In assessing the defining characteristics of the 2016 ceramic tile market, two product categories proved particularly significant: diamond tiles and full-body marble tiles. For color glaze enterprises, tile product trends are a direct indicator of future market direction. Consequently, as a growing number of manufacturers engaged in producing diamond tiles and full-body marble tiles, the corresponding pigment-glaze suppliers began to see substantial new opportunities emerge.

Simultaneously, as full-glazed tiles continued to capture market share from polished tiles, the glazes for standard full-glazed products accounted for a considerable portion of revenue for many pigment-glaze companies. Furthermore, while the popularization of inkjet technology drove the widespread adoption of ceramic inks, it did not diminish the strong position of glaze pigments in the dark-color market. With the domestic ink market reaching saturation, ink colorant manufacturers shifted their primary strategic focus to the international arena.

Industry reports indicated that thick-polished diamond glazes and dry-mixed pigments were major highlights of the 2016 Industrial Exhibition. From the perspective of exhibiting companies, these product categories represented an essential and lucrative segment for most upstream suppliers. However, certain specialized functional glazes were expected to maintain a relatively niche market share for some time, limited by factors such as cost and specific application requirements.

　　Thick-Polished Diamond Glazes: Meeting Core Customer Needs Through Enhanced Performance

"When we first introduced thick-polished diamond glazes two years ago, the market was challenging, but they have now earned genuine recognition from customers and the industry," reflected Quan Chunhui, General Manager of Zhongyang Glaze Co., Ltd., on the product's development journey.

At that year's Guangzhou Ceramic Industry Exhibition, Zhongyang Glaze featured its thick-polished diamond glazes as a core product. Mr. Quan noted that the company had launched its second-generation thick-polished glaze at the 2015 Foshan Autumn Ceramics Expo and expanded production capacity at the end of that year. "The year 2016 is poised to be a period of major growth for thick-polished diamond glazes, with 2017 potentially marking the peak of widespread market adoption," he projected.

Mr. Quan based his optimism on three key factors: First, from a product standpoint, significant improvements in wear resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and hardness directly addressed fundamental customer requirements. Second, with maturing production processes, costs were now stable and controlled—the market price was approximately RMB 5,000 per ton, translating to only RMB 2-3 more per tile compared to previous solutions. Finally, regarding first-grade yield rates, Zhongyang's thick-polished diamond glazes achieved 97%-98% in wide-body kilns, with even higher rates in smaller kilns.

Similarly, Foshan Zhongcheng Silicate Technology Co., Ltd. also featured diamond glazes at the Industrial Exhibition. According to General Manager Hao Enqi, the company's diamond glazes were already in use at manufacturers such as Qingyuan Yingchao Ceramics and Juncheng Ceramics. "Currently, diamond glazes represent about 20% of our market share. As market acceptance of diamond tiles continues to rise, this figure is expected to grow further," Mr. Hao stated.

In addition to diamond glazes, Zhongcheng Technology also showcased standard full-polished glazes and marble glazes. Mr. Hao indicated that the current market share for standard full-polished glazes remained higher than that for diamond tiles, accounting for 40% of Zhongcheng's sales.

In the realm of glaze innovation, European and American pigment-glaze companies have traditionally been formidable competitors for domestic enterprises. However, in the specific field of thick-polished diamond glazes, domestic manufacturers had established a leading position. Mr. Hao noted that very few international companies had entered the diamond glaze segment—"less than 10%—while domestic technology has become highly mature."

Initially, diamond glazes faced some market skepticism, including claims that "their wear resistance is not significantly better than that of full-polished tiles." Mr. Quan acknowledged that every product has its strengths and limitations, emphasizing that customers purchase products for their advantages, provided the drawbacks are managed within acceptable parameters. "It isn't necessary to achieve a wear resistance of Grade 4 and hardness of Grade 5 to be classified as a thick-polished diamond glaze. As long as companies develop according to the thick-polished diamond glaze process and meet their own standards, it is valid. For instance, wear resistance between Grade 3-4 and hardness between Grade 4.5-5 are perfectly reasonable," he explained. In Mr. Quan's view, every product category spans high, medium, and low-end tiers. While Zhongyang Glaze encourages customers to produce high-end products, it also provides technical support to mid- and low-range manufacturers working with thick-polished diamond glazes.

Dry-Mixed Pigments: The "Full-Body Trend" in Tiles Drives Increased Participation

At the recently concluded 27th Foshan Spring Ceramics Expo, nearly twenty companies launched full-body marble tiles simultaneously. Some industry analysts predicted that by the Autumn Ceramics Expo, the number of manufacturers producing full-body marble tiles could exceed one hundred. This considerable market demand has prompted keen interest from many color glaze enterprises.

