Welcome to the “Heavy Clay Day” at the Ceramitec!

Dear Readers,

We are looking forward to this year’s Ceramitec in Munich with eager expectation. Our industry – brick manufacturers, plant constructors and suppliers alike – has been hard-hit by the worldwide financial and economic crisis. Many firms have had to change their strategy, make capacity adjustments, in some cases close plants and also dismiss employees – measures which bring painful upheavals but which are intended equip the individual companies for the time after the crisis.

We talked to Dr. Heimo Scheuch, new Chairman of the Board of the Wienerberger AG and present President of the European brick and tile makers’ association TBE Tiles & Bricks Europe (interview on page 48), and to Charles-Antoine de Barbuat, CEO of the plant constructor Keyria and new Chairman of the Working Group European Ceramic Technology Suppliers ECTS (interview on page 60). Both informed us about the strategies of their companies for coping with the crisis and their role as European branch leaders.

We, your technical journal Zi Brick and Tile Industry International, are also feeling the changed conditions. But we are looking ahead! At this year’s Ceramitec we are organizing for the first time the “Heavy Clay Day” together with the Ceramitec. This lecture event is open for all interested participants and will take place on Thursday, 22nd October, in the Forum of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Hall A5. We are devoting ourselves to “Energy efficiency”, a theme which is of vital importance for the survival of the brick and tile sector. The individual lectures will tackle this subject comprehensively – starting with the raw material and covering the manufacture of the products through to the energy-related optimization of the entire production process, and finally the “energy-efficient house”. In doing so, potentials for even more energy-efficient production will be indicated.

We cordially invite all brick and tile makers and also interested colleagues from the entire ceramic sector to the “Heavy Clay Day”. All lectures will be translated simultaneously into English. Short versions of the lectures are published on page 16.

We are pleased to be able to welcome as discussion partners numerous participants of the TBE Annual Conference, which is taking place parallel to this.

Yours,

Anett Fischer

Editor Zi Brick and Tile Industry International