On October 15, the 2021 Bologna, Italy Building Materials Exhibition Trend Viewing Meeting was grandly held at the Ceramic Theater of China Ceramics Headquarters. Five important guests, Yin Hong, Zhu Wei, Chen Gaozhao, Huang Yongcai, and Hanberto, together with more than 300 ceramic people on site, and about 100 colleagues in two sub-venues, Taoqu Live Room and China (Zibo) Ceramics Headquarters, discussed the latest industries in the industry. Gain insight into cutting-edge trends, and further understand the forward-looking layout and innovation of the building ceramics industry under the development trend of diversification, segmentation, and specialization.
The following is a record shared by Yin Hong, Secretary General of the Foshan Ceramics Industry Association of Guangdong Province
I have been to the Bologna Exhibition for 16 consecutive years, and this year is the fifth time I will be a guest speaker on the stage of "Bologna Trend Viewing". In fact, being a guest is very stressful every year, but this year it is especially stressful. Several people joked with me today: "Doctor, you didn't go to Italy this year. Are you going to use last year's PPT to tell us?" I joked: "I didn't go last year, so I should use the one from the year before."
First, let’s do a brief review. In 2015, I shared a product that impressed me the most at the Bologna Exhibition that year. I have since recommended it to several friends, and that is baby face. But it will take about three years for it to actually appear and be applied in the country. In 2016, I proposed "no big boards, no big names; when the wind blows, the bricks will fly." In 2017, black, white and gray are popular, especially the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey", which has set off the trend of gray home decoration. In the same year, the Valentino flagship store in Rome designed by British designer Dai Wei used terrazzo, which instantly promoted terrazzo to all over the world... After the above trend observations were put forward that year, they will be popular in China in the next 1-2 years. rise. It can be said that Bologna Trend Viewer’s observations and sharing are very forward-looking.
Before I start sharing, I want to share some data with you. "World Ceramics Review" recently published an article called "World Ceramic Ceramics Development Pattern". It analyzed that the current growth of world ceramic tiles is most obvious in Europe, and the entire EU region accounts for 11.9% of the world. The base in Asia is relatively large.
my country's development from 2001 to 2020, especially starting from 2015 and 2016, China's ceramic tile production dropped from 10 billion square meters to 8 billion, but it still increased in the first half of this year.
As far as world exports are concerned, Asia is declining, while Europe is growing. Although China still ranks first in overall export value, the overallThe volume has still dropped by more than 20%. China’s export volume has dropped from the peak of 1.1 billion square meters in 2015 to only 622 million square meters now. We will not analyze the reasons today, but it can be seen that China's ceramic tile production and export volume in the world are declining.
This article is an overall prediction for 2021. Judging from the data, the ceramic industry in many parts of the world is in the recovery stage, which shows that there are still many opportunities for ceramic tiles in the world in the future. Although China grew by 14.7% in the first half of the year, we did not expect that we would still see a lot of decline in the second half of the year. Including Iran, Spain, and Italy, the decline is also obvious, and the pressure may be slightly greater in the future. Correspondingly, the ceramic tile industry still has a lot of room for growth in Asia and Africa, with Africa being the largest. The above is the situation of the global ceramic tile pattern in the past two years.
This year is a very difficult year. I have not been able to go abroad this year. My overall observations are based on official information. The theme of this year's Bologna exhibition is OPNE TO EVOLUTION, with more than 62,000 visitors. It is said to have an exhibition area of 150,000 to 160,000 square meters, and the internal figure is 136,000 square meters. Ceramic tile display accounts for about 100% of all category displays. 56%. This year, a new Hall No. 37 was built, named "Ultra-modern Tile Space". If you have a chance to see it next year, be sure to take a look around. Looking at the overall global situation and looking at this year's Bologna exhibition, what exactly have we missed in the two years since the Bologna exhibition was missing?
I observed the 50G pictures and found these.
