The Production Process
Thursday, Nov 7, 2002

Learn how Caleca is made!

Caleca, leader in its field, produces usable hand-decorated ceramics and terracotta of the highest quality, in accordance with an ancient family tradition that endures for more than 200 years.

The productive cycle, entirely realized by our firm initiates with the extraction and workmanship of clay derived from local caves to be then processed up until the end phase of commercialization.

Essentially, the productive cycle may be defined into six phases:

- Preparation of the mixtures;
- Moulding;
- Drying and Firing of Bisque;
- Glazing;
- Decorating;
- Firing of Decorated Product.

1. Preparation of the mixtures:

This first phase may be considered in all aspects to be most delicate and therefore, the most important of the complete productive cycle. The crude clay materials are precisely mixed to attain that ceramic mixture which is the soul of the entire product. The entire procedure is supervised by our laboratory which constantly verifies the chemical composition of the clay material and determines the accurate composition of the mixture in order to attain a product endowed with excellent attributes of mechanical resistency and which may be considered in all aspects to be the best existing product support in the sales market.

2. Moulding:

The moulding of the articles, by now almost all automated, is preformed using various methods of production that may be grouped together in two diverse large categories: Moulding process through the use of presses and moulding by casting. In moulding with mechanical presses, the clay material is utilizzed in the form of loaves. For moulding done by casting, the clay material is in liquid form and introduced hydraulically in plaster form. All pieces are entirely refinished by hand, as in the case for the attachment of handles.

3. Drying and Firing of Bisque:

The drying of the product is done through the use of drying machinery, which extracts approximately 40% of the humidity by means of letting in forced hot air. The firing of the product, after having been dried, is accomplished by the use of rapid-baking kilns transporting product on ceramic rollers.
The baked undecorated piece in this stage is called "bisque".

4. Glazing:

The glazing using liquid glaze, is completed in two different methods; manually by immersion, and automatically through the use of a plunging machine. The glazing process allows each piece to acquire an homogenized surface on the crude glaze, thus enabling the possibility of efficiently decorating the piece.

5. Decorating:

The decorating, performed entirely by hand, by talented Sicilian decorating craftsmen, in accordance with exclusive and original patterns, characterizes the most artistic moment of the entire productive phase. All of the colors used in every instance correspond to the anti-toxic criteria, imposed and guaranteed by the German certification "TUV" and the American "F.D.A." (Food and Drug Administration), and do not contain lead or cadmium.



6. Firing of Decorated Product:

The decorated pieces undergo the final baking stage at extremely-elevated temperatures in rapid-firing kilns .
The complete fusion of product support in bisque combining the glaze and colors, attributes a mechanical resistance and exclusive brilliancy to each piece - a "rose" to the company's image in the sales market both abroad and in Italy.
Upon the conclusion of the productive process, a strict supervision of quality control finally approves distribution to the marketplace of Caleca's finest products.


The Caleca products are the fruit of the applicable exclusive "know how", and of the constant attention of developing a product rich of history and manufactured with love