Though actually representing a trademarked product line, the word and imagery form an apt metaphor for the challenges facing anyone attempting to convince the hard-hit American steel industry that it should spend more money on anything.

Schofalvi, a ceramics engineer, admits that he’s better at tinkering with existing technology than he is at inventing out of whole cloth. “All you’ve got to do is tweak it a little bit and it works,” he says.

Schofalvi founded Stanton Advanced Ceramics LLC to innovate a patent-pending ceramic matrix composite (CMC) that has the potential to last up to 20 times longer than traditional ceramics in such rugged applications as steel, aluminum, quartz and glass production.

Sure, the new material costs more, but Schofalvi claims its heightened resistance to heat, corrosion and thermal shock translates into manufacturing savings of up to 13 percent. That’s because traditional ceramics used for everything from insulator material and pouring pads to refractory bricks must be replaced weekly, daily or even hourly. A more durable ceramic material means less downtime.

Schofalvi is finding believers. He’s attracted partnerships with Case Western Reserve University, NASA Glenn Research Center, other universities and private laboratories in the United States and Germany. He’s building prototypes, getting funding, meeting customers and, according to his business plan, forecasting an in-the-black balance sheet within three years.

Most might figure that the still-slumping economy makes this a less-than-ideal time to approach the steel industry about a more costly production material. Schofalvi would not agree.

“A down cycle is beautiful for us,” he says, explaining that no ones sees a need or has the time to pursue innovation when production is humming. Now is when they need an advantage.

Spoken with the true courage of a fireslayer.

Reprinted from COSE Update magazine