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.

The Brokk Cart improves efficiency when moving remote-controlled demolition robots across hard, level surfaces, such as those in a maintenance shop.

Industry Services Co. (ISC), a provider of industrial maintenance services and a portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired three refractory and industrial maintenance services companies: Oak Mountain Industries (OMI), Bisco Refractories and Glasrock. Pittsburgh, Pa.-based OMI is a refractory solutions provider specializing in refractory maintenance, installation and product supply. The company services industrial customers in the steel, coke, cement and aluminum industries. Birmingham, Ala.-based Bisco Refractories provides a full range of refractory services, including plant maintenance, installation services, precast shape fabrication and large project capabilities. The company’s end-market experience includes steel, cement, foundries, coke, petrochemical, aluminum, glass and power plants. Ontario-based Glasrock provides refractory maintenance, installation services, precast shape fabrication and large project capabilities to industrial customers across Canada. The company services customers in end markets including blast furnaces, steel, coke, aluminum and foundries.

It’s time to upgrade maintenance practices for vertical vessels. Like any routine maintenance, inspecting, removing and replacing refractory in vertical vessels places a costly burden on facilities in terms of downtime and lost productivity. One of the main reasons for this is the traditional solution for accessing vertical surfaces – scaffolding – severely limits efficiency. It also increases safety risks for employees.

It is estimated that up to 40% of refractory-lining failures can be attributed to a problem with the design of the anchor system or improper installation. This is a significant number.

Cleaning and maintenance is one of those necessary evils: It takes time away from the project, but skipping it can be even more time-consuming and costly. Shotcrete pumps are no exception. Consider these tips for cleaning and maintaining high- and low-pressure pumps used to spray refractory shotcrete linings.