Demand for ceramic floor tile up

Demand for ceramic floor tile up

JAKARTA: Local ceramic floor tile maker PT Arwana Citramulia Tbk says its sales would increase by 20 percent this year backed by the increasing demand from the housing sector.

The company's assistant managing director, Emily, said on Monday that demand for middle and low-end ceramic floor tiles such as those produced by the company would continue to be strong.

Last year, sales reached Rp 165 billion (US$18.5 million), a 43 percent increase on the previous year, Emily said.

The company has three production plants with a combined capacity of about 11 million square meters per year.

The latest, located in Gresik, East Java, was bought last year.

It ran at only 61 percent of its production capacity of 3.6 million square meters last year. But, this year, the company expected to lift its production capacity to 94 percent to meet the increasing demand -- JP