The frits and glazes sector is a key sector for the Spanish and Valencian economy. It has been more than a decade since Spanish companies producing ceramic frits, glazes, colors and inks became world leaders in this sector.
This leadership, surpassing a country as important in this industry as Italy, was achieved due to the large investment in R&D&I by Spanish manufacturers, which, together with their internationalization, has allowed them to diversify in terms of production centers and achieve a larger market share.
Undoubtedly, the key to this business success of a sector mainly located in the province of Castellón (Valencia), has been and continues to be its important commitment to innovation and differentiation, which together with the Spanish tile manufacturers have allowed this industry to reach the top.
In a market that is increasingly internationalized, mature and in which the presence of more and more manufacturers in countries with very low energy costs forces Spanish manufacturers to follow this strategy of innovation and differentiation to avoid falling into a price war that is difficult to win with the energy costs we have in Europe.
Regarding the internationalization of this industry, we must take into account that the Spanish Frits and Enamels industry not only sells internationally, but its expansion has gone hand in hand with the opening of production centers in other countries such as Italy, Brazil, China, Indonesia, India and Mexico.
This investment in export-focused growth has borne fruit, with very significant sales in countries such as China, Italy, Egypt, Algeria, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Poland, Germany and Brazil, among many others, and has enabled us to achieve the following growth ratios domestic vs. export sales in (€) (source data: Anffecc)
Challenges in the sector 2022/2023
Undoubtedly, in a scenario such as that of 2022 and 2023 with very high energy costs in a gas-intensive industry such as that of frit and ceramic producers, the sector faces a major challenge. This industry already has highly optimized production systems to adjust energy costs and optimize the profitability of its factories. The steps that producers are taking are aimed at decentralizing their production units, promoting manufacturing in countries where energy costs are more favorable and allow the sector to remain competitive in a European market that has entered a slowdown in consumption (less construction, high interest rates, lack of liquidity, etc.) and in which the costs of raw materials are still higher than those of other origins.
This, together with working hand in hand with suppliers, is helping the sector to avoid shutting down factories, optimizing stocks of products in its facilities and seeking alternatives to raw materials of great consumption.
2023: Innovation will continue to be the way forward
Major manufacturers continue with their goal of achieving more sustainable products, which is why they have dedicated and continue to dedicate great efforts in the development of new products. development of water-based or high water content digital inkjet inks in their formulations, as they are also doing with the introduction in the market of applications of enamels and engobes that allow the homogeneous application of a smaller quantity of product per square meterreducing consumption and optimizing logistics and energy costs.
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