This article presents an overview of the world of refractories, which has dramatically changed over the last decade, with the impact of numerous factors such as corporate consolidations, the internet, and China. Consolidations have resulted in many corporate changes including the elimination of some well known brands and products, downsizing of staff by refractory users and producers, resulting in increased work per capita, and changes in purchasing practices by the users, e.g. to reduce costs and benefit from the economy of scale. The internet has greatly increased the number of candidate refractory suppliers and brokers available to the users, and thus has enabled changes in buying practices. Possibly the biggest change in the refractories world has been caused by China, which is now by far the world's largest user, manufacturer, and exporter of refractories.
