Editorial - Pool.mo.it

14
CER MAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL N.17 Spring/Summer 2006
››news
continued from page 13 »
THE “ALADDIN’S LAMP”
OF MARCA CORONA
As part of
its new
Alchimie
collection,
Marca
Corona has
introduced
the concept
of a lighting
system
built into
the
ceramics,
offering customers yet another tool
(in addition to the original Alchimie
floor and wall covering system) to
help highlight special interior
architecture. The solution is Alchimie
Sculpture, a lamp with a “crater”
shape, almost a layer that peels
away from the wall with light
emerging from it, made of the same
ceramic material and in the same
colours of the collection by the same
name.
ABK GROUP
BUCKS THE TREND IN 2005
The Finale Emilia ceramics group
that includes the brands ABK, Ariana,
and Valverde closed out 2005 with
an increase in exports and turnover,
reporting over 90 million in net
revenue, up 14% over 2004. The
group has been growing steadily
since 1996, acquiring historic
brands and working to give them an
aggressive new approach to sales,
employing tools such as research,
innovation, and personnel training.
CASAMOOD IN HANNOVER
Casa Dolce Casa presented
Casamood at Contract World in
Hanover. The Casamood stand was
completely dedicated to the interior
architectural designs created by
seven architects during a workshop
entitled “The Seven Deadly Sins”.
Each participant was invited to
develop the theme of one of the
seven deadly sins, associating each
with one of the colours in the Neutra
collection. The participating architects
came from all around the
world: Beda Faessler (Riken
Yamamoto & Beda Faassler, Japan),
Marcin Orawiec (OX2 Architekten,
Germany), Hannes Pfau (UN Studio,
the Netherlands), Piergiorgio Robino
(Nucleus, Italy), Steve Schappacher
(Schappacher White, USA), Jordi
Torres (Torres & Torres, Spain),
Much Untertrifaller (Dietrich
Untertrifaller Architekten, Austria).
EMAS CERTIFICATION
FOR LEA
The Lea Ceramiche plant in Fiorano
Modenese has obtained EMAS certification,
a prestigious acknowledgement
of work to safeguard the
environment. The Panariagroup
company has therefore added a
new aspect of quality to its already
high product standards. Along with
Lea, all the Italian plants in
Panariagroup (Toano and Finale
Emilia) have now achieved this certification,
demonstrating the group’s
ongoing commitment to environmental
protection and safety and
health at its production sites. The
certification of Lea is the last step in
a long process that tested all the
group’s Italian production plants for
their compliance with several fundamental
parameters, such as
worker safety, environmental performance,
and, in a future perspective,
the environmental objectives
and targets that the company has
committed itself to achieve.
A COLOURFUL IDEA
Even tiles can be therapeutic:
recharging your batteries, relaxing
your mind, fighting insomnia, and
restoring harmony and balance,
thanks to the new Cromotherapy
collection from Idea Ceramica. This
Finale Emilia-based company is
exploring the world of colour, offering
tiles as way to create a harmonious
environment that nurtures the
body and the spirit. Lilac is just the
thing for bedrooms and baths, since
it fights insomnia and anxiety; orange
and yellow help give you energy
and concentration, and are perfect
for dining rooms and kitchens; relaxing
greens and blues are recommended
for offices and studies. All
tiles in the range are lead-free and
environmentally friendly.
NEW GRAPHIC APPLICATIONS
FOR GARDENIA ORCHIDEA
A new year, a new beginning. At the
Gardenia Orchidea plants in
Spezzano, 2006 was ushered in with
the introduction of an innovative
graphic application method in three
production lines. “It’s about
integrating four-colour decoration
machinery directly into the
production line,” explains General
Director Massimo Bonezzi, “in order
to create floor and wall coverings,
and special trims with graphic
characteristics that are completely
new in mass production”. A long
series of tests has led to the
determination of the various types of
bodies, firing methods, glazes, inks
to be employed, and their related
colorimetric development. A new
path that is yet to be explored, with a
new product to be presented at
Cersaie 2006.
GAMBARELLI
STUDENT AWARD
The Ceramiche Gambarelli Group
has strengthened its partnership
with the University of Modena and
Reggio Emilia by establishing the
“Giuseppe Gambarelli” student
award. The prize is intended for
Engineering Department graduates
who have presented the best thesis
on topics related to scientific or
technological innovation in products
or processes for the ceramics
sector. In 2005, the winner was the
new engineer Marcello Valentini
(who graduated in the 2003-2004
scholastic year) for his thesis
“Analysis of the interdependencies
between chemical and
mineralogical composition and
sintering methods for fully vitrified
ceramics bodies”.
The award honours the memory of
Giuseppe Gambarelli, the self-made
founder of the company, which later
grew under the guidance of his
daughter Ivana and his
grandchildren Giuseppe and
Tommaso, who now head the
Modena-based firm. ∏