*|MC:SUBJECT|*

Ceramic News from Barcelona to the World

#156 - 3Q/2021
Approximate reading time: 10 minutes
EDITORIAL CERAMICS INDUSTRY CORPORATE NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EDITORIAL

A TOO SLOW RETURN TO NORMAL MOBILITY
It is undeniable that at the beginning of summer the forecasts were more optimistic than at present in terms of the end of the pandemic and the return to normal mobility, at least in Europe. The progress of vaccinations and the launch of the European health passport that restored freedom of movement in the EU without the need to present negative PCRs for vaccinated travellers suggested that travel restrictions would also disappear throughout the world since the pandemic would only recede inexorably.

The reality has been very different and the pandemic proves to be far from giving up. For example, not only has the United States not yet lifted entry restrictions on travellers from the Schengen zone, but the European Union has imposed restrictions on American travellers due to the force of the latest wave in the United States, where paradoxically there are currently more cases of Covid than during last summer when there were no vaccines. Paradoxically but perhaps not surprisingly, as the most essential measures are lifted (use of a mask indoors, social distance, etc.) with more than a third of the population yet unvaccinated.

It is clear that we will still live for several months in this context of constant impositions and lifting of travel restrictions at a global level that have prevented us at BERALMAR from getting as close as we would like to all our clients from all over the world, in a too slow return to normal mobility.

Be that as it may, the BERALMAR team contributes as much as possible to this return to normalcy and we are happy to be able to affirm that 100% of the company's workforce is vaccinated with the full schedule. After the unprecedented efforts of researchers around the world and the health sector to be in a position to administer the long-awaited vaccines, the least the rest of us can do is to roll up our sleeves when asked.
CERAMICS INDUSTRY

THE ECTS MEETS AGAIN ONLINE… FORT HE LAST TIME?
The ECTS had to hold its first biannual meeting in 2021 online on July 2, in which it has been the third, and we hope that the last, online meeting since the beginning of the pandemic.

The meeting served to discuss future actions of the group such as the resumption of the successful face-to-face symposia.
The next meeting will be in person on October 22 in Hörstel (Germany) at the invitation of VHV ANLAGEN, thanks to the regained freedom of movement in the EU and the implementation of the European health passport.
+ INFO
CERAMICS INDUSTRY

PRICE OF EMISSIONS, UNCHAINED
We have been talking about it for a long time but it continues to give something to talk about, but the price of CO2 emission rights in Europe continues to record highs. At the beginning of September it has already risen above € 60 when at the beginning of the year it was thought that it could reach € 50, but now it is difficult to make forecasts.
Undoubtedly, this trend will further push our sector to make urgent decisions that ensure competitiveness and continuity of production.

At BERALMAR we have been prepared for a long time to respond to this problem and offer you solutions. Some clients have already made decisions but most are still evaluating alternatives. Each case is different and each context offers different possibilities depending on the availability of neutral fuels.
+ INFO
CORPORATE

CONCLUSIONS OF THE 2ND ECTS VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
ECTS organized its 2nd Virtual Exhibition, which took place between June 22 and 24, to continue responding to the fair gap generated by the pandemic.

As in the first edition of September 2020, the Virtual Exhibition had a program of technical presentations that was surely the most interesting part of the event. BERALMAR offered two presentations, one by Rafael Andrés on the direct stacking drying process on a kiln car, and the other by Miquel Moix on decarbonization in our sector.
The main conclusions of BERALMAR on this edition of the ECTS Virtual Exhibition are clear:
  • The Fair was a success of attendance in terms of number of registered visitors.
  • However, online interaction does not quite work and the vast majority of visitors are still reluctant (put to use vocabulary from the sector) to virtual exchange, either due to a technological deficit that still does not facilitate it with the expected naturalness and dynamism, or either for a cultural and generational issue, or for both.
  • Virtual fairs are better than nothing, especially considering that they have a ridiculous cost for everyone, exhibitors and visitors, but they are not in any way a substitute for face-to-face fairs. At least in our sector.
It is for these reasons that we foresee that this will have been the last ECTS Virtual Exhibition, as long as 2022 marks a firm return of fair activity to our sector.
View of the presentation by Miquel Moix on decarbonization.
+ INFO
NEWS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

BRAMPTON BRICK TRUSTS IN BERALMAR AGAIN
BRAMPTON BRICK is Canada's leading brick manufacturer, accounting for approximately 30% of the country's production.

They are also an old customer of BERALMAR, with whom we have cooperated several times, especially in 2001 when BERALMAR supplied two new kiln turns for two kilns of 1,000 tons/day of production each.

On this occasion, BRAMPTON BRICK relies on BERALMAR to supply a new gas firing installation for one of its kilns, and a new SCADA for the dryer and kiln.

We are confident in the success of this project and we thank the management of BRAMPTON BRICK for the renewed confidence in BERALMAR.
+ INFO
Website
Email
LinkedIn
YouTube
BERALMAR TECNOLOGIC S.A · Avda. Valles 304 · Terrassa, B 08220 · Spain
+34 937 312 200