It was reported that Foshan Gaoming Fenglin New Materials Co., Ltd. would prominently feature dry-mixed pigments at that year's Guangzhou Ceramic Industry Exhibition. Concurrently, Zibo Taozheng Ceramic Pigment Co., Ltd. was also accelerating its R&D efforts in dry-mixed pigments.

Dry-mixed pigments had been present in the industry for several years, historically dominated by foreign suppliers, with relatively few domestic producers. Wu Jitang, Technical Director of Fenglin Glaze, stated that Fenglin had been producing dry-mixed pigments for seven to eight years and its technology was highly mature. "We did not promote them aggressively initially because there were few domestic ceramic enterprises using dry-mixed pigments at the time. In the past two years, especially since this year, more companies have begun or plan to produce full-body marble tiles, which has created a favorable market for dry-mixed pigments," Mr. Wu explained.

Some executives from color glaze firms believed that dry-mixed pigments were primarily used in producing full-body marble tiles. However, compared to conventional products, the main distinguishing features of full-body marble tiles—grooving and chamfering—were not required in the majority of practical applications. Therefore, they concluded that "the market for dry-mixed pigments will not be very large."

In response, Mr. Wu contended that this depended largely on the positioning of the ceramic enterprises themselves. "Some branded manufacturers target high-end consumer segments where demand for full-body marble tiles during decoration is a clear and specific requirement. Dry-mixed pigments are mainly developed for these branded companies. Since tiles produced with dry-mixed pigments more closely resemble natural stone and offer more distinct advantages over traditional tiles, the market prospects for dry-mixed pigments are very promising."

Currently, several color glaze enterprises have concentrated on the R&D and mass production of dry-mixed pigments, and their products have been adopted by a growing number of ceramic manufacturers. Addressing potential concerns about declining profit margins for dry-mixed pigments, Mr. Wu suggested that color glaze companies should learn from the ink sector. "Ink enterprises have increasingly focused on developing functional inks; dry-mixed colorant manufacturers should also strive in this direction," he advised.

It was noted that Fenglin Glaze produced dry-mixed pigments in compliance with international standards, offering a range of colors including pure yellow, orange yellow, cobalt blue, coffee, and black. These products were already being used by several branded tile enterprises.

Domestic Ink Pigments Need to "Go Global"

In just a few years, foreign ceramic inks entered the Chinese market, followed by the comprehensive adoption of domestic alternatives. The rapid rise of the ceramic ink industry enabled many ink manufacturers to achieve independent production of pigments, which in turn created pressure on specialized ink colorant suppliers. Foshan Wellhope Ceramic Materials Co., Ltd. featured its ink pigments at the Industrial Exhibition. In the view of Tian Hongxin, Executive Director of Wellhope, the domestic ink market was already saturated, making the international market a critical focus for domestic ink colorant enterprises.

Mr. Tian noted that while inkjet technology had become the mainstream in many regions, its adoption in countries such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia would still require time. He predicted that local ink enterprises would gradually emerge in these markets, representing a segment that could not be overlooked. "There are limitations for Chinese ceramic inks sold to these regions, particularly regarding service support. Additionally, ceramic inks from European and American countries are relatively high-priced. Therefore, local ink manufacturers will inevitably capture a portion—potentially a significant portion—of the market," he analyzed.

At the time, the room for further price reduction in domestic ceramic inks was virtually nonexistent, though this was not expected to hinder the future market development of ink pigments. Some large ceramic plants, with their substantial consumption of ceramic inks, might eventually choose to produce inks in-house.

Mr. Tian acknowledged this possibility, stating that such large-scale ceramic factories might establish dedicated workshops for ink production. For ink colorant suppliers, this segment represented a valuable market to compete for. "The formulation of traditional ceramic inks is now quite transparent, and the industry has accumulated extensive experience. Ceramic factories can avoid many pitfalls by producing their own inks. As suppliers of ink pigments, we are prepared to guide them in this endeavor, which represents another potential future market," he commented.

Beyond competitive pricing, the quality of domestic ink pigments was also reliable. "Our quality is on par with foreign products, and we must have confidence in that," Mr. Tian asserted. He emphasized that while ensuring competitive prices and quality, domestic ink colorant enterprises should also maintain reasonable profit margins in their export business, cautioning that "we cannot expect excessive profits."