Paving slab production business: cheap, reliable and practical. A ready-made example of a business plan for the production of paving slabs

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Starting the production of paving slabs (paving stones) is much easier than, for example, setting up the production of food products or clothing. Why? Yes, because to open such a business you will not need any special licenses. You simply open a private enterprise - and go ahead.

In fact, you don’t even need to be too meticulous about paving slab production technology. You can open such a business without having any skills in construction or related fields.

Production of paving slabs: business plan

Step 1: Certification

Finished products of such production do not require mandatory certification. However, it is worth pursuing certification. Buyers will be more willing to purchase a product that meets high quality standards and has a certificate confirming this. Fortunately, the necessary expertise won't cost too much: 100-300 dollars.

Step 2: Room

Any room, for example, a warehouse or production area, is suitable for a workshop. It is best if your production is located in an industrial zone and has convenient access routes. The main condition is that the premises are located near cheap raw material bases (this way you will save on the delivery of raw materials, such as concrete).

Other characteristics of the room:

The area of the premises for small production of paving slabs (up to 100 m2 of tiles per shift) should be at least 70-80 m2. The larger the production volumes, the larger the area should be;
An electrical network with a voltage of 380 W must be supplied;
Cold water is supplied (it is also desirable to have hot water);
It is desirable that the workshop be heated.

You will also need a separate heated room with heated floors, in which the temperature will be maintained at 40-45° all year round. Its dimensions must be no less than the workshop space. This room should be allocated for a drying chamber, as well as a warehouse.

Total monthly rental cost for all premises: 500-1000 dollars per month.

Step 3: Equipment

The description of the technology is quite comprehensive, so it is included in a separate chapter.

Equipment

Cheap manual equipment will cost many times less. However, when purchasing such equipment, you will have to put up with a number of restrictions:

Mostly manual labor;
Low quality of products;
Small production volumes;
Low energy efficiency of equipment.

More expensive analogues (both domestic and foreign) are almost always automated and guarantee the production of high quality products. They also allow you to increase labor productivity, provide low energy consumption and a number of other advantages.

There are 2 most common technologies for the production of paving slabs and paving stones:

Vibration pressing;
Vibrocasting.

The use of each of these technologies will require the purchase of a different set of equipment. Moreover, each method is characterized by several levels of mechanization - from fully automated production to the involvement of workers to perform most manipulations. Let's look at each method in more detail.

Vibration pressing

This method uses a brick press to produce paving slabs. This happens as follows:

Using a mixer, the concrete mixture is prepared;
The finished mixture is fed from the mixer to the brick making press using a conveyor;
A brick press compresses the mixture, forming finished products - tile blocks;
Next, the finished products are moved to special pallets or storage racks, where they are aged for 12 hours;
Finished products are packaged and prepared for shipment to the buyer.

Often all these procedures are performed by one single unit. It is a fully automated conveyor type line. In this case, workers only need to add the correct proportions of the ingredients necessary to mix the mixture.

There are also less automated lines where some stages of production are performed by people. They usually cost less than their fully automated counterparts, but product quality may suffer from such savings. Advantages of vibrocompression:

This method implies high labor productivity;
Products obtained by this method are more durable and frost-resistant;
They are designed in strict geometry;
Such products are more durable.

Vibrocasting

In fact, with this method the only type of equipment is a vibrating table for the production of paving slabs. It can be an automated line with a conveyor and automatic knockout of finished products, or it can be very simple and inexpensive. Using this method, tiles are made as follows:

The finished mixture is poured into molds for the production of paving slabs;
Next, the forms are placed on a vibrating table;
A vibrating table is a special machine for the production of paving slabs. It has a vibrating surface, and forms are kept on it for a certain time;
The forms are removed from the vibrating table and left in a warm room for 12 hours;
Finished products are knocked out of pouring molds. This is done in such a way that the products do not come out with chips.

This technology can also be highly automated, but options are also possible when all procedures except vibration processing are performed by workers. In this case, you are essentially producing paving slabs with your own hands.

