2. Producing the porcelain clay

The porcelain clay consists of kaolin, feldspar and quartz. Mixing water and kaolin makes the porcelain clay plastic, which means that it feels almost like modelling wax, and can be shaped in various ways.

The clay and the glaze are produced in the section of the factory called the slip house.

The raw materials are weighed out automatically and mixed with water in mixing vats that hold five cubic metres. The clay and glaze have to be thin emulsions with a high water content to make the subsequent processes possible.

The porcelain clays are pumped through sieves and electromagnets, then collected in vats that hold 25 cubic metre. From here the clay is pumped up into filter presses, where the water content is reduced to about 20%, which is slightly lower than in the finished clay.

The clay will then be pressed through a tube, which squeezes out the last air bubbles .

Alternatively, the filter cakes can be stored and mixed with water and chemicals to form slip, which is the thick, soup-like clay used for moulding figurines, vases and jugs. Glaze emulsions are sent to be mixed in ball mills, which are drum-shaped rotating containers filed with stones or porcelain balls to grind and mix the emulsions.

This gives the glaze the composition to react and produce the right appearance after firing in the brightening kiln at about 1400°C. Every step of the process is carefully monitored by the laboratory with final approval for production in mind.