FOCUS ON ARGENTINA & PARAGUAY
Cormela, On-line Certified Quality

The argentine heavy clay market is currently undergoing substancial growth and the largest local
manufacturers are adapting their plant and production processes to meet the emerging needs of their costumers.
This market expansion has resulted in demand for larger quantities of product and above all for improved quality over a wide range of product types.
This has led to a widespread improvement in the quality of products, which are now rapidly approaching European standards.
The province of Buenos Aires is taking a leading role in the Argentine heavy clay sector, and Cormela S.A. is one of the most dynamic companies.
To get a mmore accurate picture of the situation, we visited the new Cormela plant, where Federico Christian Ferro, the manager of the factory, filled us in with details of the technological innovations and new production techniques.
The factory is located in Campana, an industrial town 60 Km north-west of the capital Buenos Aires and an important river port on the south bank of the Paraná delta.
BWR: Could you outline to us the origins of Cormela?
FF: Cormela began its activities in 1947 with two factories, one in Campana and the other in Ullum in the province of San Juan, where Cormela helped reconstruct the town after the devastating earthquake of 1944.
This factory was decommissioned in 1964 and operations concentrated in the Campana plant with an initial production of "tejas colonial", namely Roman tiles, followed later by bricks.
Since then production techniques have improved continuously.
The process initially used a Hoffmann kiln and a natural dryer, then in 1970 a new 4-tunnel Hoffmann kiln, a chamber dryer and a semiautomatic product handling line were added.
By the end of 1992 this facility was producing a total of 5000 tons per month of ceiling blocks and facing bricks.
The most important change came in 1996 with the construction of a fully automatic plant for producing large quantities of ceiling blocks and hollow bricks.
The plant extends over an area of 9600 m2 and has a total yearly output of 150,000 tons, consisting of 75% ceiling blocks and the rest hollow blocks.
BWR: What are the geographical dimensions of your current market?
FF: Our market is currently expanding. We are extending our area of influence northwards to Rosario and Southwards to La Plata.
Cormela enjoys a strategic central location within this region, an area with about a 150 kilometre radius containing 60% of Argentina's entire population.
BWR: Why did you choose Campana as the location for Cormela's future development?
FF: One factor was certainly the vicinity of the Ruta Panamericana, one of the most important roads in Argentina, which is just a kilometre away. Campana has also been an industrial town for the past fifty years and other important oil and steelworking companies are based in the area.
The main reason, however, was the availability of an excellent raw material, an alluvial clay deposited in this area by the Río Paraná during floods over the past centuries.
Our clay is highly plastic, has a deep red colour and contains a natural sand vein which allows it to be used as it is without additives or leaning agents.
These characteristics give our products considerable mechanical strength.
BWR: Returning to Cormela's technological development, and in particular to 1996 when the plant was fully automated, what criteria did you follow for construction of the new facility?
FF: We started out from the basic premise that the manufacturing unit had to be completely independent, then carefully selected potential suppliers. Rather than commissioning a single company to supply everything, we acquired separate parts of the plant from the companies we considered best for each specific stage of the production process. However, a common factor behind our choices was an orientation towards italian technology.
BWR: What was the main reason you made such a substantial investment?
FF: In recent years the Argentine heavy clay market has become more demanding in terms of quality and the aesthetic appearance of products. Cormela has been quick to take account of these changes, adapting its production processes to the new requirementes of users. This resulted in the sector adopting the most advanced technology, such as the wide outfeed extrusion technique featuring dies with single external braking system. This system, together with optimisation of the handling systems and the drying and firing stages, allows us to offer a range of products that fully meet the new market requirements.
BWR: Cormela was the first heavy clay manufacturer in Argentina to obtain ISO 9002 quality certification. What prompted you to take such a callenging step?
FF: Throughout the country there is a trend towards a more customer-oriented stance, and this has encouraged manufacturers to make a greater commitment to quality, dimensional tolerances, resistance and delivery punctuality. Certifying our processes allows us to keep our promises by delivering a product with true added value.
