Data to decisions: How RHI Magnesita turned digital complexity into clarity

RHI Magnesita is a global leader in refractory products, systems, and services—materials engineered to withstand extreme heat and stress in industrial processes. From furnaces and kilns to reactors and crucibles, its products keep the world’s high-temperature industries running safely and efficiently.

Every year, the company produces around three million tons of refractory materials across 65 main production sites (including recycling facilities) and12 raw material sites , supporting operations in more than 170 countries. Its portfolio of over 120,000 products serves customers in steel, cement, lime, non-ferrous metals, glass, paper, energy, chemicals, and other industries.

For the design and engineering function of such a large, complex business, data plays a vital role. “We create a lot of data, and we needed a very structured way to deal with that,” says Marco Vasconcelos, digital transformation analyst at RHI Magnesita.

RHI Magnesita had implemented Autodesk Vault to manage its design and engineering files, but adoption lagged. Vasconcelos and his team wanted Vault to serve as a connective backbone across systems. “We wanted to make Vault the central hub for our engineers—connected to CRM and other business tools,” he says.

The company also wanted to develop this solution in-house, rather than hiring a third-party vendor. With infrastructure still under development and global server setup posing a hurdle, the team needed guidance from someone who had already navigated similar terrain. “We were still creating our infrastructure,” Vasconcelos explains. “We weren’t sure how to set up servers globally, and we needed insights from someone who had already done it.”

RHI Magnesita partnered with Autodesk through a Business Success Plan. Working closely with Customer Success Manager Eva Zwifl and Autodesk’s expert coaching and deployment teams, the company tapped into a network of shared knowledge and experience

“We wanted to see a real case in our area,” says Vasconcelos. “So we asked: can you connect us to a company that uses Vault in a way that matches ours?”

“I saw the chance to connect RHI Magnesita with another customer using Vault heavily,” Zwifl says. “They have a similar setup. They also have engineering pools all over the world.”

That connection proved invaluable. Through peer insights and expert guidance, RHI Magnesita was able to refine its infrastructure and drive adoption across its global operations.

While data management was one part of the transformation, licensing optimization became another powerful success story.

“The greatest win so far,” says Zwifl, “was the money we managed to save [them] on licenses that were underused. By switching to a hybrid model of subscriptions and Flex, we made sure RHI Magnesita only pays for what they truly need.”

Vasconcelos took that concept further. With the help from expert coaching, he developed his own in-house automations to manage licenses dynamically using Autodesk’s reporting API.

“With help from Autodesk coaching, I created a tool that automatically switches users between Flex and subscription based on their real usage,” he explains. “We’ve calculated €55,000 in license savings, and another €13,000 per year saved from automating what used to be manual work.”

“These aren’t just savings—they’re examples of cost avoidance,” Vasconcelos explains. “By learning to use Autodesk’s SDK and data APIs, we’ve built tools in-house. In the past, we would have had to get a third-party vendor to do that for us, and you can imagine how much more that would cost.”

Convincing engineers to change long-standing habits can be one of the hardest parts of digital transformation. RHI Magnesita tackled this challenge by showing teams how Vault makes their work easier—not harder.

“We have engineering pools all over the world,” says Vasconcelos. “Some are easier to onboard than others. But when people see that Vault helps them in their daily work, adoption comes naturally.”

Through plug-ins and integrations, engineers can now access Vault without leaving their design environment. “They can connect directly from CAD, manage projects, create bills of materials, even link with CRM for quotes—all without switching tools,” he says.

That integration has turned Vault from an extra step into a time-saving asset. “We wanted to streamline their daily work—and that’s happening,” Vasconcelos adds. “That’s why there’s not much friction anymore.”

“We’ve learned so much through Autodesk’s expert coaching and API training,” says Vasconcelos. “Many of our automations—connecting CRM, Outlook, and Vault—were inspired by what we learned.”

For Zwifl, the partnership was more than a support engagement—it was a shared journey and a true exchange of ideas: “It’s not just Autodesk as a vendor and RHI Magnesita as a buyer,” she says. “We’re solving problems together. We look at where they want to be in two, three, five years—and we act as an accelerator for them.”

Vasconcelos agrees. “When a company helps you save money instead of spend more, that builds trust,” he says. “At first, Autodesk was a vendor. Now it feels like a strategic partnership.”

RHI Magnesita’s digital transformation and licensing optimization efforts have delivered clear, measurable impact:

• €55,000 saved through licensing optimization

• €13,000 annual savings in manual administrative work through automation

• Improved global Vault infrastructure and adoption across engineering pools

• Enhanced integration between Vault, CRM, and CAD environments

• Stronger alignment between engineering and business data