The President of ASCER, Vicente Nomdedeu, said that in 2020 the sector closed the year with a growth of 2.3% “thanks to exports” and called for greater understanding between ministries to resolve the issue of cogeneration.
The experts in ceramic trends Lutzia Ortiz and Ana Benavente previewed the most immediate hits in designs and the architects José María Sánchez and Izaskun Chinchilla highlighted the versatility of ceramics in architecture.
Valencia, 25 May 2021 – CEVISAMA ON kicked off. At 10 a.m. this morning, the CEVISAMA ON conference series began streaming on Cevisama‘s various digital platforms. Throughout today and tomorrow, the series will analyse the latest news from the ceramics cluster and the bathroom equipment sector, as well as the most innovative trends in design, architecture and interior design.
The morning session was opened by Cevisama’s president, the Castellón businessman Manuel Rubert, who was accompanied by the event’s director, Carmen Álvarez. Rubert stressed that this series of conferences “Shows that Cevisama is also alive in 2021” and emphasised that “We have been able to adapt to the current times with a digital conference format that will reach not only professionals in the sector but also a profile that is as interesting for us as that of subscribers, with the advantage that they will be able to view the entire conference programme as many times as they wish”.
In this sense, the President of Cevisama stressed that “CEVISAMA ON keeps us in touch with the sector, with customers, visitors, exhibitors, […] and already preparations are underway for next year’s Cevisama event in 2022, to be held on 7-11 February at Feria Valencia”.
In this regard, Rubert pointed out that “The sector is already looking forward to Cevisama. Regardless of the fact that we are combining online formats in the conference section, the professionals need to be there in person, to be able to meet again, to be able to touch the products”, and he pointed out that Cevisama 2022 will arrive at a good time: “With the vaccination schedule well advanced, I am sure that Cevisama will be the first fair in our sector with mass attendance”.
Ceramic trends
The first of the scheduled talks was given by Lutzía Ortiz and Ana Benavente, specialists from the ITC’s Habitat Trends Observatory. Both pointed out some of the keys around which ceramic trends are moving, such as “sustainability, climate change and attachment to nature”, through “earth tones, greyish greens or calmer colours”, although they pointed out that there is also a commitment to combining these trends with “technological and sophisticated elements” to make “a more attractive product”.
In their recent study, they have identified four of the major macro-trends around which ceramic design is going to pivot, which they identify as: Essential, Emotional care, Euphoric and Elegant & Refined.
Analysis of the ceramic cluster
In the third of the speeches scheduled for this morning, the President of the ASCER business association, Vicente Nomdedeu, reviewed the situation regarding the ceramics cluster and its most immediate challenges. Nomdedeu acknowledged that, despite the current “changing and uncertain moment”, the sector managed to close 2020 “With an increase in sales of 2.3% thanks, above all, to exports, which have risen to 76% of our production. The sector now exports more than before”.
As for the challenges, the president of ASCER, noted his concern about “The increase in the cost of maritime transport, which is now four times more than what we were paying”, as well as the danger posed by the emergence of other competitors in “The natural markets for Spanish ceramics, such as Europe and North Africa”, where “We may lose competitiveness because our industries are required to comply with certain regulations, such as decarbonisation measures that other competitors from other countries are not required to comply with”.
He also expressed his concern about the challenge related to cogeneration in the ceramics industry and called for “greater understanding” between the different ministries to articulate the necessary measures to safeguard the industry. “We want to participate in the green transition but we need that transition to be economically sustainable,” he said.
Nomdedeu also pointed to trade fairs as a “Fundamental tool in the strategic marketing of companies” and indicated that, “Just as is happening in our industries and in society as a result of the pandemic, trade fairs must also evolve and adapt to the new needs of customers. Change is the only constant premise,” he concluded.
More sustainable architecture
In the last talk of the morning, the architects José María Sánchez García and Izaskun Chinchilla, gave their particular vision of the role of architecture and interior design today and the use of ceramic materials as a synonym for sustainability. Both gave an overview of some of their most unique buildings and projects.