Interview with PRE President Matthias Stalzer: Refractory industry in Europe cannot afford to overlook

2026-06-27

Jun. 24, 2026 - Europe's industrial future is often discussed through the lens of green steel, clean energy, electrification, and strategic autonomy.

Yet behind many of these ambitions stands an industry that remains largely invisible to the wider public: refractories.

Mr. Matthias Stalzer, President of Producers of Refractories in Europe (PRE), recently discussed in an interview the industry's future, Europe's industrial transformation, and why enabling industries deserve a stronger voice.

Blitz Round

Refractories in one word?

Endurance. If I may add, extreme endurance.

European industry these days in one word?

Reinvention.

PRE's mission in one word?

Voice.

Complete the phrase: "If Europe lost industries like refractories, the first thing we would notice would be..."

Construction delays, supply chain instability, rising costs, pressure on manufacturing, energy systems, mobility, infrastructure - all of that would happen.

"Our diversity is our strength"

You were appointed PRE President earlier this year. What are your main priorities for the federation moving forward?

In today's challenging industrial environment, one of my key priorities is to help strengthen a clearer and more visible voice for our industry - an industry that is absolutely essential to modern society and industry in Europe and beyond, yet still far too often overlooked.

The European refractory sector is incredibly diverse. Alongside global players, it includes a large number of highly specialised SMEs across many European countries.

This diversity should not be seen as a challenge, but as a real strength.

It brings together different perspectives, experiences, technical expertise, and industrial realities. One of PRE's important roles is to help connect these voices and translate them into communication that is sophisticated, balanced, credible, and grounded in real industrial experience.

Why understanding refractories matters

In what ways does the industry today demand a higher standard of understanding from policymakers and stakeholders - and what's at stake if that understanding falls short?

Honestly, the conversation has moved on without us. Everyone talks about green steel, clean energy, the green transition - and rightly so. But there's a step that almost never gets mentioned: the materials that make those processes physically possible in the first place. You can't run a steel furnace, a cement kiln, or a glass tank at well over a thousand degrees without refractories lining them. Take refractories away and steel, cement, glass, non-ferrous metals, ceramics, energy - none of it can be produced. And that's the part too often missed: ecological sustainability requires economic sustainability. The industries doing the green transformation have to stay viable enough to actually do it.

So the higher standard I'd ask for is simply this: that policymakers see the whole chain, not just the visible end of it. Europe's industrial transformation depends on these enabling industries, and right now they're largely absent from the discussion that decides their future.

And the cost of that blind spot is already showing. European refractory production fell by 34.5% between 2019 and 2025 - from 4.58 million tonnes down to 3.0 million. That's not a rounding error; it's the pressure on energy-intensive industry made visible. It tells you why competitiveness has to sit at the same table as sustainability, not behind it.

What worries me most, though, is the human side. We're talking about thousands of highly skilled people, engineers, researchers, technicians, plant operators, apprentices, often in regions where this expertise has been built up over generations. Once those skills and communities are gone, you don't simply switch them back on.

That's what's at stake. Keeping these capabilities in Europe isn't nostalgia for old industry; it's a strategic question about whether the continent stays competitive, resilient, and genuinely sovereign in the things that matter.

"Without refractories, there is no industry"

What role do you see refractories playing in shaping Europe's industrial future?

Simply said: without refractories, there is no industry.

Whether it is cement for construction, steel for infrastructure and mobility, advanced ceramics for semiconductor manufacturing, glass for solar panels, aluminium for wind turbines, or copper for electrification - all of these sectors depend on high-temperature industrial processes enabled by refractories.

But I believe the role of refractories goes beyond enabling production.

The industry is actively helping industries become more energy-efficient, more durable, and more sustainable. Innovation in refractory materials directly contributes to longer equipment lifetime, lower energy losses, improved process stability, and reduced emissions.

This means refractories are not only supporting Europe's industrial future. They are helping shape how sustainable and competitive that future can become.

The Visibility Challenge

Throughout our discussion, one theme kept returning: visibility.

Industrial resilience, competitiveness, sustainability and strategic autonomy are now central to Europe's policy debate. Yet many of the industries enabling these ambitions remain largely invisible.

Before people can support an industry, they first need to understand it.

Reasons for Optimism

Why should the industry remain optimistic?

Heavy industry has always evolved through crises, technological shifts, and periods of transformation. Adaptability and problem-solving are deeply embedded in Europe's industrial DNA.

Today, we are once again seeing industrial resilience, strategic autonomy, and energy security becoming central priorities across Europe. This creates an important opportunity for enabling industries like refractories to demonstrate their strategic value more clearly.

At the same time, our industry continues to innovate: developing more energy-efficient, longer-lasting, and more sustainable solutions for high-temperature industrial processes. That combination of industrial expertise, innovation, and resilience gives strong reasons for optimism about the future.

What continues to motivate and inspire you personally about working in this industry?

What continues to inspire me is that this industry operates in environments and at temperatures most people can hardly imagine - and yet it quietly enables so many aspects of modern life and industrial progress.

I also find it fascinating that some of the most advanced engineering and innovation happen behind the scenes, often invisible to the wider public.

In many ways, the industry reflects Europe itself: resilient, highly specialised, and capable of shaping the future even under the most demanding conditions.

More Advanced Than Most People Think

What is one thing about the refractory industry that people outside the sector would probably never expect?

One thing many people would probably never expect is how deeply the industry connects the ancient with the ultra-modern.

Refractories are made from raw materials that have been used and developed over centuries - in some cases, connected to geological resources formed millions of years ago - yet today they are engineered into highly advanced materials supporting some of the world's most modern technologies and industrial processes.

The industry truly combines centuries of industrial knowledge with cutting-edge innovation in a very unique way.

Final Thought

Europe's industrial future depends not only on breakthrough technologies, but also on the industries that make them possible.

The real question is not whether Europe needs refractories.

It is whether Europe can afford to overlook them.

Chair, Communications Working Group, PRE