Nearly 3,000 visitors from 75 countries visited the SACMI stand at TECNA, with more than 900 attending the Open Weeks in Imola and Scandiano (BMR). Showcasing a combination of technology, expertise and vision, the events took international customers through every stage of the process, from product development to technologies, from new support services to intralogistics.
For SACMI, TECNA 2026 and the Tiles and Sanitaryware Open Weeks were a major success, attracting huge numbers of international customers. During the four-day event in Rimini, nearly 3,000 visitors from 75 countries flocked to the SACMI stand. Additionally, more than 900 signed up for organized tours of the SACMI facilities in Imola and the BMR plant in Scandiano.
Throughout the experience, the underlying theme was "You'll never work alone": a vision that merges technological innovation, process know-how and the ability to provide close customer support every step of the way, from product development to industrialization, intralogistics, digital services and technical assistance.
TECNA: cutting-edge technology, insightful demonstrations of the ceramic plant of the future
SACMI's participation at TECNA offered an immersive experience of the ceramic plant of the future, from body preparation and forming to decoration, sorting, automation and intralogistics.
Visitors were particularly interested in the presentations illustrating the new Tiles Lab in Imola, which showed how machines, process control and cutting-edge digital tools work in unison.
With the easy Factory concept, instead, SACMI illustrated its vision of an increasingly automated, interconnected, easy-to-manage factory that delivers data-driven quality, production continuity and sustainability.
Another key focus was decoration. SACMI illustrated the latest developments on its Deep Digital Line, its sophisticated surface design technologies, its vision and process control systems, and intralogistics (crucial for automatic, intelligent control of in-plant flows).
The new SACMI Tiles Lab: state-of-the-art ceramic processes, tested under industrial conditions
The experience continued in Imola at the new SACMI Tiles Lab. Fully renovated in 2026, this is a pilot factory that is available to customers.
From the ultra-high-productivity Continua+ forming system to the Deep Digital Line, visitors were able to follow the entire product development process and explore fresh opportunities offered by groundbreaking dry and wet digital decoration.
Alongside the individual forming, decoration and firing solutions, visitors also had an opportunity to see SACMI-Italvision vision systems, which accompany the product through the various stages of the process, and the new Control Room, the ‘digital brain’ of the pilot plant. Here, information and process data converge, letting manufacturers monitor machines and systems, simplify daily management and take a more up-to-date approach to maintenance.
Visits also included the latest end-of-line and sorting solutions: robotic packaging and picking systems, plus innovative configurations for flexible management of both traditional tile sizes and large slabs. SACMI’s new automated warehouse in Imola is a tangible example of just how far intralogistics has come and demonstrates a unique ability to integrate plant production and logistics flows with ever-greater efficiency.
From the new SACMI showroom to the BMR range: trends and opportunities in decoration and finishing
The tours ended in the new SACMI showroom in Imola, which demonstrates how pilot line technology translates into innovative finished products, surfaces and aesthetics. A product-centered approach helps customers hone their strategy while the provision of technology and expertise ensures they’re able to transform the latest decoration and surface finishing developments into new product opportunities. The showroom is, then, a place where manufacturers can, today, pre-empt and experiment with the solutions, materials and effects that will shape tomorrow.
Showroom displays stem from observation of the major international trends, as interpreted by SACMI thanks to daily dialogue with customers and industry partners. The collections on view - developed in collaboration with leading ceramic color suppliers - illustrated a broad array of marble, stone, materials and surface finishes, juxtaposing quality and aesthetics, technologies, potential settings for the products and their intended use. One area of the showroom focused on post-firing processes, which offer further opportunities for characterizing both the body and surface of the product.
Hence the natural connection with BMR and the Open Week in Scandiano, where customers engaged directly with specialists to learn more about the latest in ceramic finishing. From tried and tested lapping and polishing solutions to new completely dry surface finishing techniques that can be integrated with cutting and squaring, BMR presented its most advanced range yet. Designed to extend post-firing processing options and drive the development of a new fully dry line concept, this range merges squaring, cutting and surface finishing into a single continuous flow, eliminating the use of water while significantly reducing consumption, space requirements and operating costs.
Sanitaryware Lab: automation, flexibility and control throughout the process
The Sanitaryware Open Week, held in Imola concurrently with TECNA, also attracted many visitors. Here, customers witnessed the technology in action and engaged with specialists from SACMI, Gaiotto and Riedhammer: a tour de force of innovation involving every single stage of the production process.
For example, the latest casting developments combine increasingly flexible production, high quality and automation, allowing manufacturers to manage ever-larger, more complex product families (e.g. Smart Toilets and One-Piece items). In parallel, robotics and automation are increasingly used for demolding, handling and green finishing tasks, reducing the need for manual work and making processes more consistent.
Innovation in glazing and white finishing is heading in a similar direction: modular, configurable platforms, integration with robotics, and solutions designed to make the process more efficient, sustainable and user-friendly. From time savings and lower consumption - with near-total recovery of glaze - to automated finishing, the goal is to address the most repetitive, demanding tasks while boosting product quality, improving working conditions and lowering environmental impact.
This also affects the way production is planned, controlled and handled. Virtual plants and off-line programming allow new programs to be developed and tested without interrupting production; moreover, new quality control systems integrate robotics, 2D and 3D vision, and AI to make inspection objective, consistent and traceable. This process is completed by new automated logistics solutions, extending this approach to the entire factory flow.
“You’ll never work alone”
These words embody SACMI's approach to this international event. “You’ll never work alone” is a vision that focuses on daily interaction with customers and markets: a must for the development of products with cutting-edge technical and aesthetic qualities that rely on an advanced ecosystem of technologies and digital controls.
From products to machines, from quality control to flow management, TECNA and the Open Weeks showcased an integrated set of skills, technologies and services, all designed to respond to the industry's current and future challenges.