Early starts, new ovens as ceramics industry feels energy pinch

Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles NV

02/09/2022 07:00

By Matteo Berlenga and Toby Sterling
    CITTA DI CASTELLO, Italy/AMSTERDAM, Sept 2 (Reuters) -
F actories in Europe's energy-intensive ceramics industry are
changing shift patterns and upgrading their furnaces as
companies seek to survive an eye-watering rise in costs.
    In central Italy, workers at the small 'Ceramiche Noi'
factory, which makes patterned plates, bowls and other
stoneware, are having to get used to 6 a.m. starts to cut costs.
The firm's energy bill soared by 1,000% over the past year.
    Bringing forward the start time by three hours allows the
plant in the Umbrian town of Citta di Castello to tap into
cheaper off-peak energy tariffs and operate when it is cooler.
    "In the first hours of the day temperatures are lower and we
can therefore avoid turning on the fans, which are always on
during the day so we can use energy when it is cheaper," said
'Ceramiche Noi' commercial manager, Lorenzo Giornelli.
    The change illustrates how energy-intensive businesses
across Europe are adapting their operations to avoid being
crippled by surging energy bills following Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N3082X0
    "Bills have risen by 1,000%," said Giornelli, brandishing a
monthly gas statement for 127,000 euros ($126,000), compared
with one for 18,000 euros from last summer even though he used a
little less this year.
        
    ELECTRIC OVENS
    In the Netherlands, the company behind the famous "Delft
Blue" pottery that portrays windmills and typical Dutch
landscapes, intends to replace one of its three main gas-fired
ovens this year with an electric alternative.
    "Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles", or Royal Delft  PRCF.AS  as
it is better known abroad, will also be turning down the heating
this winter in its Delft factory where artists still paint many
pieces by hand.
    It is also making more careful use of its ovens to fire as
many pieces at a time as possible.
    CEO Henk Schouten said the company would like to replace all
three ovens, but as each represents an upfront investment of
100,000 euros, it will phase them out gradually.
    Higher prices were hurting the company's bottom line, but
electricity costs are also painful at current levels, he said.
    The situation is not make or break for a company which has
been in operation since 1653, he said, but added: "I would like
to have it (the money) in our profits and not in the costs."
    For some companies in the supply chain, the situation is
however becoming unsustainable.
    Azuliber, one of Spain's main producers of atomised clay,
was forced to halt parts of its output this week and send 117
workers home after gas prices became "totally unaffordable", the
company said in a statement.
    Atomising clay is a key step in the production of ceramic
tiles.
    Azuliber, part of Spanish tilemaker Pamesa Group, said the
cost of atomising a tonne of clay had increased more than 1,000%
in the last year and that little help had been offered to
industry.  
($1 = 1.0047 euros)

 (Additional reporting by Christina Thykjaer in Madrid
Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Andrew
Heavens)
 ((matthew.scuffham@thomsonreuters.com; +1-332 219 1494; Reuters
Messaging: matthew.scuffham.reuters.com@reuters.net))