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The tertiary siliceous raw material deposits on which the company was founded are a peculiar feature in the predominantly limestone area and form as pockets filling large pits and hollows in the limestone surface.
All the early products were based on local silica and siliceous deposits quarried from pits in the surrounding area. Refractory shapes were either machine or handmoulded; fired and then packed in barrels for transportation.
Technical Paper presses, two 1700°C intermittent kilns and a ball mill to supply fine fractions.
By 1967 the supply to the gas industry were only 5% of sales and as the new product ranges were not based on either siliceous or fireclay materials the company was re-named DSF Refractories Ltd.
By 1977 the established market was the steel industry with products supplied to steel transfer ladles; soaking pits and re-heat furnaces; this accounted for 70% of turnover, exports totalled 14% (Figure 4).
In 1979 a new product DSF 59G based on andalusite (later known as Frisil G) was launched for the glass industry. The first major order was for regenerator construction of a rolled plate furnace in which chrome- magnesite had previously deformed; after a 9 year campaign in 1988, Frisil G was chosen again for the regenerator crown construction. The initial installation is No.1 in the reference list of mullite materials in glass furnace regenerators.
At the start of the 80’s British Steel was DSF’s primary customer; DSF were leaders in the supply of phosphate bonded ladle bricks made from bauxite and local siliceous material.
Figure 3: Handmoulded bricks drying,multi pot furnace,circa 1920
Figure 5: Bauxite ladle bricks in use
In 1986 the long association with the West Group came to an end; DSF were bought by an existing customer to bring into their group the recently developed range of ethyl-silicate (chemcast) products.
Figure 4: Typical packing of fired bricks
In 1907 the Glover West System for the continuous carbonisation of coal was introduced; this system was used throughout the world and by the 1920’s accounted for over half of all town gas produced in the UK(the West Family were involved with DSF until 1964 when all remaining shares were sold to the WGI group).
By the 1940’s there were four product ranges; Peaksil Silica based on Derbyshire ganister, DSF 1, 2 & 3 based on local siliceous material, Frisil based on Indian sillimanite and Dome insulating material based on Diatomite from Northern Ireland.
The market and product range showed little change over the next 20 years, however change was underway. Natural gas was being introduced and town gas gradually phased out. High alumina brick development became a priority to meet the requirements of the then expanding UK steel industry.
The 60’s and 70’s were therefore the decades of enforced change as the existing reliable market was gradually whittled away. High alumina products based on bauxite; mullite and andalusite were developed and associated production equipment installed; automatic hydraulic and vibratory manual
September 2017 Issue
As part of the BH-F Group, DSF received significant investment in production facilities; two new intermittent LPG kilns, expansion of casting facilities, first block grinder for six face grinding of glass contact and glass tank subhearth blocks and a modern crushing, screening and milling facility for raw material processing.
Figure 6: Chemcast Frisil A1 forehearth layout ENGINEER THE REFRACTORIES 21
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