China

Dalian Plant's Future (Media Conference)   11/30/2004

After the formal ceremony, the press conference was hold in Karren Hotel.  CEO Dr.Helmut Draxler; COO Dr. Andreas Meier; and General Manager of RHID Mr. Claus Braunhuber persented with 12 journalists.

“China is a major topic for the future of RHI”

... says Dr. Andreas Meier, Deputy CEO / COO Refractories. China has raw material reserves of excellent quality. The forward integration from the refractory raw material to the finished product for the world market is in full swing. At the same time, China is the world’s fastest growing economy. Domestic demand of nearly 1.3 billion people, accession to the WTO, Olympia 2008, the World’s Fair in 2010 and consequently impressive infrastructure programs characterize the dynamism. The key industries steel, cement, glass and nonferrous metals are booming. China already accounts for 25 percent of the world’s steel output (in 2004 production will increase to 260 million tons), for 40 percent of cement (120 cement rotary kilns are currently being planned with the corresponding continuous demand for refractories), 18 percent of glass, 6 percent of copper and nickel. All of them with a strongly increasing tendency.