Slate continues to be popular. At the end of last year, industry media statistics showed that there were more than 100 slate production lines across the country. Since 2021, the climax of the construction of new rock slab lines has continued, and from time to time there is news of the ignition of a new rock slab line of a certain company.
From the Foshan Ceramics Expo in April to the Xiamen Stone Exhibition in May, rock slabs are still the absolute protagonist. Because the material of slate is so good, even its name is otherworldly. It has been widely welcomed by the industry from the day it was born. It has made rapid progress and turned the traditional building ceramics market upside down.
Stone slabs, which broke out of the circle, are currently firmly occupying the C position in the construction ceramics market. In the future, will it become the leading product in the building ceramics industry and be on par with traditional ceramic tiles? I think this possibility is very high.
We might as well find the answer from the development history of the modern ceramics industry for more than 40 years. In the 1980s, 300×300 glazed tiles were the absolute protagonist and a high-end product in the decoration market. With the emergence of crystal tiles and polished tiles, glazed tiles quickly fell into decline. Today, glazed tiles and crystal tiles It has long been placed in the Ceramics History Museum by thoughtful entrepreneurs. Later, antique tiles and polished tiles almost dominated the market. However, with the emergence of glazed tiles, polished tiles gradually declined and became low-end goods on the market.
The emergence of rock slabs was a revolutionary innovation from the beginning. Its excellent performance and infinitely extending application boundaries have given industry insiders high hopes for it.
In the final analysis, rock slabs are the inevitable result of the high-quality development of building ceramic products. The excellent performance of rock slabs, in addition to large specifications, far exceeds traditional ceramic tiles in terms of product strength, hardness, wear resistance, water absorption, processability, health and environmental protection, etc.
The ceiling of glazed tiles is imitation marble tiles, but the performance of rock slabs is better and its material properties are more prominent. Therefore, when a category develops to the extreme and encounters the bottleneck of innovation, there will definitely be another new one. categories emerged to replace traditional products. Today, with the rapid advancement of the industrial Internet, informatization, and intelligence, iterative upgrading and high-quality development of the building ceramics industry is an inevitable trend. Therefore, more and more traditional brick production companies and production lines will turn to the field of slate, allowing the scale of the slate industry to continue to expand.
The biggest difference between slate and traditional bricks is that it can not only be used in all scenarios inherent to traditional bricks, but can also enter the home furnishing field, greatly expanding the boundaries of the industry. This brings more possibilities and opportunities to slate companies. No one company can dominate all channels and scenarios. Stone slab companies can focus on their own advantages, make breakthroughs in multiple points, and expand unlimited market space in the fields they are good at. New blue oceans, new tracks, and new battlefields have also allowed many companies to break away from the traditional price wars that involve sharp cuts. Although this year the rockThe board market has also set off a price war, but its profit margin is still much higher than that of traditional bricks.
In the field of home space decoration inherent in traditional bricks, more and more consumers, especially high-end consumer groups, are choosing slate instead of ceramic tiles. Not only is the price of rock slabs high, its huge "body", especially the tailor-made "one slab to the top", is beyond the reach of traditional bricks. It greatly enhances the overall sense of the space, making it light, luxurious and Simplicity becomes more tasteful and classy.
It is understood that at present, except for some small-scale companies focusing on the field of slate, the sales share of slate of some leading companies has accounted for more than 20% of their total revenue. In the future, slate will account for 3-4 of the total industry scale. Yes, it's not impossible. Going forward, slate is very likely to surpass glazed tiles, which currently have the largest market share, and become the real "big brother" in the industry.
At present, slate production companies are mainly concentrated in Guangdong production areas, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Shandong and other production areas. There are also companies that have built slate production lines, and more companies are building slate production lines amid the wave of slate. According to the plan, either a new slate production line will be built, or the traditional brick production line will be transformed to produce small slates. In short, we must get involved in the field of slate and develop slate products. Otherwise, you will be ruthlessly eliminated by customers and the market.
At the same time, the price of rock slabs continues to fall. On the one hand, it indicates that the maturity of the industry is rapidly increasing. All kinds of problems in design, production, transportation, processing, and application are being solved. The whole line output and related supporting industries are developing. The rapid development has cleared the way for manufacturing companies to enter the field of slate.
On the other hand, the rapid decline in prices has made slate products begin to enter the homes of ordinary people. Slate products and their processing and applications are no longer superior. Many consumers can purchase and use slate. For example, background walls, wainscoting, dining tables, desks, cabinets, wardrobes, etc. in home decoration. It has high quality, good effect, is environmentally friendly, and the price is moderate. Therefore, it will be quickly recognized by consumers.
Under the current technical conditions, the cost of ceramic tiles and rock slabs of the same area is the lowest for small sizes. However, with the continuous upgrading of equipment technology, the cost difference between large rock slabs and small size ceramic tiles is becoming smaller and smaller. . One day, the production cost, logistics cost, application cost, etc. of slate will be the same as that of traditional ceramic tiles, and slate will be like other boards and can be cut and processed at will according to actual application scenarios.
The production capacity of traditional ceramic tiles has reached its peak and continues to shrink, but rock tiles are growing by leaps and bounds. In the future, slate and traditional bricks are likely to be evenly matched and become the most powerful mainstream product in the field of architectural ceramics.
Author | Wang Li
Cultural Director of Mona Lisa Group
Original title: Can rock slabs be as good as ceramic tiles?
(The article is reproduced from Ceramic Information)
