Goeller Verlag

RHI Magnesita/AT announced early in January 2023 the completion of the acquisition of the Indian refractory business of Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited (DBRL) via a Share Swap Agreement. Consequently, Dalmia OCL Limited (DOCL), the Indian refractory business of DBRL, stands as a 100 % subsidiary of RHI Magnesita India Limited. DOCL is one of India’s leading refractory players and a long-term trusted partner to customers in the region.

RHI Magnesita/AT announced mid of January the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Jinan New Emei Industries Co. Ltd. (Jinan New Emei), a leading producer of refractories in China.

Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced that it has made some decisions regarding its operations in Europe due to the unfavorable global market conditions in which energy prices are high, steel demand is weak, carbon costs in steel production are high and the economic outlook is negative.

To contribute to a sustainable world, AGC Glass Europe is committed to developing products that promote sustainable development, and to reducing the environmental impact of its production processes. The Group is taking its sustainable approach one step further as it announces a new glass range with a significantly reduced carbon footprint, to be launched by the end of 2022. Details will be provided at a press conference at glasstec 2022 in Dusseldorf/DE in September.

A research project, funded by the European Union, targets the recycling process in the refractory industry. The international initiative, which is part of the Horizon program, could help decreasing CO2 emissions in the refractory industry up to 800 000 t/a. It is a challenging endeavor that the eight research partners under of RHI Magnesita/AT have taken on.

Trimet Aluminium SE/DE is presenting a wide range of services and material innovations for lightweight construction at the leading international trade fair ALUMINIUM 2022 on 27–30 September in Dusseldorf/DE. The materials specialist is gearing its product portfolio to the sustainability requirements of the processing industry and is focusing on minimizing CO2 emissions throughout the product life cycle. With the expansion and increase in personnel at the re-smelting works in its Gelsenkirchen plant, the family-owned company is scaling up its recycling business. Aluminium alloys with a high recycled content are the main focus in materials development. In the area of primary production, the company is working on emission-free furnace technology, enabling primary aluminium to be produced in a climate-neutral manner.  

Refratechnik Hungaria/HU is the specialist for cast refractory products in the Refratechnik Group. These include cast H-, L-, and U-cassettes, insert parts, and panels for the roofing tile and fine ceramics industries.

Allied Mineral Products/US recently celebrated the opening of its newest Chinese manufacturing facility in Jiujiang Town, Nanhai District of Foshan, Guangdong Province. This new facility serves the South China market. As with each global location, this new facility produces high-quality refractory products to the same standards used at its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Since 1998, Allied has manufactured product in China with its first wholly-owned, international manufacturing location in Tianjin. Allied then expanded in Tianjin and Foshan. Today, Allied’s Chinese operations are its largest and most self-sufficient global affiliates.  

On 28 September 2022, the gates will open to the annual International Colloquium on Refractories ICR in Aachen, Germany. ICR 2022 will be a scientific conference, a trade fair and a social event and run on 28–29 September 2022. The 2022 edition of ICR will be a bit different from earlier events: in 2022, futureSTEEL will be held concurrently with ICR. futureSTEEL is a conference and trade fair of the steel industry, attracting participants from steel producers, steel finishing companies and traders. Visitors of ICR® can visit futureSTEEL and vice versa for free. Exhibitors and visitors at ICR can expect 400 additional visitors from the steel industry.

2020 marked the beginning of a decade which is likely to see refractory growth in India at a speed and scale never witnessed before. Various industry estimates peg the refractory market in India to reach 4 Mt by 2030. Not surprising since the Indian steel manufacturing industry alone has set itself a target of 300 Mt of production by 2030. Considering 75 % of refractory consumption in India is accounted for by steel, adding cement, glass and manufacturing of other non-ferrous metals to the mix suddenly makes the prospect of a 4-Mt-refractory-market look very real and reasonable.