Recently, Huang Huining, Vice Chairman and Senior Engineer of the Foshan Ceramic Society, published the article "Major Trend Turning - The Ceramic Industry Must Follow the Trend and Develop Steadyly", analyzing the current fashion trends of ceramic products, involving product specifications, Tile category, tile thickness reduction, product surface technology, product style, etc.
Currently, the building ceramics industry is undergoing unprecedented changes. Market demand has decreased, competition among enterprises has intensified, and the industry has shifted from the pursuit of output to quality, and from low-end to high-end development. Along with this series of changes, the products in the building ceramics industry have also undergone tremendous changes.
750×1500mm becomes mainstream
Gradually develop towards greater development
Since 2022, the number of 750×1500mm ceramic tile production lines has increased sharply, and output has increased sharply. Statistics from "Ceramic Information" show that there are currently more than 250 production lines for producing 750×1500mm ceramic tiles across the country, and the daily production capacity has exceeded 5 million square meters. Among them, there are conservatively estimated to be no less than 150 750×1500mm ceramic tile production lines in Guangdong production areas. Shandong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi and other production areas are all producing in large quantities.
With the surge in production capacity, 750×1500mm ceramic tiles have also faced a fierce price war in the terminal market, and profits have begun to decline. But it is undeniable that this specification has become the mainstream product specification in the current building ceramics industry.
At the same time, 900×1800mm products have also become the main products of some ceramic companies in 2022. According to incomplete statistics from China Ceramics Network, the main products of 30 ceramic tile brands since 2022 include 15 brands of new products containing 750×1500㎜ specifications, 9 brands of new products including 900×1800㎜ specifications, and 6 brands of new products. Includes 600×1200㎜ specifications.
In addition, the popular specifications of products in the building ceramics industry are constantly developing towards "larger" sizes. Not only products with 900×1800mm specifications, but also 800×2600mm, 900&Times; Ceramic rock slabs with specifications such as 2700mm and 1200×2400mm have also gradually been recognized by the market.
"Medium plate" replaces "tile"
Modern antique bricks have strong vitality
Medium plate generally refers to porcelain tiles with a thickness between 7.0-8.0mm, the main specifications are 400×800mm, and the water absorption rate is within 3%. Due to its advantages such as high flatness, good density, rich colors, and easy laying, mid-board has quickly gained market recognition and has gradually replaced porcelain tiles as the new generation of "king of interior wall tiles." Relevant statistics show that there are currently more than 180 medium plate production lines nationwide, while the number of ceramic tile production lines has dropped from 800 at its peak to 250, and less than 100 were in normal production in the first half of the year.
In addition, as the stylish and stylish visual effects of wall coverings are becoming more and more popular among consumers, the 600×1200mm specification has great potential in the home decoration wall market. It is worth mentioning that some people in the industry also classify it as a "medium plate" ceramic tile category.
With the advent of the domestic trend of simple plain colors, the market popularity of modern antique bricks continues to rise, ushering in new development opportunities. Since fashionable, simple and personalized modern antique tiles can better meet the needs of the new generation of consumer groups, after entering 2022, ceramic tile brands rarely release new glossy tiles such as fully polished glazed tiles, and more of them focus on "plain tiles" Textured bricks" and other modern antique brick categories. Huang Huining believes that modern antique bricks have strong vitality and their product life will be very long. Many industry insiders believe that the domestic modern antique brick market continues to expand, but the real explosive period has not yet come.
Thickness reduction of ceramic tiles
Energy Saving and Emission Reduction and Green Development
In June this year, five departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions of the Five Departments on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Light Industry", encouraging ceramic enterprises to promote the thinning and dry production of ceramic brick bodies in terms of process technology. . The purpose of this move is to actively promote the thinning of ceramic tile products, reduce industry energy consumption and emissions, and accelerate the realization of the "double carbon" goal.
In fact, the thickness reduction of ceramic tiles has become the main theme of the building ceramics industry. The "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" for the development of the national construction and sanitary ceramics industry has clearly stated: to promote the lightweight and thinning of sanitary ceramics and to develop lightweight, thin, water-saving and functional products. At present, the trend of ceramic tile thinning is most obvious in products such as rock slabs, thin slabs, and medium slabs. The thickness of traditional 800×800mm floor tiles on the market has been reduced from the initial 13mm to about 9mm now. The mainstream 600×1200mm and 750mm Ceramic tiles with specifications such as ×1500mm and 900mm×1800mm are still around 9mm. Medium plates and ceramic tiles with specifications below 400×800mm are generally 7~8mm.
Monalisa Group Vice President Liu Yijun once said at the first Carbon Summit Summit of the ceramic industry in 2021 that Mona Lisa calculated when making 5.5mm thin plates that this thickness of thin plates can save money compared with 10-12mm ceramic tiles. 66% of raw materials are used, energy saving can reach 30%-40%, and emission reduction is more than 60%.
Diversified ceramic tile surface technology
Focus on texture
With the improvement of domestic consumption levels and the rise of new generation consumer groups, people's aesthetic level continues to improve, and they begin to pursue personalized and design-oriented home decoration styles. Under this trend, modern antique bricks with varied product styles and personalities have begun to become the mainstream of the market. In order to highlight product differentiation and increase product added value, ceramic tile brands have begun to work hard on product surface colors and textures. Modern antique tiles have also derivedCeramic tile categories such as "plain bricks", "texture bricks", "microcement tiles", "skin bricks" and "light texture bricks".
Currently, the core of ceramic tile product design is to focus on the expressiveness of surface texture. Therefore, ceramic tile brands will use a variety of glazes and surface crafts to create various texture surfaces in production and make the surface of ceramic tiles more layered. Rich and more delicate touch, at the same time, the traditional glossy surface design is reduced in design, replaced by soft light and matte. The surface texture chooses light color and simple pattern layout, paying attention to details such as color, light feeling, craftsmanship and so on.
The style changes from "luxury" to "prime"
Personalization becomes the core of product design
Before 2019, home decoration styles were mainly "luxury". High-end marble tiles, luxury stone and other full-glazed glossy tiles were popular in the industry. Styles such as luxury style and light luxury style that highlighted "nobility" dominated consumption. market. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, people have begun to spend more time at home, and have gradually realized the importance of home decoration to make people comfortable and reduce stress. People are more willing to return to the essence of life, enjoy the spiritual pleasure brought by material aesthetics and design perception, and abandon the "luxury" style in favor of elegance and simplicity. Therefore, the simple style represented by wabi-sabi style has been recognized by more and more consumers and has become a hit.
In addition, the younger generation in the 90s and 00s who pursue individuality and love freedom have become the main force in home decoration consumption. Compared with the decoration concepts of their parents, the home decoration that young people like is not limited to a certain style, but pays more attention to it. Self-residential experience. In their eyes, home is more like a container. It must be able to contain their favorite elements and satisfy all kinds of unconstrained design ideas. To satisfy this type of consumers, the color and design of ceramic tiles as decorative materials cannot stick to traditional aesthetics and need to develop in a bold, personalized and differentiated direction.
Which of the above five ceramic product trends have you noticed? If you have other opinions or ideas, please leave a message for discussion!
