The edited transcript of the conversation.
Aradhana Seth [AS]: As a building material expert, how do you see the evolution of the construction industry?
Dinesh Vyas [DV]: If you compare the construction industry of today to the one of the previous century, the scale is much larger – almost unimaginable – and the speed of construction is tremendous. Technology has played a crucial role in this transition. From the perspective of building materials, several products have changed over the last century. Some products (such as cement) have retained their original composition, but certain additives help keep pace with the latest technology. The products keep evolving in tandem with the speed and the scale of the construction industry.
Earlier, building materials had to serve a function and at the same time be cost-effective. Today, the deliverables of these materials have moved beyond this. Choosing a product is now linked to the various aspirations of the consumers – such as sustainability, environment, and contemporary aesthetics. As a building material expert, I would say that there is a huge opportunity in the market because of high consumption – but along with that – the responsibilities of the manufacturers have also grown.
AS: What do you think are some of the biggest challenges faced by architects and other professionals in the construction industry?
DV: I think the architects and other construction professionals are facing five major challenges from us, the building material suppliers.
01. The expectation of a premium quality and the consistent performance of a product.
02. The lack of opportunity to customize these products. I believe that co-creation has a lot of scope in this industry.
03. The third challenge is attempting to tackle the lack of innovation. Architects and designers are always looking for new, innovative ideas or creative breakthroughs.
04. The fourth issue which is very prevalent, is the absence of information about various brands in the public domain. This insufficient information makes it difficult to compare the various choices available to the consumer.
05. Probably the biggest challenge that professionals face is in fact, not about the product at all. It is about its application and execution. There is a huge shortage of trained and skilled manpower, and there are hardly any training schools. With the rigorous pace of the construction industry, and the wide range of products out in the market, there is a need for proper knowledge, training and tools.
As a manufacturer of products, I think these challenges are also our biggest responsibilities towards the industry and H & R Johnson (India) has been a frontrunner in taking on these responsibilities, constantly experimenting to come out with fresh and innovative products. We have a proven track record for consistent performance and a reputation in the market for good quality for more than sixty years now. We have also been trying to spread awareness and reach maximum architects through various publications, and have constructed about twenty experience centers across the country.
On an industrial level, these steps may be insufficient but they are a start. More of these interactions will take place and I am confident that we will tackle all of the current concerns of architects and designers.
AS: Do you feel that the experience centers and digital initiatives have contributed to a positive shift in the understandings of architects, designers, and even consumers?
DV: The answer is both yes and no. Yes, conceptually and logically. No, because the number of professionals is so high that with the twenty centers that have popped up in the last couple of years, I do not think we have reached each and every designer. As a sample size, there is conviction and satisfaction, and we are motivated to take this further.
However, we have constituted a channel for information flow, and this is what we are proud of. The industry has been talking about vitrified tiles or porcelain tiles (as they are referred to in the international market), for a long time now. They are robust and durable. This does not mean that every vitrified tile will perform to the same level. A general perception is that vitrified tiles mean a lot of scratches, but the modern variety of vitrified tile also has a glazed type. The scratch depends on the abrasion resistance of this glaze. When architects visit the experience center, we talk about these things. We explain it to them and we intend to do it more with their teams and their staff. These interactions have helped clear misconceptions and enable architects to understand what kind of product is right for them.
AS: Can you draw a comparative between natural materials and tiles?
DV: First, I would like to say that tile is a natural material. In fact, it is greener than several other alternatives. Compared to the usage of quarried stones and wood, using tiles is perhaps one way to remain sustainable.
Nothing is wrong with using natural stone, except that it is a non-renewable resource. A very small percentage of what is mined is actually used for flooring or finishes. Large parts of it are rejected at the mine itself and then a greater quantity is lost in the process of cutting, transportation, and polishing. Some people have also estimated that for granite mines, more than 90% of the material is not usable in flooring or wall cladding. Thus, the wastage is very high. Since it is a heavy material that needs to be transported, it also generates a high carbon footprint.
