SIC 3255 Clay Refractories

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• WORKFORCE.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 3255

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing clay firebrick and other heat-resisting clay products. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing nonclay refractories and all graphite refractories, whether of carbon bond or ceramic bond, are classified under SIC 3297: Nonclay Refractories.

NAICS CODE(S)

327124

Clay Refractory Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Refractories are mineral- and chemical-based materials with very high heat-resisting properties, which make them ideal for use in the construction of walls, ceilings, and associated elements of iron and steel industry blast furnaces, glass manufacturing tanks, cement kilns, hot stoves, ceramic kilns, open hearth furnaces, nonferrous metallurgical furnaces, and steam boilers. Most clay refractory products are manufactured in the form of bricks, but refractory clay may also be formed into special shapes, such as the T-sections of refractory pipes or the small stands that support ceramic products during firing in a kiln. Refractories have been an essential element in heat engineering plants since the 1960s, where they were successfully used to improve performance and energy efficiency.

Though the value of shipments, number of employees, and number of establishments in the industry dropped steadily throughout the late 1990s and into the first two years of the twenty-first century, the industry made a comeback in 2002, with $993.2 million in shipments. Two thousand two was the first year since 1997 the industry saw an increase, rather than a decrease in shipments.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

The clay refractory industry consisted of four general product groups: refractory bricks and shapes, unshaped clay refractories, other lump or ground refractory materials, and unspecified refractories. Included in the refractory bricks and shapes category were fireclay bricks and shapes, pouring pit refractories, clay kiln furniture, and radiant heater elements. As many as 38 U.S. firms made unshaped clay refractories in 1995, which included everything from refractory bonding mortars and plastic refractories to ramming mixes, castable refractories, and fire clay gunning mixes. Fifteen industry firms made lump or ground refractory materials in 1995. These were generally sold directly to customers in raw form or as an export.

The refractory brick and shapes industry was a highly specialized supplier to such heat manufacturing industries as the iron...