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[February 2003]
Ceramitec Notes New Trends in Manufacturer/Supplier Partnerships
According to Messe München GmbH - the Munich based organiser of Ceramitec which will take place there from 16-20 September 2003 - manufacturers and suppliers are increasingly working hand in hand in the development of new products. These development partnerships are aimed at meeting as closely as possible the tastes of the end consumer and therefore successfully placing the resulting product on the market.In practice, it is often the wishes of the potential customers as regards design which determine the development of new machine systems or manufacturing processes. Conversely, the technology used to make a product has an influence on the way that that product looks. Ceramitec will present all the latest technologies in the supplies industry - machinery, equipment, systems, techniques and raw materials.
Messe München has noted that in the whitewares sector, when choosing products it is the aesthetic aspects which dominate and also of importance are technical qualities such as longevity and ease of cleaning.
Trends in fashion and interior design are exploited in the development of ceramic colours and manufacturing technologies. Not only manufacturers, but also their suppliers, are having to take these design trends into consideration. How tiles look, for example, is influenced by the filling system used in tile moulds and by the choice of different coloured body granulates.
Additionally, all the subsequent processes - such as moulding, covering with slip, glazing, decorating and firing - open up a wide range of other options for modifying the visual appeal of tiles. The close connection between product design, material choice and manufacturing process thus becomes clear. The suppliers of equipment, glazes and ceramic colours play an important part in product development.
For the manufacturers of ceramic colours, it is now a matter of course that interior designers and machinery manufacturers have a say in product development, in order to ensure harmonisation in the technology chain. The machinery manufacturers for their part do not embark on the development of new machinery systems and processing techniques without having found out about the design preferences of tomorrow's end consumer.
Using this information, it can then be decided what technological changes are necessary to create the required products. Only then are the development projects passed on to the construction engineers and process engineers.
In the tableware industry, too, there are examples of how important a role design freedom plays in manufacturing technology. Already, after the introduction some years ago of semi-isostatic moulding techniques, new horizons opened up in the design of these products. But today also, new avenues can be explored if glaze and body suppliers are also incorporated in the loop. They can, says Messe München, bring about significant changes to the properties of the base materials, in terms of workability and visual effect once fired. This will then enable innovative new products to be produced.
http://www.ceramitec.de
ENDS