Manufacturing

The RHI Manufacturing Competence Centres provide all RHI production facilities around the world with plant engineering and technological expertise on the basis of “best practices” and the best available technology. Extensive integration of these MCCs into the plant groups ensures operator expertise. Experience with production equipment at the production sites is thus incorporated directly into plans for new and follow-up investments and into ongoing improvement of equipment and its efficiency.

The MCCs in charge of the technological processes pressing, firing, isostatics, raw material production, automation technology, testing methods, Total Productive Manufacturing, and responsible for safeguarding process capability are situated at Leoben Technology Centre.

RHI currently operates 33 production sites worldwide, supplying customers with high-quality refractory materials. The strategy for aligning and operating these plants is defined centrally.

The objectives of this production combine are:

- To minimise total costs (transport costs, production costs, raw material costs,

customs duties, etc.)

- To safeguard a high, uniform level of quality around the world

- To leverage the logistical benefits of this network

- Ongoing adaptation of this plant concept to market requirements and customer

base structure

These tasks are performed jointly by the Controlling, Purchasing, Logistics, Quality and Environmental Management and Technology departments from the base in Leoben in co-operation with the decentralised units.

It is necessary to take strategic considerations into account as well as matters of equipment technology and staff expertise. But political changes or currency ratio changes are also incorporated into planning.