Calderys at a glance

Leveraging over a century of experience, a global presence, and a truly diverse team, we work closely with customers and suppliers to turn our unique process insights into industrial solutions. We’re continuously looking to improve and innovate. Combining Calderys and HarbisonWalker International (HWI) creates additional scale and increased value for customers.

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AN EXCITING NEW JOURNEY

Industries around the globe are rapidly implementing changes to overcome the complex challenges defining our era.

As a privately owned company, proud of its long history and global footprint, we face this new era with optimism and aspirations.  

As such, it is my conviction that the transformation of the high temperature landscape calls for a new definition of expertise — one underpinned by precision, agility and, above all, new standards of customer-centricity. 

Our promise is founded on our global infrastructure of local plants and suppliers, our truly diverse team of experts and 100 years of process insights and technical know-how. 

With the combination of Calderys and HarbisonWalker International, we have a tremendous opportunity to bring together the best of both businesses and set a new benchmark for the industry. Our goal is to be the best in class. To be the best partner for our customers.

Thanks to our people, there are no limits to what we can achieve.

 

Michel Cornelissen

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Everywhere you need us to be

With more than 5,000 people worldwide and an additional 1,500 from HarbisonWalker International, representing over 50 nationalities, Calderys has broken down barriers to create a truly global refractory network spanning production plants, local labs, sales offices, engineering centers, external partners, and full-time workers on customer sites. With a presence in over 30 countries and sales in more than 100 countries, we operate in proximity to our customers, to meet the specific needs and challenges of our local markets.

With a presence in over 30 countries and sales in more than 100 countries, we  operate in proximity to our customers, to meet the specific needs and challenges of our local markets.

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Worldmap

Key figures

150+
years' experience
30+
countries host our operations
3
main segments of activities
5,800
employees and contractors worldwide
50+
nationalities
50
plants on the 5 continents

Together, Calderys and HWI have 150+ years of combined experience, count 5,800+ people and contractors in over 30 countries, and 50 plants in the 5 continents.

DISCOVER OUR SITES

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Guaratingueta (Brazil)

The Guaratinguetá plant, a key part of Calderys' operations since 2001, is now branded under our Americas brand, HWI. Strategically positioned near major ports and highways, this facility serves key Iron & Steel customers across Latin America, with an annual capacity of over 20,000 tons on each of its two production lines - granulated fluxes and powder fluxes.
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White Cloud (USA)

Calderys Group’s largest mag-carbon production facility, an HWI site located in central Michigan (USA).
This facility has been in operation since September 1977 and covers 125,000 square feet. It has a total capacity of 100,000 metric tons of brick and monolithic products per year, servicing the increasing demand of the Iron & Steel industry.
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NGJ Ellesmere Port (UK)

This production facility is specialized in refractory relining, precast pieces and dry-out services. The site operates for all high temperature markets such as thermal, petrochemical, iron & steel and foundry sectors. It offers 5,000 sqm facility of refractory lining and ready-shape production to suit all high-temperature applications, and the plant is ISO 9001 certified.
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West Mifflin (USA)

HWI West Mifflin center in the USA, is the North America’s largest Refractory Research and Development Center.It is located in Pennsylvania, and has been operating since 1958. Used for learning and testing, it houses 35 research and development experts who work directly with our customers to design, test and trial new products and applications.
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Åmål (Sweden)

The site is located in the Dalsland province, the plant has been operating since 1972 and serves more than 500 customers in 60 countries. The plant of Åmål is also unique as it’s located near our own quartzite quarry which guarantees the highest level of quality and steady supply.
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Nagoya (Japan)

The plant in Nagoya (Japan), is specialized in the production of castables, gunning materials, mortar, silica and other dry vibrating mixes. It is located in Toyota-City, the Nagoya plant has been operating since 1938 and serves more than 600 end-customers from various industries.
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Katni (India)

The plant has been operating since 1913. Its total production capacity amounts to 120,000 tons per year of refractory products, serving over 3,000 customers in over 15 industries. Social responsibility is at the core of our operations in Katni. Since 1993, we have run a local school in partnership with D.A.V. College Managing Committee (DAVCMC), the biggest Educational Institute in India.
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Oosterhout (Netherlands)

We have been active in the Netherlands since 1952, with offices and a refractory plant. Calderys Oosterhout designs and supplies materials for OEM projects in the petrochemical market, and is also a leader in maintenance projects for the Refinery and Chemical industries in the country.
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Haznedar Durer (Turkey)

Haznedar Durer is specialized in refractory bricks and monolithics. It serves 800 customers on five continents, with a total production capacity of 90,000 tons per year. Around 250 colleagues work on this site.
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Sézanne (France)

The plant has been operating since 1903. Annually, it produces 70,000 tons of tap-hole clay, refractory monolithics, and precast shapes for iron & steel and foundry industries, serving more than 400 customers in France and other countries
Amal sustainable Plant in Sweden
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Calderys Leadership Team is composed of executives, valued for their strong knowledge of the business and years of experience in the industry. Truly  diverse and international, with 6 different nationalities, the team defines Calderys’ strategic orientations and ensures the achievement of its ambitious growth plan. The Executive Committee leads the Group formed by the combination of Calderys and HarbisonWalker International.