On the contrary, for a tile, every gram of composite mineral is used in the manufacturing process, with no wastage. A very small percentage of natural material is used because tiles are only 8-10 mm thick. When the finished good is transported, a larger volume of the material can be transported with less fuel consumption. Tiles are also easier to maintain than their parallel options. Modern-day ceramic tiles offer a variety of natural stone and wood aesthetics, even with the minute detailing of the pith of the wood replicated along with its functional advantages.
I think we can see the entire existence of our universe in the way tiles are manufactured. Tiles manifest the five basic elements. The first four elements: earth, water, fire, and air are an integral part of its manufacture and composition. While, sky, the fifth element could be perceived as the unlimited choices that the industry offers to you. To me, the manufacturing of tiles has the potential to encapsulate nature.
AS: What are the main qualities and compositions of a well-manufactured tile?
DV: In a nutshell, every tile has a body and a top surface, which is known as the fair face. It is between this body and the face that everything happens. A suitable raw material for the body of the tile must be chosen, and this decides its strength. After mixing it in a powdery state and then compacting to shape it, we have the possibility to add certain ornamentations to it. Finally, it is sent for firing at a temperature as high as 1000 to 1250 degrees centigrade. What you get at the end of this process is a ceramic product. While the basic process to manufacture tiles remains the same, variations in the qualities and characteristics depend on the choice of raw material, its proportion, how much it is compacted, what technology is used, how you decorate it, or what temperature you fire it at.
The quality of the body dictates the brittleness of the tile. Its thickness as well as its flexural strength should be high. There are a lot of terms circulating in the market such as GVT, PVT, IVT and consumers tend to get confused. Technically there are only three types of tiles based on the water absorption capacity of the body of the tile: high, low or negligible. The last variety, which has got no water absorption capacity, is the porcelain or vitrified tile. Tiles cannot absorb water through their fair face, and water absorption is a measurement of the porosity of the body. By adding a layer of glazing – which is nothing but a thin layer of glass – all tiles which have porosity are completely sealed.
High porosity tiles are generally used for wall surfaces, as their breaking strengths are not suitable for floor or roof applications. These tiles have a typical water absorption level of about 10%. Tiles that have a lower absorption coefficient are often used for flooring – a good example of these are ceramic tiles – whose water absorption value lies between 3-6%. The last variety, which I was just talking about, is the porcelain tile, which absorbs less than 0.5% of the water which falls on it.
AS: What have some of your learnings been, ever since you joined the tile manufacturing industry?
DV: Very few people know that I am actually a trained geologist. I did my Master’s in Technology in Applied Geology. At that time, we were discussing economic minerals, and the ceramic industry is one of the main consumers of clay minerals. I was introduced to tiles for the first time as part of this syllabus, but I thought of the tile as just another material, and I did not pay much heed to them.
While growing up, I was surrounded by natural stone, cement, and terrazzo flooring. The interaction with these materials was not very impressive for me. When I started working with the cement industry post my management course, I worked with Ambuja and then Larsen & Toubro.
I joined the tile industry in 1999 and realized that I did not know anything about tiles. I saw it as a beautiful material – robust, strong and sustainable, but once I entered the industry, I understood tiles more deeply.
Many people are of the opinion that tiles are an undifferentiated product. Everybody is manufacturing similar; if not the same, types of tiles. I believe the problem here stems from the common aspirations that the consumers hold. When we think about flooring, there was a demand for marble, stone, and wood from the industry, because everybody rooted for that kind of material palette. The industry catered to this demand by replicating these looks. There were a few variations in terms of parameters of quality, robustness, strength, texture, and even a little bit of variation in consistency of the make by the craftsperson. If the aspirations for the looks of a product are set to match a certain material, the product makers will add the scientific benefits and certain textures, but try to deliver a familiar material. These differences will not be in terms of color and shade that you can make out from a distance. These will be subtle differences such as consistency of quality, surface texture, scratch resistance, abrasion resistance, or sustainability.
To fight the scorching summer heat and keep roof temperatures under control, SRI (Solar Reflective Index) tiles were brought out in the market, especially targeting North Indian consumers. It was a scientific breakthrough that could bring down indoor temperatures by more than five degrees but in terms of aesthetics, it was not different. Even with the unique advantages, SRI tiles did not reach their targeted sales because our choice of material is guided by aesthetic value. This aesthetic, beyond a point, is influenced by mundane and traditional references. Different products co-exist in the market but their make is influenced by consumer demands.
