This hub, which comprises the whole EMEA area, is the largest of our three regional hubs. More than half of all Imerys Ceramics industrial sites are located in Europe, the majority of which are concentrated in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In Europe we produce ball clay, chamotte, feldspar, Grès de Thiviers, kaolin and prepared bodies which are available worldwide. We have several units of technical specialists in different European countries and our Ceramic Centre is located in Limoges in France, an area famous for its association with ceramics.

The beginnings of Imerys Ceramics date back to 1987 with the purchase of Damrec, however the acquisition of ECC in 1999 is the key turning point. With ECC came a wealth of experience in supplying the ceramics industry and raw materials of very high quality. For instance, our ball clays are considered to be some of the best in the world. This move is also a major turning point for the Imerys group as a whole and culminated with a name change from ‘Imetal' to ‘Imerys' in the same year. Imerys Ceramics' success is also based on the pooling of knowledge from ECC, AGS, Spica, Cesar, DAM and KPCL.

Imerys Ceramics gradually built up assets in Europe over the last 20 years and  thanks to a clear corporate vision, we are the established European leader in the Sanitaryware, Tableware and Tiles markets. In addition, many of our most successful products such as Kaolinor 1C, Hycast VC and Super Standard Porcelain were developed in the region and are sold to customers all over the world.

The EMEA region is strategically very important for Imerys Ceramics. In 2007 we purchased large mineral deposits in Turkey and in the Ukraine to better serve the strong growth areas of the Middle East and Eastern Europe. However our leading market position today is in great part due to our historical assets. For instance, Imerys kaolin from Cornwall is exported to more than 60 countries. Our long-term commitment to the UK kaolin business led to a recent £35m capital investment programme, of which 20% went into the modernisation of production processes.

Further information

Imerys Sanitaryware
Imerys Tableware
Imerys Ceramics production sites