Joomla! site syndication http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:35:27 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk Joomla! site syndication http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=2 IPS Ceramics Ltd is pleased to announce its Management Buyout (MBO) of the former Dyson Group business, Dyson Thermal Technologies Kiln Furniture. This MBO, concluded on 23 December 2009, includes the existing order book, manufacturing and intellectual properties associated with the Company’s whole kiln furniture range (one of the largest in the world) and global agency agreements.Existing customers are assured of a direct line of communication to the Senior Management Team and existing contacts in the commercial office to ensure continuity of supply, fulfilment of orders and access to the wide ranging technical expertise that they have come to expect from this historic ceramic business.The MBO Team behind IPS Ceramics comprises Managing Director Sukhjinder Singh (formerly MD Ceramics Division and Programme Director, Dyson Group), Operations Director Ian Wright (formerly Senior Operations Manager, Dyson Thermal Technologies) and Sales Director Phil Green (formerly Commercial Business Manager, Dyson Thermal Technologies Kiln Furniture).Sukhjinder Singh, a Dutch national, originally joined Dyson Group in April 2008 as its new Programme Director, and subsequently also took on the role as Managing Director of the Ceramics Division. He holds an MSc in Business (specialising in Strategy, Finance and Marketing) and has a post-graduate Supply Chain qualification. He began his career in The Netherlands as a Management Consultant with KPMG, moving on to work for Shell and Univar, where he held Financial Controller, Strategy, Marketing and Project Leader roles.Following the MBO, Mr. Singh said of the new venture: “One of the main drivers in my move to the UK was the strong entrepreneurial element to the job. I am delighted that this development and the creation of IPS Ceramics gives free rein to this aspect of my management role and promises to test all the strengths that brought me to the business in the first place”.Mr. Singh’s two fellow directors are experts in kiln furniture and are well known operationally and commercially all around the world. Between them they boast 70 years’ experience in the Ceramic Industry.Ian Wright joined Hewitt Refractories in 1977, adopting roles involving technical, laboratory back-up and quality control issues, and subsequently production management. When Hewitt Refractories became part of Dyson Group, Ian was appointed as Manufacturing Manager for what, at that time, was a business spread over three sites. Ever since the kiln furniture manufacturing was consolidated onto the one site in Stoke-on-Trent, Ian has been responsible for managing operations at senior level.Phil Green gained his ceramic manufacturing and technical experience during 17 years with Wedgwood, after which he joined kiln furniture company Acme Marls in an export sales role (in 1989). Acme Marls was another business which became part of Dyson Group in 2000 and Phil progressed from export sales to his subsequent appointment as Commercial Business Manager of the new set-up. In addition to his broad technical knowledge of the product, Phil has travelled all over the world and has strong links with all the major international and UK ceramics manufacturers.In addition to marketing products from the Hartshill factory, Dyson Thermal Technologies had formed a strong alliance with Asia’s leading cordierite kiln furniture manufacturer, Beijing Trend Industrial Ceramics (Tongzhou, Beijing, China). The companies began working together in 2006 as partners to supply kiln furniture to the global market. By training personnel at Beijing Trend, sharing techniques and integrating quality standards, it quickly became possible for Beijing Trend to make its whole range according to Dyson’s high quality process and specification. The IPS Ceramics Team has announced that this manufacturing and commercial cooperation will continue following the MBO.Guo Haizhu, Managing Director of Beijing Trend, said: “IPS Ceramics will continue with what is already a long-term relationship with Beijing Trend. Trend and IPS will intensify this partnership in the future and capitalise on each other’s respective strengths in order to offer our global customers quality products, the highest levels of service, quicker delivery and the most competitive prices. We are confident that IPS/Trend will be the leader of the global kiln furniture market”.“In pursuit of this even closer relationship, I will initially be spending an increased amount of time at the Trend facility in China,” confirmed Ian Wright. “It is important at this stage for me to continue to assist the 320-strong team in Beijing with our ambitious programme of technical enhancement and new product development. We have already discussed exciting prospects for our future cooperation and the MBO gives us full scope to exploit our excellent relationship with the Trend management”.The establishment of IPS Ceramics means the continuation of a 150 year-old tradition in kiln furniture design and manufacture and, at the same time, a driving forward of the business by an experienced and dedicated team which is fully committed to maintaining all the close links it has with ceramic companies around the world.