CE.SI has taken innovation and sustainability to the next level in small tile production. A favorite with international architects and designers, this Lombardy-based company recently installed its fourth SACMI Maestro kiln to boost small-size productivity while using other SACMI Group solutions to stay focused on the environment. For example, Protesa supplied the photovoltaic system that saves almost 200 tons of CO2 per year while SACMI Forni & Filter provided new, optimized fume/dust filtration systems.
.SI. Ceramica di Sirone S.r.l., based in Sirone (Lecco, Italy), is a family-run company that has been designing and manufacturing top-quality ceramics for over 60 years. Carefully selected raw materials and a focus on color, aesthetics and technical quality have made CE.SI. an internationally recognized excellence. Close collaboration with SACMI has intensified over the years, leading to better and better small-size production performance.
A fourth SACMI Maestro kiln to boost productivity
The company recently took a technological leap forward by installing a fourth SACMI Maestro kiln, specifically designed to produce 25x25 mm and 10x30 mm mosaic tesserae. With a length of 31.5 m and an inlet width of 2.01 m, the FMS Maestro kiln is specifically designed to fire small tiles: it allows precision temperature control, ensuring outstanding uniformity of tone-color and delivering perfect quality.
Thanks to high-efficiency burners, advanced temperature controls and systems that optimize consumption, the new kiln raises productivity and reduces heat loss, making energy management more sustainable.
New centralized filter to remove dust from multiple departments and improve working conditions.
In parallel with the introduction of the new kiln, CE.SI. also invested in a cutting-edge dust abatement filtration system developed by Eurofilter, the SACMI brand that focuses on ‘green technology’.
This modern bag filter serves multiple departments (press feed and pressing) and replaces two outdated cartridge filters, optimizing both performance and use of space.
The new system, which has a flow rate of up to 45,000 m3/h and an installed power of 90 kW, delivers an outgoing dust concentration of less than 10 mg/Nm3.
That figure is important as it is lower than the legal limit and, above all, because it safeguards workers’ health, making the factory safer and ensuring its machines have a longer working life.
Clean energy with Protesa's photovoltaic panels
CE.SI. has a broad sustainable innovation strategy, as highlighted by the new rooftop photovoltaic panels, installed in partnership with Protesa, the SACMI division that specializes in renewable energy solutions. With an installed power of 535.92 kWp and a rated power of 480 kW, the panels supply clean energy directly to the factory, ensuring annual savings of 195 tons of CO₂ (equivalent to the absorption of 7,787 trees).
By consuming its own self-generated electricity, CE.SI. reduces energy costs and lowers its carbon footprint. This project is part of a wider industrial plant redevelopment process that also saw the company warehouse re-roofed to ensure smooth integration with the new photovoltaic system.
Innovation and craftsmanship
With an indoor floor space of 17,000 m2, CE.SI. has a unique ability to combine skilled craftsmanship with the ceramic industry’s most advanced technology. Even though it lies outside the main ceramic-making district, the company has successfully carved out a leading role thanks to the quality of its monocolor tiles and non-stop research in the small tile sector.
The variety of available sizes, colors (over 100) and finishes lets designers draw on infinite combinations and put together eye-catching patterns and designs. Each CE.SI. tile forms a range of perfect plain colors, obtained thanks to sophisticated production processes that deliver high-quality gloss and matt finishes.
Investment in the fourth kiln, the filtration systems and the solar panel system further underscores CE.SI.'s commitment to maximum product quality and a more sustainable, efficient future: a development model that combines tradition and innovation, to the benefit of the company, the environment and a ceramic market that demands excellence.