ISO 9002 certification requires a large number of checks to be performed throughout the entire production cycle. Operators' individual responsibilities are clearly defined by written procedures which eliminate all subjectivity of individual behaviour. Applying these procedures has given two main advantages. On a technical level we have achieved better internal control of the entire process, while commercially we have acquired a factor that sets us apart from other heavy clay manufacturers.
BWR: What other organisational changes have you made as a result of quality certification?
FF: Companies adopting ISO 9002 standards have to be more demanding towards their suppliers, who must meet specific requirements to guarantee the quality of their products over time. To do this, they have to provide continuous after-sales service, especially for the most dynamic stages of the process such as extrusion. The extrusion stage requires frequent attention because it entails a continuous search for innovative geometric shapes for new products in acdordance with raw materials and the market. A very good example of this is the relationship with Tecnofiliere, the Italian company that supplied all the extrusion equipment. From the outset, Tecnofiliere provided an excellent customised service and in spite of the distance from Italy their technicians continue to visit several times a year. Furthermore, the telematic links we have established al Cormela allow us to commuicate in real time, exchanging information and technical data whenever necessary.
BWR: On the subject of telematic communications, do you have any other services that use these new technologies?
FF: Our company's management is strongly geared towards the latest information technologies. We currently use a monitoring system via modem which allows the kiln firing curve and the drying conditions to be monitored directly from Italy and changes to be made if necessary. We were also the first heavy clay manufacturer in Argentina to set up an Internet site for promotion and sales activities. Vistiors to www.cormela.com.ar/ can view our products, and potential customers will find a map of the territory divided up into zones allowing them to locate their nearest Cormela distributor. This reflects our policy of pioneering new technologies and offering top-quality services and products.
BWR: As regards product quality, what extra benefits are you able to offer your customers?
FF: All our products are marked (by means of a small wheel at the slug exit) with a code identifying the batch, production date, raw material, firing curve and drying conditions. This allows us to trace the causes of any abnormalities and remedy them immediately, thereby assuring improved quality for users.
BWR: What other measures have you adopted to optimise production?
FF: Production is organised around a scheduled maintenance programme. We operate 17-19 hours/day in three shifts with a weekend stop for maintenance. In practice we run two and a half shifts of continuous production per day plus half a shift of preventive manintenance. This, together with attention to cleaning of departments and machinery, has allowed us to achieve a productive efficiendy of 90% per shift. This excellent result allows us to honour the delivery schedules agreed with customers. We also produce monthly sales reports together with fortnightly reviews, which we use to plan production based on our reference product, the ceiling block.
BWR: To what extent has the political and economic situation in Argentina affected your company's development?
FF: In recent years the national economy has managed to escape from the seesaw trend of the past, which caused instability and hindered company growth. The last decade has brought a clear trend reversal, wiht GDP and per capita income undergoing sustained growth. Furthermore the stability of the currency and its fixed exchange rate with the US dollar has allowed companies to invest and develop. Argentina has changed roles on the world economic stage; whereas in the past it was predominantly a raw materials producer and exporter, it is now seen as a manufacturer capable of adding value to its products. These new developments, together with improved public services and more extended communications networks, allow Argentina to remain competitive within a context of market globalisation.
BWR: How do these domestic economic conditions affect demand for new buildings and consequently growth of the heavy clay industry?
FF: There has been major expansion in the heavy clay sector over the past year as a result of consolidated economic stability and readier access to credit facilities, now available to the middle working class with redemption periods of up to 30 years.
BWR: What are your plans for the future?
FF: Our short terms plans include the construction of a pit homogenising silo with a capacity of about a month's output. This will allow us to avoid problems arising from seasonal weather changes and to further improve the quality of our products. Using an aged clay produces a uniform thrust on the die during extrusion, therby optimising not only this operation but also the subsequent drying and firing stages. This ageing silo, the first of its kind to be installed in Argentina, will operate fully automatically in both the deposit and pick-up stages. In the future we also aim to extend our area of ensuring that customers are satisfied with the quality of our products.