PORCELANOSA at Cersaie 2010

 

For another year, PORCELANOSA Grupo will be taking part in the forthcoming edition of the Cersaie trade fair, to be held from 28 September to 2 October in Italy.

 

The Bologna International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, which celebrates its twenty-eighth edition this year is the most important showcase in the sector, with a total of 176,000 square metres of exhibition space, which welcomed more than 82,000 visitors in 2009.

 

PORCELANOSA will be attending the Exhibition with all of the companies that belong to the Group to present their latest wall and floor tile products and kitchen and bathroom equipment. As in last year’s edition, Butech, the Group’s company dedicated to developing advanced construction systems and installation materials, will have its own stand in area 45, where it will present all of its latest innovations.

 

HALL 26 - STAND A296-B198

 

CERSAIE - Salone Internazionale della Ceramica per l'Architettura e dell'Arredobagno.
28 settembre - 2 ottobre 2010
Quartiere Fieristico di Bologna

 

 

PORCELANOSA invites its customers to the Formula 1 Race in Valencia

 

PORCELANOSA invited three hundred of its best customers to enjoy a couple of days of thrills and excitement at the Formula 1 European Grand Prix, held in Valencia between 25 and 27 June.

 

They included architects, interior designers, tile layers and major distributors from various European countries such as France, the UK, Belgium and of course, Spain, who travelled to Valencia to experience a weekend of breathtaking thrills and spills.

 

In addition to the chance to attend the training sessions held throughout the weekend as well as watch the official Formula 1 race on Sunday from a VIP terrace reserved exclusively by PORCELANOSA for its customers, the programme included a range of other events such as the welcome cocktail party held on the upper terrace of the Butech office building. The guests were welcomed by the firm's management team, led by Héctor Colonques, and were treated to a mouth-watering menu created by Gourmet Paradís in a luxury setting, as well as a tour of the firm's new facilities.

 

Butech, the Group company that develops building technologies, recently opened its new facilities which occupy 60,000 square metres and boast cutting-edge construction techniques and renewable energy systems developed by the firm.

 

On Saturday, the group enjoyed a magnificent dinner at the Mar de Bamboo Restaurant in the unique Veles e Vents building, designed by architect David Chipperfield and situated in the Port of Valencia, right at the heart of the race circuit.

 

This isn’t the first time that PORCELANOSA has invited its customers to events of this kind. In 2009 it played host to a select group who had the chance to watch the first edition of the Valencia Street Circuit race as part of the Formula 1 World Championship. The firm has also given its support to the Valencia Region as a venue for world class sporting events on numerous occasions.

 

 

Porcelanosa, Spain’s most reputable ceramic tile manufacturer

 

According to a study by the Reputation Institute (RI), PORCELANOSA is considered to be Spain’s most reputable ceramic tile manufacturer.

 

For the first time ever in Spain, this study (Reputation Pulse 2010) has measured the corporate reputation of both Spanish and foreign companies operating in the country, taking into account aspects such as confidence, respect and admiration.

 

PORCELANOSA, which ranks 39 out of the 140 companies included in the study, obtained a rating of 72.71 points, and is perceived by Spanish consumers as a robust and consolidated company, ahead of brands such as Nike or Microsoft.

 

Food companies Danone and Nutrexpa, and car manufacturer BMW top the ranking.

 

Registration for the 1st PORCELANOSA interior design conference.

 

The company awarded a 10,000 euro cash prize to a project for a house built over a riverbed

 

The awards ceremony for the third edition of the company’s Design Contest was held on Friday, during the course of the I Edition of the Interior Design Conference, which took place at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

 

Porcelanosa Grupo set up its own Design Contest three years ago in order to encourage the creativity of new and future professionals. Targeting both professionals and final year students, the multidisciplinary nature of the contest has attracted professionals and students from the areas of industrial and interior design as well as architecture.

 

With increasingly successful results both in terms of the standard of the projects presented and the number of entrants, year after year the Porcelanosa Interior Design Contest is becoming firmly consolidated as a major event in the Interior Design sector.

