The soil treasure in the Westerwald

Training in the clay pit

At the CER Campus, Geberit employees are dedicated to the entire ceramic production process, from the procurement of raw materials to production. This increases efficiency in the plants. An inspection of the clay pit in the Westerwald (DE).

Wearing helmets and rubber boots, 14 Geberit employees stand at the edge of a clay pit in Langendernbach, Germany: below, excavators are removing layer after layer of clay and loading the mineral treasure onto a conveyor belt. It is of particular value to the ceramics industry and is found in the Westerwald by the ton. The visit to the clay pit is part of the five-day training course in Ceramic Processing – an internal training course that makes the ceramic manufacturing process from raw material to finished product tangible.

At the source of raw materials

Geberit has been purchasing clay from the Stephan Schmidt Group for several Western European ceramics plants for many years. In 2025, this amounted to almost 4,000 tons. The raw material is prepared according to Geberit recipes, processed into slip in the plants, shaped, dried, glazed and fired. Westerwald clays are very stable, according to the tour. These properties are crucial for good product quality.

The participants come from different plants, countries and areas: from the Ukrainian GPS engineer to the Finnish production manager to the Swedish product developer. "Everyone has a different perspectives and brings their own experiences to the table. That's what makes the exchange so valuable," says Jennie Olsson from Product Development in Bromölla.
 

Learning from practice

In the seminar room, internal and external specialists use specific examples to show the group where the challenges lie: In traditional production with plaster molds and modern die casting processes, in drying - when blanks have to shrink in a controlled manner because cracks easily occur - and in furnace loading, which influences quality and energy consumption. Measuring methods for controlling temperature, air circulation and humidity are also part of the course.

Project engineer Annika Gäb is in charge. She works in the CER technology team in Höhr-Grenzhausen, which further standardizes and optimizes ceramic production at Geberit. The assessment of the CER Campus is positive. "I gained new insights, especially in quality assurance," says Thomas Zimmermann, Production Manager in Ekenäs. Ann-Charlott Nyberg, Finnish Head of Technical Product Development in Ekenäs, sees concrete approaches for action: "Now I can clearly see more starting points for how we can achieve improvements in the drying process."