Porcelanosa goes for another SACMI Continua+

After the PCR 2120 started up in November, the customer has now installed a PCR 2180, the heart of the complete slab line at the ‘Porcelanosa 4’ plant.
General Manager, Silvestre Segarra: “Continua+ delivers great versatility, allowing us to accelerate new product development”

Power, versatility, low consumption: three key factors behind Porcelanosa’s decision to go for SACMI Continua+ as part of a broad investment plan. The company has, in fact, selected both the PCR 2120 – the ‘smart’ version of the Continua+, which became operational in November – and the PCR2180, the most productive machine on the market, which started producing in January 2023.

  The new large slab line at the Porcelanosa 4 production plant (Porcelanosa’s headquarters) became operational in January.
At this initial stage it will manufacture 1600x3200 mm slabs, with larger 1800x3600 ones to be produced in the future. How? With the new PCR 2180, the latest addition to the SACMI Continua+ family, the most productive and versatile ever, able to make up to 21,500 m²/day of fired, ground slabs and tiles up to 1800 mm wide.
Thanks to the higher effective width of the compaction front, the machine delivers the best productivity on the market with slabs, 60 and 90 cm wide tiles, and the relative sub-sizes. At just 0.05 kWh/m², consumption during compaction is the lowest in the category. What's more, hydraulic oil requirements have been reduced by 90%, compacted waste is always less than 1.5% regardless of size, and all such waste can be recycled back into the line.

  In addition to the PCR 2180, SACMI has supplied two 43.8-meter E7P235 horizontal dryers with all the required infeed and outfeed automation plus a 218.4-meter Maestro FMA217 kiln, equipped with a 16.8-meter EUP 217 pre-kiln dryer.
The world’s best-selling firing solution, the Maestro FMA kiln features an exceptional modulated air-gas control system. The result: incomparable firing curve control, energy savings and higher quality. Furthermore, the SACMI large slab kiln has other design features such as a specially configured cooling zone, which plays a vital role in preventing tension inside the slab.
SACMI is also a key logistics partner and has supplied Porcelanosa with a customized loading/unloading/handling system (that uses LGVs, or laser-guided vehicles): this moves stacks of slabs, takes them to the vertical warehouse or places them on special stands. In addition to this order, two SACMI Gaiotto palletizing robots and LGV vehicles were sold for the Porcelanosa 3 logistics warehouse.
SACMI has also supplied a digital tracking system for the new plant. This follows every single slab leaving the kiln so that semi-finished items can be sent correctly to downstream stages such reinforcement mesh application (for façades), polishing or squaring. This means that Logistics Center 3, where stacks are delivered after production, receives comprehensive advance information on every single slab.

  The installation and start-up of the new plant is the second stage of a wider investment plan launched last November with the commissioning of a PCR 2120 at the Porcelanosa 1 facility, a smart’ version of the SACMI Continua+ that combines the best versatility on the market with a small footprint.
“Continua+ provides exceptional versatility”, points out the General Manager of Porcelanosa, Silvestre Segarra. “For example, the PCR2120 lets us efficiently produce slabs and their sub-sizes, such as 120x120 cm: all with plenty of margin for flexibility and much lower consumption than on a traditional press. Its outstanding performance and user-friendliness were an immediate source of satisfaction”.
So, after this first step, completing the investment with the PCR2180 was only natural: “This solution lets us produce our most popular sizes at thicknesses that range from 6 to 20 mm”, continues Segarra, “with huge advantages in terms of flexibility, production efficiency and logistics. This means we can accelerate the development of new products for customers all over the world”.