RAK Ceramics is a global hi-tech manufacturer of premium ceramics lifestyle solutions. Specialising in high-quality ceramic and gres porcellanato wall and floor tiles, sanitaryware, tableware and faucets, RAK Ceramics is a complete solutions provider for walls, floors, bathrooms and kitchens. This year, RAK Ceramics joins us as a silver sponsor for the CID Awards 2015.
Stefan Schmied, President of Tiles and Sanitaryware at RAK Ceramics says: “We are looking forward to attending the CID Awards ceremony as one of the Silver Sponsors of the awards and the opportunity to participate in celebrating the achievements of the region’s most talented designers. Looking ahead to meeting all the participants is extremely exciting as the ceremony brings together an impressive group of recognised practitioners and upcoming design talents. This is especially inspiring as these nominees will be responsible for the thinking that has shaped the recent interior design practices in the region and the new directions that will shape the next cohort of design projects.”
Stefan Schmied, President of Tiles and Sanitaryware at RAK Ceramics
According to Schmied, last year’s winners demonstrated incredible talent and accomplishments, with winners such as LW Design Group, winning an award for the beautiful Vida Hotel, Perkins + Will for its BP Dubai Project and Steve Leung Designers for Atlantis The Palm, just to name a few.
“All the winning projects have developed a reputation for creating structures with beautifully designed interiors, and so the 2014 winners have really set the bar high for this year’s nominees,” adds Schmied.
During 2014, RAK Ceramics has re-focused its pursuits and streamlined its operations significantly by realising revenue growth from its core business activities and expanding high margin businesses such as sanitaryware; whilst exiting from non-core and non-strategic assets.
A global industry leader in complete ceramics solutions, RAK Ceramics offers the largest range of ceramic wall and floor tiles, gres porcelain, sanitaryware and tableware.
“With an annual production capacity of 117 million square metres of tiles, 4.6 million pieces of sanitaryware, 24 million pieces of porcelain tableware and a distribution network that spans 160 countries, RAK Ceramics is one of the largest ceramics manufacturers in the world,” explains Schmied. “A pioneer in introducing hi-tech innovations that are a breakthrough in the industry, RAK Ceramics has ten state-of-the-art tile plants and two bathware plants at its headquarters in the UAE, as well as overseas plants in India, Bangladesh and Iran. RAK Ceramics constantly invests in the latest technologies to ensure it continues to be an industry leader.”
According to Schmied, this year RAK Ceramics has strengthened its management team by hiring top talent from the global industry in core business functions such as legal, investor relations, performance management, and marketing and communications, underpinning our commitment to strengthening organisational and management activities and to boost growth.
“RAK Ceramics isn’t looking to introduce any new brands. Our focus remains on our core businesses of tiles, sanitaryware, tableware and faucets. At RAK Ceramics we have always invested heavily in research, development and the latest technologies to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of ceramics’ production in the region. Being a technology leader means staying ahead of the curve, and to be competitive in the global marketplace, we must continue to drive innovation in our products. For us at RAK Ceramics, innovation means cutting edge design and state-of-the-art technology and we will continue to keep an open mind regarding the latest developments in ceramics. Innovation is what drives and inspires us and I believe it will ultimately help us to remain an industry leader,” concludes Schmied.