HAVING established its brand in projects worldwide from Sydney to Stuttgart and Bonn to Bangkok, RAK Ceramics of the UAE is now focusing on extending its reach across smaller towns and local markets across the globe.

To this end, the Ras Al Khaimah-based ceramics specialist has been opening new showrooms and establishing strategic partnerships to boost its distribution network and reach out to a larger target audience.

“The export market remains a very important component of RAK Ceramics’ business strategy as 85 per cent of our products are delivered to over 160 countries,” says Abdallah Massaad, deputy CEO of RAK Ceramics. “In this regard, RAK Ceramics continues to proactively anticipate emerging global demands and trends, and invest in modern technologies and best practices to develop new designs, products and other value-added components that will satisfy the evolving needs of our global customers.”

RAK Ceramics was established in 1991 with a mission to become a global player in the ceramic tile industry and to reinforce the reputation of Ras Al Khaimah as a highly strategic business base for multinationals. Within two decades, the company has established itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of ceramic and porcelain tiles with a total annual production output of 117 million sq m.

RAK Ceramics today supplies its products to more than 160 countries and has established 15 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located in the UAE, Bangladesh, China, Sudan, Iran and India.

Technological advancement, innovation and high-quality production are key attributes that have enabled the firm to accelerate its rise to the summit of the global ceramic tile industry. The company constantly updates its product portfolio, which comprises more than 8,000 designs in ceramic tiles, Gres Porcellanato, and several models in bathware.

Sensation (above) and Opulence ... two ranges from RAK Ceramics.

New products

In the past year, RAK Ceramics continued to launch additional innovative products and designs that now rank among the company’s best-selling offerings. These include the Opulence collection, a classy-looking bathware suite designed to appeal primarily to urban customers. RAK Ceramics has diversified into a new product segment by launching 25 by 70 and 25 by 50 tile collections, which offer trendy and classy designs using digital printing technology. Other new collections that have been launched include the Stone Art Collection and Interlocking Tiles, which are used for interiors and exteriors.

“RAK Ceramics has been renowned for introducing innovative products that have established new benchmarks in the global tile industry,” says A Jayakumar, COO-tiles, RAK Ceramics.

“The award-winning RAK Slim range, for instance, has set a new industry standard in thickness, strength, cost and ease of use. RAK Ceramics’ unique ability to deliver products that exceed expectations has certainly played a key role in the company’s swift rise to the top,” he says.

Recently, the company launched Techno Rak polished floor tiles (60 by 60) and Sandust (30 by 60), which are designed to reflect the splendour of the Arabian desert and are developed using the Chroma printing technology. Gres Porcellanato models that were developed recently include the Aqaba (30 by 60), which is influenced by the Jordanian Stone; Aleppo Stone (45 by 45), which is developed using hi-definition digital printing to give it a rustic stone/lapato finish; and the Bevel Rock, which offers a bevelled finish that gives a unique texture on the tile, allowing the surface to have an embossed designer look.

Besides the above ranges of products, RAK Ceramics also launched tiles for children’s segment under the brand Junior Tiles Collection designed for washrooms, kindergartens, schools and kids areas in shopping malls, and hospitals in a bid to cater to the needs of the market.

The company has also signed an agreement with world-renowned glass artist Jean Claude Novaro, who has recently opened a new factory in Ras Al Khaimah, to design an exclusive range of RAK Ceramics’ Luminous range tiles. The partnership is expected to generate major interest in the global market.

A RAK Ceramics showroom ... equipped with high-tech touch-screen devices.

Projects

RAK Ceramics has been supplying ceramic tile and bathware to numerous high-profile projects across the Middle East and around the world. Some of the company’s more prominent projects include the Sky Tower and Oasis Village in Dubai; Gate Tower City and Madinat Zayed in Abu Dhabi; Ministry of Education in Dammam, Saudi Arabia; Barwa City in Doha, Qatar; and The Wave Housing Society in Oman.

In the international arena, the firm has supplied to major projects such as O2 Arena and Heathrow Airport in the UK; Cologne and Bonn airports in Germany; Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece; and others.

Raw materials

To ensure that it produces the best-quality products in the global market, RAK Ceramics says it maintains arguably the best network of high-profile suppliers of pigments and other raw materials from Ukraine, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, India, the UAE and Europe.

The pigment, which a key raw material mixed with the base glaze to create a variety of colours, has a major influence on the quality of each tile. RAK Ceramics mainly uses inorganic pigments for high-temperature production and some organic pigments for producing decorative tiles. It also uses a wider variety of pigments such as metallic, alumina, zinc, mixed metallic oxide, fluorescent, natural and synthetic iron oxide pigments.

Exhibitions

To generate optimum global exposure for its new products and designs, RAK Ceramics actively participates in local, regional and international industry events, which also allow the company to interact with customers, business partners and other stakeholders of the tile industry.

Over the past year, RAK Ceramics showcased its latest collections and outlined its growth plans during its participation at the Bau exhibition in Munich, Germany; Cevisama 2011 exhibition in Valencia, Spain; the International Sanitation Heating (ISH) trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Marseille Fair 2011 in Marseille, France. The company also took part at the Project Lebanon exhibition as well as the Big 5 Exhibition 2011 in Dubai.

Technology

“RAK Ceramics’ aggressive investment in the latest technologies and best practices has been a key factor that has allowed the company to introduce countless new products to the market each year. It has been the corporate strategy to leverage new technological advances to create more value-added services for our clients and enhance the overall customer experience,” says Peruma Reddy, COO-bathware, RAK Ceramics.

The production-related technologies recently acquired by the firm include the latest digital printing technology, which are being used to introduce new designs and innovations such as the Stone Art, Orion, Interlocking and other exquisite tile collections. The company has also pioneered the integration of the PH 7200 press into the production line to create slabs and large-format tiles for multiple applications such as vanity tops, steps and façades, which until then were purely based on natural stone, he says.

As part of its global digital marketing strategy, RAK Ceramics recently completed installation of new touch-screen devices in its showrooms, making it easier for customers to search for their favorite models and designs. The company also launched an iPad version of the touch-screen application called RAK’s iDesign Tool, which is available for download on App Store, while also introducing the QR code, the scan coding system that can easily direct customers to the RAK Ceramics web page containing complete information about their chosen products.

Awards

RAK Ceramics was declared CSR Company of the Year during the second Middle East Business Leaders Summit and Awards (Meblsa) held at the Armani Hotel in Dubai last April. At the same event, RAK Ceramics CEO Dr Khater Massaad was recognised as Masterclass Global CEO. Dr Massaad also received an Honorary Stevie Award during the International Business Awards 2011 last October for his achievements as the visionary CEO behind the success of RAK Ceramics. In addition, RAK Ceramics received Asia’s Best Brand Award and Best Employer Brand Award 2011 during the second CMO Asia Awards in Singapore last July.

RAK Ceramics also has several more reasons to celebrate a highly successful 2011. The company was awarded the “Best in Managing Health at Work Award” during the Asian Leadership Awards (ALA) 2011 last September in Dubai, while the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) awarded the company with the Environmental Performance Certificate (EPC) in recognition of its successful efforts to comply with environmental protection standards and regulations.