Officially inaugurated on 27 September 2017 (the event was attended by key figures from both local authorities and corporate management), this plant is in a class of its own. It is both the most modern and innovative in China and the most advanced in the entire Duravit Group, the world leader in high quality, superbly designed sanitaryware.
Constructed according to cutting-edge Industry 4.0 principles, the plant features the very best Sacmi technology, from body preparation to handling and logistics, from the kiln to the robotized glazing lines. Key innovations at Chongqing, where the new plant has been up and running for about a year, include, above all, the new LGV vehicles. These Sacmi-built shuttles, used to handle and store pieces, are used alongside solutions for automated loading and unloading of the glazing cells.
Sacmi has also supplied the entire body preparation system, starting with a new-concept supervisor. The latter allows all preparation recipes to be set up with ease directly via the user interface, ensuring smooth dosing of the various raw materials and generating real-time efficiency and department operation reports. Sacmi also supplied the 4 glazing cells (2 of which are robotized with Gaiotto technology), all aided by piece loading-unloading robots at cell inlets and outlets.
For the firing department, Duravit has selected the tried and tested TWS 123/360 tunnel kiln manufactured by Sacmi-Riedhammer. With a length of 123 metres and an effective width of 3600 mm, it offers the best, most efficient high quality sanitaryware firing solution on the market.
“European type” technology, together with a 4.0 approach to the running of both individual departments and the entire production line, has led the German Group - already a long-standing partner that has installed Sacmi plants worldwide - to select Sacmi solutions for what is, explains the company, “a country and market crucial to the Group's strategy in terms of both development and the promotion and marketing of new bathroom furnishing items”.
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