With a new production unit – “Nilwala Ceramics Village”- in the south of the country, RSL contributes to the growth of national production in Sri Lanka, already standing at more than 1.5 million pieces/year. This is how the Group, led by Mr. Nishantha Nanayakkara, is continuing its strategic expansion plan together with its partner SACMI.
RSL Deluxe Bathware has accepted a new challenge in Sri Lanka, where there is a strong drive to increase the national production of ceramic sanitaryware, by creating a completely new production plant based in Akuressa (Matara District), overlooking the Nilwala River, in the south of the country.
The central part of the supply is the new HWS 9-500-210-G-PF SACMI-Riedhammer kiln, the latest generation intermittent kiln with production output equal to 675 pieces per cycle in the various production mixes. Recently installed and commissioned with success, the new kiln is the focal point of RSL’s production expansion project being developed with SACMI as strategic partner for all the key technologies.
Designed with a machine layout that includes a double vertical door – 6 cars outside and 6 inside, with transport system on tracks – the kiln makes it possible to maximize production output thanks to 3 loading decks and a considerable working height at the infeed end of 2.1 metres, a width of 5 m and length of 9 m.
The standard high-efficiency Pulse Firing system is the main feature of the combustion equipment made up of 26 burners (16 of which are at the bottom and 7 on the vault of the kiln). Furthermore, the kiln fuel supply system has been personalized to fit the production conditions in this newly developed industrial zone and is suitable for LPG (liquid propane gas).
Alongside the new kiln, a SACMI-Gaiotto robotized glazing cell has also just started operations, to achieve high production output as well as consistently good repeatable quality of the finished piece.
With the start-up of the new production unit, RSL Deluxe Bathware can increase its own production output to more than 500 thousand pieces per year giving a significant contribution to the total ceramic sanitaryware production in the country, which is already in the region of 1.5 million pieces.
The supply arrives a year after RSL Deluxe Bathware’s important decision to increase production output at its main headquarters in the district of Colombo, where the new SACMI BCV909 casting benches and a new drier have been started up. In this way the company’s strategic expansion plan, headed by Mr. Nishantha Nanayakkara, continues to develop with further potential growth expected in the near future.