Refractories In A Global Glass Market

The world tonnage of refractories in 2010 is expected to have risen to around 42M metric tonnes, with increased market value and good profit potential. Recent years have seen significant changes in supply of refractory materials to industries worldwide. In the next 2-3 years, particularly for the glass industry, Chinese refractories for example, will be sold in India, S E Asia and parts of Europe. European companies now have manufacturing facilities in this part of the world. As a result of this, glass producers have a much wider choice of refractory sources now and competitive pricing makes these new refractories an attractive option.