North American refractories-All change at the top

摘要

After years of relative stability, the North Americanrefractory industry is suddenly undergoing consolidation andrationalisation on a scale previously unseen. Amidst a generalconsensus that this shake up is long overdue, many within theindustry are anxiously watching and waiting to see who will be thenext to join the spending spree and who will end up as leader of thepack. However, industry restructuring is not the only source ofanxiety for the US refractories sector. With the steel industryfacing cut backs in production. 1999 is already shaping up to be atough year for refractories suppliers.