In Time of the Publication of the Special Issue on 'The Damage of Refractories'

摘要

Reflecting on the economic downturn in the 1990s, we sometimes call that era "lost decade." What was the last decade like in the refractory industry then? Here is a numerical comparison between 1990 and 2000. Unfortunately, "the lost volumes" seem to be high. The major reasons for the decline in the refractories production are the reduction in the consumption by the principal users including the iron and steel and the cement industries, especially a drastic reduction in the unit consumption of refractories in the iron and steel industry, and the increase in imported refractories. In the primary materials industries, which are the principal users of refractories, swift globalization is taking place through the adoption of such measures as to strengthen their international competitiveness and profitability and make them responsible to stockholders, which are to increase the corporate value in a market society. The refractory industry cannot avoid globalization either as exemplified by the corporate value in a market society. The refractory industry cannot avoid globalization either as exemplified by the reverse import of refractories by domestic manufacturers from their plants overseas, export to countries all over the world, increased consumption of imported refractories by domestic users, fierce competition against foreign refractory companies, and mergers for survival.