The future of brick and structural ceramics

“Continuing to do the same thing in the same way can only give the same results, so change is inevitable. We also know that resources are increasingly scarce. Given these data, the question is: what is the formula for getting out of the crisis? The answer is simple: Produce more with the resources we have. And we Portuguese have already proven that individually we are one of the best in the world. We just need to be able to do well as a group, and that's the problem, so it will be in this area where we should focus our energies.

Today, concepts such as circular economy, collaborative innovation, industrial symbiosis, among others, are emerging. All of these tools have the ultimate objective of promoting a more efficient use of available resources. We are therefore faced with new opportunities to develop unique products and solutions, which satisfy the needs not of a market, but of a specific customer.

The construction industry itself faces major challenges that are, in a way, part of the concepts mentioned above, such as NZEB Buildings (Nearly Zero Energy Buildings), indoor air quality in buildings, durability of buildings, costs, impact of buildings in family cohesion. These and many other issues require multidisciplinary resolution, and which go far beyond the mission of a mere manufacturer of ceramic products for construction, but which increasingly require the consumer and national authorities to respond.

Cooperation between the various agents involved in the construction process is mandatory, but only for those who want to continue in the market. We, Prélis, are focused on working with all those who understand that together we are stronger than the mere sum of our individualities.

Our collective future depends today more than ever on our ability to work together.”