Impronta Ceramiche, a leading Italian manufacturer of large-size porcelain floor tiles and single-fired white body wall tiles, has recently launched several new innovative products with a view to expanding its project portfolio in the Middle East.

“Thanks to the personalised, high-quality products and service that the company offers to its clients, Impronta Ceramiche’s business in the Gulf area has been growing steadily during the past years and looks set to grow further,” says Giovanni Fontanesi, area manager for Saudi Arabia.
“As a dynamic and innovative company, quick to respond to the demands created by a constantly-evolving market, we place a high premium on understanding the needs both of our designers and final users by manufacturing ceramic products which come in a vast number of styles, colours, formats, and surface finishes to meet any indoor or outdoor design requirement,” says Chiara Caiti, from the press office of Impronta Ceramiche.
 “We have recently introduced two new products – the Vibrazioni wall tiles and the patterns of Evoluzione through-body porcelain stoneware that are manufactured using the innovative Almatec production technology, one of the most advanced technologies in the ceramic sector,” Caiti adds.
The new collections will be shown at ISH Kitchen and Bath Middle East, the region’s leading design showcase and conference for kitchens and bathrooms, which runs this month (May 25 to 27).
Impronta Ceramiche will be participating at the ISH fair in Dubai with a bright new stand located within the Italian Covering Exhibition (hall 5), which provides a convenient place to meet with customers, architects and anyone interested in the world of Italian interior design, Caiti says.
Elaborating on the ranges, she says: “The Vibrazioni tile collection is an architectural expression of light and the result of advanced research and avant-garde design. The name Vibrazioni (Vibrations) synthesises the design, which features four slightly raised, now-you-see-them-now-you-don’t microstructures on the tile surface that can either appear opaque or reflect the light, depending on the angle.
“These tiles are large – 110 cm long and 34 cm wide – and can be installed to customised patterns so the entire wall can depict a scenery, with the whole surface becoming more dynamic and reflecting light in motion. Low-relief patterns softly model the surface of these large decorative panels to offer an elegant, refined and feminine collection for exclusive home and office interiors.
“The new patterns in the Almatec collections are innovative, taking their cue from the world of design, but they also aim at being environmentally friendly, more fully in line with today’s main architectural trends.”
The company has also launched a new logo. “We have recently created a stylish new logo which depicts the company’s name which in Italian means fingerprint – which effectively conveys the uniqueness of our innovative, inimitable products that constantly anticipate and shape the market’s latest trends. The fingerprint, incorporated in the tiles, represents the identity of a unique company, where the human factor is important, allowing everyone to express his own individuality in his choice of tiles and styles,” Caiti says.
Impronta Ceramiche has an impressive project portfolio that includes two landmark projects in Kuwait – The Avenues Mall in Kuwait City and the Mabanee Logistica’s refrigerated warehouse in Safat, among others. For the Avenues Mall, the company has so far supplied 110, 000 sq m of through-body porcelain stoneware – with another 10, 000 sq m on order for a new extension. This stoneware has been manufactured with Almatec technology, which can create deep-grained porcelain stoneware with full thickness and large-size format slabs. These tiles have fine grain lines, nuanced shades and particle inclusions that resemble the appearance of natural stones. The Almatec slabs in two colours of Marfil Classico and Pietra Piasentina in 60 cm by 120 cm format and a natural finish, have been used to tile the entire outdoor ventilated façades of the building. The exterior facade of the Avenues Mall has been constructed in cooperation with Aliva, the company’s Italian partner and a leading specialist in ventilated facades components and systems, which provided customer support in terms of analysing the various elements, planning the fixing systems and supplying the structures.
The geometric pattern of the indoor flooring of the mall was achieved entirely with Hydrojet cutting, starting with 60 cm by 120 cm slabs, combining Marfil Classico and Pietra Piasentina in both natural and polished finishes. This gave the entire project an aesthetical uniformity, both indoors and outdoors.
“Almatec slabs are ideal for public buildings such as large shopping centres and restaurants that are subject to heavy traffic, as they meet high hygienic standards being easy to maintain and resistant to wear and tear and staining in everyday use,” Caiti adds.
Turning to Mabanee Logistica’s public refrigerated warehouse located close to Kuwait’s port, Caiti points out that the 8,000 sq m external façade has been covered with Almatec Pietra Piasentina and Marfil Classico in 60 by 120 cm rectified size slabs. This building – constructed in June 2005 and set to become part of a shopping area – currently functions as a logistic hub for fresh, chilled and frozen foods between several European countries and the Middle East countries.
“The Avenue Mall and Mabanee Warehouse represent energy-saving and environment-friendly projects. Their ceramic ventilated façades are environmentally sustainable since they cut down on heating and cooling energy requirements. The air gap between the main structure and the outer ceramic skin affords ventilation and comfort zone temperatures inside the building. The through-body porcelain tiles are wind, sand and saline-water resistant, thus lowering maintenance and running costs,” points out Caiti.
The production process of these tiles too is environment-friendly. “Process adjustment has led to less energy consumption, gas emissions and raw material consumption and greater use of recycled materials and water. In addition, these products offer quality and aesthetics, without damaging the landscape by opening up new quarries of rare natural stones,” she adds.
Impronta Ceramiche’s continued focus on quality and investment in technological know-how has enabled it to offer a full range of eco-friendly products that anticipate and shape market trends. Currently staffed with around 480 employees and equipped with advanced production lines and considerable resources directed to maximising the efficiency of the company’s commercial and distribution network and IT systems, Impronta Ceramiche offers a wide range of avant-garde design solutions for ventilated facings and raised floors.
Its ceramic tiles are exclusively made in Italy at two plants located in Reggio Emilia Province with a production of almost 9 million sq m per year.