Del Conca upgrades facility and makes green investments
In recent months, Del Conca has embarked on a development process involving the expansion and renovation of its production site in Savignano sul Panaro, the historic headquarters of the Pastorelli brand. Part of a €55 million investment plan, the investment has transformed the plant into one of the Italian ceramic tile industry’s largest and most innovative production facilities with a total floor space of 120,000 square metres, including 60,000 square metres under cover.
The facility houses a complete production line from raw material preparation through to packaging, equipped with highly automated equipment entirely developed and built in Italy. Pressing takes place on a revolutionary PCR3000 line capable of producing ceramic slabs in sizes up to 180×360 cm (a format not previously available on the market) and thicknesses up to 3 cm. With a length of more than 200 metres, the kiln is the largest ever installed in Italy.
The most important components of the line all are the thermal machines (the spray dryer, dryer and kiln) and the cogenerator, all of which were designed to ensure greater energy efficiency. And because they are hydrogen ready, they will be able to switch to a natural gas/hydrogen blend as soon as hydrogen becomes available, further improving the environmental sustainability of the process.
For many years now, Del Conca has been adopting green policies aimed at reducing its levels of consumption, with measures that include the use of photovoltaics, the recycling of all processing waste (unfired, fired and defective materials), 100% reuse of process water and separately recyclable packaging. Thanks to these constant efforts, the company is now able to achieve overall savings of approximately 3,400 tonnes of CO2 per year.
