The exhibited technology - not to mention some major projects being implemented across the country - generated huge interest at Cerafair 2018 (Tehran, 10-13 July), Iran's biggest ceramic industry fair. Once again, the event saw Sacmi out in force, determined to provide existing and potential customers with close support during this period of profound change within the Iranian economy.
Double-figure devaluation of the local currency and the return - expected in November - of international sanctions have not stopped the top players in the local ceramics industry. They, albeit with a gradualness dictated by complex economic circumstances, continue to invest in Sacmi technology as part of a plan to progressively convert the industry from red body tiles to vitrified stoneware, which offers greater potential and higher added value.
One of the biggest Sacmi projects in the country concerns the recent supply of a new integrated-automation PH8200 press to Tabriz Tile, a long-standing player on the high quality Iranian ceramic scene. The first of its kind to be supplied to an Iranian firm, the press will be delivered in the coming days and is expected to be operational by the beginning of 2019. It will be the largest, most powerful press installed in the country. Alongside the new smart PH 8200 – which can handle tiles as large as 1200x1200 mm – Sacmi has also provided Tabriz with a twin-channel FBN 295 kiln equipped with the advanced XTR heat retrieval system, two dryers (the modern 14-metre long, 7-tier E7P 285 and a further 3-tier ETP for wall tiles). An additional PH5000XL press and two glazing lines complete the picture.
The customer's decision to focus on large vitrified stoneware tiles is emblematic of the industrial reconversion taking place in what is the world's fourth-largest market in terms of installed manufacturing capacity. And it's with this in mind that Cerafair was taken as an opportunity to make the most of other ongoing and/or completed Sacmi projects and establish new synergies that could soon yield further results. Note also that, in addition to Tabriz, Sacmi also recently supplied Roka Ceram, based in the city of Yazd, with a complete line for porcelain tiles as large as 900x900 and 1000x1000. This already-installed line includes Sacmi Digital machines and glazing lines, with total annual output expected to be 3.5 million m2.
Two key orders were also placed by firms in Abarkooh. With Simin Tile, Sacmi is setting up a 5 million m2/year plant for 900x900 porcelain tiles. Abnous, instead, has decided to give its traditional red body manufacturing operations a 5 million m2 boost by employing Sacmi technology from body preparation to end-of-line operations. Lastly, Vashnegar, based in Zahedan, the largest city in Iranian Balochistan, has gone for a complete Sacmi production line, pushing ahead, in this case too, with a green-field project unique to the region: 4.2 million m2a year of porcelain tiles.
Results like these - together with a firm policy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the customer even when things get tough – have strengthened Sacmi's role as a privileged partner of the Iranian ceramic industry. Present in-country since the early 2000s with Sacmi Iran, the Group combines technological excellence with a far-reaching assistance service before, during and after sales. That local presence makes all the difference, as it means that Sacmi is able to select the best investment solutions together with the customer, from the supply of machines and complete plants to the revamping of existing manufacturing facilities.