LB Group Reports 15% Turnover Growth in 2016

意大利LB集团发布了其2016年最新财报：实现营业额15％的增长，在2016年终将达到4000多万欧元，其中70％是由出口部分贡献。详情请看以下内容：

LB Group of Fiorano Modenese has reported 15% growth in turnover in 2016 to reach more than 40 million euros, 70% of which is generated by exports.

Technological innovation, internationalisation and an ability to supply products and services compatible with an Industry 4.0 vision are the key factors behind this success, along with the growing commercial and operational synergies between LB and its subsidiaries Sitec and Sermat.

In the first half of 2016, the company opened two foreign branches in strategic markets for the development of its business plan, one in Tennessee (USA) and the other in Gujarat (India).

The group also has some major projects in the pipeline for 2017, including a new project in the field of proactive support, training and consulting in cooperation with the innovative start-up AST4. “The software we are working on communicates with plant and machinery, exchanging key information for process analysis and control of the data generated by the production systems,” explains LB’s CEO Emilio Benedetti. “This improves the efficiency and productivity of the plant and machinery.”

The LB group has around 120 employees and is today the leading global supplier of plants for glazed and unglazed porcelain tile production, for dry milling with microgranulation and for powder treatment in the ceramic sector and allied industries. LB also operates successfully in the field of pre-mixed materials and collaborates with the world’s leading manufacturers, including the Weber-Saint Gobain group which in 2016 commissioned a second plant from LB after the first one built for the plant in Chennai, India. 

Sacmi supplies automated glazing system to Daelim Bath Korea

2016年12月，韩国最大卫浴厂商DAELIM BATH购买了萨克米SACMI的自动化施釉系统，并安装在其第二间工厂，位于韩国靠近釜山的昌原市。详情请看以下内容：

Daelim Bath, South Korea’s largest sanitaryware manufacturer and market leader in terms of style and technology, has chosen to raise the technological level of the glazing department at its second manufacturing unit located in Changwon City in the south of the country near the city of Busan.

The Sacmi installation is configured according to a new fully-integrated glazing island concept. Unveiled two years ago at Tecnargilla 2014, the line is designed for the production of large WCs requiring high-precision automatic handling systems so as to maintain high process efficiency.

The glazing island for the production of one-piece WCs, the core product in Daelim’s high-end sanitaryware range, occupies a compact space of just 16 x 9 metres.

The delicate task of handling pieces exiting the inspection booths is performed by a FANUC R2000iB anthropomorphic robot with a wrist load capacity of 185 kg, which divides the semi-finished articles between two glazing booths. The articles are sprayed by the Gaiotto GA2000 robot, which alternates between the booths and uses 8-axis control to manage the two working positions in the respective booths. As well as optimising working times, this double-booth configuration allows for the application of two coats of glaze.

The island is integrated with a conveying system with 7 set-down positions, again fed by the handling robot and featuring an automatic foot cleaner that eliminates the need for manual finishing at the glazing island exit.

The cell is also equipped with an intermediate 6-position pre-spray storage station for inspected products.

The technological heart of the cell is the GA 2000 self-learning robot, which in this case is equipped with all the latest glaze spraying innovations: Mass Control® glaze delivery control system; GDA 80 automatic spray gun, equipped with a diaphragm system that reduces gun maintenance costs by 90% and increases maximum glaze delivery by 50%; the pneumatic 90° gun tilt system, which together with a 25% smaller gun enables the robot arm to spray areas that are hidden or difficult to reach.

Industrial giant Mohawk expands with SITI B&T Group technology

行业巨头莫霍克集团与全球最大陶瓷工业整线设备制造商之一的意大利上游企业西蒂贝恩特合作，为旗下品牌Daltile（达泰）新建墨西哥工厂购置西蒂贝恩特先进技术产品Titanium® technologies。

Mohawk Industries, the industrial giant that also controls Marazzi, has chosen SITI B&T Group technologies for the new Mexican facility of Daltile, a leading company in the US market owned by the Group since 2002.

The decision confirms SITI B&T Group’s focus on research, development and innovation as a major driver of business growth. Mohawk Industries, one of the leading players in the ceramic industry, produced around 225 million sq.m of tiles in 2015 and generated a turnover of more than US $3 billion in the ceramic segment alone, equivalent to 37% of total revenues. The Group has an extensive product range (including other surface covering materials such as carpet) and has decided to expand its operations in the ceramic tile sector, a material that is steadily gaining market share with respect to alternative products.

Daltile’s goal is to strengthen the Group’s competitive position in the Mexican market. The new facility will have an ultra-modern raw materials preparation department equipped with continuous modular mills with inverter-controlled differentiated speed management for higher productivity and one of the largest SD spray dryers in Mexico, a solution that will bring significant energy savings.

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and consumptions, Daltile has chosen advanced Titanium® technologies for the firing stage. These consist of three kilns equipped with MHR 230°C hot air recovery systems to optimise energy efficiency.

The latest-generation Titanium® kilns unveiled at the recent exhibition Tecnargilla deliver unique levels of energy efficiency, cutting fuel consumption by 30% and atmospheric emissions by 25%.

The plant also features a Dry Squaring Speed line and the Deepmotor Cut score-and-snap machine from Ancora, the company specialising in ceramic product finishing which joined SITI B&T Group in 2015 and reported 20% growth in business this year.

Durst Full Digital Glaze Technology Inspires Japan

12月12日，意大利杜斯特公司Durst的日本销售伙伴Goto Inc.在日本陶瓷机械协会（JCMA）的第四届技术会议上公布了Durst的创新技术成果-全数码施釉线。

Durst, manufacturer of advanced digital production technology, is now also attracting considerable interest in Japan, following the much-noticed Full Digital Glaze Line concept presentation at Technargilla 2016 in Italy. Local Durst sales partner Goto Inc. unveiled the Durst innovation at the 4th technology conference of the Japan Ceramic Machinery Association (JCMA). 

With the Full Digital Glaze Line, Durst is taking tile production to the next level of automation, and synchronizing the glazing, decoration, and final finishing steps to create an end-to-end production process. The future all-in-one solution comprises the newly developed Durst Gamma DG for digital glazing and the modern 8-color ceramic printer generation from the Durst Gamma XD 4.0 series, and is controlled by a central workflow software. Japanese ceramic producers were very excited by the tremendous potential that the production line offers in combination with the new effect inks. The design variations on the sample tiles presented by Durst in particular attracted huge interest. 

Durst Digital Glaze allows a complete top layer of glaze to be applied to tiles, and real structures with extra-fine definition and a high layer thickness to be created. For the participants, this was proof of Durst’s innovative strength in taking post-digitalization ceramic production into the next stage of evolution. In addition to technological prospects, Shoichiro Goto, Managing Director of the local Durst distribution partner, also unveiled the current Durst Ceramics Printing portfolio with its flagship Gamma 108 XD 4.0 model. Equipped with DM (Digital Material) printhead technology, it prints especially large volumes of ink (over 100 gsm) in order to achieve highest quality.

Articles sourced from CRW website&official websites

Editor: Amie