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[Nov 2005]
Thermal Ceramics Complete Casal and Augusta IFB Upgrades
Thermal Ceramics (Augusta, GA, USA) - currently the largest manufacturer in the world of insulating firebrick (IFB) - has completed major improvements at its plants in Casal (Italy) and Augusta (USA). Over the last few years, the facility in Casal has been the company's main producer of IFBs. Plant management in Italy has been continuously seeking to improve the productivity of the plant while at the same time creating a safer working environment.
Since 1999 they have been working on an improvement plan to increase the use of robotic handling within the facility. Overall, the robots are working very well and are reducing manpower, rejects and, most importantly, reducing the number of Health & Safety accidents at the site.
In Augusta, a new automated packaging operation for low temperature IFBs is now providing many new company benefits, while also providing benefits for the customer.
The company also said that the facility in Yixing, China - Yixing Morgan Thermal Ceramics - is currently going through a process of identifying and applying improvements within their processes which will lead to increased quality and consistency.
The three plants have between them an annual capacity of 40 million brick equivalents, using the three main production processes of slinger (wet, batch moulding technique), cast and extrusion. IFBs still play a major role in high temperature applications as an alternative to fibre. Just recently, at an installation in Germany carried out by Linde Engineering, they preferred to use a full IFB lining rather than fibre.
ENDS