CERAME-UNIE Industry

TABLE- & ORNAMENTALWARE

Its close relation to the end-consumer, and the need to compete on design, have given special features to this very labour-intensive industry, with its enormous array of products.

While ornamentalware is produced throughout Europe, important regional concentrations of tableware producers exist in Northern Bavaria, Germany, Staffordshire, England and the Limousin, France. Special requirements of the hotel and catering trades have given rise to the "hotelware" sector, with specially designed hard-wearing ceramics. The hotelware market tends to stabilise demand for the sector's products.

The UK and Germany are the main producing and consuming countries. Sales to third countries exceed the European imports in value; imports in tonnage are however at a higher level than exports. The main reason for this are the extremely low-priced imports from China.

For tableware European health & safety standards have been established since 1984.

« back to industry