The last and most pressing issue however is that if something goes wrong after the installation of a tile, nobody owns up to it. There is no way to trace the responsibility; whether it is a problem of adhesive or tile fixture or the tile itself. Once tiles are installed and some defects are observed, there is a sequence of blame games. It is not a brand-specific problem, or for that matter, it is not even batch-related. There is something beyond it. Our responsibility lies in addressing ways to do better tiling.
AS: To resolve this issue of tiling, have you thought about having an in-house band of trained workforce that can lay out the tiles – entirely eliminating the role of contractors?
DV: The problem runs much deeper. The contractor requires a trained and skilled workforce but there is a shortage of training for this. The masons, who have been fixing heavy granite or marble slabs for the past fifty years, without any training, are asked to switch and start fixing thin 8’ x 4’ porcelain slabs. There is a lack of tools, training, and information about the techniques required. All these things need to be addressed and it cannot be done by just one manufacturing company.
The construction industry as a whole need to take up this issue or some intermediary agencies should see the potential for generating new employment, and take it up. We can introduce tiling supervisors to mediate the process from the moment of purchase to the handover of the project.
I feel that the benchmark expectations for consumers are not fixed. When most people buy a tile, they feel it is a material that is exactly planar with no undulations. Of course, this is not how it is. No material is perfect. Tile has got a lot of advantages, but it also comes with its set of limitations. The awareness of these limitations and the information about what can go wrong is not available in the public domain, and this causes a lot of disappointment. The right and sufficient kind of information need to be circulated in the public domain. Thereafter efforts can be concentrated on establishing training centers to train a team of skilled people. All of this cannot be achieved by one manufacturer alone, but we are making efforts.
AS: That is one side of the conversation, and it can work to reduce the headache for all agencies involved. The other option is for people who still want tiles. Why not equip people with the technical know-how to accurately fix tiles. In this case, the consumers do not have to go looking for people to fix the product. I feel that if there is not enough training, the material will also start dwindling. Ultimately, if you cannot properly lay it, people will move on to the next thing. For film shoots, we do not use tiles because it takes time to fix them. We have found alternatives like Pergo, linoleum, or AstroTurf because they can be laid out quickly. However, if you were to tell me; ‘I have a tile sheet, I will come and put it up for you.’ I might use it.
DV: Yes, that is the potential scope. The majority of people prefer painted surfaces because brands today offer painting as a complete service, from choosing the product to its application. We are also aiming to achieve that. It is much more difficult to train people in the application of tiles but we are ready to take on this challenge. We have created a wide range of products that serve your aesthetic and functional requirements, but now these good products have to be applied and the customer has to be serviced. We are working towards achieving this.
Out in the industry today, several small and big companies are manufacturing thousands of similar-looking tiles. When you are looking for options for a particular project – while aesthetics cannot be compromised – it is also important to consider the durability and functionality of the product. This will depend upon the actual usage conditions and the environment around. Once you balance durability, functionality, and aesthetics, you cannot go wrong. That is the message we would like to put to the public ⊗
Dinesh Vyas heads Marketing at H & R Johnson (India) where he leads brand and marketing initiatives across all product verticals. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, he has worked with Ambuja Cement, Larsen & Toubro, and Shell, apart from his long engagement with H & R Johnson. Dinesh has led retail, brand, and marketing initiatives including some of the company’s landmark product development initiatives. He holds an M.Tech and an MBA degree, being recognized amongst the ’50 most talented brand leaders in India’ by World Brand Congress.
Aradhana Seth is a filmmaker, production designer, visual artist and producer. She art directed the films The Darjeeling Limited, London Has Fallen and The Bourne Supremacy. As an artist she has had solo shows at Gallery Chemould, Mumbai and Sunaparanta, Goa. Her work has been exhibited with Andrea Anastasio at Istituto Italiano de Cultura, New Delhi, and at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in Vienna Grosvenor Gallery, London, Vadehra Art Gallery and Khoj, New Delhi and Clark House, Mumbai.