Equipment for vibrocasting is cheaper than for vibrocompression. Products obtained by this method can be of various configurations and sizes - it all depends on the casting molds. It has a smoother surface and an attractive appearance.

Otherwise, the products obtained by this method are inferior in quality to their pressed counterparts (see “Advantages of vibration compaction”). In terms of price, the production of paving slabs by vibration casting is slightly more expensive than by vibrocompression. This happens due to the fact that concrete is consumed less economically.

The approximate cost of the equipment will be 3,000-10,000 dollars. With both vibration casting and vibration extrusion, you only need 3-5 workers to start production. However, they do not need any special skills or education. Monthly salary fund: 1,000-2,000 dollars.

Total starting capital: $5,000-14,000.

Alternative option

What is the fastest way to start producing paving slabs? It is known that it takes several months to launch such a business from scratch. In addition, you can often make a mistake at first due to inexperience. That is why you can buy the production of paving slabs. It is worth noting that the purchase is justified only if the purchased enterprise has a large production facility.

Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of such a purchase. Let's start with advantages:

You can start working right away. Production (and often sales) of products are already well established. You can immediately begin to implement all your fresh and bright ideas for improving your business;
You don’t need to look for premises and equipment, everything is already done for you;
Experienced staff. When you buy a business, you also buy the services of all its employees. You will almost certainly have to part with some of them, but there are also those who will help you quickly get used to it and understand the essence of this business.

Minuses:

High price. Buying a business costs much more than starting the production and sale of paving slabs from scratch. In fact, you are overpaying for so-called “goodwill”. This English word refers to everything that cannot be measured in meters, kilograms or pieces. However, it includes everything that is critical for business - an established team, well-established relationships with suppliers and customers, a recognizable brand, etc. “Goodwill” cannot be measured, but it has its own price, which can often be higher than the price of all assets of the purchased production;
Underwater rocks. Have you ever wondered why the current owner decided to sell his successful business? It happens that the reason lies in production problems that may not be obvious to an outsider. It turns out that you buy a company only to discover that even more serious investments are required to correct the situation;
You can buy a plant for the production of paving slabs and understand that everything there is not organized as it should be organized in a good way. Low labor productivity, poor product quality, too high costs - all this most often depends on incorrect management decisions. Correcting the situation can be very expensive. In the worst case, you will simply have to close the old plant and start all over again.

These are just a few obvious disadvantages that lie on the surface. If you know nothing about the production of paving slabs and have no experience in this field, you should be very careful about the possibility of purchasing a company.

That's probably all you need to know about the production of paving slabs. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this, and your own small production will not require colossal investments. If things get going, it might be wise to expand production. At the initial stage, you just need to trust your instincts and try your hand at business.

Modern construction cannot do without paving paving slabs, so many entrepreneurs set up their own production of concrete products. In order to fully and accurately assess profitability and compare the advantages and disadvantages of such a business, it is necessary to study this issue thoroughly.

Production of paving slabs: niche assessment

Paving slabs are in high demand in any region of the country. It has the widest range not only in shades, but also in shapes, configurations, and sizes. With its help, you can create true masterpieces on city streets and private areas. Therefore, the production of paving slabs is considered the most profitable business in our time.

In order for your tile production to be successful, you must adhere to basic manufacturing technologies. The following performance characteristics must be met:

resistance to frost and high temperatures;
strength;
endurance to mechanical stress;
durability, etc.

If we evaluate the sales niche, then vibropressed paving slabs are the most popular. For example, ordinary paving stones are the top seller - they are bought in 60 cases out of 100. The remaining types are distributed approximately equally - 20-40%.

Characteristics of the most popular types of paving slabs

Vibropressed. Made from concrete mixture. During production, special vibrocompression equipment is used. Refers to the most common. It has high quality indicators and a wide range.

Vibrocast. It is made according to the previous method, but with the difference that the tiles are not pressed, but are made by casting on vibration equipment. It is also a popular type and is of high quality.