 

For this third edition, the participating projects had to present the interior design for an open plan, loft-style home featuring natural products by L’Antic Colonial, the Group company that produces exclusive coverings and accessories using fine materials such as stone and natural wood.

 

This edition also projected a far more global vision of the Porcelanosa Group, as the projects also included products from some of the Group’s other companies that manufacture kitchen and bathroom equipment such as Noken, Gamadecor or Systempool.

 

The number of entrants has risen sharply since the first edition of the contest, which was held three years ago. This latest edition attracted a total of 309 projects, 186 in the 'Professional' category, and the remaining 123 in the 'Students' group.

 

The €10,000 euro cash prize for the winner in the 'Professional’ category went to River, an interior design project for a house built over a riverbed which, in addition to using natural materials – mainly wood and stone – also included a large hydraulic wheel that supplied energy.

 

Other notable contributions included Nohgaku, which won first prize in the Student category, as well as MLH3 and Érase una vez cuatro gigantes (Once upon a time there were four giants), which both received special mentions.

 

The total value of the prizes awarded stood at €18,500.

 

The panel of judges included top Spanish and international names from the worlds of design, architecture and interior decorating, including Joan Lao, Teresa Sapey, Tomás Alía, Isabel López, Fernando Salas or Alfaro Hofmann, with Cristina Colonques representing the Porcelanosa Group.

 

I Edition of the Interior Design Conference

 

The awards ceremony rounded off the I Edition of the Porcelanosa Grupo Interior Design Conference, the firm’s forum for debate which attracted leading present and future professionals from the worlds of design and architecture in order to analyse the sector’s current situation.

 

Fernando Salas, a staunch defender of the use of stone in his projects, drew an analogy between this material and human skin in order to highlight the fact that natural stone is still an ideal covering for building exteriors.

 

Isabel López, Vice-president of FAD and an interior designer who has worked on major projects for the hospitality industry such as El Celler de Can Roca, in Girona, discussed the importance of wood as an enveloping element that can create warm atmospheres and settings.

 

During his talk, designer Joan Lao expressed his belief that "the industry has to focus on design in order to overcome the current situation". He is convinced that the boom years of the past have led companies to stagnate, and as a result have lost their "creative muscle". He proposes coming up with design projects based on clearly defined concepts, together with the need to take an alterative approach to the concept of luxury, oriented more towards, health, wellbeing, balance and harmony.

 

Lastly, the young architect Francisco Silvestre analysed the creative process involved in any project through an analysis of his own works, during the course of a talk entitled “Five houses, a museum and a chair”.

 

Both the I Edition of the Interior Design Conference and the awards ceremony organised by Porcelanosa were attended by around four hundred people. The chosen venue was the spectacular City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

 

KRION® plays a central role in the London Surface Design Show

 

PORCELANOSA Group's KRION® was one of the materials that aroused most interest in the latest edition of the Surface Design Show in London.

 

The fair, which was held from 15 to 17 February at the Business Design Show in the English capital, is the only event in the United Kingdom to focus exclusively on interior and exterior materials and finishings in building design.

 

In its latest edition, over 4,000 architects and interior designers were able to learn more about the qualities of this material developed by Systempool, at a stand which presented the various applications and uses of KRION®.

 

PORCELANOSA concludes its Show with a new record number of visitors

 

More than 12,000 clients visited Porcelanosa's central facilities during the 17th edition of Porcelanosa Group’s International Ceramics, Kitchen and Bathroom Show which took place from the 1st to the 5th February.

 

The eight brands that make up the multinational showed their most innovative proposals in a show room of over 13,000 sq. metres.

 

Embossed and pearly bright tiles, spectacular natural stone coating, dream kitchens with crystal finishes, innovative materials with many applications for interior design, or astonishingly designed furniture are some of the new proposals we will find in the Porcelanosa stores in the next few months.

 

Iplus Prize of Excellence in Sustainability

 

STON-KER® Ecologic rewarded for respect to the environment

Porcelanosa has received the Iplus Prize rewarding excellence in sustainability for STON-KER® Ecologic, the eco-friendly ceramic tile from Porcelanosa.

STON-KER® Ecologic is manufactured from recycled materials that come from the production process, resulting in a tile made from 95% recycled material that combines the resistance and versatility of the glazed porcelain.

