PRCO America Beings Production
PRCO America Inc. Opens Plant in Mayfield, KY August 26, 2022
Mayfield, Kentucky
Contact: Shane Melvin
270-277-1985
PRCO America, Inc begins production in their first manufacturing plant in the USA.
At full production, the plant will produce 50,000 – 60,000 tons of resin bonded refractory products for the steelmaking industry.
This represents a reshoring of US jobs lost in the 1990’s and will employ approximately 50 people at full production.
PRCO America, Inc began production at their new plant near Mayfield, Kentucky on August 25, 2022. The plant will produce resin bonded magnesia-carbon, resin bonded magnesia-alumina-carbon, and resin bonded alumina refractory ceramic shapes, used to line steel processing furnaces and contain molten metal at over 3,000 degrees F. Plant construction began in 2021 and incorporates best available technology for automation, material handling and quality assurance. Central to producing refractory of the highest quality and performance are the 2,500 MT hydraulic brick presses.
The plant will use a new source of Magnesia as the main raw material. This new Magnesia is higher purity with zero detectable boron and zero detectable chlorine, which results in superior physical properties of the refractory. “This gives us a 20%-25% reduction in the wear per heat, for longer service, more residual refractory thickness at the end of the campaign, and cleaner steel quality for our customers”, said Bill Porter, General Manager.
PRCO America, Inc selected Mayfield, Kentucky as the sight of their first refractory plant in the USA. This is due to the immediate proximity to both the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and the access to barge traffic and needed raw materials, as well as their steel customers based in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nebraska and Texas.
The plant will receive electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s hydroelectric system so that the refractory produced will have the lowest carbon foot print and minimal greenhouse gas emissions. This will benefit our customers’ Greenhouse Gas Scope III emission reporting, Porter said.
In 2023, the MgO recycling center will begin taking back the refractory after it is used by the steel makers to be recycled into value added products alleviating the cost and environmental impact.
“We have already proven the value of our new MgO refractory with imports from Vietnam that have shown substantial improvement in performance. We expect to fill our plant quickly and be hiring the second shift in the coming months”, said Barry Heath, Plant Manager-Mayfield Works.
PRCO America, Inc is a US corporation, incorporated in 2008 in Pennsylvania. The company is owned by Puyang Refractories Group, the largest independent, publicly traded, producer of refractory for iron, steel, cement, non-ferrous and other high temperature processes in China. This gives PRCO America full access to the raw materials owned by the Puyang Refractory Group. The Group is self-sufficient in Magnesia, Bauxite and Alumina for their own requirements and a supplier of refractory raw materials to the global refractory industry.
Inquiries can be sent to [email protected] or by phone, 270-277-1985.
PRCO-America