The company Talleres Cortés, located in l’Alcora, has manufactured a new article to meet the needs of the ceramic auxiliary industry. This is a remote-controlled cleaning blower that reduces costs and takes advantage of its versatility in the use of compressed air. Blowing with compressed air is a technique used in industry to carry out numerous processes such as cleaning.

In this case, after 74 years of professional experience, the factory has developed a model based on four characteristics to increase its potential: blowing by impulses with up to five cycles per second to recover pressure; blowing by zones so that each mould space receives all the available flow; blowing synchronised with the press; and, finally, versatility according to the circumstances of each mould, press and operation.

The firm has designed this tool with the possibility of configuring it in real time via wifi or bluetooth to adapt to industry 4.0 and the implementation of new technologies, which are already an indispensable part of work routines. This versatile blowing system makes the most of the customer’s resources in the compressed air system to deal with its high cost, which makes it necessary to guarantee energy efficiency in its use.

The origin of the project arises from a real case due to a customer’s blowing problem, which required the cleaning of a mould with more than 20 outputs, for which he was forced to activate the continuous blowing of 19 tubes. However, the high energy cost did not lead to real efficiency as the flow rate to each outlet pipe was minimal.

This was the starting point for an investigation to optimise the margin of improvement in savings and productivity of blowing for mould cleaning, which led to this new product. Intermittent zone blowing and efficient small nozzles boost the performance of this tool, which is now available to the auxiliary industry.

Since its inception, Talleres Cortés has made it a priority to meet the needs and demands of its customers, at the forefront of a constantly changing industry. The new remote-controlled compressed air blower system is yet another example of the company’s innovative vocation to offer real solutions to a key sector in the economy of Castellón and Spain. Reducing costs and guaranteeing energy efficiency, in a context of deep commitment to the environment, are guaranteed with this new project.

70 YEARS OF HISTORY AT A ‘CLICK’.

Talleres Cortés celebrates its 70th anniversary with a video edited for the occasion that reflects the transformation of the factory in l’Alcora and its vocation to continue innovating. It is committed to new technologies to show the world in a minute and a half of interaction the day to day of the company from each department. Only a perfect interplay between the different areas could keep it at the forefront of the manufacture and marketing of molds for the tile industry.
And that space of cooperation and permanent effort to stay at the forefront of the sector is reflected in an audiovisual piece that reflects that times have changed inside and outside the production itself. The facilities located in the heart of the ceramic industry, the design of machinery and parts, transport, the commitment to safety, offices and, above all, human capital leave their mark on this commemorative video.
Seventy years with a perfect chain gear make their mark and open the way to a new way of relating to the environment and customers. Now it is the website, social networks and the industry newspaper that will make the need to tell the world about the progress of an industry that is constantly evolving at all stages of its activity a reality.
However, the pride of belonging to a leading firm that has overcome the ups and downs of the market and the different crises it has gone through in seven decades of history has not changed. The business model remains upright but demands new efforts such as this commitment to open the company from l’Alcora to society through a new audiovisual material.
What is not communicated does not exist and in Talleres Cortés there is an example of overcoming and a job well done. Telling society about it is the latest challenge posed by the management to celebrate a special anniversary and, at the same time, to reach a public that has also changed its way of being informed. The need to know who designs, who serves us, to whom we entrust our machines or products is a fact and this 2022 of profound changes is also an opportunity to open the factory without reservations.
Facing new challenges with the ability to adapt to those who resist change has been a pillar for the stability and growth of a company that today celebrates 70 years of activity with the satisfaction of having fulfilled its duty.

12/2/2021 – CASTELLÓ. The commitment to efficient production is a maxim of Talleres Cortés, especially in the context of the energy crisis. It is for this reason that the Alcora factory has started the installation of solar panels to take advantage of clean energy.

The objective of self-consumption and respect for the ecosystem are key in the roadmap of a company dedicated to machinery for the ceramic industry that has been adapting to new challenges since its inception. In this case, the current moment forces us to seek answers to the difficulties that arise along the way and which translate into a clear increase in the price of energy and a planet that needs alternatives to outrageous consumption.

Talleres Cortés does not escape these claims and in 2021 it has begun work to install solar panels in its factory, a fact that will have a direct impact on the electricity bill of the firm directly and also in the future. “Reducing costs is the only alternative for a company so that the rise in the price of materials and energy does not affect the customer’s pocket,” they explain from the company.

His is an example for so many tile factories and their ancillary industries that there is no turning back and that it is a real solution to a more than notorious problem.

To be more efficient is to be more productive and, therefore, to guarantee the growth and continuation of a consolidated and growing workforce since it began its journey in 1951. The challenges have varied to become a leader in the manufacture of molds and relief design for inkjet systems, without leaving aside the technical and after-sales service so valued by customers.

Today these opportunities go through knowing how to take better advantage of the energy market, in constant tension, and aspiring to self-consumption as a production model. “In a land that enjoys the sun for more than two-thirds of the year, we cannot miss the opportunity to make the most of that strength. The industry has to be a pioneer not only in professionalization and cutting-edge machinery, but also in reinventing its models ”, they affirm. Talleres Cortés achieves this with this decisive change that will mark the future of its production.

