Ceramic Town Weekly

The Era of Flexible Production Is Coming?

Market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and flexible production has become an important consideration for Chinese ceramic companies when building new production lines.

According to our visit, we have learned that many ceramic companies that provide OEM services now dedicate specific “flexible lines.” Some companies can start production with as little as 1,000 square meters, and the efficiency of product changeover has also improved significantly.

The emergence of flexible production trends is the result of the changing consumption trends and technological advancements. Especially with the promotion of double-layer kiln technology, many companies report that they can now switch between different processes and products at any time, with the only additional cost being the time lost during changeover.

Small batch orders drive the trend of flexible production

Flexible customization has long been a hot topic in the industry. However, it has taken many years for this concept to move from idea to actual implementation in China. With technological improvements and changes in the market environment, flexible production has finally transitioned from concept to reality.

At the beginning of this year, a Guangdong ceramic companies stated that during production testing, it achieved the ability to start production with around 1,000 square meters, meeting the flexible customization needs of different customers.

Recently, other companies have also reported that while traditional large kilns were previously dedicated to single specifications, market changes have forced them to mix different specifications in firing. Production volumes are now adjusted according to product process requirements. Although overall capacity has decreased somewhat, process products can now be switched and produced at any time.

At the same time, the company stated that it can now accept small-batch orders with a minimum of 200 boxes, achieving full matrix coverage of high value-added differentiated products and high cost-performance flow products. These advantages of flexible changeover also benefit from advances in technology and processes.

In terms of changeover flexibility, some enterprises revealed that through equipment adjustments, switching between process products and conventional glossy products has become very flexible. The increased cost is mainly the delay during specification changeover, but since the frequency of changeovers is not high at present, the overall cost remains controllable.

From the market environment perspective, since the beginning of 2025, large dealers' OEM demands have also driven the development of customized orders. According to industry sources, most large dealers choose OEM to supplement their product lines and require small-batch production, and they can also provide contract manufacturing demands.

Double-Layer Kilns Drive Flexible Production

Since last year, double-layer kilns have sparked a wave of investment in the industry due to their advantages in flexible manufacturing and 5A quality. Industry insiders explained the underlying reason for the popularity of double-layer kilns: facing multi-specification and small-batch orders, traditional large kilns suffer energy waste as high as 15% when mixing products, and frequent changeovers make production organization extremely difficult. By becoming narrower and shorter, double-layer kilns achieve flexible capacity segmentation without changing the indicators or footprint of a single production line.

The two layers of the kiln focus on specific product categories, significantly improving process stability and product quality, while also being able to flexibly accept small-batch orders, greatly reducing changeover frequency and inventory pressure.

Taking HLT丨DLT as an example, official data shows that to date, HLT丨DLT has built more than 40 double-layer roller kilns globally, of which more than 24 are in China, covering major ceramic producing regions such as Guangdong, Shandong, Guangxi, Shanxi, Fujian, and Hebei.

A considerable number of these double-layer kilns are new line projects or renovations from the past two years, including those for enterprises such as NewPearl Group and Tianxin Technology. It can be said that double-layer kilns, with their technical advantages, have found a balance between flexible production and quality assurance, becoming an important choice for more and more ceramic enterprises in new line construction and old line renovation.