Not sure what to tell a mineral supplier before you order? Start with five things: what you make, the grade you use now, the specification you need to hit, what is going wrong, and roughly how much you buy. A supplier can only recommend a grade as well as it understands the process that grade has to work in.
We are a family-run supplier of industrial minerals in New Delhi. Vulcan was set up in 2003, and the family behind it has 35 years in the trade. The conversations that go well start the same way: the buyer tells us what is happening in the plant. The ones that go badly start with a product name and a price. This post covers what to share, and what you are entitled to ask for in return.
Why a datasheet is not enough
A datasheet says what a material is. It does not say how that material will behave in your mill, your press or your kiln. Ceramic bodies show the gap clearly. A 2024 simulation study in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society looked at porcelain tile compositions and found that the milling time needed to reach a target particle size changed with the recipe. It rose with more feldspar and quartz and fell with more kaolin, illite and talc. How hard a given feldspar is to process depends on what else is in the body.
Recipes also vary more than most buyers assume. According to a review of critical raw materials in the ceramic industry, feldspar can make up anywhere from a few percent of a ceramic body to 60 percent or more, depending on how much vitrification the product needs. And because formulations follow what is locally available and what freight costs, each body is effectively tailor-made. A supplier who does not know your recipe is guessing at the fit.
Where the problem usually shows up
Problems tend to show up at the end of the line. A tile comes out with a pinhole, or the shade drifts between batches, and the first instinct is to blame the kiln or the glaze. In our experience the cause is often further back, in an ingredient that shifted slightly or a recipe that was never matched to it. Tile producers note that natural variation in raw materials is often where shade differences begin. The only way to tell an ingredient problem from a process problem is to look at both together. That is why we ask about the whole process, not just the material.
What to tell a mineral supplier before you order
You do not need to hand over a formulation. You do need enough context for the supplier to ask sensible follow-up questions. A useful first message covers:
- What you make and how: tile body, glaze, sanitaryware, foundry sand, or something else
- The grade or product you buy today
- The specification that matters most to you, such as particle size, whiteness, moisture or iron content
- What is going wrong, if anything: shade variation, pinholes, slow milling, inconsistent flow, a price you cannot hold
- Rough volume and how often you take delivery
This matters most when ingredients are a large share of your costs. One industry cost model for a tile plant puts raw materials at 40 to 50 percent of operating costs. If you run a smaller plant without a full-time ceramic technologist, the supplier’s questions also fill part of that gap. If you only know part of the brief, say so. A partial brief is better than a product name alone, and a trial can fill in the rest. We cover how that works in how formulation trials work before you order in bulk.
What to expect back from the supplier
Openness has to run both ways, and buyers are entitled to ask for their half. These questions show up repeatedly in supplier checklists, and they are fair to put to any mineral supplier, including us:
- Does the test certificate show the result for my batch, or a typical value for the product?
- If the source, the process or a raw material changes, will I be told before the change reaches my order?
- If supply is disrupted, what substitutions or technical support can you offer?
- Will you tell me if a different, cheaper grade would do the job?
Natural minerals vary. Published analyses for a single named feldspar differ between batches and between years, so a supplier who promises no variation at all is promising more than a natural material can give. What you want is a supplier who tells you the expected range, tests against it, and says so when a batch falls outside it.
How we work
We ask questions before we quote, because the answers often change which grade or product we recommend. The steps are in our post on what to expect when you request a quote. Each production batch goes through quality monitoring and stays traceable. Where a material needs proving, we support a formulation trial before a bulk order. And if a lower-cost grade meets your specification, we will say so. Our post on choosing a grade for your budget explains how we think about that, and our comparison of scale and personal service sets out the trade-offs against a larger supplier.
We also work with smaller ceramic manufacturers on the parts around the ingredient: the formulas it goes into, and how incoming material is checked and recorded.
Start with a 20-minute call
The easiest way to begin is a 20-minute intro call. This is what happens on it:
- We ask about what you make, the ingredients you use now, and what is going wrong.
- We tell you what we think, including when a different grade or a simpler fix would do.
- You leave with a next step: a recommendation, a trial plan, or a straight answer that we are not the right fit.
You do not need to prepare anything. If you have a recipe sheet or a recent test result, bring it. We are in New Delhi, on Indian Standard Time, so tell us your time zone and we will work around it. For questions, or to book your free 20-minute session, email Marketing@vulcanceramics.com with two or three times that suit you.
Frequently asked questions
What information should I give a supplier before asking for a quote?
Your application and process, the grade you use now, the specification that matters most, the problem you are trying to solve, and rough volume. A partial answer is fine. The supplier can ask for the rest.
Why do two batches of the same mineral behave differently?
Natural minerals vary in composition from batch to batch, and published analyses for a single named feldspar differ across batches and years. Ask your supplier for the expected range and how each batch is tested against it.
Should the test certificate be for my batch or a typical value?
Ask which one you are getting. A batch-specific result tells you about the material you are receiving. A typical value describes the product in general. Both are useful, but they answer different questions.
Will a supplier tell me if the source or process changes?
A good one should, and you can ask for that in writing before you order. A change of source can shift particle size, chemistry or whiteness even when the product name stays the same.
What if I only have a rough idea of the specification?
Share what you know, including the problem you are seeing and the material you use now. A formulation trial can then test candidate grades in your process before you commit to a bulk order.
What happens on a 20-minute intro call with Vulcan?
We ask what you make, what ingredients you use and what is going wrong. We then give you our view, including when a different grade or a simpler fix would do. You leave with a next step, or a straight answer that we are not the right fit. You do not need to prepare anything. To book the free session, email Marketing@vulcanceramics.com.
About the author
This post is from the Vulcan team, a family-run supplier of industrial minerals in New Delhi. Vulcan was incorporated in 2003, the family has 35 years of experience in the trade, and we supply customers in more than ten countries.
