If you ask what is the most "hot" and enduring product in the building ceramics industry in recent years, I believe you can easily find it at the Foshan Huaxia Ceramics Expo City or the China Ceramics Industry Headquarters Base. Ask someone to ask, and the answer they get is: Big Board.
Since emerging in China on the strength of the Bologna Exhibition in Italy in 2016, ceramic slabs (often referred to as "big slabs") include "ceramic slate slabs". ") has always occupied the "hot search list" in the ceramics industry and has become a must-talk topic among ceramics people.
No, ceramic slabs have become a new hot topic recently.
On June 19, Henlitai HT36000 ultra-large press was successfully trial-produced at Mona Lisa Group, and the 3.6m ultra-large size plate was born; June 25 On June 26, the Guangdong Provincial Building Materials Industry Association released the T/GBMA 001-2019 "Technical Regulations for Construction of Ceramic Large Slabs" group standard; on June 26, the third annual meeting of the fourth National Technical Committee for Standardization of Building Sanitary Ceramics (2019 Annual Meeting) was reviewed And passed the "National Standard for Technical Requirements and Test Methods of Large-Scale Ceramic Plate".
The above three major hot spots once again prove that the popularity of large boards is not falling but rising. The promulgation of the "Technical Regulations for the Construction of Ceramic Large Slabs" has filled the industry gap in the standardization of the safe paving and laying construction process of ceramic large slabs, and standardized the auxiliary materials, construction auxiliary tools, construction process, acceptance standards, etc. in the application fields of ceramic large slabs. , has promoted the iterative upgrade of ceramic large plate application technology, will definitely accelerate the application of ceramic large plates in the terminal market, and inject new impetus into the ceramic large plate aftermarket.
From this point of view, the development prospects of ceramic large slabs seem bright, and the market explosion seems to be just around the corner. This makes the pottery builder extremely excited just thinking about it. But be careful before you calm downThinking about it, I found that the future of ceramic slabs cannot be blindly optimistic at all.
How do you say this? Brother Chan will explain it through three questions and combined with what he learned during the terminal survey in Xuzhou in mid-to-late June.
Can ceramic large panels really reduce costs?
Talking about this issue will involve the difference between the two concepts of "ceramic thin plate" and "ceramic large plate". If you don't understand, please use your own imagination to figure it out.
It is understood that compared with traditional ceramic tiles of the same specification, the production of ceramic sheets requires more than 60% of mineral resources and more than 50% of electricity per square meter. It saves more than 40% of fuel consumption and saves more than 60% of full-cycle logistics costs; at the same time, it can also reduce exhaust gas emissions, reduce building load, save building space, and reduce the amount of solid waste after the product life cycle.
Ceramic sheets are in line with the national development strategy of energy conservation and consumption reduction in all aspects, including product production technology, application technology, product decoration, energy saving and consumption reduction, and improvement of economic benefits. It has been highly anticipated by industry insiders for a long time. But for some reason, the tastes of construction and ceramics companies suddenly changed, and their interest shifted from energy-saving and environmentally friendly ceramic sheets to large ceramic slabs whose energy consumption increased year-on-year.
In Brother Chan’s opinion, no matter how in line with architectural aesthetics, large ceramic slabs can reduce collage and seams, highlight the natural texture of stone, and restore the beauty of space. Simplicity and elegance, while reducing the accumulation of dirt and making it easier to clean and maintain, are more or less contrary to the national development strategy of energy conservation and consumption reduction, not to mention the large investment required to produce and sell ceramic slabs.
First, it requires large investments from ceramic construction companies. Ceramic large slabs have special requirements for presses, kilns, inkjet machines, glaze lines and other equipment. Ceramics companies that want to produce ceramic large slabs must reinvest or make comprehensive technical improvements; and such big moves often require The capital investment is hundreds of millions. If all or most of the imported equipment is imported, an investment of up to 200 million is required.
