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Industry News & Analysis

Steel, cement, energy and raw-material developments, read the way a refractory engineer reads them. Cited, concise, updated as it happens.

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Steel

SAIL–Krakatau Steel's $350M Stainless Slab Plant: The Refractory Read

SAIL and Indonesia's Krakatau Steel plan to invest up to $350 million in a 500,000-tonne-per-year stainless steel slab plant in Indonesia, Reuters reported on 29 July 2026. SAIL will take the entire output to its Salem works in Tamil Nadu for rolling and finishing, with the project targeted for commissioning in three to four years. For refractory buyers, a greenfield AOD/EAF melt shop and a finishing plant absorbing new slab volume are two separate specification conversations worth starting early.

7 min readBy SAPL Engineering Desk
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Cement

Dalmia Bharat's â‚ą3,100-Crore Kadapa Expansion: What It Means for Refractories

Dalmia Bharat has broken ground on a â‚ą3,100-crore Line-2 at Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, more than doubling clinker capacity to 6.1 MTPA with commissioning targeted for Q3 FY28. For refractory and insulation suppliers, a new kiln train of this size is a multi-year demand signal that starts well before the plant is commissioned.

Raw Materials

Bauxite Eases in Mid-2026, but China Still Sets the Magnesia Price

Bauxite prices softened through the first half of 2026, easing input costs for alumina-based refractories. Magnesia tells the opposite story: China's export posture continues to set the floor for the magnesia-carbon bricks that line steel ladles and converters. For Indian plants, the two trends pull refractory budgets in opposite directions.

Steel

India Is Building Most of the World's New Blast Furnaces, What It Means for Refractories

India is building the majority of the world's new blast furnace capacity, with major additions at Tata, JSW, AMNS and Jindal landing through 2026. Every new furnace is a large, recurring consumer of refractories, from hearth and trough to stack and stoves. For refractory buyers and suppliers, this is a multi-year demand signal, not a one-off.