First tile brand to join the global leaders of Industry 4.0 applications

VitrA Tiles’ production complex in Bozüyük, Turkey, which makes widespread use of Industry 4.0 technologies, has joined the world’s most advanced production centers. VitrA Tiles is the first and only ceramic tile manufacturer in the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network of 153 manufacturing facilities and value chains around the world.

VitrA Tiles has won recognition from the World Economic Forum (WEF) for operating a globally innovative manufacturing facility. WEF included VitrA Tiles’ Bozüyük production complex among the 21 new members of its "Global Lighthouse Network," a community of the world's leading production facilities in the field of Industry 4.0 technologies. With the addition of new members, the network now comprises 153 manufacturers who are pioneering the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies on a large scale by transforming their value chains and business models. VitrA Tiles is the world's first and only ceramic tile company in this community of global pioneers.

Eczacıbaşı Group CEO Atalay Gümrah noted the critical importance of digital transformation in every industry today and said, "We are proud that an Eczacıbaşı Group company is the first ceramic tile manufacturer to be included in the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network, a community of pioneering organizations leading the digital transformation of their industries. VitrA Tiles earned its place in this community through successful digital transformation projects, focused sustainability efforts and cutting-edge Industry 4.0 practices. I am confident that membership in this community will accelerate VitrA Tiles’ digital transformation and sustainability journey, and that the projects it develops with global leaders in the network will further enhance its competitiveness. I wholeheartedly congratulate all my colleagues at VitrA Tiles who successfully introduced Industry 4.0 technologies into the ceramic sector, one of the world’s oldest industries, and propelled VitrA Tiles into the group of global companies setting digitalization benchmarks in their fields."

56% reduction in scrap, 43% increase in recycled content

VitrA Tiles CEO Hasan Pehlivan noted that ceramic tile production is both labor and energy intensive and that rising energy costs and macroeconomic uncertainties are risks that ceramic tile manufacturers everywhere must overcome. He said, "To increase the quality, level of service and competitive advantage of our production facility in Bozüyük, where we develop, manufacture and manage thousands of products, we designed and successfully implemented a digital transformation roadmap. Through this strategic initiative, which focuses on improving process and production control through smart digital solutions, we have improved our overall equipment effectiveness by as much as 20%, cut our scrap by more than half, and reduced our energy consumption by nearly 15%."

First ceramic tile company to join the Global Lighthouse Network

The production facility that earned VitrA Tiles its place in the Global Lighthouse Network covers about 400,000 thousand square meters, employs nearly 1,500 employees, and has an annual tile production capacity of 30 million square meters. Using intelligent process and production controls based on data analytics and IOT applications, the plant optimizes operating parameters to maximize energy efficiency and minimize scrap, this way contributing to both the competitiveness and sustainability of its operations.

State-of-the-art Industry 4.0 technologies

VitrA Tiles’ DigiTile project incorporates advanced technologies in the production process, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data, data analytics and the Internet of Things. The project established a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), which collects data from production and transfers it to the cloud.

DigiTile has increased the efficiency of production processes, optimized resources and created smarter and more flexible approaches to production through the use of advanced analytics. Some of the most prominent Industry 4.0 applications in VitrA Tiles’ plant include machine learning models (DigiMill and DigiSpray), a decision support system (DigiOK), AI-based prevention (DigiAlarm), quality control machines supported by AI algorithms (DigiQuality), and a production control tower (DigiBoard).