Second, it requires heavy investment from dealers. In terms of transportation, handling, paving and other aspects, ceramic large slabs have much higher requirements than traditional ceramic tiles, so the cost has also increased. Dealers sell large ceramic slabs at seemingly high prices, but after factoring in the costs of transportation, handling, and paving, the profits are actually very limited.
This is not a conclusion that Brother Chan took for granted, but a fact learned from the dealers interviewed during the Xuzhou terminal research process. Most of the dealers involved in ceramic large slabs said in interviews with China Ceramics Network that the ceramic large slab market looks attractive, but in fact it is difficult to do so. The transportation, handling and paving techniques are not yet mature, resulting in high sales costs.
How difficult is it to sell ceramic large slabs?
Although ceramic large slabs have been on the rise for several years, the market is still in the initial cultivation stage where it is either popular or not.
Brother Chan learned during his research at Xuzhou Terminal that the current market share of ceramic large slabs in the local market is still very small. Except for the decoration of high-end residential buildings such as villas and large flats, they may be used It is most commonly used as a TV background wall in ordinary residential decorations of about 120 square meters and smaller.
"You can see the whole thing by looking at a spot, and you can see the whole situation from a corner." Although the Xuzhou market has its own particularities, it is to a certain extent a microcosm of the national market. Only TV background walls for high-end residences and ordinary residencesWith a small market share, it is difficult to support the rapid expansion of large ceramic panels.
It’s just a small market share, sales expertise is also an important factor restricting the sales of ceramic large slabs.
According to feedback from dealers interviewed, the sales of ceramic large slabs are different from traditional ceramic tiles. When consumers purchase them, they will require door-to-door delivery, and most of them also require a package. stick. First of all, large ceramic slabs are very difficult to transport and handle. It is easy to be damaged during transportation. In order to prevent damage, it is necessary to build wooden frames, which greatly increases the packaging cost; vertical transportation is extremely complicated (ceramic slabs exceeding a certain size cannot enter the elevator, so you can only use lifts, lifting platforms and cranes. Waiting for tools to move it indoors from the balcony), the cost is greatly increased. More importantly, it is also very difficult to lay ceramic large slabs. On the one hand, it is difficult to find experienced paving masters; on the other hand, the cost per square meter of paving is several times that of traditional ceramic tiles.
A dealer told Brother Chan that because ceramic large slabs are easily damaged during transportation and are expensive, consumers attach great importance to unboxing them. Almost all consumers will require that the seller (dealer or their employee) and the installer (decorator or designer, etc.) must be present at the same time as them when unpacking, so as to avoid the ceramic slab being damaged but not being able to tell where it is. It is not clear which party should bear the liability. Such a scene is quite interesting to imagine: three people standing in a triangle around a pile of unboxed ceramic slabs, like three swordsmen or swordsmen about to start a fight, with solemn expressions and focused eyes, not daring to show any slightness or indifference. Careless, for fear of being held responsible if a certain ceramic slab is even slightly damaged.
Another dealer also told a real case. Once, a consumer bought several large ceramic slabs from her. Due to the local equipment conditions in Xuzhou, deep processing was not possible, so she was asked to transport the large ceramic slabs to Foshan to complete the process. As a result, one of the large ceramic slabs was damaged during transportation. As a result, she had to pay for a new ceramic slab, and after a lot of back and forth, in the end, not only did the business not make much money, but it also made her worried for more than a week.
It can be seen from this how important the professionalism in the sales of ceramic large slabs is, which in turn affects the trading volume of ceramic large slabs. Ceramic building companies should pay full attention to this and establish a practical sales system as soon as possible ( Pre-sales promotion, after-sales service, etc.), and strive to improve the professionalism of dealers in selling ceramic slabs
Based on the market capacity and the sales professionalism of dealers, the sales dilemma of ceramic large slabs can be imagined. No wonder all participating dealers at the Xuzhou terminal research symposium agreed that ceramic large slabs will never become the mainstream of the market, replacing 800×800mm and other mainstream specifications of ceramic tiles.
