Apicer’s 2024 The Art of Possibility Tour of Portugal proved hugely inspirational. It offered Diary of a Tile Addict’s Joe Simpson a wonderful opportunity to visit some of the country’s leading manufacturers, see numerous examples of ceramic street art, experience tile’s massive contribution to contemporary Portuguese architecture, and – best of all – get fully immersed in the history, heritage, and passion that drives Portugal’s tile sector.
One of the main ports of call was Aviero-based Primus Vitoria. Established for over five decades, this company is a major landmark in the Portuguese ceramics sector. One of the country’s oldest large-scale manufacturers, the company specialises in small format glazed wall tiles, with 75% to 80% of total production exported, primarily to Europe, including France and the UK, but over 35 countries in total.
Production stands at around 10,000 sq. metres per day, and Primus Vitoria prides itself on running an efficient and cost-effective factory that allows it to value-engineer its output to deliver a portfolio of price-competitive products. It is particularly proud of the fact that its plant, which features many Sacmi components, is optimised on a dual fuel electricity and gas regime. ISO 14000 certified, this level of process sophistication is the key to Primus Vitoria’s commercial success, typical of the way it has adopted modern technologies to reduce its ecological footprint and energy bill. One of the most prominent measures taken was the installation of a photovoltaic solar plant on the factory roof. The 1,628 PV panel installations has the capacity to produce 679MWh of energy annually, which represents about 20% of the factory’s energy needs. The PV installation was undertaken by Helexia Portugal.
As the company explains: “Our modern facilities are the result of continuous investment over all these years, and represent our commitment to innovation, the true foundation of our sustainability. With the latest technology on the market, we have identified key strategic areas to improve energy efficiency, water treatment and reuse, waste reduction through the use of biodegradable and recyclable materials, the production of a significant part of the energy consumed and the reduction of risks in the workplace.”
With 15,000 to 30,000 tiles rattling down the production line every day, the company has total annual revenue of approximately Euro 80 million. Primus Vitoria’s tiles are used extensively in schools and healthcare facilities, and also in the adhesive-fixed tile façades that are such a feature of coastal towns in northern Portugal.
Primus Vitória has a long track record of adapting to technological innovation while meeting the needs of an increasingly demanding market. The company’s ethos is to continually grow and reinvent itself to guarantee the quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. The company’s recently redesigned website provides tangible proof of this progressive corporate mindset. It is designed to be highly intuitive, with a clean contemporary look and new features that boost communication with customers. The aim was to create a more engaging and involving browsing experience.
Primus Vita is equally proud that, in 2022, it was awarded COTEC Innovation status by COTEC Portugal, the Association for Innovation. This provides further proof that the company’s willingness to invest, adapt, and innovate.
Primus Vitoria’s production of ceramic floor and wall tiles can be divided into two main areas: dry-pressed, glazed ceramic tiles for interior applications; and dry-pressed exterior and interior ceramic floor tiles.
One of the company’s key ranges is Technical: a collection of smooth and intense plain coloured tiles. The key to this range’s popularity is the sheer breadth of choice. The colour options span 41 hues, in both matt and gloss glazes. That is just the start. Technical also comes in many different formats: 100 by 100, 100 by 200, 100 by 300, 150 by 150, 150 by 300, 150 by 75, 200 by 200, 200 by 300, 200 by 400, 250 by 400, and 300 by 600mm. There is also a Bevelled option, in 19 colours, and four formats: 100 by 200, 150 by 150, 150 by 75, and 75 by 75mm. The final Technical plain wall tile option is Wavy, a bumpy biscuit gloss grey tile in 100 by 100, 150 by 150, 200 by 200, and 200 by 300mm that can be used on its own or as a complement to the other plain tiles in the portfolio. With such a vast number of sizes, surfaces, and colour combinations, it is little wonder that Primus Vitoria is such a popular brand among commercial specifiers.
Primus Vitoria bills Old School as the artistic expression in the Mediterranean art of tile making. Delivering an attractive mix of traditional and modern colours, Old School’s Evoke offers many attractive options. There are two formats – 100 by 100, and 100 by 400mm – that can be used singly or paired in a variety of different compositions. In total there are 19 gloss colours. Old School Colours – 100 by 100, 150 by 150, 150 by 75, and 300 by 75mm – features 40 matt colours of supreme subtlety. With this range, there is a suitable hue to offer the perfect pairing with most architectural surfaces, fabrics, wallpapers, natural stones, or woods.
Other ranges include Memo. This has 10 pastel colours, a romantic spirit, and relief effect that achieve a deeper contour at edges. And then there is Lisboa: gloss 150 by 150mm plain tiles in seven saturated accent shades.
Primus Vitoria’s 150 by 150mm Decorated tiles offer a selection of classic, floral, vintage, and Moroccan inspired designs. With a square and modular shape, smooth or relief faces, these designs can be used in many combinations; stamping each space they adorn with a clear aesthetic identity. There are also Mosaics, eight different gloss melanges, in 300 by 300mm sheets.
On a more practical level, Technical floor tiles come in 200 by 200mm, matt or gloss, and are ideal for changing rooms, school WCs, and other similar locations. There are 10 colours, designed to complement most decor schemes.
Primus Vitoria is an interesting company in that it uses contemporary methods and systems to produce tiles that seem to hark back to the early years on monocottura production, or even earlier. It may seem paradoxical, but this business model is apparently very successful; further evidence of the diverse nature of today’s ceramic tile sector.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, November 2023.