Confindustria Ceramica

Studies Centre

Analysis of the economic and structural trends of the ceramic tile and refractory materials sectors is a key factor in the decision-making process. The activity has been carried out by a specific department at Confindustria Ceramica in cooperation with competent research companies and public institutions. As a result, the association has gradually built up a comprehensive library covering all the main strategic issues of relevance to the sector.

The structure of the industry, numbers of employees and their professional levels, time series of investments and their allocations, breakdown of production and sales by product type, warehouse stock analysis, and the division of sales and turnover between Italian and foreign markets are just a few of the variables analysed, with time series beginning in the 1970s. Others include a reclassification of company balance sheets and their main revenue and asset ratios, a quarterly survey of exports broken down according to country of destination and an in-depth analysis of industrial costs for the various products.

An intense research activity is conducted with three main partners: the Italian ceramic tile manufacturers, who derive useful information for deciding their strategies; the Association and policy-makers at a local, national and international level, who are able to define with greater precision their choices in the light of objective information; and parties studying industrial and cluster policy, as a useful aid to their analyses.