Will ceramic large slabs follow the trend and die?
After talking about the sales dilemma of ceramic large slabs, it is natural to discuss the third issue.
If you ask why so many ceramic construction companies are rushing to promote big boards, whether they are independent, OEM or imported, the answer is mostly: None Big board, no brand.
Indeed, making large ceramic slabs can show the strength of a ceramic tile brand, and is a need for ceramic construction companies to enhance their brand image and expand their brand influence. But looking at the essence through the phenomenon, the motivation behind it is often not that simple. "Being a big brand, selling big boards, and making big money" is the real motivation for most ceramic construction companies that blindly follow the trend and promote ceramic boards. Therefore, building ceramics companies encourage dealers to recommend large ceramic slabs, and dealers strongly recommend consumers to buy large ceramic slabs. However, the limited market capacity is there, and the professional sales force cannot keep up. They can only attract consumers by lowering prices. Inevitably heading towards the quagmire of price war.
Since the establishment of China's building ceramics industry, the price tag caused by following trends, imitations, and copycats has beenAre there too few product categories that are fatal to fighting, half-dead, tepid or just plain trash? Microcrystalline stone, fully polished glaze, wood grain tiles, porcelain polished tiles...
On the one hand, the proportion of finely decorated houses is getting higher and higher and the decoration channels are constantly expanding. For the sake of cost saving, it is possible to purchase ceramic large slabs through these two channels. It is not very popular, and is gradually eroding the retail market share of ceramic tiles, including large ceramic slabs; on the one hand, brickmakers in the ceramics industry are sparing no effort to support ceramic slabs and making crazy calls, triggering a large number of ceramics companies and dealers to gather together On the other hand, the trend of following the trend, imitating and copycatting of ceramic large-scale products has laid the foundation for major hidden dangers of price wars, and has cut off the development path of having to rely on high-profit models to survive due to excessive costs.
Quoting the content of an article published by "Ceramic Information" in 2018: "Information from many parties has confirmed: According to the current market demand, domestic existing Several ceramic large plate production lines only need about three months of production a year to meet the annual sales demand.”
The actual situation is that the number of ceramic large plate production lines at home and abroad (China, Italy, India) is increasing day by day, and more and more ceramic construction companies are joining the ceramic large plate production line. The production and sales of boards.
With this situation and this trend, if things go on like this, the development future of ceramic large slabs will be worrying, if not crisis-ridden.
During the Xuzhou terminal research, Brother Chan heard something. It is said that in 2018, a dealer of a certain brand could not sell large ceramic tiles due to a large backlog in the warehouse. In the end, they had to cut them into smaller tiles to sell most of them. Couldn't such a realistic situation and such a sales method sound an alarm for the ceramic construction companies and dealers who are rushing to promote ceramic large slabs?
As a media person who relies on the industry and enterprises to make a living, the main purpose of saying so much "cold water" around ceramic slabs is definitely not to attack ceramic slabs.
If ceramic large slabs can become the magic weapon for the ceramics industry to get out of the longest cold winter in history, of course all ceramics manufacturers will be happy. But often the ideal is very full and the reality is very skinny. Whether it is for individuals, companies or the entire industry, the biggest crisis is that there is no sense of crisis.
Limited market capacity, urgent need to improve sales expertise, high product production, transportation, and handling costs, difficulty in paving construction, and test of space quality , etc., are all issues that should be taken seriously and solved in a targeted manner.
How should ceramic large slabs be developed? Perhaps, there is a better way out to break away from the scope of ceramic tiles and use ceramic slabs as new building decoration materials. For example, ceramic large slabs are used on countertops (kitchen counters, dining tables, etc.), cabinets (wardrobes, cabinets, etc.) and even electrical appliance panels (such as refrigerators).
However, this involves a new question: Can ceramic slabs replace natural stone? Can we gradually seize the timber market? It still needs to be viewed dialectically.
As for the final fate of the ceramic slabs, it will all be left to time.
