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 ARTICLES |
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| Refractories |
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| Refractories are mineral- and chemical-based materials with very high heat-resisting properties, which make them ideal for use in the construction of walls, ceilings, and associated elements of iron and steel industry blast furnaces, glass manufacturing tanks, cement kilns, hot stoves, ceramic kilns, open hearth furnaces, nonferrous metallurgical furnaces, and steam boilers. Most clay refractory products are manufactured in the form of bricks, but refractory clay may also be formed into special shapes, such as the T-sections of refractory pipes or the small stands that support ceramic products during firing in a kiln. Refractories have been an essential element in heat engineering plants since the 1960s, where they were successfully used to improve performance and energy efficiency.
Total industry shipments declined steadily throughout the late 1990s, from $1.11 billion in 1997 to $1.08 billion in 1998 and to $903 million in 1999. In 2000, industry shipments fell to $888 million. The cost of materials that year increased to $427 million, while total industry employment decreased to 4,673 workers.
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