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.

Austrian refractories manufacturer Rath successfully developed the refractory lining of a test roller furnace for the ceramics industry

“The Bright World of Metals,” the slogan for the joint staging of four technology trade fairs – GIFA (15th International Foundry Trade Fair with Technical Forum), Metec (11th International Metallurgical Trade Fair), Thermprocess (13th International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermal-Processing Technology) and Newcast (6th International Trade Fair for Castings) – will be held June 12-16 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. Every four years, these trade fairs are the meeting place for companies from around the world. The exhibits will be complemented by a versatile ancillary program consisting of seminars, international congresses, symposia and lecture series.  

The Board of Directors of HarbisonWalker International (HWI) signed an agreement to be acquired by Platinum Equity, a global investment firm operating companies in a broad range of business markets. The acquisition plan ensures HWI’s continued growth in the supply of refractory products and services. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023. Platinum Equity announced plans in July to acquire Imerys SA’s High Temperature Solutions business (HTS), a provider of refractory solutions serving more than 6,000 customers primarily in Europe and Asia, in a transaction that is expected to close by the end of the year. Once both acquisitions have been completed, HWI and HTS will combine into a global business with increased reach and scale.

RHI Magnesita, a global supplier of refractory products based in Austria, acquired the Indian refractory business of Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd. (DBRL). The acquisition will significantly increase RHI Magnesita’s presence in the Indian refractory market, with forecast steel production growth in India of 12% in 2022 and a 7-8% compound annual growth rate until 2030. Through the consolidation of DBRL’s production into RHI Magnesita’s existing operations, significant network optimization synergies will be captured. The company employs approximately 1,200 people in India and produces more than 300,000 tons of refractory annually from five refractory plants and raw-material sites. The acquisition will add production capacities in important industrial regions in the south and west of India where RHI Magnesita currently has no assets.