Ceramic Gas Products, part of the Mantec Group's Technical Ceramics Division based in Stoke-on-Trent, has just announced its very first independent order in India.

Anchor Sanitaryware, one of India's leading brands in the sector, has placed an initial order for 80m3 of Ultralite™, a unique lightweight refractory material for kiln car loose fill insulation and is set to roll out a programme of Ultralite use across its entire sanitaryware manufacturing operation to save energy and improve profits.

This is a substantial prospect as Anchor operates two major facilities which produce around 4,000 pieces per day. The company was established in 1970 by Suresh Sompura and day-to-day management is now undertaken by his son Dushyant Sompura who said on signing the order: "Innovative ideas are the key word for us here at Anchor Sanitaryware and using Ultralite certainly matches that goal. I do feel that Ultralite is answering an urgent need in our factories at a time when energy costs are so high - it is a proven energy saver."

Anchor Sanitaryware is well known throughout South Asia for its quality ranges of wash basin (over 40 shapes), WCs (over 20 shapes) and 12-piece bathroom sets (or suites), which are also now exported to more than 30 countries in the Middle East, Far East and Africa.

Ultralite is lightweight, offers superb thermal insulation, is non-carcinogenic and is stable at elevated temperatures. It is a material that has already successfully demonstrated superior thermal efficiencies in a number of sectors in the industry. Ultralite is a stable and thermally efficient insulator product, now penetrating the market against the traditional higher density materials. Ultralite's long lifecycle and stable thermal efficiencies are drawing strong attention, evidenced by new and substantial orders in Europe, the Far East and now India.

Talks with Anchor Sanitaryware took place during this year's Indian Ceramics exhibition in Ahmedabad, where Ceramic Gas Products was one of a number of local companies carrying the torch for British industry and innovation. "We had an excellent few days at Indian Ceramics," commented Sales & Marketing Director, Paul Hipkiss, "and clearly the existing references for our material provided a compelling case. This is a breakthrough order for the company, its first independent order of this size for India, and we are confident that the industry there - particularly in its traditional stronghold of Gujarat - will see that ultimately the switch to Ultralite saves energy, saves time and saves money."

Dushyant Sompura, a graduate and a qualified ceramist, has backed up his father's pioneering work in the Indian sanitaryware industry with dynamism and innovative ideas. He said: "We began on the export trail as far back as 1990 and now our largest kiln is a 120 metre-long tunnel kiln. We installed a windmill here in Thangadh in 2007 to help with our efforts towards cheaper power generation - and of course we have a technically skilled workforce." Thangadh in Gujarat State is one of the key centres in India for the production of ceramic sanitaryware.

The decision to switch to Ultralite shows the same experience and vision demonstrated by Suresh Sompura when he founded Anchor Sanitaryware and acted as the first generation promoter in a field, especially where export quality ware is concerned, which was quite new to Indian producers. The company is a multiple Export Award winner in India.

As Anchor always says: "As the advanced technologies are being introduced, we improve our production capacity and product quality." All with the help of a technically superior material produced entirely in North Staffordshire.