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Michel Cornelissen
Michel Cornelissen
President and Chief Executive Officer
Michel has worked for more than 25 years within Imerys, where he started in Sales. He held various leading positions in the refractory business, serving most recently as Senior Vice President of the High Temperature Solutions business area and part of Imerys’ Executive Committee. Michel was instrumental in leading Calderys to become a standalone company.
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Sander Bovee - Calderys' CFO
Sander Bovee
Chief Financial Officer
Sander is a seasoned financial professional with 30+ years of experience. He joins from Nouryon (previously AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), a specialty chemicals company, where he served as Interim CFO and VP of Group Control & Treasury. At AkzoNobel for the preceding two decades, he gained a wealth of experience across a diverse range of financial positions.
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Ish Garg
Senior Vice President, APAC
Ish has spent the last 30 years in companies such as Exide, Siemens, Tata Steel and Imerys through various leading positions. He served as India Country Head for Imerys and Greater Asia Pacific Vice President for Imerys’ High Temperature Solutions business area.
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Ross Wilkin
Ross Wilkin
Senior Vice President, Americas
Ross has worked more than 30 years in Finance both in private and public companies. He began his career in audit with KPMG. He worked in various senior finance positions for Marconi, Heinz Company and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products,Inc. He joined HWI in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer. As Senior Vice President Americas, Ross brings his deep knowledge of HWI and the American business, supporting our regional growth strategy.
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Aurélien Cadars
Senior Vice President, EMEA
Aurélien started his career at Mazars as a Financial Auditor before joining Imerys. He has over 15 years of experience in leadership positions such as General Manager and Strategy & Operations Director. His last assignment was EMEA Thermal VP for Calderys.
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Evelina Carp
General Counsel
Evelina has worked for over 16 years as in-house Legal Counsel in companies such as Faurecia, Saft, Air Liquide. She is a specialist in contract negotiation and management and international business law. Previously Evelina was Legal Manager for Refractory, Abrasives & Construction Business Area for Imerys.
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Antoine Mingalon
Antoine Mingalon
Chief People Officer (Interim)
Antoine is a seasoned professional in human resource leadership, with more than 25 years of experience in both tech and industrial environments in companies like Schlumberger, Areva, Eutelsat, Criteo - where he built and helped the company scale to finally being listed on NASDAQ, and most recently at Kyriba, a US SaaS / Fintech company, where he was based both in Paris and San Diego, where he was Chief People Officer.
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Aymeric Maupoumé
Global Vice President, Purchasing
Aymeric has over 15 years of international management in purchasing based in Europe, Middle East and Asia. He worked in companies such as Areva, Alstom Grid, General Electric and more recently Imerys, where he was Purchasing Director for the High Temperature Solutions business area.
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Alan Guthrie
Alan Guthrie
Global Vice President, TOM PMO & IT
An American living in Scotland, Alan has 30 years of experience as a leader in transformation and technology across more than 35 countries. He has held key roles such as Executive IT and Transformation Partner at EY, Chief Transformation Officer at Johnson Matthey, Chief Transformation and Information Officer at Calor Gas, and Global Delivery Partner at HCL Tech. Alan holds Bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Scandinavian Studies, and a Master’s degree in International Management.
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Picture of Aurélie de Chassey-Hayot
Aurélie de Chassey-Hayot
Global Vice President, Communications & Sustainability
Aurélie has worked for 15 years in communications for companies such as TechnipFMC and Imerys. She has global expertise in building communications strategies, managing brands and leading through change. She was previously Communications Director for Imerys’ High Temperature Solutions business area.
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David Secret
Global Vice President, Operations Excellence
David has more than 25 years of experience in leading Operations. He started his career at Imerys as an Engineer and then evolved through leadership positions, such as Plant Manager, Managing Director, Industrial Director and more recently Industrial Operations VP for the High Temperature Solutions business area.
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Bruno Touzo
Global Vice President, Innovation & Technology
Bruno has worked for 25+ years in production and R&D in positions such as quality and process manager in the USA, or Director of Imerys Technical Center in China. Lately, he was Science & Technology VP for Imerys’ High Temperature Solutions business area strengthening innovation and addressing the product sustainability challenges.

