MAIN SECTORS

Ceramic Cluster

The industrial engine of the province

The high geographical concentration of the Spanish ceramics industry in Castellón accounts for almost 20% of the industrial GDP of the Valencia Region. The province is home to 80% of ceramic floor and wall tile manufacturers, as well as the vast majority of glazes, frits, and colours, and machinery and capital goods manufacturers.

Beyond its commercial and employment potential (60,000 direct and indirect jobs), the cluster remains at the forefront of Spanish industry by generating added value through constant innovation, compatible with its commitment to sustainability. Along with the companies, the scientific contribution of research institutes such as the ITC, located at Jaume I University, and the role of professional organisations such as the Spanish Association of Ceramic Technicians (ATC), are decisive in how the cluster is configured.

Production in Spain

94% in the Castellón province

$

Exports

189 countries regularly import Spanish floor and wall tiles (2023)

Impact*

2,9% of GDP

20,400 employees

$

Total sales value: € 6.7B

  • Manufacture of final products (floor and wall tiles): € 4.86B
  • Glazes and frits: € 1.42B
  • Machinery: € 384M

* 2023

Leading global manufacturer

The province of Castellón leads the nation in terms of manufacturing ceramic floor and wall tiles, making up 93.9% of the activity in Spain and having an impact of 0.4% on the national GDP (and 29% of the provincial GDP). Spain leads Europe in ceramic production and exports, with 109 manufacturers that play a driving and multiplying role in other productive sectors.

Thanks to many technological and innovative improvements in its production processes, it reaches a level of excellence capable of meeting the demands of the most diverse international markets, while investing in R&D to achieve a net zero level of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

 

Value of industrial production

23.3%

in Castellón (2021)

 

19.7%

in the Valencian Community (2021)

 

2.4%

in Spain (2021)

Impact

29% of GDP

in the province of Castellón (2023)

Exports

$

Floor and wall tiles

  • 73,2% of production is exported ( € 3,56B in 2023)
  • 53,2% Europe (with France, the UK, Italy and Germany in the lead)
  • 21,7% North, Central and South America
$

Glazes, frits and ceramic colours

  • 68,1% is shipped abroad: China, Italy, Egypt, Algeria, Russia, Morocco, India and Türkiye, Arab Emirates or Germany are among the top recipients.

Glazes, an (even more) international window

Spanish producers of frits, glazes, and ceramic colours are a key part of the cluster, providing the preparations that give each piece its characteristic colour and finish. The Spanish National Association of Manufacturers of Ceramic Frits, Glazes, and Colours (ANFFECC) is in a consolidated position as world leaders in R&D&I, design, quality, sales, and client service. This group of companies is characterised by the way it combines both research and globalisation

Glaze sales from Castellón*

€ 1.42B

Only € 452 million of sales came from the domestic market.

The results from the sector’s branches abroad are estimated to have been similar.

68,1% is shipped abroad: China, Italy, Egypt, Algeria, Russia, Morocco, India and Türkiye, Arab Emirates or Germany are among the top recipients.

3,842 employees

* 2023

Machinery, a key element

The third ‘leg’ of the virtuous circle of the Castellón ceramics cluster is definitely the companies that manufacture the machinery and capital goods. In 2023, 44 companies provided employment for  more than 1,600 workers, with a turnover of 384 million euros. The sector is grouped in with the Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Machinery and Capital Goods for the Ceramic Industry (ASEBEC for the Spanish acronym).

Exports

€ 165M+

per year in 2023

Main destinations: Italy, Portugal, Mexico, Morocco and Türkiye 

The ports, transport hubs

The quantitative growth of the cluster in recent decades has boosted the role of ports as the main entry point for raw materials and the main exit point for finished products going to foreign markets.

Indirect jobs generated by the cluster in the transport sector

7,000 employees

Transport methods of the total ceramic turnover*

75% by sea (86% Port of Valencia)

25% by land

* In the year 2020

PortCastelló

27% of the port's traffic is allocated to the ceramics cluster (2023)

  • Raw materials: 3.7 million tons
  • Finished product: 0.7 million tons

Present and future challenges

Decarbonisation of the sector

Digitalisation and sustainability

EU regulation of third countries

Industrialized construction

Main Entities