Materials technology company China Gengsheng Minerals has announced that it has developed a new refractory product that will assist the steel industry to cut energy costs and increase efficiency.
Traditionally, Chinese steel mills use a dense castable as the back lining in heating furnaces to maintain the high temperature required for steel-making. The dense castable is bulky, heavy and consumes a large amount of electricity while in use. Gengsheng's proprietary light castable is said to be more than two times lighter than the traditional kind while exhibiting better durability and contraction-resistance under high temperatures. The average price for Gengsheng's light castable is expected to be more than twice that of the traditional, dense one and the gross margin is also expected to be about 30% higher. The new product has now been officially accepted for trial use at China's largest iron and steel conglomerate, Shanghai Baosteel Group.
According to Shunqing Zhang, the chairman and CEO of Gengsheng, the new product is attractive to steel companies because it is more cost-effective and energy-saving at the same time. He added that in addition to Baosteel, the company was following up on other potential sales leads with both its existing and prospective customers and he anticipated these trial uses will lead to sales orders by the end of the year.
Based in China's Henan province, Gengsheng currently has over 200 customers in the iron, steel, oil, glass, cement, aluminum, and chemical industries located in China and in 11 other countries. Gengsheng conducts business through Gengsheng International Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company, and its Chinese subsidiaries: Henan Gengsheng Refractories Company, Zhengzhou Duesail Fracture Proppant Company, and Henan Gengsheng High Temperature Materials Company.