European ceramics industry battles slowing demand

• Autores: Laura Syrett
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 578, 2015 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Diciembre)
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The company, which has offices in the UK, Belgium and Australia, said that the market picture was mixed across the world, but that the UK was doing well, thanks to an active housebuilding market. "But the rest of Europe is struggling," he said. "In Belgium and the Netherlands, we have seen some signs of improvement, but generally it's quite tough." "Customers are looking for more automation, precision, speed and accuracy in their manufacturing processes," one R&D expert at a German technology business told IM. "If you can show people the technology you have, what went into designing it and educate people a little about why it will help them, then you have a good opportunity to get your products into that industry." "This year has been very good for us," Henrik Molleken, head of marketing for processing technology specialist, Eirich Eirich, told IM. "People are looking at ways of energy saving especially," he said, adding that companies were willing to pay to upgrade their systems because of the amortisation benefit. "If a technology has paid for itself in three years and starts to save you money, then it was worth it," he said.