Kaleseramik, the flagship brand of the Turkish Kalebodur Group, is strengthening its competitiveness with a major modernisation project entrusted to Gruppo B&T. Founded in 1957 as Turkey’s first tile manufacturer, Kaleseramik is today the fourth largest producer in Europe and seventeenth worldwide, with an annual production capacity of 56 million m².
The company has chosen Gruppo B&T for a technological revamp of its Turkish plant, with the goal of optimising performance, reducing consumption, improving quality, and expanding the range of available formats.
The project involved replacing traditional presses with Supera®, a high-performance mouldless press; installing a seven-level horizontal dryer for tiles and slabs up to 120×280 cm; upgrading a Siti B&T dual-channel kiln, now equipped with smart combustion and cooling systems, along with a new HD-slabs pre-kiln dryer for large slabs. The kiln’s lower channel has been assigned to firing formats up to 120×280 cm.
To complete the line, Kaleseramik also installed three new Projecta Dryfix® units, two 140 and one 200, designed for digital dry application of grits and powders. This leading technology delivers three-dimensional material effects and refined finishes on large ceramic surfaces, with a recovery rate of over 95% for grits and a significant reduction in waste.
The results of the project were immediate and substantial:
· Energy efficiency and lower production costs, thanks to process optimisation across the entire line.
· Reduced waste and higher yields, with a greater share of first choice finished product.
· Mouldless production flexibility, enabling rapid changeovers from small to large formats (60×120, 120×120, 120×280 cm) and from thin to thicker slabs, while using standard bodies and reducing fixed costs.
· Shorter operating times, with simplified set-up and cleaning, higher hourly productivity and faster format changes.
· Scalable investment and rapid ROI made possible by progressive line upgrades without extended production stoppages.
Thanks to this project, the Kaleseramik plant now stands as a model of modern, sustainable, high-value ceramic production, with performance comparable to that of a state-of-the-art factory.
The decision to renew a Siti B&T plant from 2012, after 13 years of still solid operation, confirms the Turkish group’s confidence in Gruppo B&T’s Italian technology and know-how, capable of ensuring competitiveness and sustainability in an increasingly dynamic and demanding market.
Gruppo B&T is a manufacturer of turnkey plants for the ceramics and quartz agglomerate industry worldwide. With a widespread presence in all markets, it delivers exceptional technological solutions and innovative services with particular focus on energy efficiency and environmental awareness.
With 24 companies (17 located abroad, spread over 4 continents), the Group has earned a position for itself on the international market by offering customers a guarantee of excellence.
· B&T furthers specializes its products and services through divisions including:
· B&T Tile (complete ceramics plants for conventional sizes and extra-large slabs)
· B&T Quartz (complete plants for quartz agglomerate surfaces)
· B&T Service (customer service and intercompany and interdivisional technical support).
The Group is involved in all stages of manufacturing through the activities of its branches and subsidiaries, each one of which specializes in a specific stage in the production process:
· Siti (complete plants for ceramic and agglomerate products)
· Ancora (complete finishing lines)
· Projecta (digital decoration solutions)
· Digital Design (design and graphic design projects)
· Diatex and MEC Abrasives (squaring and polishing tools).
Every year, Gruppo B&T invests 5% of its turnover in R&D, most of which is carried out in the modern bt-LAB in Formigine, which houses the technology laboratories and the numerous pilot lines for the different technologies.
