TTA representatives have once again visited Spain on a highly successful trip hosted by ASCER (The Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Association) and the Castellón Chamber of Commerce.
The four-day trip in May was based in Castellón, and once again was fully funded, apart from one evening meal, through the generosity of the Spanish hosts. Members of the 14-strong group represented a cross-section of the industry, but with a focus this time on retailers and distributors.
The UK is the world’s third largest export market for the Spanish tile producers. The TTA group was invited to the country’s most important tile producing region to learn about tile manufacturing and issues affecting the manufacturing sector currently. Participants found the trip to be highly beneficial, as they had the opportunity to hear presentations from leading manufacturers, with the opportunity for some hands-on experience.
The response of John Brown, Director of Stratford Tile, was typical. Writing to Kay Porter, TTA’s CEO and Paul Luff, TTA Chairman, after the trip, he said: “It was a very well organised trip which I enjoyed immensely. The showroom visits have given me some great ideas which I can introduce into my own business, which I am sure will be beneficial. I am sure that all of the attendees had a similar experience to my own.
“I believe that having seen the investments being made in Spain, which I am sure will be being made across all European countries of supply, our industry is in a lot stronger position that perhaps I thought prior to the visit.
“In both of you, our industry has two exceptional professionals acting as the face of the UK Tile Industry and it is evident from discussions I had with the other attendees, representatives of ASCER and the manufacturers we visited, how highly you are regarded and you should be extremely proud of your achievements in promoting the TTA and our industry as a whole at home and abroad.”
The visitors enjoyed visits to factories and showrooms belonging to some of the major players in the tile manufacturing sector in the Castellón area, including Grespania, Gayafores, Peronda, Halcón Cerámicas, Bestile, Azteca, Dune and Apavisa. The programme also included an afternoon of training.
As well as being a great learning opportunity for the TTA group, the visit further strengthened the relationship TTA now has with ASCER. The relationship is already highly productive, following a marketing collaboration initiated in 2020 between the two associations, and cemented with a highly successful TTA visit to Spain last Autumn.
Two representatives of ASCER are now planning to attend TTA Awards being held this month. Meanwhile TTA is also hoping to strengthen its international links with other tile manufacturing nations, in particular Italy.
The recent trip also included the opportunity to visit a TTA member company based nearby. g
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