Ceramics & Refractories/Insulation

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When looking to buy equipment for refractory maintenance, it can be tempting to choose the low-est-cost option or to make due with a bricking machine that is offered complimentary with brick.

Refractories manufacturer Rath converted two vacuum nitriding furnaces at its plant in Krummnussbaum, Austria, to electric operation. The furnaces are used exclusively for the production of silicon-carbide plates and bricks in a nitrogen atmosphere. After the conversion, CO₂ emissions are around 70% lower compared to the previous gas-fired furnace, and fossil fuels have been reduced to a minimum. For SiC production, according to Rath, this means a CO₂ reduction per ton of fuel of about 1.9 tons.

From June 12-16, the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, will become the center for the international casting and metallurgical industries. Trade fairs GIFA, Metec, Thermprocess and Newcast (GMTN) will cover the complete spectrum of foundry technology, castings, metallurgy and thermal-processing technology.

RHI Magnesita acquired the Europe, India and United States operations of Seven Refractories. The acquisition will complement RHI Magnesita’s existing non-basic refractories portfolio and open new opportunities in the development of low-CO₂-emitting manufacturing technologies. In related news, the global supplier of refractory products opened its North American headquarters in Tampa, Fla. The site will serve as the North American corporate hub for RHI Magnesita’s current infrastructure in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The faster the refractory installation, maintenance or repair, the more efficient and, by extension, profitable the company as savings fall to the bottom line.

According to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2022 data report, reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) job announcements in 2022 were at the highest rate ever recorded. There was 364,000 reshoring and FDI jobs announced for 2022, which was up 53% from 2021’s record number. Fourth-quarter announcements accelerated even more than anticipated due to the Chips and Infrastructure Acts and deglobalization trends. In addition, 2022 brought the total number of job announcements since 2010 to nearly 1.6 million.

RHI Magnesita, a manufacturer of refractory materials used in high-temperature industrial processes, signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with Australia’s MCi Carbon (MCi). The investment of several million dollars is for research and development of technologies abating carbon emissions. MCi’s carbon utilization technology (CCU) presents a safe and profitable means of storing CO₂ permanently. The chemical process, called mineral carbonation, creates a range of low-carbon embodied materials (including calcium and magnesium carbonate) by carbonating minerals in byproducts of industrial processes.

If you’re at all like me, you wonder which articles get the most attention on our website. Every year we publish over 40 feature articles, and at the end of the year we gather statistics to see which ones get the most page views. So, without further ado, here are the five most-viewed articles on www.industrialheating.com based on page views in 2022. This ranking applies only to articles published in 2022.

Nutec Group announced effective Feb. 1, 2023, Genaro F. Cueva will step down from the position of CEO, remaining in his position as Chairman of the Board. He will be replaced as CEO by Daniel Llaguno, currently president, Nutec Fibers Division. This transition had been announced internally back in September 2022.

Hotwork USA joined Munich, Germany-based Robur Industry Service Group as of December 2022. Hotwork USA specializes in refractory dryout and other furnace services utilizing proprietary equipment. The Lexington, Ky.-based company is partnering with Robur companies Excelsius and Fios to service clients with industrial furnaces. The move gives Robur Industry Service a truly global approach in furnace service offerings for clients in the metals, glass, cement and hydrocarbon industries.