Polymer-sand. Polymer substances are used in manufacturing. It features a wide range of shades and textures. It is possible to imitate stone, wood, slate and other natural materials. Strength is at a high level.

Glowing. Such tiles are not a bestseller, as they have a high cost. Most often it is bought for private areas. Quality indicators are good, used mainly for decorative purposes.

Rubber. Rubber raw materials are used in production. A distinctive feature is anti-slip properties. The quality is high.

Any manufacturer at the initial stage of opening a business is engaged in the production of exclusively vibro-pressed and vibro-cast paving slabs. The fact is that such building material requires a minimum of capital investment and has a high level of return on investment. In 2-3 months you can fully return the invested funds and make your first profit.

You can get acquainted with the production technology of vibratory-pressed paving slabs by watching the video:

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

payback rate;
opportunity to earn 100-200 rubles per 1 sq. m of product, and this is a significant amount, since the buyer purchases a large number of tiles at once;
a wide range of sales - from individuals to government agencies;
There is no seasonality in sales, since modern paving slabs can be installed in any weather conditions.

Flaws:

expensive equipment;
the need to initially invest a large amount of money;
you will have to rent space for the production workshop.

How to start making paving slabs: costs at the start

Before starting your own production of paving slabs, you need to calculate the costs at the start, that is, determine the amount of investment. First of all, it is calculated production cost. The tiles are made from flat-cement concrete and a special plasticizer, which improves quality indicators. A cubic meter will cost you approximately 2800-3000 rubles. From a cubic meter you can make about 15-17 square meters. m. paving slabs. Thus, the average cost of 1 sq. m. of tiles will be 170 rubles minimum.

Don’t forget about spending on electricity, workers’ salaries, and renting premises. Others may also arise production costs. Therefore, you need to add at least 50 rubles to 170 rubles. Consequently, your paving slabs will cost you 220 rubles at least per 1 sq. m. m. It is possible to purchase raw materials cheaper, but in this case, pay special attention to quality indicators.

Be sure to think about employees who will need to be paid at the end of the month (week). Initially, you don’t know how quickly the sale will go, so the amount is wages you should have some in stock. If you plan a small production, for example, in a workshop of 50 sq. m, then you will only need to hire 2-3 employees.

Provided that you find buyers in a short time, the profitability of production will be 150%. To do this, at the initial stages, you can make tiles from inexpensive materials.

Registration and certification

For your business to be legal, you need to register. For small-scale production, registration as an individual entrepreneur is possible. This will make it possible to choose a profitable and simplified taxation system, which will be only 6%. No special certification is required for paving slabs, which simplifies the task even more. However, the majority of buyers require a quality certificate, so it is advisable to order it additionally. To do this, you need to contact the certification service and provide them with samples of each of your products. The service checks the degree of moisture resistance, strength, and resistance to various temperature changes. Resistance to mechanical stress, fading in the sun and color retention must be taken into account.

Organization, equipment

To properly organize your business, you first need to purchase the appropriate equipment. It must be reliable and of high quality. If you don’t have the required amount, you can rent it at the initial stages. You will need the following:

For vibropressed paving slabs you need concrete block press. The price from foreign manufacturers is about $20,000. In addition, you need to purchase concrete mixer, the cost of which is $5,000. You will also need punch for $3,000.
To make vibro-cast paving slabs, you need to buy a special vibrating table. Its price is only $4,000. Concrete mixer can be purchased for as little as $600.
You can't do without forms. One form costs from 1 $ to 8 $.
Molds should be washed after each use. Therefore you will need large capacity. Here you can use a regular bathroom. But if you decide to purchase a professional model, it will cost you at least $1,000.
To store finished products, you need to buy special pallets.
Buy Desktop, on which you will remove the paving slabs from the mold.
You will also need a device for tensioning clamping bands, staples, PP tape, stretch film, and a forklift.

Warehouse space

Warehouse space and production itself can be rented or purchased. It must meet certain requirements:

the presence of heating, since production requires an air temperature of 15-40 degrees;
central water supply;
electricity with a voltage of 380 Volts;
the minimum area should be 50 sq. m;
ventilation.

