How Shackerley's façade panels are made
There are many different manufacturing and prefabrication processes involved in the creation of a
SureClad® ceramic granite
ventilated façade panel.
Step 1 - Raw Materials
Pure raw materials are sourced from across the world - clays, fieldspars, minerals, pegamites and metal oxides. No resins,
cements or other binders are used.
Step 2 - Grinding
These powders, rocks and minerals are amalgamated, wet ground to a fine powder, refined to remove impurities and
turned into a perfectly homogenised slurry.
Step 3 - Spray drying
The slurry is injected at high pressure and nebulised inside a spray dryer. The contact with very hot air causes
instant and even drying.
Step 4 - Mixing & pressing
Using a unique patented method, the dried materials are mixed and are then subjected to intense hydraulic pressure -
typically over 12,000 tonnes.
Step 5 - Firing
The pressed slabs are fired at 1260°C until fully vitrified: impervious to water, dust or chemical attack.
During the firing process the constituent parts become irreversibly fused without any need for bonding agents.
Step 6 - Surface finishes
At this stage the ceramic granite slabs can be left with a natural unpolished finish or can be given a
semi-lustre or high sheen, diamond polished surface. No chemicals are involved in the polishing process.
Step 7 - Quality control
Every ceramic granite slab is checked electronically and by highly trained technicians for uniformity
of colour, structural integrity and critical sizing.
