China Gengsheng Minerals introduces more efficient, castable back lining for steel makers

China Gengsheng Minerals, Inc., a materials technology company in China with high-temperature resistant products, announced that it has developed a new refractory product for its steel company customers to cut energy costs and increase efficiency during steel-making.

The Company held a teach-in on the new, high-performance, thermo-insulating and light castables at China’s largest steel and iron conglomerate, Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation, where Gengsheng’s CEO, vice president of product development and technology adviser, shared product specifications and testing results with Baosteel’s directors of the procurement department, the technology department and various other managers and in-house experts.

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 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 percent higher. The new product has now been officially accepted for trial use at Baosteel.

“After introducing our pressed bricks last year, we are now proudly showing a new type of functional refractory product to our steel customers,” said Mr. Shunqing Zhang, chairman and CEO of Gengsheng. “We are excited about this new product’s market potential, as all furnaces in steel mills require castables as back lining, the layer that helps maintain a high-temperature environment. Our new product is attractive to steel companies because it is more cost-effective and energy-saving at the same time.”