Purchase of raw materials

To avoid unnecessary costs, it is necessary to properly purchase raw materials. For example, for production of 30 sq. m of paving slabs you need to buy 0.8 tons of cement, 2.3 kg of plasticizer, 2.5 kg of sand-granite mixture and coloring pigments in the entire palette. Finding a supplier is quite easy. You can contact the mining quarry management yourself. This method will be the most profitable. If this is not possible, you can find an intermediary company, and there are a lot of them today.

Try to purchase cement, pigments and other components from one manufacturer. This is especially important for pigment, since each manufacturer has unique shades of the same color.
The storage area should be well ventilated and not have high humidity.
Fractions of granite crushed stone should be at least 5 mm, maximum 10.
The most popular plasticizer is grade C3.

When choosing a supplier, be sure to inquire about his reputation and experience in the market. Remember, it must be reliable and proven.

How to implement? The most common methods

In the process of opening the production of paving slabs, take care of preliminary advertising. After all, this is how you can interest a potential buyer. Initially, make samples of tiles of various shapes, sizes and shades. Create a product catalog, order booklets that will contain information about the product, its benefits, and range.

The most common and reliable ways to sell products:

It is best to post information on online platforms.
It is advisable to create your own website.
You can also find customers through advertisements in newspapers, magazines, television, etc. It is especially important to place advertisements in a specialized construction publication, since it is the consumer audience that reads it.
Order advertising in public transport, from minibuses to the metro.
Place advertisements in holiday villages and private sector areas, especially if it is an elite residential area.
A fairly popular method of self-promotion is participation in specialized exhibitions.
You can use direct mail.
Organize a point of sale (you can even do it at the place of production).
Experienced manufacturers can also use an unusual marketing ploy. For example, offer a free service to a company or government agency. That is, you can lay paving slabs in front of the building completely free of charge. In return, you must be provided with advertising.

Main consumers of paving slabs

Who most often buys concrete products:

Construction companies of any type, buyers for the construction of municipal buildings, fulfillment of other types of orders.
Private individuals.
Legal entities.

Paving slabs are a product that is in ever-growing demand and does not lose its relevance. It is used to cover squares, sidewalks, steps, roads, and driveways for cars.

In the paving slab market, the share of large manufacturers is 95%, small - 5%. Consumers are municipal authorities, commercial enterprises, and private individuals.

Paving slabs are gradually replacing asphalt pavement. According to experts, the business of its production is highly profitable (100%) and is profitable.

clarify production volumes and selling prices from future competitors;
identify possible clients (shops, open cafes, hotels, construction companies);
find potential suppliers of raw materials.

After the analysis, if the market is insufficiently saturated, it is possible to calculate the profitability of production with higher productivity. An entrepreneur who does not have experience in running such a business should not immediately purchase an expensive set of equipment. You can purchase it additionally after receiving large orders.

Industrial production of paving slabs as a business: where to start?

When starting a business you should consider:

tile manufacturing technology;
select equipment and calculate the costs of its purchase, delivery, installation;
calculate the amount of raw materials and costs for them;
resolve the issue of packaging finished products;
provide for advertising costs;
think over ways to implement tiles.

Selecting a room

There are no requirements or restrictions for the premises for the production of paving slabs.

The area must be sufficient to accommodate the equipment; a room of 70 m2 or more is suitable.

According to technology, a certain temperature regime must be observed during the production of tiles, therefore, in winter, the room must be heated.

Additionally, a drying chamber is required (with a constant temperature of about 45 degrees), the floor in it must be warm, there must be no ventilation. Finished products require a warehouse. Requires connection to water supply and 360 V power supply.

The technology for producing tiles using the vibration casting method requires a constant supply of water in large quantities, therefore communications must be reliable.

Documents for registration of activities

To open a business you need

Paving slabs are not subject to mandatory certification in the GOST system, however, you can voluntarily obtain an EZ (expert opinion).

