Plant 01 - MKZ Fireclay Factory

in Rájec was established in 1907. In 1911 it was rebuilt to fireclay production. After the World War II, the government entrusted “Moravian Kaolin and Clay Factory” based in Blansko with taking control of the ceramic industry in the area. By public notice issued by Industry Department in 1946 was established this first national enterprise, which managed plants engaged in mining ceramic raw materials in regions of Moravské Třebové and Boskovice, further was affiliated the Fireclay Factory in Rájec and Stove Factory in Blansko. In 1947 the company took over under its own control extraction of clays in the area of Český Brod and in East Bohemia.

Since 1947 the period of extensive modernization had started. There were built new administrative building, changing-rooms for employees, eating-room, wharf, slip house, fitter’s workshops and the plant was accommodated with new modern pressers. The most voluminous reconstruction had started in 1959 in the full working conditions and in 1961 new factory building and tunnel furnace was built up. Industrial production capacity of the plant had doubled.

In 1978 MKZ Company was incorporated in the national enterprise “Moravian Fireclay and Shale Plants Velké Opatovice”. According to the request of the management of the company, on the 29th of March 1990 the Department of Housing and Building decided, that with effect from the 1st of April 1990 the Moravské keramické závody Rájec-Jestřebí again come into being and during the first privatization period on the 6th of May 1992 the MKZ company became the joint-stock company. Another considerable investment was started in February 1992. During one year the factory building was reconstructed and original circular furnaces were replaced with three modern chambe rfurnaces. At the end of the nineties the sliphouse was reconstructed. Was invested in innovative products and technologies - production of the heating elements and insulating shapes Peril with the low bulk density. A large investment was made in year 2005 - the new tunnel furnaces was put into operation and replaced old one from 1961. 

Plant 02 - MKZ Refractory Masses

Plant 02 - MKZ Refractory Masses in the Rájec-Jestřebí consist of two separate branches - in Rájec-Jestřebí and Svitavy.

Rájec Branch - this Plant is designed for ramming masses and anhydrous tap hole clays development. Building of the Plant was started in 1986 and in June 1989 it was put into operation. Total investment costs were about 56 million CZK. The plant capacity was projected regarding to then ramming and tap hole clays needs in all blast furnaces operations in former Czechoslovakia. Nowadays the Plant is fully automated.

Svitavy Banch - in 1943 there was established joint-stock company PLATINON Třemošná, designed for graphite crucibles manufacturing. In 1949 this factory was took over by MKZ Rájec. Graphite crucibles manufacturing was subsequently extended by the production of graphite stoppers, sical stoppers, various shaped products and not least by manufacturing of Izospar. In the second half of nineties this Plant place was extensively modernized. Modernization involved development of new burning aggregates and reconstruction of drying chambers. The Plant 02 – Svitavy became important supplier of graphite products in Czech Republic.

On the 1st of January 1997 the Plant 02 - Svitavy and the Plant 02 in Rájec joined up and this new one was called Plant 02 - Refractory Masses.

Plant 03 - Keravit

A direct predecessor of the plant Keravit was a fireclay factory operated since 1831 in the Rudolph smelter (now Vítkovice Holding, a.s.). Since its inception, the plant was focused on serving the needs of metallurgical and steelmaking operations Vitkovice Ironworks, especially in range of refractory bricks intended for a casting. Greatest development of the plant took a place between 1905-1913, when production in a short time increased to 122 thousand t per year of refractory products, and plant were also producent of refractory construction materials based on silica and magnesite.

The greatest performance in history was recorded in 1944, when it was produced 144 thousand t of refractory materials.

Substantial quantitative and qualitative changes occurred in 1975, when the Vitkovice Ironworks finished construction of the electric arc furnace. This construction greatly affected the are of the plant and destroyed a substantial part of the original objects. The remaining buildings and technological facilities have been renovated to today's capacity of 20 thousand t of shaped products and 3 thousand t monolithic refractories per year.

Plant 04 - Reframo

Historical sources about formation of the plant date back to the 1885 when was founded the company Döll a spol. Kadaň, which had a duration of up to 1922. Since 1922 the company was renamed to Petzold - Döll Werke, a.s. Kadaň. It is claimed that in 1928 belonged to this company kaolin facilities in the town Kadaň, Hlubany, Nepomyšl, the fireclay factory in the town Kadaň and the limework in Buškovice. The main production program of Petzold - Doll Werke, a.s. Kadan was the production of the raw, float and calcined kaolin, refractory stones, limestone and quartzite sand. Under the above title stood firm until 1935, when it was renamed to Závody Petzold - Doll, a.s. Kadaň. In 1945 the company was nationalized. In 1946 the plant was incorporated under the Severočeské závody kaolinové a hlinné, n.p. Podbořany and in the same year incorporated into the Rakovnické keramické závody, n.p. located in Rakovník.  In 1950, the separate Kadaňské keramické závody, n.p. was founded with local plants: Prunéřov, Černovice u Chomutova and Chodov near Karlovy Vary. In 1956 were Kadaňské keramické závody affiliated with the former established Podobořanské keramické závody, n.p. in Hlubany. In 1961, the organization was divided in to the plants, namely: the production of refractory materials, mortar, rubble and other grist under a new company Severočeské keramické závody  Most and in 1994 founded Keramost, a.s. So Plant 7 - Kadaň with operations in the Prunéřov and Chodov near Karlovy Vary was established.

REFRAMO, s.r.o. started production 1th of the November 2005 after buying the part of company Keramost a.s. - operation facility Fireclay factory Kadaň and followed up with more than 120-year tradition of manufacturing refractory products in the town Kadaň.