Factory or trading office?
Foshan in Guangdong is China’s best-known tile market, and much of what importers meet online is a Foshan showroom or trading office buying from many mills. That can be convenient, but you pay a margin on top of the factory price and you rarely control which kiln fires your order.
A mill makes the tile itself. Hunan Qiangqiang Ceramics (湖南强强陶瓷股份有限公司) fires glazed porcelain at its own plant in Chaling County Economic Development Zone, Zhuzhou, Hunan — two automatic lines, up to ~43,000 m²/day, founded 2014. We are an OEM/ODM factory, not a Foshan trading office, and we have no retail brand of our own.
Five ways to check you are talking to a real factory
- Ask for the legal name in Chinese and check it matches the contract, the PI and the bank beneficiary. Ours is 湖南强强陶瓷股份有限公司 — no personal accounts.
- Ask for the plant address and whether you can visit. A mill can show you the lines; a trading office usually shows a showroom. Visits to our mill are by appointment on weekdays; the nearest airport is Changsha (CSX).
- Ask for certificates with numbers. We hold National High-tech Enterprise GR202543001660, Hunan Green Factory 2024 and ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 — see /creds.
- Ask for a short, specific size list. A mill makes what its lines make. Ours: 400×800, 800×800, 600×1200 and 750×1500 mm only.
- Send a third-party inspector (SGS, Intertek or your own agent) before the first container is loaded.
What a Hunan mill offers
Buying at the kiln means the price has no trading-office layer on top, you can put your own brand on the carton, and you deal with the people who schedule production. Our line runs four large formats in polished, matte and soft-matte finishes, with digital print on glaze for marble, stone and wood looks — or your own design under OEM.
Sizes and packing
| Size | Thickness | Pcs/ctn | m²/ctn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 × 800 mm | 7.4 mm | 7 | 2.24 |
| 800 × 800 mm | 10 mm | 3 | 1.92 |
| 600 × 1200 mm | 10 mm | 3 | 2.16 |
| 750 × 1500 mm | 10 mm | 2 | 2.25 |
Finishes: polished, matte, soft-matte.
Terms you should expect
- FOB Nansha or Yantian, quoted on your specification. No public list price; the PI is the binding number.
- MOQ one 20GP. Two sizes can share it when thickness matches.
- Payment 30% T/T deposit, 70% against B/L copy. Bank details appear on the PI only.
- A4 chips are charged and ship on your courier account; the shade is locked in writing before production.
- Lead time: production slot and loading week are confirmed on the PI once shade and size are locked.