China is expected to be the world's largest exporter of ceramic tiles this year, but innovation is key if it's to keep pace with competitors. The nation's output of ceramic tiles has grown by an average 22 per cent annually in the past two decades, reaching 3.5 billion square metres last year, according to statistics from the China Building Ceramic and Sanitary Ware Association. The export volume has grown by 76.9 per cent annually since 2000, with China overtaking Brazil, Turkey and Spain to become the world's second-largest exporter last year after Italy, the association said. Last year China exported 421 million square metres of ceramic tiles, accounting for 12 percent of the nation's total output of ceramic products. China has been leading the world's exports of ceramic bathroom products for many years. The export volume has grown by 61.2 percent in the past five years, hitting 38.9 million items last year, and accounting for 41.7 per cent of the total output, according to the statistics. Meanwhile the import volume has dropped in recent years, indicating the quality and design of made-in-China products has largely improved. Domestically made products not only meet the increasingly high-end demand from the local market, but also win recognition from overseas customers. China's fast-growing economy is the driving force behind the ceramics industry, and that Chinese products will play a more important role in the global market in the near future. But the average export prices of ceramic tiles and bathroom products have respectively dropped by 21.6 per cent and 16.8 per cent from 2000 to last year. Due to fierce competition, the price war between domestic manufacturers has already extended from the domestic market to the overseas market. Businesses should get behind new product innovation and the Chinese Government should consider export restrictions on low-end, high-energy consuming ceramic products. New trend The requirements may be quite different for individual suppliers in the ceramics industry ? whether they present products for end consumers in sanitary area or new developments in high-tech ceramics ? the most important innovations aim at attaining outstanding product characteristics, flexible and efficient manufacturing possibilities and energy saving. Raw materials and additives: Some examples of the products presented in this wide area: • Clays with special, improved characteristics in terms of rheology, plasticity and piece formation for tableware and sanitary ceramics. Ready-to-use ceramic bodies for special applications such as spray-dried granulates for high-tech ceramics, or fine chamotted, plastic masses for vessels and tableware in new color combinations. Chamottes which actively improve the production and product characteristics of the ceramics. • High-quality ceramic powders such as nitrides, carbides, borides and silicides and special alloys and raw materials for high-tech ceramics, for instance subsieve and finely ground SiC powder for sinterted, recrystallised, nitride-bound and silicon-infiltrated SiC. • Oxides as individual components or complex metal oxide compounds for electro-ceramics, ion-conducting membranes, bio-ceramics, coatings, ceramic components and refractory products. • New developments in the area of binders and additives containing phosphate or silicate, inorganic structural materials and phosphate-based nano materials. Marketing trends ? as well as statutory regulations ? influence the color and surface style of ceramic products • Mineral suspensions for the attractive and resistant coloring of bricks, roof tiles and floor tiles and which offer advantages in the processing. • Lead-free surface refinements and colors, e.g. for tableware producers to use in onglaze and inglaze decoration as well as for the tile and brick industry. • Invisible coating systems derived from nanotechnology with water- and oil-repellent properties which are simply applied to the surface, thus protecting against dirtying. Adapted solutions for processing, forming, finishing • Newly developed system solutions in spraying technology for powders with individual binder systems to meet requirements of cost efficiency, controllable product quality on a large scale and ? not least ? the increasing requirements of environmental protection. • High-efficiency ceramics is becoming more and more precise, with special high-quality combinations of materials but with small volumes. Particularly for this type of high-tech ceramics, new micro-machinery has been developed in the area of fine grinding and mixing. On exhibition is a screw-type extruding machine for large throughputs of up to 120t/h for the multiple-hole extruding of thin-walled hollow ware. • On show are advancements in presses with greater force of pressure and several pressing levels: technologically new is a hydraulic 2,000t press which attains a high level of precision, even under vacuum. The special advantage is that some products which could only be manufactured on isostatic presses or by slip casting can now be produced in one single operation without extra finishing work. Also presented are small hydraulic presses with a new machine concept for the area of technical ceramics. Machine manufacturers develop for special product designs of their customers. In sanitary ceramics, these developments are mainly large, heavy items while oval or angular forms are the trend in the tableware industry • On offer are pressure-casting units with automatic handling, with mould mounting surfaces of 2,000mm x 2,000mm as well as pressure-casting machines which form cups complete with handles. Innovations in the area of thermo-processing plant: one of the key subjects at the fair is the cost explosion in the energy sector • Time and energy saving with improved drying systems. Producers of drying plant demonstrate that great savings in energy consumption are possible through structural alterations in the heating of the dryers. One exhibitor presents innovative drying methods with highly flexible climate control which can be employed regardless of the mass. These were developed specially for soot particle filters and catalytic converters. In addition, there are flash dryers for structural ceramic items with which drying times can be reduced by 50 - 80 per cent. The subject of microwave drying too with particularly short drying times is relevant now as ever. Advancements in kiln technology and interesting automation systems aim at attaining low energy consumption, flexible production processes and maximum values in the quality of the goods fired • New developments of “lightweight” firing aids which facilitate more efficient firing in the high-temperature area too are of decisive importance. Particularly thin firing aids to a maximum of 2mm, e.g. for the manufacture of electronic components, and also particularly large beams, props and rollers up to 4.20m long allow especially large and efficient firing units to be designed. Many plant constructors are exhibiting kilns of large dimensions for both continuous and periodic firing processes. For sanitary ceramics, a newly developed firing and charging system is being presented. To produce large numbers of items efficiently and in high quality, the cross section of the kiln was enlarged and ? as an innovation in the sanitary industry ? multilayer loading of the kiln car was developed for tunnel kilns. Compared to conventional tunnel kilns, the firing capacity can be increased by 50 - 80%. This concept was made possible by innovative developments, for instance in firing and control technology and by using a gantry robot for loading and unloading the kiln cars.