It’s a changing landscape for the refractories engineering sector and \IRE members are amongst those well placed to understand the current trading situation and offer insight into the direction the industry is taking.

The changes are of course determined by customer demand and by ever evolving legislative requirements to satisfy varying dilemmas and to meet ambitious net zero targets in all walks of life, most notably in manufacturing. Thankfully, an important aspect of professional institute objectives is to advise and inform, resulting in clear membership benefits such as knowledge sharing and collaborative working. The IRE is focussed on providing insightful commentary and best practice guidance on the global refractories industry and on the customer sectors served by the industry. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the IRE from reading and contributing to the pages of The Refractories Engineer, to attending one of the IRE events held in the northern and southern hemispheres, or by volunteering to serve on an IRE committee to help shape the organisation.

As we work together for the benefit of all, I urge you to take advantage of the chance to take part in these activities. In the coming two months there will be an IRE conference held in the UK and one in Australia – both providing excellent networking opportunities with the added bonus of continuing to expand the professional competence of those taking part.

The pages of this issue are full of expert advice and opinion, so please remember to have your say where possible. As we are drawing towards the end of the year I would like to thank all our contributors, supporters, advertisers and corporate partners and, of course, the readership, for your continued patronage and loyalty and I wish you a successful 2025.

I thank all those contributors to this issue for their guidance and wisdom. Happy reading. Find out more at https://www.ireng.org/the-refractories-engineer-journal/ and content includes:

• Message from the President
• International Events Diary
• IRE Corporate Partners
• Australasian Update
• IRE Australasian Conference 2024
• IRE News
• Industry News
• Supplier News
• End User Industry News
• IRE UK Annual Conference 2024
• IRE Officers and Council
• Refractory Business Directory
• Quick Shot Directory
• Recruitment
• The Refractories Engineer Editorial
• Cement Production
• Paving the way for industrial scale fossil free iron and steel production
• Glass manufacturing market set to boom
• Leading the world with real time data science

#IRE #Institute #Refractories #Engineers #Journal #Conference #Training