Success Stories
CASE STUDY IX: CERÁMICAS DE MIRA: MULTI-PRODUCT PLANT WITH DIRECT KILN CAR SETTING DRYER

Ceramics Industry
CERAMICS SYMPOSIUM IN HYDERABAD (INDIA)

Corporate
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE CERAMABRICKTECH FAIR 2018
BERALMAR AT THE 2018 INDIAN CERAMICS FAIR

Origin of the project

In the early 2000s, CERAMICAS DE MIRA, a family-owned ceramics plant in the province of Cuenca (Spain) founded in 1929, had a production line of 400 tonnes/day using a direct kiln car stacking dryer and a Hoffmann kiln still in operation. There was still high demand in the market for building materials, so the owners considered demolishing the Hoffmann kiln and investing in a second production line, also of 400 tonnes/day.

Three things were certain: the first was that, since they were satisfied with the experience of managing a plant with a direct kiln car setting dryer, the new plant would have the same characteristics; the second, that the new plant should be multi-product, as a key element for maintaining the competitiveness of the business; and the third, that the project would be a challenge for whichever supplier was chosen, which ended up being BERALMAR.

Execution of the project

As mentioned, the new ceramics plant faced the challenge of being multi-product, but in the broadest sense of the term: it had to produce a very wide range of formats composed of families of hollow blocks, thermoblocks, large formats for interior walls, ceramic subroof bricks of up to 1 metre, acoustic formats and even semi-face formats.

The LLEVANT direct kiln car setting dryer was the only logical option, since apart from being the owner’s desired option, any other type of dryer would have added extraordinary complications at the level of loading and unloading mechanisms for such a variety of formats. The type of setting mechanism that was chosen was a crane fork with different sized prongs, which is the most suitable for handling green material.

As for the tunnel kiln, a PRESTHERMIC high-performance airtight kiln was supplied. Thanks to its design and metallic exterior insulation, this type of kiln can operate at high pressure providing more productivity, faster heat penetration to the clay and lower thermal consumption.

Conclusions

Despite many voices in the sector predicting this type of approach for larger formats would be doomed to failure, the project was an unqualified success.

The new plant went into service at the end of 2006, achieving the following objectives:

• All the proposed formats were manufactured fulfilling quality expectations.
• The thermal consumption for drying and firing was 8% lower compared to the previous plant for the same formats, a very significant fact given that the comparison between the two lines is perfectly valid: same formats, same clay, same fuel, same production volume and same production management. That is to say, all the variables that affect thermal consumption were the same, except the dryer and the kiln that were used.

CERÁMICAS DE MIRA is in a prime location which allows it to access both the Madrid market and the Valencian coast.

CERÁMICAS DE MIRA format families: blocks, acoustic, thermoblocks, large formats, interior walls, semi-face, etc.

Direct setting of green material onto kiln cars, using crane forks with different sized prongs.

Appearance of the finished airtight tunnel kiln.

Kiln cars with green and fired material.

Appearance of the kiln a few years later, already with the BIOMATIC facility in place for firing using petroleum coke and biomass.

Fantastic looking material fired using the BIOMATIC facility.

Although the plant was started up with natural gas combustion equipment, years later BERALMAR replaced most of the kiln’s fuel with biomass mixed with micronized petroleum coke, using a BIOMATIC facility, with the aim of reducing both CO2 emissions and energy costs.

As we all know, at the end of 2007 the real estate sector in Spain entered a crisis from which it has not yet fully recovered. Two out of three ceramics plants have closed in the last 10 years. Fortunately, CERÁMICAS DE MIRA is one of the survivors thanks in the first place to the direct management and efforts of the Pérez family. Only they know what they have had to fight against to stay afloat in such an extremely hostile context. And secondly, it must also be said, thanks to the high competitiveness of the plant chosen by the owners and supplied by BERALMAR, which has allowed the ceramics plant to offer a very wide range of formats with very low energy and labour costs.

The competitiveness of this plant in the face of such an extreme crisis which only now are we slowly leaving behind, is without doubt a great success story, and will enable CERÁMICAS DE MIRA, if nothing goes wrong, to celebrate its centenary in the next decade.

The next case study will be published in Newsletter no. 124 in March 2018.

On 5 March, a ceramics symposium organized by ECTS (European Ceramic Technology Suppliers) will be held in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh, India).

With a population of 7 million people, Hyderabad is the fourth largest city in India. It is also the second largest film production hub in the country, and in recent years it has developed a powerful pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry that has led to it be known as "Genome Valley". It is not the only alternative name for the city, since it is also called "Cyberabad" thanks to the presence of 1,300 technology companies that employ more than 400,000 people and that make it a global centre of IT technology.

BERALMAR will give a presentation called "Solutions for Drying & Firing; the European way for Indian Industry”, in which the advantages of BERALMAR’s new Indian company, located in Bangalore, will be explained to local ceramists.

For several years, ECTS has been spreading knowledge about brick and roof tile manufacturing technologies at ceramics symposiums like the one that will take place in Hyderabad. We hope that it will be a success.

See you in "Cyberabad"!

As announced, BERALMAR took part in the latest edition of the CERAMABRICKTECH fair, which took place from 23 to 26 January in Moscow (Russia).

CERAMABRICKTECH has established itself in recent years as the benchmark for structural ceramics, and not only for the Russian market but also for other markets of the former Soviet Union.

This edition has been very popular if we compare it with the last two editions, when investor confidence was low due to the ruble’s exchange rate. And although the ruble is struggling to get back on its feet, domestic demand for construction materials is an important motivating factor.

The BERALMAR stand received a satisfactory number of visitors.

The markets of Russia and Central Asia are aware of BERALMAR's experience throughout the region, where the BERALMAR brand has earned a well-deserved reputation.

We thank all customers and friends for their visit, and we will see you again next year!

BERALMAR will once again participate in the INDIAN CERAMICS fair, to be held 7-9 March. The main novelty of this edition is the change of venue. Instead of being held in the city of Ahmedabad as in previous years, this year the fair moves to neighbouring Gandhinagar, in the same state of Gujarat.

The city of Gandhinagar was founded in 1960 and named after Mahatma Gandhi. It was planned to be a green city and as a result its parks occupy more than half the area of the city. It currently has about 300,000 inhabitants and is the new capital of the state of Gujarat.

Visitors will be able to find BERALMAR at stand B223 in Hall 2, where they’ll be able to hear first-hand about the various projects for complete facilities that Beralmar offers through its local Indian provider in Bangalore.

We look forward to seeing you in Gandhinagar!

Parks around the Akshardham temple, in Gandhinagar.