VANCOUVER, CANADA—Bellavita Tile announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility 186 miles north of Beijing in Tianjin, China. The new eco-friendly tile production and warehousing center opened in June and uses natural gas to directly fire the kilns.
“We certainly had a great number of things to consider once we decided to establish a facility,” said Mike Ward, U.S. sales manager, Bellavita Tile. “The first was that we wanted to do our part in the manufacturing process being eco-friendly. Thus, the Tianjin factory uses natural gas for tile production and waste gas for secondary combustion.”
He also said the facility employs a waste-water recycling system and a Centriclean System from Sweden for dust collection. “While it’s a more expensive way to produce tile, our new system clearly has its benefits. It makes a huge difference in air quality, and it provides steadier, more consistent properties for quality control. Taking the long-term view, we felt Tianjin was the way to go to keep our positive momentum in a competitive marketplace.”
Bellavita Tile has additional environmental initiatives and will meet ISO 14000 standards by January of 2012, when it is expected to be fully operational.
Currently, the eco-friendly factory design features large glass panels for the roof that increase the amount of natural light inside to reduce the use of electricity and provide heat. The factory also has water recycling technology and wastewater holding tanks. With its proximity to the Yellow Sea, the distance each container must travel in the shipping process is also significantly reduced, according to Ward.
For more information, visit BellaVitaTile.com.