The production process of STON-KER® Ecologic notably reduces the consumption of raw materials providing significant energy savings during the production process. This actively contributes to improving buildings’ sustainability and the care of the environment, factors greatly valued by the jury of the Iplus prizes, granted by the Group Way.

 

Isabel Preysler, 25 years with PORCELANOSA

 

Porcelanosa celebrated its 25 year relationship with Isabel Preysler at a supper hosted by the Prince of Wales.

 

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales recently hosted a formal dinner in honour of Porcelanosa to celebrate the 25 years that Isabel Preysler has represented the image of the company.

 

Presided by the Prince, at one of his Scottish residences Dumfries House, the dinner was attended by senior Porcelanosa executives and Isabel Preysler, accompanied by most of her soons; and international stars as the model and businesswoman Elle McPherson, the Spanish model Andrés Velencoso and the acclaimed actor Orlando Bloom.

 

Porcelanosa kitchens triumph at Eurocucina 2010

 

The Spanish firm enjoyed major success during its first ever participation at this event.

 

Taking stock after this recent event, the results couldn’t be better for Porcelanosa Grupo which, for the first time ever, attended the Italian bi-annual event as an exhibitor.

 

This year, the Milan International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition, held between 14 and 19 April in conjunction with the prestigious Furniture Fair, attracted 144 exhibitors that occupied 33,000 square metres. Visitor numbers were extremely positive, reaching almost 330,000, 7% more than the previous edition.

 

The Porcelanosa Group, under its specialised kitchen brand Gamadecor, presented its latest designs for this space, featuring innovative materials and eye-catching designs. For the last twenty years, Gamadecor has been designing kitchens as living spaces in which materials and design converge to ensure functionality and comfort for users.

 

KRION®, state-of-the-art materials for kitchens.

 

Gamadecor includes the most innovative materials in its designs. The latest models presented at Eurocucina included kitchen furniture featuring fronts and worktops in Krion®, a material developed by Porcelanosa Grupo, made up of natural minerals and offering excellent resistance to chemical products, stains and heat, making it the ideal choice for kitchens that demand only the very best.

 

In addition, its anti-bacterial properties, certified in accordance with the UNE EN ISO 1186 standard, guarantee its food grade compatibility and consequently its use for worktops and any other element that may come into direct contact with food.

 

Additional information

GAMADECOR’S NEW WEBSITE

 

Coinciding with the 17th International Ceramic Tile, Kitchen and Bathroom Show, GAMADECOR, a specialist manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom furniture and member of PORCELANOSAGrupo, is launching a new online website.

 

Check out the website at www.gama-decor.com for the latest trends in kitchens, bathrooms, cupboards, walk-in wardrobes, doors etc.

 

For those keen on cooking, there is a section with an exclusive selection of recipes. Another novelty is Outlet, a section with special offers in bathroom furniture.

 

PORCELANOSA opens a new showroom in AlmerÍa

 

The new facilities occupy more than 12,000 square metres.

 

The opening event was attended by around 1,700 guests.

 

On 8 May, Porcelanosa, which has been present in the Andalusian province for more than twenty years, opened its new Almería showroom. With this latest opening the company, which now has three showrooms in the region, has further consolidated its structure in the region. The new showroom is situated in the Vía Park Bahía Business Park, just 15 minutes outside the provincial capital.   

 

The new showroom occupies more than 12,000 square metres. Around 2,000 square metres will be given over to the display and sale of the products manufactured by the Group’s eight companies. The facilities will also act as the distribution hub for the province, thanks to the creation of a logistics centre capable of handling more than half a million square metres of tiles.

 

The event, which attracted around 1,700 guests, was attended by numerous celebrities and members of Porcelanosa's senior management team, as well as VIP guests such as Isabel Preysler, who was accompanied by her daughter Tamara and son Julio, as well as his girlfriend, the Belgian model Charisse Verhaert. This was the first time the couple had been seen in public with Isabel.

 

Urban Trees

 

PORCELANOSA will develop the winning project of the Urban Trees competition, sponsored by the Sustainability & Architecture Association in order to demonstrate how responsible architecture can contribute toward overcoming the challenges of sustainability.

