-oil system. The entire structure was also upgraded, and the kiln was equipped with a side air injection system, a new quick cooling system and an automatic control for the MICROBER firing process.
 

Close-up of the new chamber dryer ceiling, illustrating the difficulty of retrofitting the project due to space constraints.



Transfer system for trolleys in the new drying chambers.
 

The projected received aid from IDAE (The Spanish Government’s Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving), which certified an annual energy saving of 511 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). This spectacular energy savings, equivalent to 22% less than previous consumption in drying and firing, was mainly driven by:

• The use of gas burner units in the dryer, boasting lower thermal consumption than the earlier fuel-oil heat exchangers.
• The increase in production and the resulting decrease in consumption.
• The improved efficiency of the new production process resulting mainly from the presence of the pre-kiln and the automated control of the entire process.

After decades of operating in the midst of the demographic pressure of Alicante, the century-old TEJAS BORJA factory finally closed its doors in 2010. But the company continues to manufacture tiles and export them worldwide from its three other ceramic works in the Valencia region.

This project is a good example of BERALMAR's flexibility and capability when it comes to devising solutions for demanding spaces — much more difficult than supplying equipment for a brand new plant.

New natural gas firing facility.
 

On 27 February the ceramic symposium organised by ECTS took place in Madurai (Tamil Nadu, India), where seven member companies offered their views on how they can drive modernisation in the Indian ceramics industry.

BERALMAR’s contribution to the symposium was a presentation by BERALMAR INDIA’s Country Manager, Bharath M.S., entitled "Your drying and firing problems solved with European technology made in India”. He showcased — to an audience of over 100 ceramists from the region — projects and equipment specifically designed for the needs of Indian ceramics which BERALMAR can supply locally through its Bangalore-based company (Karnataka)

BERALMAR’s presentation was very well received, as evidenced by the numerous meetings requested by local ceramists for the B2B session with which the symposium ended.

We hope that this symposium and BERALMAR’s contribution in particular will help encourage Tamil Nadu ceramists to consider improvements and launch projects that will guarantee their long-term success.

Bharath M.S. giving a talk.

BERALMAR will take part in the KYIVBUILD 2017 fair that will be held from 1 to 3 March at the INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTER (IEC) of the Ukrainian capital.

Visitors can find the BERALMAR team at stand G 2-5.

KYIVBUILD is Ukraine’s leading construction industry fair, and BERALMAR has been a loyal exhibitor for many years.

We look forward to seeing you there!