In Faenza, the Cooperative has started up a new Continua+ 2120 following the success of the one already installed in 2022, thus highlighting its soundness as a slab and large tile solution. Further investment is under way in the company’s other factories with presses, a dryer, a DHD decorator and two next-gen FMA Maestro kilns
The long-lived partnership between SACMI and Cooperativa Ceramica di Imola continues as the latter pushes ahead with further investment at its Imola and Faenza plants.
In Faenza, the Cooperative has started up a new Continua+ 2120, complete with a 7-tier dryer and DHD digital decorator. This effectively doubles the capacity of the 2022 project, which saw the installation of a first PCR 2120 alongside the PCR 2000 that had been operating at the Faenza hub for some years.
The Cooperativa’s investment decision was based on the solution’s outstanding efficiency, productivity and versatility when producing large sizes (the two PCR 2120s are designed to manufacture 120x120 cm tiles and relative sub-sizes): a clear indicator of the soundness of this latest addition to the SACMI Continua+ family, which overcomes the traditional distinction between ceramic slab and tile technologies.
Operating at high speed - over 9 meters per minute - the PCR2120 makes full use of the unrivalled versatility of Continua+ which is, at the Faenza plant, fed with the same spray-dried powder used on traditional presses: this delivers further opportunities, building on the consolidated Continua+ advantages of ultra-low consumption, high-quality compaction, low noise levels and automation. Moreover, the entire line is connected to the HERE supervisor to monitor production data and performance indicators.
New projects involving SACMI technology are also under way in Imola: at the main via Correcchio plant the Cooperativa Ceramica recently started up two PH 6500 presses and a multi-level dryer, with a glazing line connected to the SACMI DHD digital decorator. Downstream, two new FMA Maestro kilns, among the longest in Italy, provide world-beating efficiency, quality and low consumption.
With these latest investments, the partnership between SACMI and Italy’s oldest industrial cooperative - founded in Imola in 1874 and now a global provider of floor and wall ceramics - continues to go from strength to strength.