RHI Refractories America, the refractory group consisting of North American Refractories Co. (NARCO), VRD-Americas, VRD-Canada and Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., will consolidate its North American research activities at a lab in West Mifflin, Pa. As a result, the existing NARCO Technical Center in State College, Pa., will be closed and technical personnel consolidated at the West Mifflin facility.

Jakob Mosser, CEO of RHI Refractories America, said "the decision to maintain the West Mifflin facility was a purely logistical one. All things being equal between the two facilities, we felt our interest would be best served by having our executive headquarters in close proximity to our research center."

RHI America is headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, about 10 miles from the West Mifflin Technical Center. RHI AG, the parent company of RHI America, also maintains a refractory research facility in Leoben, Austria. These two facilities will cooperate in RHI's worldwide research strategy.