In 1964, as Malta was on the doorstep of achieving its independence, Francis Pisani was also about to start a new business venture. He was preparing to open a small modest shop in Birkirkara, dealing in ceramic tiles and bathroom suites. The name of the shop – Keramit – is derived from the Spanish word for ceramics.
Pisani set up his business and piloted it through its first years, gaining momentum and going from a modest shop supplying various goods, including paints, hardware and ceramic tiles. Keramit started to establish itself as a market specialist, gaining a reputation for quality and image.
In 1975, Keramit rebranded itself and adopted a new image. The company started focusing on offering a larger selection of floor tiles that was then available on the market. The demand for ceramic tiles was growing fast, and with the increased popularity of these tiles, more and more people were opting to go for them rather than for the old-style of cement-based.
Coloured bathrooms, rather than the traditional white, were becoming more fashionable, so Keramit adapted to market demand, offering its clients the latest styles available.
In 1987, Pisani retired, leaving his son Lino at the helm of the family business. The range of products offered became even wider, with a selection of ceramic tiles, Gres floor tiles, bathrooms, accessories and other items related to bathroom suites.
Initially, most of the tiles came from the UK and Italy, but Keramit soon started to tap into other sources of high-quality tiles and bathrooms from other European countries to offer wider variety.
By 2000, Keramit was fast becoming a market leader. It launched a new street-level showroom in Iklin, where a wide range of the latest styles of bathrooms were displayed. It entered into agreements with some of the best manufacturers in the ceramics business, including Grespania, Geotiles, Caesar, Gres de La Mancha, Greco Gres, Venato, Vitrogres, Oset, Sanitana, GSG, Marti, Genebre, Koller, Saniplast, Silfra and Ravak. These further contributed to establishing Keramit as one of Malta’s top names in the bathroom and ceramic business.
By 2010, Keramit needed even more floor space for display, and literally moved up, by developing the upper floors above the ground floor showroom, tripling its floor area to better to display the large selection of goods on offer.
The company has considerable investment in storage space, through two large warehouses covering 3,000 square metres in the Hardrocks Complex. This gives Keramit a large amount of stock constantly available, guaranteeing immediate delivery for maximum client satisfaction.
Fifty years after Keramit opened its doors, the company is now firmly established as a household name and a point of reference for many designers and architects. It has also been involved in many noteworthy projects. The journey started by Francis Pisani has now reached its third generation, with Lino Pisani being joined by his brother Josef and his son Jovan.