A New High-Temperature Kiln May Not Solve Your Problem—Here’s Why

At the risk of oversimplifying, let me borrow a metaphor we can all relate to: baking cookies. At home, your goal isn’t just to bake one perfect cookie, but to maximize how many perfect cookies you can produce in the same baking time without burning edges or wasting batter. Who wants to waste time only using ⅓ of your oven when you can use it all! Now scale that challenge to an industrial level. Suddenly, inefficient processes don’t just waste cookies—they waste thousands of dollars in energy, time, and materials.

Here’s where the comparison diverges: you can’t just buy industrial high-temperature kiln furniture off the shelf like you would a cookie tray. This is a niche challenge that demands expertise, precision, and customization. At Applied Ceramics, we’ve spent decades designing high-temperature kiln furniture to optimize the outputs from firing processes. Whether it’s saving on space, fuel, or costs, we create solutions tailored to your unique needs.

Rethink Expansion—Maximize What You Have

Before you consider investing in a bigger high-temperature kiln, take a closer look at how well your current one is performing. One of our clients was struggling with output limitations and nearly went ahead with a costly oven upgrade. 

Instead, we offered advanced ceramics engineering. We redesigned their setup with custom kiln furniture and increased their production sixfold—using the same space, the same energy, and the same time.

This isn’t just an isolated case. With the right kiln furniture, you can achieve:

• Higher Throughput: Use every inch of oven space efficiently.
• Cost Savings: Avoid unnecessary labor, energy, and capital expenses.
• Improved Durability: Get high-temperature bricks and trays designed to thrive under extreme conditions.
• Avoid Unnecessary Equipment Costs: Don’t buy a new oven; optimize your current one.

Tackling Material Challenges Head-On

Every industrial oven faces unique challenges, from extreme temperatures to material-specific needs. The wrong materials can lead to downtime, wasted resources, and costly delays. 

Here are the three problems we see –and solve– in ceramic manufacturing:

• Brick Breakage: Standard bricks can’t always handle high-speed or high-temperature environments.
• Poor Heat Retention: Inefficient materials waste energy and compromise firing quality.
• Underutilized Space: Improperly designed setups waste valuable firing capacity.

We design kiln furniture that doesn’t just meet these challenges but turns them into opportunities for growth with a improved furnace layout.

Firing Expertise Beyond Bricks: Toll Firing Services

After over 50 years of building firing solutions for our partners, we’ve learned that increasing firing capacity doesn’t always mean investing in new kilns. Often, the right kiln furniture or layout can dramatically improve efficiency. However, there are situations where even optimized setups aren’t enough, and that’s when toll-firing services become the wiser choice.

Purchasing a new kiln is a significant investment—not just in cost but in space, maintenance, and operational adjustments. Toll-firing services offer an immediate, flexible, and cost-effective alternative. 

For manufacturers, toll firing with Applied Ceramics can help sort out production issues such as:

• Spikes in demand.
• Material-specific challenges.
• Capacity shortfalls.
• Product Development (R&D Needs).

Here’s what sets our toll-firing services apart:

• Precision Temperature Control: With kiln capabilities reaching up to 1700°C in batch kilns and 1650°C in tunnel kilns, we accommodate the most demanding firing requirements.
• High-Volume Expertise: Whether it’s a small run or large-scale production, we’re equipped to handle high volumes at extreme temperatures.
• Custom Solutions for Unique Materials: From advanced ceramics to electronic substrates, our toll firing services are tailored to your material needs.
• Real-Time Process Monitoring: We don’t just fire and forget. Our team monitors and adjusts parameters to keep your materials in spec, ensuring consistent results every time.
• Integrated Kiln Furniture: With proprietary kiln furniture designed and manufactured in-house, we provide uninterrupted service and superior quality for every batch.

Building Partnerships for Smarter Manufacturing

At Applied Ceramics, we believe that true success comes from collaboration. We don’t see ourselves as another vendor—we’re here to partner with you, solving challenges and creating solutions that improve, speed up, and optimize your manufacturing process. Our goal is to help you exceed your goals.

Here’s how we approach every partnership:

• Reduce Capital Investment: I always say, why buy new equipment if you don’t have to? We focus on helping you get the most out of your current setup, saving you time and money while boosting efficiency.
• Flexibility: Your needs today might not look the same a year from now. That’s why our solutions are built to adapt, helping you scale production and tackle new challenges as they arise.
• Expert Guidance: With over five decades of experience, my team and I have seen just about every firing challenge you can imagine. Whether it’s troubleshooting an issue or designing for growth, we’re here to help you make the right decisions.

When you succeed, we succeed—and that’s the kind of partnership I’m proud to stand behind.

Fire Smarter, Not Harder

In manufacturing, efficiency isn’t just about speed—it’s about making every step of the process count. With Applied Ceramics, you can reduce waste, improve yields, and grow your capacity without the expense of new equipment.

Ready to optimize your process? Contact us today to learn how kiln furniture or toll firing services can revolutionize your production.