After checking the tiles (for strength, frost resistance, water absorption, abrasion, and other properties), the certification center issues a document confirming the quality. This increases the competitiveness of the product. A consumer who is serious about choosing tiles will certainly pay attention to all the characteristics.

Equipment for the production of paving slabs

To produce paving slabs you need:

concrete mixer;
forming vibrating table;
stripping table;
plastic forms.

What equipment is needed for industrial furniture production and how to open your own business in this area - read

Production personnel

3 people will be able to cope with the technological process (preparing concrete, pouring it into molds, pressing and sending it to the drying chamber), provided that the daily production of paving slabs is 50 m2.

They do not require special education. If demand increases during the high season, several additional people can be hired.

Sample business plan for the production of paving slabs

Initial investment in production:

melting and heating unit 540 thousand rubles;
press D2430 470 thousand rubles;
mold PP TR 210 thousand rubles;
concrete mixer SBR-500 69 thousand rubles;
commissioning works 110 thousand rubles;
bath for washing molds 5 thousand rubles;
scales MK-15.2 4.2 thousand rubles.

Total: 1408.2 thousand rubles.

Necessary materials:

cement;
sand;
plasticizer;
pigment.

Necessary costs:

The cost of raw materials is 3,794 rubles/ton (136.58 rubles per 1 m2 of tiles).
60 thousand rubles. (subject to working 1 shift). Wage costs will be 28.58 rubles. per 1 m2 of tiles.
Tax deductions 8.7 rub. per 1 m2 of tiles.
Rent of premises 10 thousand rubles. (2.38 rubles per 1 m2 of tiles).
Energy consumption per shift is 135 kW (RUB 7.8 per 1 m2 of tile).

You can learn how to make handmade soap at home and see a sample business plan for soap making

Cost of 1 m2 of paving slabs:

The price of paving slabs is 480 – 500 rubles/m2. With a monthly production of 50 x 22 = 1100 m2 of tiles, the amount from its sale will be 528 thousand rubles.

Industrial production of paving slabs as a business: profitability and payback

The calculation was made taking into account the daily production of 50 m2 of tiles and its selling price of 400 rubles/m2. When organizing 2-shift work, income will double and the payback period will be shortened.

The production of paving slabs as a business using the vibration casting method involves more manual labor, therefore, the cost of workers' wages increases. The cost is also affected by the type of raw material: to produce high-quality tiles you need washed sand, the cost of which is several times higher than regular sand.

, technology, business plan and other issues were discussed in detail in our article at the link.

It is not recommended to save on raw materials: due to its low quality, the tiles will become unusable after 3 years, this will ruin the entrepreneur's reputation. To reduce costs, the production process should be optimized.

Video on making paving slabs

Production of paving slabs as a business - in this video you can watch the tile manufacturing technology:

The initial investment to launch a line for the production of paving slabs will be 180,000 rubles. The investment will pay off within 1 month. The profitability of this business is 100%.

Production of paving slabs: Documentation

According to the law, you do not need to obtain any special licenses for the production of paving slabs; this product is not subject to mandatory certification. You just need to register as an Individual Entrepreneur. But for those who want to document the quality of products, you can make a quality passport. There are certification organizations that will test samples of your tiles in accordance with GOST for frost resistance, strength, compression, water absorption, abrasion, and oils. Such an analysis costs from 3 to 10 thousand rubles in different laboratories.

Production of paving slabs: Premises

The location of future production is not of great importance in this business. Production can be located in any warehouse or production facility in an industrial zone or outside the city. The area of the production workshop must be at least 70 m2, and it must have a voltage of 380 V. It is also necessary to equip a drying chamber - a room with a temperature of 35-45, with a heated floor, without fans.

If you work only in the warm season, it is not necessary to rent warehouse space. When working in winter, you will have to rent a warm warehouse of approximately the same area. Rent will cost from 15 to 30 thousand rubles per month.

