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The strength of RAK Ceramics lies in the
speed with which it has innovated itself to meet market expectations.
It has invested heavily & regularly as well, to produce
products that would stand out in the market. For this it had
the full backing of the technology providers in the ceramic
field who having realised the potential & sincerity of the
company, preferentially offered it the best support of technology
of the times. RAK Ceramics also offered ample support to distributors
to strengthen their position in respective markets.
Today we are manufacturing over 227, 000 sq. mt. of tiles per day at our Ras Al Khaimah plants alone, the production of which is possible with 10 most modern tile plants in the world. We also manufacture over 8000 pieces of sanitaryware per day in 3 modern sanitaryware plants at the same location. Expansion programmes are on going, with some more plants under construction.
Research
Our qualified experts are performing extensive research and
development in our laboratories on materials, design to create
top quality and beautiful products. RAK Ceramics also has
agreements with leading exclusive designers and laboratories
in Italy and Spain for developing enchanting new designs.
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› Remote Control Movable Silos Carried
By TGV Machines |
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Manufacturing
CERAMIC TILES RAK
RAK Ceramics uses high quality fine clays with low organic
contents available in the world. The quality of both materials
and the products is assured by highly developed quality
control systems to ensure that its products surpass the
stringent specification of EN standards for ceramic tiles
& sanitary ware.
RAK Ceramics single fired (Monoporosa) wall tiles and
(Monocottura) floor tiles are made from the locally available
high quality fine clay, feldspars, silica sand and other
suitable imported raw materials. The raw materials are
crushed into manageable state and are wet milled in the
most modern ball mill to obtain a homogenous mixture of
water and clay called 'body slip'. The resulting 'body
slip' is then pumped into the vibrating sieving machine
to remove the impurities, to obtain the fine homogenous
mixture of water and clay for the subsequent atomization
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to convert the body slip into fine particles
called 'granules'.
These granules are collected in the silos for the subsequent
pressing phase, which is carried out using SACMI'S hydraulic
presses to give the ceramic tile body the maximum compactness.
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| › Roto Printing Machine |
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The tile body is then subjected
to a drying process of 30 minutes in the horizontal dryers
and are then glazed and decorated with colored glaze to
blend beauty and creativity with excellent physical and
chemical characteristics. The simultaneous firing of the
tile body and glaze is then carried out in SACMI'S single
layer roller kiln at temperatures ranging from 1145°
C - 1200° C to obtain the required porosity as per
the EN 99 and ASTM C 373-72 standards for wall tiles and
floor tiles. RAK Ceramic wall and floor tiles also offers
high mechanical and physical characteristics, with high
Modulus of rupture ranging from 20 N/mm2 for wall tiles
and 32 - 40 N/mm2 for various type of red and white body
floor tiles in compliance with EN 100 and ASTM C 648-71
(76) standards. |
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› Remote Control Movable Silos Carried By
TGV Machines |
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GRES PORCELLANTO
RAK Ceramic's 'fully vitrified' porcelain tiles are
manufactured using the most advanced modern technology
from SACMI using carefully selected superior quality
raw materials mainly China clay, Feldspars, silica sand
and other suitable raw materials imported from U.K,
Spain, Germany and France.
The mixture of raw materials is then broken into a manageable state in the crushers and is wet milled using most advanced continuous cycle ball mill to obtain a homogenous mixture of water and clay technically known as 'body slip'.
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The resulting 'body slip' is then pumped into the vibrating sieving machine to remove the impurities, to obtain the fine mixture of water and clay for the subsequent atomization process to convert the body slip into fine particles with required color called 'granules'. These colored granules are collected in different silos for the subsequent pressing phase, which is carried out using SACMI'S hydraulic presses of PH 4200 - PH 7200 to give the porcelain tile body the required compactness.
The tile body is then subjected to a drying process of 30 minutes in the horizontal dryers and then go through various types of application ranging from printing designs using alkaline base salts (technically know as soluble salt design porcelain tiles) or applying glaze on the porcelain body (technically know as glazed porcelain) or directly pressing the colored granules in various combination to form the salt and pepper type of porcelain tiles.
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| › One of the Production Lines |
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The firing of porcelain body is then carried out in SACMI'S single layer roller kiln of length 129.5 meter at temperature of 1220° C - 1250° C to obtain the required physical and chemical characteristics as per the European and American Standards.
The high pressing force when combined with high firing
temperature, forms a superior quality porcelain tiles
with very low water absorption capacity, which is as
low as 0.05%, measured as per EN 99 standard method.
This very low water absorption capacity makes RAK
Ceramic porcelain tiles frost proof following EN 202
standard, also enabling the tiles to be defined as "Fully
Vitrified" in compliance with European standard
EN 176.
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Since the water absorption of our porcelain tiles is less than 0.05% and its wear and stain resistance makes the product suitable for use in high traffic areas. This stain and dirt resistance is also due to the fact that the surface of the unpolished tiles is sufficiently smooth for any staining agents to be unable to gain a purchase on the surface of the tile itself. Thus, the same can be removed without any difficulties.
This accompanied by a very high mechanical strength greater than or equal to 45 N/mm2 in compliance with EN 100 standard, as well as a deep abrasion resistance of 110 mm3 of materials. Also, our unpolished fine fully vitrified porcelain tiles have an average scratch resistance of 8-9 on the Mohs scale, measured using EN 101 test method, while our polished materials have an average scratch resistance of 5-6, depending upon the nature of their polished surface.
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TWIN
PRESS
RAK has recently invested in the SACMI manufactured
TwinPress,- the very new production process for large-scale
porcelained stoneware slabs, with the aim of providing
extremely beautiful products in the porcelain tile industry
- which are possible only due to high value investments
in machinery.
This is an innovative production process - a milestone
in the ceramic industry . This new concept stems from
the convergence of two
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interdependent, evolutionary factors: thick-layer dry coloured
powder decoration and the cutting of large unfired slabs to
produce smaller tiles.
TwinPress allocates the two pressing stages of large-scale tiles to two machines. A first, "lightweight" press is installed on the production line to prepare a tough semi-finished product on which decoration can then be carried out. This press can be fed with coloured powder mixes, arranged in the mould cavity to give random veining and combination patterns. The second pressing of the unfired, fully decorated slab completes the piece so that it is ready for subsequent stages (drying and firing). After pressing, the slab is cut by a special equipment.
The key advantages of TwinPress are:
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Speed (output rates are excellent for products of such high aesthetic and structural quality: 30 minutes - not 6 hours - for size-change-overs); |
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Flexibility (significant product modifications can be made in just a few minutes, production can be effected in small lots; special sizes and modules - even extra-standard - can be manufactured; reduced storage space requirements, with an increasingly just in time service in terms of both quantity and types; rapid manufacture of different, modular sizes); |
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Quality (high-strength bodies, an endless range of decorative motifs; shade differences between different sizes of the same product have been eliminated; environment-friendly dry-decoration technique). |
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› One of the Kilns In the
Sanitaryware plant |
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SANITARYWARE
We have two "STATE-OF-THE-ART" sanitaryware
plants which produce over 2.5 millions pieces of sanitaryware
per annum. Our products are manufactured with the latest
technologies including a High-Pressure casting bench,
and robot-spraying machine which is used to give each
piece of sanitaryware a perfectly even finish. We have
10 medium pressure casting plants for production of
wash basins, pedestals, cisterns, lids and accessories.
We also use the the latest Italian technology for production
including computerised klins and for manufacturing ABS
seat covers and acrylic bath.Fire Clay models are also
produced using the most modern technology. |
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CEO’s Message