“A carefully planned MBO was the only real option for the Kiln Furniture business and we are grateful to the Board of Dyson Group for having given us its support and encouragement,” said Phil Green. “We are recognised as a team that, above all, understands the complexities of all our customers’ manufacturing operations and we will find a way to come up with the right products at the right price, delivered according to the required schedule.“We have already begun visiting and calling customers to introduce IPS Ceramics, and our future actions will demonstrate that we aim to continue with product development, to enhance technical performance at every level, to always set quality values as a priority and to maximise the potential of all facets of the business – from human resources to manufacturing capabilities to leveraging our geographical advantage.”IPS Ceramics has customers in major production sectors, such as tableware, sanitaryware, tiles, powder metallurgy, electroporcelains and special applications. These remain the focus for developing the business at this stage and, accordingly, one of the initial targets of the MBO Team has been to retain key skill sets in these areas. In a strongly competitive environment, price obviously remains an equally important consideration; therefore the agreement between IPS Ceramics and Beijing Trend is essential in enabling the Company to deliver exactly what its customers require. News - Latest Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:31:27 +0100 http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=2 This directory has just been published in English. Dr James Han, presidnet of Business Dada International Inc, believes this directory fulfills a need for the delivery of quality data on the Chinese refractory industry. ' For Marketers and Researchers targeting China's markets, trying to find reliable up to date information has always been a troublesome task, with very little information for them being available in English. What this directory aims to do is to plug this gap, offering those looking for such information with a real choice.'The directory lists 2,184 leading refractory enterprises in China. Information given includes the enterprise name, name of director, full address, phone and fax numbers, email, website, description, qualification of quality system, and product lines.2009, 339pp, ebook or hardcopy US$199.95; both US$299.95, ISBN: 978-0-9733166-3-6. www.businessdataintl.com News - Latest Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:42:59 +0100 http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=2 With the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching, H E Smith, ceramic tile specialists from Stoke-on-Trent have been awarded the contract to refurbish the London Underground.With visitors from all over the world flocking to the city, there has been a particular focus on the city’s transport links, as it is expected that there will be 7.7 million spectators in the capital over the course of the competition, with a further 1.5 million expected for the Paralympic Games.By the end of this project wall tile refurbishment, will have taken place at over 30 London underground stations, including Tottenham Court Road, Covent Garden and Warwick Avenue, with requirements ranging from straightforward signage to decorative tiling and murals. H E Smith has long been suppliers of wall tiles to the London Underground, as not only do they have the capability of creating various tiles from plain durable wall tiles to bespoke patterns and letters, they also have specialist knowledge and creative production to provide any type of tile required.Frederick Smith, Managing Director at H E Smith, said: “We recognised that there was huge scope for us in London for refurbishment and maintenance work. The work involved maintaining and matching tiles that are up to 100 years old, which is an area in which we are very familiar with.”