 

The winning project, entitled “Ceci n’est pas un arbre” by architects Uriel Fogué Herreros, Carlos Palacios Rodríguez and Enrico Foristieri, reproduces the environmental functions that trees fulfil in our cities, using technological systems with which citizens can interact.

 

The project, which will be implemented by PORCELANOSA Grupo, will be exhibited in the cities of Alcalá de Henares and Santiago de Compostela, both of which have been declared World Heritage Sites.

 

PORCELANOSA’s Architecture Season of Lectures

 

In the light of the positive outcome of previous editions, Porcelanosa Grupo has once again organised its annual season of lectures on architecture, providing leading architects with a forum in which to put forward their vision of architecture today.

 

The lecture season, drawn up in collaboration with Castellón’s Official College of Architects, will include talks by top architects such as Rafael de la Hoz, Mark Fenwick or Carlos Ferrater.

 

With this initiative, Porcelanosa Grupo intends to continue providing support for the world of architecture by fomenting ongoing communication with these professionals.

 

The Prince of Wales recognises the solidarity of PORCELANOSA

 

On the eighth of December, Prince Charles offered a gala dinner in honour of PORCELANOSA to express his gratitude for the close collaboration between the company with the humanitarian activities carried out by the Foundation of which he is the Chairman.

 

Over the last year, the company has contributed towards financing five of the beneficial organisations chaired by the heir to the British crown, such as the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.

 

The reception and dinner were held in Clarence House, the Prince’s London residence, where he met and chatted with the directors and guests invited by PORCELANOSA.

 

PORCELANOSA to clad Castellón Airport with ceramic tiles

 

As part of efforts to emphasise the presence of ceramic tiles in the most representative buildings in the province, PORCELANOSA has been chosen to clad the facilities of Castellón Airport with its products.

 

PORCELANOSA will install its ceramic floor and wall tiles both on the inside and outside of the buildings, using advanced systems and materials for the cladding on the façade. The bathrooms and public areas in the terminal will also be equipped with materials from the PORCELANOSA group.

 

As a result, the Airport will become an excellent entry point to the province, highlighting the relevance of the ceramic tile sector within the industrial fabric of Castellón.

Porcelanosa to distribute its products through El Corte Inglés

 

PORCELANOSA has reached an agreement with El Corte Inglés for the distribution of its products in the retail group’s network of department stores. 

 

PORCELANOSA Grupo products will now be on sale in El Corte Inglés’ household departments, in addition to PORCELANOSA’s own showrooms in Spain.

 

Thanks to this collaboration agreement, the PORCELANOSA Group will have a space for the display and sale of its products featuring its exclusive designs for the home in El Corte Inglés.

 

PORCELANOSA Grupo receives an innovation award for its material Krion

 

PORCELANOSA Grupo has been awarded the Equip’Innov Prize at the Equip’Hotel trade fair in Paris for the most innovative material in the hostelry sector, for the development and application of Krion®.

 

Krion® is a hi-tech material that makes it possible to create complex shapes without joins, that is long-lasting, non-porous and highly resistant to chemical agents.

 

At present, PORCELANOSA Grupo has several product lines made of Krion®, used by Systempool in the manufacture of baths, shower trays, columns and other bathroom equipment.

 

Porcelanosa, One of Spain’s Best-Known Brands Internationally

 

cording to a study by Carlos III University for the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, PORCELANOSA is one of the best-known brands internationally. The group is headed by the textile chain Zara, Banco Santander, Mango and Real Madrid, followed by companies like BBVA, Telefónica, Iberia and Porcelanosa, among others. According to the study, Spanish products and brands are seen to have a prestigious reputation, mainly for their design, image, price-quality ratio and the standard of products and/or services.

 

ECOTECH, PORCELANOSA Grupo supporting Sustainable Development

 

PORCELANOSA Grupo has created Ecotech, a brand through which the group wishes to present all of the different actions it undertakes to promote the care of the environment and sustainable development.

 

As part of this project, it has designed an informative catalogue detailing the measures the group takes to preserve the ecosystem.