#01
Ceramic slab
Large slabs and rock slabs are undoubtedly the highlights of this year’s Bologna exhibition. LAMINAM, FLORIM—CASA, MIRAGE, ROCA...these world-famous rock and slab brands have good displays. Green color designs have also emerged in recent years, and these brands also have corresponding products on display. Both ABK and MARAZZI focused on the kitchen and bathroom space this year. ABK specifically displayed a slate kitchen, while MARAZZI specifically displayed a kitchen island.
#02
Digital mold
When I went to the exhibition before, I specifically asked the people from Torrecid "How do you say "Digital Mold" in English? They told me it's called "STYLE CID", which happens to be the name of a Spanish general. Maybe they have similar expectations for digital molds. Regarding digital molds, I noticed the exhibition I estimate that the depth of the concave and convex structure of the previous brand’s products is 0.5 mm. Why do I think digital molds are so interesting? I first came into contact with digital molds at the 2019 Construction Expo, and someone from Torrecid took me to see them. , called Shape-Cid technology. When I saw the finished product, I felt that the color reproduction made by the digital mold was very good. This year, Shape-Cid has been upgraded to version 3.0, and I believe this technology has a promising future.
#03
"Home" Era
I asked many people how to translate "Aseptic Age" into "Aseptic Age"? It always feels inappropriate. Since the beginning of the epidemic, everyone has paid attention to health and safety, and many products are focusing on this direction. Similarly, we can also notice that the products that focus on this direction have mild colors, soft looks, milky colors, all corners are rounded, etc. Gives a comfortable, non-aggressive feel. It is this feeling that is very suitable for everyone to stay at home after the epidemic. So I call the product style "Aseptic Age" home style - "home" era. Perhaps in the future, under the background of the epidemic, this style will become more and more popular.
#04
New Naturalism
New naturalism refers to completely imitating the texture of things, such as the texture of logs, cloth, raw stones... This style has become very popular in recent years, and it can be said that it is in sync with the Bologna exhibition. In addition to the more common textures such as wood grain and cloth grain, relatively novel products such as bamboo grain and leopard print have also appeared this year. Of course, terrazzo and native wood also belong to the "new naturalism" category.
#05
Original
Cement gray, post-industrial rust, defective stone...these rough beauty, I call it "primitive style". This product looks very heavy and has a sense of age. The beautiful outer layer has fallen off, leaving only the mottled backbone. Original style products are also popular this year.
#06
Plants and flowers
I used to see a lot of "flowers and flowers" at the Bologna Exhibition, but I always felt that there were so many this year. To describe it as "one for everyone" doesn't seem to be an exaggeration. In the past few years, this series of products were mainly in the shape of plants and flowers, and the colors were gray or even white. But this year, colors and warm colors are slowly seeping into it. Will the colors become more vivid in a few years?
#07
Geometric lines
I don’t like many products with geometric lines, either the colors are too bright or the geometry is too square or round. But these BESTILE products are very popular with me in terms of geometric performance. The geometric materials are used very well, and the overall feeling is also very high-end. It can be said that it pushes the application of geometry to a new level. In the past, when we talked about geometry, it felt very young and difficult to use. But if you look at the geometric products on display at the Bologna Exhibition, you can feel the high-end sense brought by geometric lines.
Finally make a summary:
1. Ceramic slabs and rock slabs are becoming the main ceramic tile products; this is not only the domestic situation, but also the international status quo.
2. The most critical surface technology is ceramic tile decoration technology. The technology has slowly upgraded from inkjet printing and digital glaze to digital molds.
3. The style of ceramic tiles is mainly simple; the colors are transitioning from cold and quiet to warm and gentle; the use of flower and plant patterns in patterns has increased significantly. In the past, marble almost dominated the world.
Two years have passed. In fact, we have not missed anything. The key is what has we caught? There is no trend in the world, it just becomes a trend when more people choose it. There are many development directions, but only when we grasp them are the real trends.
