Freight forwarding Castellón – tiles and slabs to the Czech Republic

The whole ceramics chain in one province

Castellón de la Plana and the nearby towns of Vila-real, Onda, l'Alcora, Almassora and Nules form Europe's densest ceramic tile cluster. About 80% of Spanish tile manufacturers are based here, more than two-thirds of output is exported and roughly half of that goes to Europe. The cluster also covers the supply side: the port of Castellón receives ships with clay and other raw materials, and the area is home to producers of frits, glazes and ceramic colours. Czech buyers therefore import not only finished tiles but also materials for their own ceramic and glass production.

Shade and calibre: why one batch matters

Each production run is marked with a shade (tone) and a calibre (exact size). Pallets of the same product from different runs can differ enough to show on a finished floor. If you supply a specific building site or bathroom, the whole order should come from one batch:

• ask the manufacturer to confirm the full quantity is in stock in a single batch;
• avoid splitting the order over several weeks;
• quote the batch number of the first delivery on any repeat order;
• check shade and calibre on the delivery note before signing the CMR.

If weight forces two trucks, we would rather load both on the same day than send the second one weeks later.

Large-format tiles and porcelain slabs

Large formats have become common in Castellón: tiles with sides over a metre and thin sintered slabs of around 1.6 × 3.2 m used for worktops, façades and wall cladding. These do not travel on standard pallets. They stand on edge in steel A-frame racks or wooden crates, loaded by forklift from the side or by crane from above, so the trailer needs a sliding roof and removable side boards. The racks must be secured so they cannot move at all. At delivery the receiver needs a forklift with long forks or a crane.

Collecting from several factories

A typical order: a building-materials dealer buys a few pallets from three or four producers around Vila-real and Onda. Distances are short, so one truck can collect from several sites in a day. For each pickup we need the warehouse address (often separate from the plant), pallet count, size and weight, the order reference, and confirmation that the goods are ready and released. Heavy pallets have to be spread across the trailer floor to protect axle loads, so the driver needs the sequence and weights in advance. For just a few pallets, pallet groupage with regular collections in the area is the sensible option.

Frits, glazes and pigments

Castellón is one of the world's main centres for frits, glazes and ceramic colours. These powders and granules travel in bags or big bags and must be kept dry. For some pigments and glazes containing heavy metals we check the safety data sheet; if a product is classified as dangerous goods, it goes with an ADR carrier.

Route and transit time

Trucks follow the AP-7 coastal motorway north past Tarragona and Barcelona to La Jonquera, cross France to Lyon and continue through Germany to Rozvadov, about 2,000 km in total. A full load usually arrives in 4 working days, groupage in 5–8. France and Germany have weekend and holiday truck bans; Spain restricts heavy vehicles on some roads on certain days and charges tolls on some sections. Southbound loads from Czechia include packaging, machine parts and construction chemicals. See also Valencia or get a quote via the calculator.