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[Sep 2005]
System Solutions Give Refractories Sector Market Advantage
Messe Muenchen GmbH (Munich, Germany) - the organiser of next year's Ceramitec exhibition - says that the latest trends in the refractories sector will be amongst those examined at the event.
The refractories industry and its products are important to many other industries and the quality of refractory products has improved so much in the past few years that service life has been extended considerably. Because the user industries have not, as a rule, experienced disproportionate growth (with the exception of China), in many regions there are overcapacities in refractory production. In addition, certain markets are being flooded with cheap imports from China. Messe Muenchen says that the key to market success is system solutions, developed together with the customer to meet specific needs.
In 2004, around 85% of refractory products made in Germany were exported. In the iron sector, blast furnace chutes are in need of ongoing development and in the steel sector, ladle linings need improvement with regard to secondary metallurgical requirements. The glass industry needs solutions for modifying crown and regenerator linings for oxy fuel technology. Adapting refractory linings in rotary kilns to the growing use of secondary fuels is important to the cement industry. Developing high temperature fibres for application temperatures above 1600°C is an important topic for the high temperature sector, as are alkali silicate fibres as a replacement for ceramic fibres.
In some application sectors, non-toxic high temperature ceramic materials from the technical ceramics sector are replacing classic refractory products, for example in aluminium or waste incineration plants. Manufacturers of kiln furniture have recognised these new sectors and are increasingly focusing their R&D activities on these market segments.
Messe Muenchen also observes that basic research in the refractory sector is inspired by technical ceramics. There are projects in which people are trying to optimise structures using submicron particles. Material optimisation in this sector is progressing quickly.
However, that also calls for increasingly higher quality raw materials that must be customised for the applications in question as well as close cooperation between raw materials suppliers and refractory manufacturers. Because the iron and steel industry is booming in countries like China, right now it is important to produce the necessary quantities and to use the advantages of local raw materials.
Europe, on the other hand, must come up with innovations and promote basic research so that it does not fall behind at the global level. That applies to the development of processes as well as materials. For this reason, close cooperation between refractory manufacturers and users is more important than ever.
Ceramitec - the 10th International Trade Fair for Machinery, Equipment, Plant, Processes and Raw Materials for Ceramics and Powder Metallurgy - and its associated conference will take place at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from 16-19 May 2006.
www.ceramitec.de
ENDS