{{Short description|Refractory solutions provider}} {{Infobox company | name = HarbisonWalker International | logo = HarbisonWalker International.png | type = Private | ISIN = | industry = Refractory | founded = 1875 | hq_location_city = Pittsburgh, PA | hq_location_country = United States | area_served = Americas | key_people = Michel Cornelissen (President and CEO) | parent = Calderys | website = {{URL|https://thinkhwi.com/}} }} '''HarbisonWalker International''' (HWI) is a refractory solutions provider headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. HWI resulted from the merger of Harbison-Walker Refractories, A.P. Green and North American Refractories in 2002, forming the ANH Refractories Company which was renamed HarbisonWalker International in 2015. It combined its operations with Calderys in 2023 and became the group's brand for the Americas region.
== History == HarbisonWalker International (HWI) was created by the merger of Harbison-Walker, A.P. Green, and North American Refractories, all considered among the Big 5 of the firebrick industry during the first half of the 20th century.<ref group="n">Along with Laclede Christy and General Refractories.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Read |first=Orville H. |title=The refractories people: A history of the A. P. Green Refractories Co |publisher= |year=1978 |asin=B0006CP3N6}}</ref>
The Harbison and Walker Company was founded in Pennsylvania in 1875 when Hay Walker Sr. and Samuel P. Harbison bought the company Star Fire Brick Company founded 10 years earlier. It became the Harbbison-Walker Refractories Company in 1902, merged with Dresser Industries in 1967<ref>{{cite web |date=2013 |title=Pittsburgh Company Annual Reports, Downtown & Business, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh |url=http://www.carnegielibrary.org/research/business/pghannualreports.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222175352/http://www.carnegielibrary.org/research/business/pghannualreports.html |archive-date=2014-02-22 |access-date=2014-05-18 |website=Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh}}</ref> but demerged from Dresser in 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1992-02-06 |title=COMPANY NEWS; Spinoffs Set By Dresser |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/06/business/company-news-spinoffs-set-by-dresser.html |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1992-02-17 |title=Dresser to spin off its Woodruff plant |url=https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/1992/02/18/dresser-to-spin-off-its-woodruff-plant/29543050007/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Spartanburg Herald Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1999, Harbison-Walker managed 4,000 employees and 25 locations in 7 countries (15 production sites in the USA, 3 in Canada) when it was acquired by the Austrian conglomerate RHI Refractories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-02-01 |title=RHI Acquires Harbison-Walker Refractories |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/RHI+Acquires+Harbison-Walker+Refractories.-a060015003 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}</ref>
Missouri-born Allen Percival Green (1875-1956) worked temporarily for Harbison-Walker Refractories Company, and then bought the Mexico Brick and Fire Clay Company in 1910. The A.P. Green Fire Brick Company grew strong during World War I, developed internationally between the wars, and grew again strongly after World War II. A.P. Green's company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1966, and was taken over by Gypsum (USG) in 1967.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006 |title=From the Stacks: Western Historical Manuscripts Collection-Columbia: The A.P. Green Papers and Other Records of the Refractories Business |url=https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/mhr/id/54318 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=digital.shsmo.org |publisher=Missouri Historical Review - Volume 100 Issue 3 |page=174 |language=en |issn=0026-6582}}</ref> In 1998, A.P. Green was sold to the Austrian conglomerate RHI Refractories.
North American Refractories Co. (NARCO) was created in 1929 in Ohio through the merger of seven manufacturers of refractory solutions (including Canada-based North American Refractories, Ltd). NARCO grew through acquisitions the following decades, and was acquired by Eltra Corp. in 1965. Eltra Corp. was acquired by Allied Corp. in 1979, making NARCO part of Allied's chemical division. NARCO was then owned by Didier-Werke AG of Wiesbaden in 1989 and sold in 1995 to the Austrian group Veitsch-Radex in 1996, a subsidiary of RHI.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-04-29 |title=RAT - Investing In Ceramics: The Making of a Refractories Giant |url=http://www.ceramicindustry.com/articles/rat-investing-in-ceramics-the-making-of-a-refractories-giant |access-date=2025-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429155940/http://www.ceramicindustry.com/articles/rat-investing-in-ceramics-the-making-of-a-refractories-giant |archive-date=2012-04-29}}</ref>
In 2002, many US refractory companies - including Harbison-Walker, A.P. Green, and North American Refractories - were embroiled in the abestos claims and filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-02-13 |title=In re: Global Industrial Technologies, Inc., et al. Debtors |url=https://casetext.com/case/in-re-global-indus-techs-inc/case-details |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Casetext.com}}{{dead link|date=August 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> RHI had combined its US subsidiaries under the RHI Americas banner, which spun off after the bankruptcy and became ANH Refractories Company in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=THI Americaas banner, which eventually became ANH Refractories Company |url=https://www.mha-net.org/docs/Harbison%20Walker%202005%20Handbook.pdf |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=www.mha-net.org}}</ref>
In 2015, ANH Refractories changed its name to HarbisonWalker International (HWI)<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2016-08-03 |author=Justine Coyne |publisher=Pittsburgh Business Times |title=ANH Refractories rebrands as HarbisonWalker International |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2015/01/anh-refractories-rebrands-as-harbisonwalker.html |website=bizjournals.com}}<!-- auto-translated from German by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> and engaged in its own digital transformation the following years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Banker |first=Steve |date=16 March 2021 |title=HWI Unleashes Continuous Innovation |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2021/03/16/hwi-unleashes-continuous-innovation/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> In 2023, a US private investment firm acquired HWI and combined its operations with its other refractory company Calderys,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bizley |first=David |date=2023-02-21 |title=Calderys to combine with HarbisonWalker International |url=https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/21022023/calderys-to-combine-with-harbisonwalker-international/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=World Cement |language=en}}</ref> with the new name "HWI, a member of Calderys" and acting as the Americas' arm of Calderys.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Calderys unveils its new brand platform reflecting the Group's focus… |url=https://aluminiumtoday.com/news/calderys-unveils-its-new-brand-platform-reflecting-the-groups-focus-on-supporting-high-temperature-industries-through-their-energy-transition |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=Aluminium International Today |language=en}}</ref>
== Activities == HarbisonWalker International (HWI) is a refractory solutions provider headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company manufactures and distributes high temperature solutions, from refractories to casting fluxes and molding solutions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Fact sheet |url=https://thinkwi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/HWI-Fact-Sheet-121422.FINAL_.pdf |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Thinkwi.com}}</ref> R&D is headed at HWI's Innovation Center in West Mifflin, PA.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HarbisonWalker International: An Employee-Focused Company Provides the Building Blocks for Many 21st Century Products |url=https://www.pachamber.org/media/1750/1750/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=PA Chamber |language=en-US}}</ref> The company operates under the commercial name "HWI, a member of Calderys" since it was combined with Calderys in 2023.<ref name=":1" /> Michel Cornelissen has been President and CEO of Calderys, including HWI, since February 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cemnet.com/News/story/174361/calderys-and-harbisonwalker-international-appoint-joint-ceo.html |title=Calderys and HarbisonWalker International appoint joint CEO |date= 21 February 2023 |website=cemnet.com |accessdate=21 November 2025}}</ref>
== Notes == <references group="n" />
== References == <references />
== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://thinkhwi.com/}}
Category:American companies established in 1875 Category:1875 establishments in Pennsylvania Category:Refractory materials Category:Combustion engineering Category:Industrial supply companies