“We employed a consultant to seek out the business opportunities that were available to us in the capital and this decision has added to our continued success.”Established since 1948, H E Smith, uses traditional techniques, coupled with an inherently skilled work force, allowing the company tremendous flexibility in producing bespoke ranges of varying size, shape and glaze finish. In the past H E Smith have worked on a number of projects including, Meysson Bakery in Amsterdam and Sam’s Chop House in Manchester News - Latest Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:13:20 +0100 http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=2 As expected, CERAMITEC, the 11th International Trade Fair for Machinery, Equipment, Plants, Processes and Raw Materials for CERAMICS and POWDER METALLURGY, reflected the tense situation in the industry. While there was a decline in the number of visitors compared to 2006 – organisers reported some 15,000 trade visitors from more than 90 countries (compared to 22,000 visitors in 2006) – the share of foreign visitors increased to nearly 60 percent. Exhibitors welcomed the international character and quality of CERAMITEC's visitors: The quality of the visitors is outstanding. The thing that distinguishes CERAMITEC from other fairs is that it is much more international , explained Paul Eirich, Chairman of the CERAMITEC Exhibitor’s Advisory Board and Managing Director of Gustav Eirich GmbH Co.KG. According to Gerhard Fischer, Managing Director of Händle, CERAMITEC is a platform that is an absolute must. There are no alternatives. All important markets and market players are represented here – not a single country is missing. The response among this year's participants has shown that CERAMITEC 2009 not only met their expectations, in some cases it even surpassed them. Given the difficult state of the economy, this is remarkable proof of the strong international position that CERAMITEC enjoys , said Eugen Egetenmeir, Member of the Managing Board at Messe München GmbH. A survey conducted by tns infratest confirmed that assessment: 87 percent of the companies surveyed gave CERAMITEC a rating of good to excellent for the quality of its visitors, and 89 percent gave the fair the same rating for the international character of its visitors. After Germany, the top ten visitor countries were Italy, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Iran, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the Russian Federation and Great Britain, in that order. Luca Caramelli, CEO at Bongioanni Macchine S.p.A. in Italy: Bongioanni decided to focus on CERAMITEC as international ‘red carpet’. CERAMITEC definitely proved to be a real international trade fair regarding visitors.” A total of 656 companies from 35 countries (612 exhibitors in 2006) presented their products, new developments and innovations in four halls. There were 33 companies from China, which is the largest contingent of Chinese companies to ever participate in CERAMITEC. Xiaodong Liu, International Director of Keda in China: “We had lots of technicians and engineers at our booth, so very special visitors with a good quality. CERAMITEC was successful for us.” Once again, the CERAMITEC supporting programme was very well received. A total of some 3,000 visitors attended the 55 lectures at the CERAMITEC FORUM, which the exhibitors also appreciated. “The Indian Day in the CERAMITEC FORUM gave us a good opportunity to present our country and to interact with visitors”, said Swapan Guha, Managing Director at Hopewell Ceramics and President of the Indian Ceramics Society. All statistics for CERAMITEC are verified by the independent accounting company Ernst Young AG on behalf of FKM, the Society for the Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics. The next CERAMITEC will be held in 2012.More exhibitor statements can be found at http://www.ceramitec.de/link/en/22725020 News - Latest Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:10:32 +0100 http://www.ceramrefractories.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=2 Wayne Sheppard, Managing Director of Ibstock Brick, was elected President of the British Ceramic Confederation (BCC) at its Annual General Meeting on 18th June, in succession to Ian Dudson, Chairman of Dudson Ltd. Wayne, who is 49, has served on the Board of the BCC as a representative of the brick industry since December 2004 and will serve a two-year term as BCC President. Wayne originally trained as a mechanical and electrical engineer, and has performed general management roles for the last twenty years with several major companies in the ceramic construction materials sector. As President of BCC he will initially focus on helping the ceramics industry to respond to the impact of the credit crisis, in addition to ensuring that BCC can continue to provide effective representation for the industry in the face of increasingly burdensome regulations emanating from both Westminster and Brussels. Wayne commented “BCC will have an increased lobbying responsibility, notably in respect of freeing up financial markets to increase lending, encouraging the building of more social affordable housing, and the need for Government support for short time working arrangements during the current recession to preserve jobs”. Out-going President Ian Dudson reflected “Wayne’s breadth of knowledge and experience in the manufacture of bricks and clay roof tiles will underpin his role as President of BCC over the next two years at a very challenging time for the industry. I am pleased to be handing over to someone who has a heartfelt commitment to the manufacture of ceramics in the UK”. News - Latest Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:44:54 +0100