At the beginning of Dec/04, Cookson PLC's refractory division, Vesuvius, sold two refractory plants located in Germany and Belgium. Both plants have been bought by the refractories division of Preiss-Saimler Group in Germany, although the exact ownership of the plants has not been revealed. The Belgian plant, located in Saint-Ghislain, was originally owned by Vesuvius Premier, and produces a wide range of silica-based bricks for a number of markets including steel, ceramics, glass and petrochemical industries. In Germany, the Vesuvius VGT Dyko plant has been sold in Dusseldorf. This plant is more specialised, producing refractory zircon blocks for the glass industry. Rationalisation has been given as the reason or the sale as the two plants were not considered to be "core businesses".
