Global Refractories Market Research Report: By Alkalinity (Acidic & Neutral and Basic), By Form (Shaped, Unshaped) and By Application (Glass, Cement, Iron & Steel, Non-ferrous Metals) - Forecast till 2025

Market Overview

Market Research Future (MRFR) presumes that the Refractories Market can expect to touch USD 30,820 Million by 2025. Meanwhile, the market size is most likely to expand at a rate of 4.08% from 2016 to 2025 (appraisal period).

COVID-19 Analysis

 In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the worldwide lockdown, firms had to suspend their production, given the weakened demand, supply chain disruptions, and the need to maintain the safety of employees amidst the growing SARS-CoV-2 cases. In the US, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, the demand for refractories have declined significantly since the pandemic. As a result, eminent companies are striving to revive their business by strengthening their supply chains and explore new methods to address the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Rise in Infrastructure Development across Emerging Nations

The global construction industry has been expanding at a remarkable pace, bolstered by the rising urbanization and industrialization in emerging countries like China and India. Substantial spending on construction of commercial and residential buildings and improvement in the existing infrastructure has also boosted the construction sector’s growth in recent years. China is witnessing increase in travel demand, which gives way to the development of roadways and railways, while also propelling the growth of the automotive sector. These developments in emerging nations would have a phenomenal impact on the refractories market, considering their escalating demand in the cement and iron & steel industries.

Opportunities

Recycling of Refractories to Emerge as a Significant Opportunity

The concept of recycling refractories has caught on rapidly in the past few years, thanks to the rising escalating price of raw materials. Environmental concerns have put immense pressure on leading companies to seek sustainable options for refractories. Companies are now expected to be more environmentally responsible and bring down their carbon footprint. High taxes levied on various landfill sites as well as emissions are also motivating vendor to focus on waste recycling. In a nutshell, recycling of refractories will not only help cut down the manufacturing costs but also emerge as a significant opportunity for the firms during the review period.

Restraints

Mounting Environmental Concerns to weaken demand

In the United States, guidelines and regulations with respect to refractory waste disposal and their use have prompted the growth in recycling of several chrome-based refractories, which are mostly utilized in the iron & steel sector. Likewise, European projects like ReStaR ensure that the refractory testing standards are followed. These stringent regulations as well as restrictions have a huge impact on the adoption of refractories, which can restrain market growth over the years ahead.

Challenges

Overdependence of Market Growth on the Steel and Iron Industry

Refractories’ demand in the steel and iron industry has been unstable in the past couple of years, majorly affecting the market growth. Despite the steady demand for refractories from various other end-use industries, the overdependence on the steel and iron industry could pose a massive challenge to the market players in the ensuing years.

Segment Overview

Acidic and Neutral Segment Soars at the Fastest Rate

Alkalinity-based segments studied in the report are basic, acidic & neutral, among others. The acidic & neutral segment can achieve a higher growth rate of 4.2% during the analysis period, considering their strong demand in view of their affordability and significant resistance to slag erosion that generally happens in extreme temperatures.

Unshaped Refractories to Witness Substantial Demand

The forms in which refractories are generally available include shaped and unshaped. Unshaped refractories are observing significant growth in their demand and are replacing traditional brick refractories, given their benefits such as higher volume stability, better spalling tendency, elimination of joints, convenient transportation as well as handling, to name a few.

Building & Construction Segment Emerges the Top End-User

The prominent end-use industries in the market include healthcare, electrical & electronics, chemical, food & beverages, building & construction, and more. The building & construction segment has been in the lead since 2018, having seized the biggest share of close to 35% due to the soaring number of construction activities in emerging countries. A few other major applications considered in the report are glass, Iron & steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, out of which, the cement application can touch USD 5,194 million by 2025, thanks to the solid growth of the worldwide construction industry.

Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific to Make Impressive Progress

The Asia Pacific market for refractories should USD a solid 14,788 million by 2025, as a result of the rapid urbanization as well as industrialization in India, Thailand and Malaysia. The escalating demand for cement, following the surge in commercial as well as residential construction activities, could favor the APAC market in the coming years. Japan and China are known for large-scale production of non-ferrous metals, iron & steel and glass in view of the rising per capita expenditure along with the fast urbanization rate. Strong refractories market demand in the region will be most apparent in industries like cement, electrical, glass, automotive and aerospace. Also, encouraging government norms combined with the presence of a vast consumer base could also propel the refractories market size in the region.

Competitive Landscape

Players Focus on Strengthening Sales and Distribution Networks

The refractories market analysis outlines some of the eminent vendors that focus on boosting the application scope of their product offerings. Many of these competitors are also working on bolstering their distribution as well as sales network in the global refractories market. Some other competitive strategies followed by the companies are production capacity expansion, new launches and acquisitions.

RHI Magnesita is a leading refractories market company that specializes in supplying high-grade products, solutions and systems that have extensive use in high-temperature processes. Major applications of the company’s high-grade refractories are in numerous industries, such as non-ferrous metals, cement, glass and steel. With a massive refractories market share under its name, the company maintains its leadership armed with its extensive product portfolio as well as extended geographic presence.

List of Key Companies Covered in this Report

• Krosaki Harima Corporation (Japan)


• RHI Magnesita GmbH (Austria)


• Morgan Advanced Materials (UK)


• CoorsTek Inc. (US)


• Calderys (France)


• Vesuvius (England)


• Shinagawa Refractories Co. Ltd. (Japan)


• Saint-Gobain (France)


• HarbisonWalker International (US)


• Chosun Refractories Eng. Co. Ltd. (South Korea)

Recent Developments

• September 2020 - Dalmia OCL, a refractory manufacturing unit owned by Dalmia Group has set up a new brownfield facility in Odisha (India), which will produce Magnesia Carbon refractory bricks. This move is expected to cut down the dependency on imports from China.

• June 2020 – RHI Magnesita has launched its new ANKRAL LC range of refractory bricks that were first used at LafargeHolcim’s Mannersdorf facility (Austria). The refractories are made from recycled materials derived from rotary cement kilns, and retain all the technical specifications expected from them.

Report Overview

Segmentation Table

By Alkalinity

• Acidic and Neutral


• Basic

By Form

• Shaped


• Unshaped

By Application

• Glass


• Cement


• Iron & Steel


• Non-ferrous Metals

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