China's Refractories

Abstract: Globalization is a reality resulting in many changes in the refractory industry. In this paper some of the threats and opportunities, which are influencing the future prosperity of the refractory industry on a worldwide basis, are being evoked. Some key technical and management issues are underlined, in terms of adjusting the productivity-quality-cost to the customers requirements; producing unshapes versus shapes; innovations supported by research; international profile for the import-export game; training and education. Consequences for China, who does play a dominant role due to the size of its internal market (customers demand) and the magnitude of its production capability (including raw materials availability), are being drawn.

Key words: Review, Refractories industry, Technology, Management, Market