17/11/2021 – 

CASTELLÓ. The company Talleres Cortés, founded in 1951 by Juan Bautista Cortés Prades and specialized in machinery and ceramic molds, today employs 35 workers at its headquarters located in the town of l’Alcora, plus 14 at its plant in Peru, which serves much of the American market. Today this family business is in the hands of its third generation, with Juan José  and Emilio at the head of a business that is a benchmark in the sector and that has made their long experience, closeness, professional zeal and daily work their main visiting card.

In its imposing headquarters in l’Alcora, of 4,000 square meters built on a plot of 10,000, Talleres Cortés still exudes that family character that permeated its founder and his three children – Vicente ,  Juan and Carmen – and whose legacy today is managed by the children of the first two -Emilio and Juan-. They took the reins of this business to accredit them as one of the longest-lived family businesses in the province of Castellón.

Juan José – Juanjo – and Emilio grew up, like everyone else in the Cortés family, in the family home they had above the workshop, which was then located in the heart of the city. The three houses were, in this way, the home of the three sons of the founder and, from a young age, our protagonists knew the day-to-day of the business. Raised on the sound of machines, milling machines, the dry blow of hammer blows, they became like those bells that mark the passage of time …

-Tell me, what are the most significant milestones in the long history of Talleres Cortés…
Juan José Cortés.-  The most important thing that has happened to us in all this time has been to be able to remain open and work as we are currently doing [laughs] . It is an achievement, without a doubt. And I say this because we will have done something well when we got here after 70 years, working as we have been doing, with a staff like the one we have, with a consolidated workforce … it is true that getting here is an achievement, within reach few, but we would not have achieved it if we had not worked day to day as we have done. It should be noted that this year has been a great year and we can say that we are facing the best in our history.

Emilio Cortés.- I would stay with the pioneering character of our predecessors and an important value that characterizes the company, which has been the interest in constant improvement and the experience that we have contributed to the sector. We have managed to consolidate a great team of professionals who are the ones who help a company to move forward, grow and overcome all the obstacles that come up along the way. There are branches such as engineering, mechanics … that you can find with relative ease, but in tooling there are usually shortcomings. It is here where we have reaped great achievements, in forming good teams. In this case, I would not speak of milestones, but of a permanent philosophy in continuing with that entrepreneurial nature and interest in providing solutions at all times throughout these years.

-What markets do you work in?
EC- We work mainly in the national market, although we also have an international presence. It must be said that the export is concentrated in Peru, in the plant that we have there and that serves all of South America, mainly Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, among many other countries. From here we serve the national demand. It is true that you have usually ordered from Turkey, Morocco, etc. … keep in mind that we have been exporting for 25 years and, for example, we already served the Maghreb area … but today we are very focused on the national market, which is very active and where we are known very well.

-How have you seen the evolution of the sector over this time?
JJ C .- If the ceramic sector has evolved and created new needs, we have always tried to provide solutions. We have always gone hand in hand with those clients who have needed us at any time. In other words, to new technical challenges, we have provided technical solutions and investments. It is a process of constant improvement.

EC-  It’s like that. And as an example we have this last year with the pandemic. We have made the largest investment in our history in machinery as a result of the needs that were posed to us, due to the inertia that our clients marked us. Here the secret is none other than trying to meet those needs that we are obliged to satisfy and we have always shown that we like to contribute positively. If my clients are committed to growing and they ask me… I have to be there, together with them, whether in large or small format. What we cannot do is tell them what to do based on the machines one has. That doesn’t work like that.

JJC- In addition, we have always opted for prudence in the face of what may come; sometimes things come rolled, but other times they get complicated. We work with the necessary prudence that must be exercised to confront any contingency with guarantees; but always being hand in hand with our clients. Growing up is fine, but maintaining and securing your position is the greatest success.

-They have talked about the training and how much Talleres Cortés has contributed to the sector in this area…
EC- You have to train the professionals yourself. In so many years that we have been at this, we have tried everything. What has been best for us is to bet on the technicians you have, the forms continuously and the result is evident.

JJC- At this time we have incorporated very young kids, 16 years old even who have found a job opportunity in this profession. We always talk about the figure of the apprentice, which is key for this type of company.

EC-  In Talleres Cortés there has always been the possibility of learning a profession and in the end those who join one day become very good professionals in this sector. We have been, I assure you, a true training academy. There is much talk about this dual education and we believe that it is a very interesting factor since, on the one hand, it gives young people the opportunity to achieve a professional career and, on the other hand, over time, staff companies qualified, as has been happening in our company.

-What is designscortes.com ?
EC-  Well, it is the first online store where you can purchase designs for ceramic molds. Through designscortes.com a wide catalog of services with exclusive designs is offered, through which you can make purchases and receive orders. We have our own design department to offer the best solutions and, in the same way, streamline the design and manufacturing processes.