What trends are you observing in tiles with respect to materials, colours, sizes and patterns?
In India, the recent trend amongst architects and interior designers is for bigger slabs - for both walls and floors; while architects choose slim tiles for façades and stone tiles for elevations. For countertops and other platform-based applications, buyers are diverting from marble and granite to 15-18mm thick ceramic and vitrified tiles. As regards the design aspect, the market is seeing demand for marble textures, abstracts, florals, and stone designs.
What are the special features of EMCER tiles?
EMCER tiles are designed to give interior designers the freedom to reimagine and experiment with endless interior decor concepts. Our tiles are of superior quality with vivid patterns, and they come in unlimited designs, various sizes and thicknesses for application in residential and commercial spaces. In fact, we offer extraordinary designs in marble, stone, as well as solid colors, and our rates are also quite competitive.
Our most popular range is our Extrema Series (800x2400mm – 15mm thickness), the Quartzite Series (1200x1600mm – 15mm), and our tiles measuring 1200x1600mm and 800x1600mm. All these tiles are ideal for any wall and floor surface in terms of area coverage, design, quality, strength, durability, and pocket friendliness.
EMCER follows eco-conscious practices in its production processes; our production unit is equipped with Bio-Gas and Solar Energy plants which ensure zero harmful emissions in the atmosphere, and we also do water harvesting at our facility. Our aim is to revolutionize the tiles industry by introducing never-before seen slabs that will raise the bar for quality and aesthetics in interior and exterior applications
Our tiles are mostly maintenance-free: they do not react with acids and other cleaning agents, plus they are cheaper and easier to handle as compared to natural stones and marble. The lifespan of EMCER slabs is 15 to 17 years in normal environments.
What is the company’s current production capacity and its expansion plans?
EMCER is a group venture between two renowned brands of the ceramic industry: SOL Tiles and Sanford Tiles, which bring together over three decades of technical expertise and innovativeness in the creation of tiles.
Our state-of-the-art plant produces high quality slabs, and is equipped with machines from Systems Ceramic (Italy), Techno Ferrari (Italy), LB (Italy), Modena (HK), and industrial quality raw materials and glazes.
In a span of less than 3 years, EMCER has marked its presence in about 47 countries worldwide, an achievement that we attribute to our premium quality products, and to our business strategies and ethics. We currently have over 1500 dealers in India.
This fiscal, we plan to increase the production capacity of our plant to 120 lakh sq.mtr, and allocate about 40% of our production to our export business. We have planned an overall investment of about ₹200 cr in the Ceramic Industry this fiscal.
How do you see the Tile industry performing in the short-term?
The growth potential of the ceramics and tiles industry looks highly positive, despite the current setback due to the pandemic lockdown. Improved cashflow system and competitiveness within the tile industry in India, and also internationally, has pushed for a significant growth in the export of tiles, which is set to be maintained in the coming financial year.
The government has also been taking significant measures to nurture the tile industry in our country, like extending the implication of anti-dumping duty on imports of cheaper ceramics and vitrified tiles from China. This move has ensured that the domestic tile industry remains protected. New markets such as Thailand and Indonesia have also opened up internationally - paving the way for India’s progress in the tile industry.