History

Our history: the fruit of 100+ years of experience

Calderys is the fruit of over 100 years of field experience and innovation in high temperature operations. Successive mergers of industry champions such as Plibrico, Lafarge, Stollberg and S&B, as well as other acquisitions have turned Calderys  into the leader it is today. Over the years, our expertise has earned us a global reputation for our tailor-made solutions.

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Calderys in Germany black & white
1900 - 1935
Our historical roots : innovative companies

Lafarge invents and patents aluminous cement with refractory qualities, the precursor to monolithic refractories (1908).

In the United States, William A.L. Schaefer develops the first monolithic refractory and creates the Pliable Firebrick Company, also known as Plibrico (1914).

Stollberg is created in Mülheim, Germany, for the production of casting auxiliary materials (1926).

Silver & Baryte Ores Mining Co. S.A. (S&B), an industrial minerals company, is founded on Milos Island, Greece (1934)

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Calderys in Germany black & white
1935 - 1960
European Expansion

Lafarge creates SECAR (Société d’Etude et de Conseil pour Appareillage Réfractaire – Refractory equipment studies and consultancy), a refractories marketing subsidiary (1938).

Plibrico is registered in London (1931) and begins its European expansion: opening its first branch in Sweden (1937), launching operations in the Netherlands (1952), establishing its first European production site in Neuwied, Germany (1955), and entering the Austrian market (1958).

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Calderys in Germany black & white
1960 - 2000
Global expansion

Lafarge continues its expansion on the refractories market, acquiring interests in two of its competitors, Prost and Schlumberger (1970). Ten years later, “Lafarge Réfractaires” is officially created in France (1980). Global expansion begins in 1990, with the launch in Taiwan of its first Asian production facility (1990-1992) and the acquisition of Svenska Höganas AB, opening up business in both Scandinavia and Japan (1997).

Plibrico joins the Imerys Group (1996) and acquires the Valle family’s refractories production plant in South Africa (1998).

Stollberg establishes itself as a worldwide mold flux manufacturing company in the USA (1984) and Korea (1986), followed by France, India and Brazil (1999).

S&B expands in the US (1964) and in China (1998).

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Calderys in Germany black & white
2000 - 2010
Birth of Calderys

Lafarge Refractories enters the Australian market with the acquisition of Hanlon Refractory (2001). Imerys acquires Lafarge Refractories (2004)

Plibrico International & Lafarge Refractories merge under the Imerys group to form the refractories leader Calderys (2005).

Calderys acquires ACE Refractories, India’s leading monolithic refractory manufacturer (2007). One year later, the company opens its first Chinese plant, in Zhangjiagang, and strengthens its presence in Europe with the acquisition of Svenska Silikaverken AB, a monolithic company operating in Sweden, Norway, and Finland (2008)

S&B acquires Stollberg, to become a global mine-to-market business (2004).

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Calderys in Germany black & white
2010 - 2020
A high temperature solutions champion

Calderys pursues its Asian expansion, forming a joint venture with PT Indoporlen in Indonesia and acquiring Tokai Ceramics in Japan (2013). In Europe, the Group acquires the Finnish company Termorak, to broaden its service offering for projects in the petrochemical and power industries (2014). To further strengthen its presence in the Nordic market, it opens its first office in Norway and acquires Fagersta Eldfasta AB, a refractory installation company based in Sweden (2016), followed bytwo refractory design, installation and engineering services companies – N.G. Johnson Northern in the UK and SetLinings in Germany (2017). Calderys also expands its operations in America with the acquisition of SPAR Inc., a monolithic refractory manufacturer based in Alabama, US (2016) and the start-up of operations in Brazil (2018).

Imerys acquires S&B’s main activities, including Stollberg (2015). S&B’s activities are renamed Imerys Metalcasting. Stollberg’s activities become Imerys Steel Casting Fluxes.

Calderys, Imerys Metalcasting and Imerys Steel Casting Fluxes are merged  into Imerys’s High-Temperature Solutions (HTS) Business Area, offering a wide range of refractory products, and advanced solutions to enhance steel casting, metallurgical fluxes and molding processes (2018). The decision is made to rename HTS Calderys.

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Calderys in Germany black & white
2020 - 2024
Global growth continues

Three important acquisitions boost  Calderys’s operations in high-growth regions (2020): 

- Hysil, the leading Indian producer of calcium silicate boards used for thermal insulation. 

- A majority stake of 60% in Haznedar Durer Refractories, a Turkish manufacturer  of high-grade monolithic refractories and refractory bricks. 

- Sunward Refractories, a Taiwanese producer of monolithics, bricks and tap hole clays. 

In 2023, Calderys becomes a privately owned company combined with HarbisonWalker International. Together they form a leading world-class refractories solutions provider.  

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Calderys in Germany black & white