Production of paving slabs: Equipment

The set of equipment for the production of tiles includes: molding vibrating tables, molding vibrating tables, plastic molds, mineral additives for concrete, dyes. As a rule, equipment supplier companies also include tile production technology (although some companies, especially in Moscow, can charge from 30 to 70 thousand rubles separately for the technology).

The cost of a line producing 50 sq. m of tiles per shift is 100 thousand rubles. Raw materials for production are cement, sand, crushed stone. The entrepreneur buys it himself. For a line producing up to 50 m2 of tiles, approximately 1.5 tons of cement and 3 tons of sand-crushed stone mixture are needed.

Production of paving slabs: Personnel

To operate a workshop with a capacity of 50 m2 of tiles per day, three people are enough. They knead according to the same recipe, fill out the molds, and monitor pressing and drying. No special education is required. The workers' salary is 12-20 thousand rubles per month.

Production of paving slabs: Sales

You should start selling tiles immediately after production has been established, namely based on samples. Samples can be purchased from the equipment supplier. It’s better for a company to immediately start producing tiles of different shapes in order to attract customers with an assortment. In addition to the tiles themselves, you can offer additional services for transportation, installation and design project development.

For a start-up company, it is not at all necessary to look for large customers; you can focus on small businesses and private owners who want to tile their yards.

Based on an article by Anastasia Smirnova published in the newspaper

Every day you may be interested in new ways to make money. Indeed, the issue of creating a new source of income worries almost every resident. Walk along the streets of your city and look carefully at your feet. Paving slabs (paving stones), which have a high cost, easy production process and low cost, make this type of business one of the most profitable and suitable for beginners.

In this article we will look at how to organize the workflow from registering ownership and purchasing raw materials to producing the first batches of paving stones. We will describe in detail three manufacturing methods and calculate the economic efficiency.

Types of paving slabs

There are several main types of paving stones, each of which has its own characteristics.

GOST standards

The legislation of the Russian Federation regulates the use of paving slabs by standardizing the requirements for products provided for in the section GOST 17608-91 and GOST 13015.0-83. The most important quality standards that you need to pay attention to when making paving stones are abrasion and frost resistance.

Abrasion in places with high traffic intensity – 1.4 g/sq.m. centimeter, with low intensity - 0.9 g/sq. centimeter;
Frost resistance for the southern regions of the country is F-100 (approximately 38 degrees Celsius), for the northern regions - F-200 (from 94 degrees Celsius).

Clinker paving stones have the largest margin of safety due to thermal treatment. With high-quality raw materials and a serious approach to the production process, the required abrasion threshold according to GOST can be overcome several times, and a high frost resistance can be achieved. The service life can be about half a century.

Vibropressed In terms of abrasion, paving stones are almost close to clinker stones, but they are still slightly smaller. Please note that only high-quality concrete molding material is taken into account. As for frost resistance, due to the manufacturing feature - pressing, this figure can exceed F-300 (which is more than 148 degrees Celsius).

In production vibrocast paving stones of the required abrasion threshold - 1.4 g/sq. centimeter - rarely achieved. It is usually used in places with low traffic intensity, where 0.9 g/sq.m. is sufficient. centimeter. There are also problems with frost resistance. The use of vibrocast tiles in the southern regions is possible, while the northern regions are out of the question. And this despite the fact that the maximum possible properties that can be achieved by using high-quality raw materials and a precise production process are taken into account.

Business registration

To start full-scale production of paving stones, you need to register your activity. This will also be required for the sale of already manufactured goods, because usually such transactions involve contracting firms that carry out city improvement work under an agreement with local authorities. Therefore, strict reporting and legality of production is required.

Choice of legal form

At the moment, there are two optimal options for the organizational and legal form for a business producing paving stones - individual entrepreneur and LLC. Which form to choose depends on the scale of your future business. If the plans are only for the production of products and their immediate sale, then the status of an individual entrepreneur is ideal, which has a simplified registration process and requires minimal investment.

Some paving stone manufacturers themselves organize service for laying their products. This implies additional personnel and technical facilities to provide such services. In such cases, it is better to choose the LLC form.

