Better Times Ahead For Refractories?

Refractories producers gathering at the 57th International Colloquium on Refractories recently were cautiously optimistic that the downturn observed in key steel and cement markets since the economic crisis of 2008 may be behind them. Thoughts from the conference were: Optimism in the industry has returned to growth; The EU market is too mature to expand very far; and, Chinese conservation poses supply challenges.