Displaying items by tag: Refractory

India: Dalmia Bharat Group’s refractories subsidiary Dalmia-OCL has consolidated its businesses as Dalmia Bharat Refractories. The company said that the consolidation aims to strengthen the businesses’ financial standing, increase investment capabilities and positioning the new entity as a trustworthy and long-term partner for its customers in the cement industry.

Dalmia Bharat Refractories managing director and CEO Sameer Nagpal said "Our refractory business was divided into different companies which resulted in division of our financial, managerial and technical resources. This consolidation will lead into a more centralised, efficient and a robust management system with a stronger resource base for the future. The formation of Dalmia Bharat Refractories will allow us to offer a wider portfolio of products and services and deeper client relationships.” Nagpal added that the consolidation ‘Will enable us to become an alternative supply source to China in international markets.’

Indonesia: Indonesia Power says that it has processed coal fly ash and bottom ash from its Adipala power plant into building materials, including cement-free ready-mix concrete, concrete blocks, paving slabs and refractory casts. The energy company also supplies ash to mine reclamation and water neutralisation projects, according to LKBN Antara News. In total, it reused 135,000t of ash by-products in 2021. The company generates 85,000t/yr fly ash and bottom ash.

Sinar Tambang Arthaestari has previous targeted Indonesia Power’s ash products for use in its cement production.

Austria: RHI Magnesita is celebrating the tenth anniversary of first opening its Training Centre Cement in Leoben, Styria. The centre supports the regional cement industry with RHI Magnesita’s knowledge and experience of refractory bricks and mixes installation. It has held more than 50 instructive courses.

Centre leader Peter Steinkellner said “We are very pleased that more than 550 professionals from various countries have attended our trainings in the past 10 years.”

Russia: Eurocement has completed a Euro3.3m maintenance project on the kiln at its Mordovcement plant in Chamzinsky District. The wet-process kiln was reconstructed as part of a large-scale modernisation program. Work conducted included replacement casing bandages, roller supports, the kiln chain curtain and the welding of cracks along the kiln shell. The project included a major relining of refractory material with magnesia bricks produced by the Magnezit Group and aluminosilicate refractory bricks produced by BKO. Maintenance work was also carried out on the plant’s FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler.

Turkey: Steel company Erdmir has received the Turkish Competition Board (TCB)'s approval for its acquisition of a 100% stake in refractory and magnesia producer Kümaş Manyezit Sanayi. Erdemir's parent company is OYAK Group, an industrial conglomerate with interests in cement alongside other industries. Thus, the TCB considered the deal's competition impacts on the cement industry. The board ruled that the vertical merger would not have a negative effect on competition because it does not give rise to horizontally affected markets, hence neither creating nor strengthening any dominant market position.

India: RHI Magnesita has opened its new Indian regional research and development centre. The centre is its fifth of its kind globally, and joins existing facilities in Austria, Brazil, China and the US.

The company is in the process of implementing a refractory production capacity expansion plan worth a total of US$53.8m. The plan consists of upgrades to its Bhiwadi plant in Rajasthan, Cuttack plant in Odisha and Vizag plant in Andhra Pradesh. It has already completed US$6.72-worth of the work with a 30% expansion at the Vizag plant. The company says that the remaining upgrades consist of both the establishment of new lines and the automation of existing ones.

RHI Magnesita India managing director and chief executive officer Parmod Sagar said “The centre will help us to better understand local market needs and to react faster to customer requirements. This is a world-class facility that will work closely with our global research and development network for local raw materials development, will provide solutions support for customer’s performance improvement projects and will support local manufacturing in the three India plants.”

South Africa: Sephaku Cement has reported a second unexpected kiln stoppage at its integrated Aganang plant in Lichtenburg. It attributed the second delay on the need for a repair to the inside of the kiln. The second stoppage started on 16 October 2021 and was expected to be completed by 26 October 2021. Previously, the kiln was stopped from 30 September 2021 to 6 October 2021 due to preheater refractory material damage caused by a corrosive element in one of the raw materials being used. The producer said that the raw material was subsequently replaced with an alternative option. The subsidiary of Nigeria-based Dangote Cement said that the outages were expected to reduce its sales volumes.

Turkey: Sormas Refrakter has agreed to sell 85% of its shares to RHI Magnesita for Euro38.8m. The Turkey-based refractory manufacturer has a production capacity of 60,000t/yr. The companies expect to conclude the deal in the first half of 2022

RHI Magnesita said "With an enlarged product portfolio, further potential exists from this opportunity to deliver full-line service solutions to customers in Turkey.”

Austria/Australia: Refractory producer RHI Magnesita and Calix say they have started a memorandum of understanding to develop a flash calciner for use in the production of refractory materials, to enable CO₂ separation for either utilisation or storage. The companies have agreed to run studies up to and including basic front-end engineering and design for a commercial-scale demonstration facility at an RHI Magnesita site.

RHI Magnesita and Calix started discussing a collaboration in early 2019. The application of Calix's technology to refractory products has been the subject of pilot scale test work during 2020, with larger scale test work currently underway.

Luis Bittencourt, chief technology officer of RHI Magnesita said, "We are pleased to be working with Calix on this project, which is a key part of the research and development programme on CO₂ emissions reduction that we are carrying out over the next five years. Together with our partners at Calix, we are seeking to develop new technologies for the capture, storage and utilisation of CO₂ that would otherwise be emitted during the refractory production process." Phil Hodgson, the managing director of Calix added that the company was also looking at strategic opportunities in its magnesium oxide businesses.

Germany/Sweden: Refratechnik Group and Sweden-based Höganäs Borgestad Group have started a strategic agreement for the supply of refractory products to customers in Nordic countries. Höganäs Borgestad customers will now have direct access to the product range and application knowledge of the Refratechnik Group. The refractory suppliers said that their arrangement, “underscores the desire of both companies for long-term, sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships; resulting in a secure supply of top-quality product for the customer.”

Germany-based Refratechnik Group operates refractory and industrial mineral businesses, with over 1900 employees in 27 locations worldwide. Sweden-based Höganäs Borgestad is the largest refractory company in the Nordic region providing installation services and refractory materials to many industries.