OKVED codes

To produce paving products, during registration you must select OKVED code 26.3. Please note that this section does not cover the manufacture of fire-resistant paving products. Therefore, when registering, we advise you to additionally indicate code 26.6 in order to be able to expand production in the future. There is no additional cost to enter an additional code upon registration, but if you want to enter it later, you will have to pay additionally.

Required documents

Package of documents for individual entrepreneur registration:

application of an individual (form No. P21001) about the desire to obtain the status of an individual entrepreneur;
a copy of the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
a receipt indicating the fact of payment of the state duty (800 rubles).

Please note that only an adult citizen can obtain individual entrepreneur status, and when submitting a package of documents, a copy of the passport must be certified by a notary.

Package of documents for LLC registration:

articles of association;
application for the creation of a legal entity upon registration using Form P11001;
a receipt confirming payment of the state fee for legal registration. faces;
resolution of the sole founder on the creation of an organization or protocol of resolution of all founders;
agreement on the creation of an organization between the founders;
a copy of the document confirming the ownership of the premises at the address of which registration takes place;
if the premises are not your property, then you must provide a letter of guarantee from the owner.

Please note that after registering an LLC, you must be given a package of documents confirming registration, on the basis of which you will need to make a stamp and open a bank account.

Paving stone production methods

For the manufacture of each type of paving slabs, there is a unique production process, raw materials, as well as an algorithm of actions that must be performed to obtain the finished product.

Method for producing clinker paving stones

To get good paving stones that meet all state standards, and also sell well, you need to take into account all the nuances, and start with the most important thing - molding raw materials.

Features of molding raw materials

Clinker paving stones are made from clay. But for subsequent firing, it is necessary to choose clay that does not contain calcium carbonate and its impurities, as well as salts.

You should also limit the content of the following chemical elements:

magnesium oxide, which increases shrinkage during baking, which can result in a low-quality product;
iron oxide, which forms a protective shell, leaving the inside of the tile damp;
calcium oxide, which helps increase porosity.

Preparing for molding

To more thoroughly grind the clay into a homogeneous powder, crushers are used. The stage of readiness of the powder is determined by its uniform color. Add 23% water to the resulting consistency and stir until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Pay attention to the proportions. If the amount of water exceeds the specified amount, then due to oversaturation with moisture, pores will appear in the future, which will significantly reduce the strength of the product.

Molding

To eliminate the appearance of airy and empty areas in the tiles, an extruder is used during molding. This device thoroughly mixes the mass and produces already formed tiles of the desired shape. The molding process itself occurs using high pressure (32 atmospheres). It is worth emphasizing that the weight of one tile should exceed the norm by 9-11%, since in the future this weight will be lost during the drying and firing process.

Drying

You cannot put undried paving stones into the oven, because they will crack. Therefore, pallets with newly formed paving stones are left in the drying chamber for 3 days. The room must have a blowing system on all four sides, as well as an exit from its space using a ventilation system.

Burning

Firing is carried out in a special furnace with a certain temperature regime:

for red clay – 1050 degrees Celsius;
for yellow clay – 1180 degrees Celsius;
for white clay – 1270 degrees Celsius.

It is advisable if the oven is equipped with an additional moisture removal system, then the output can be tiles with a water content of about 4%.

The high pressure molding process completely eliminates the appearance of empty spaces, which significantly improves the quality and durability of the product. After firing, the paving stones must cool for two days under normal conditions.

Necessary equipment

№	Image	Name	Min. price, rub.	Qty	Total, rub.
1.		Clay crusher	150 000	1	150 000
2.		Extruder	285 000	1	285 000
3.		Paving stone kiln	200 000	1	200 000
4.		Metal tray for firing	1500	10	15 000
the total cost					650 000

Method of production of vibropressed paving stones

When molded in a vibropress, a rough surface is formed on the paving stones. The manufacturing process itself involves a minimum of intervention on the part of personnel, since all the work is done by a brick making machine. Therefore, vibropressed tiles have become very popular when paving sidewalks.