RHI Magnesita Strengthens Operations in ME, Türkiye and Africa, Opens New Regional Head Office in Dubai

DUBAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 17, 2025--

RHI Magnesita, the leading global supplier of high-grade refractory products, systems, and solutions, has strengthened its operations in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) region by setting up a new business unit headquartered in Dubai with ambitions to propel further growth and expansion in the region. The company inaugurated its new regional office yesterday, marking a key milestone in its growth journey and underscoring a long-term commitment to customers across the region.

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The new office was officially inaugurated by Gustavo Franco, Global Chief Customer Officer of RHI Magnesita, together with Hakimuddin Ali, Regional President - META, in the presence of senior executives from its customer industries in Steel, Cement, etc. The office is designed as more than a corporate location. It will function as a regional hub for coordination, customer engagement, and collaboration across META markets, supporting closer alignment between sales, commercial, technical, and operational teams dedicated to the customers in the region.

Speaking at the opening, Hakimuddin Ali said, “The META region continues to evolve rapidly, and our customers expect strong local presence backed by global expertise. The opening of our Dubai office reflects our commitment to being closer to our customers, strengthening collaboration across the region, and building a platform for long-term growth and partnership.”

The region represents an important pillar of the company’s global footprint, with customers increasingly seeking partners that can deliver performance, consistency, supply reliability, and long-term operational stability. Türkiye plays a central role in RHI Magnesita’s regional strategy, with an established manufacturing footprint, including refractory production facilities and a magnesite mine in Eskişehir and Söğüt. This local capability, combined with global know-how and technology, enables the company to respond efficiently to regional requirements while maintaining high quality and service standards.

About RHI Magnesita

RHI Magnesita is the leading global supplier of high-grade refractory products, systems, and solutions which are critical for high-temperature processes exceeding 1,200°C in a wide range of industries, including steel, cement, non-ferrous metals, and glass. RHI Magnesita serves customers around the world with more than 20,000 employees, 65 main production sites (including raw material sites), 12 recycling facilities, and more than 70 sales offices. For more information, please visit: www.rhimagnesita.com.

Gustavo Franco, Global Chief Customer Officer, and Hakimuddin Ali, Regional President Middle East, Türkiye & Africa, officially inaugurate RHI Magnesita’s META Regional Head Office in Dubai, together with key customer officials.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado court reversed homicide convictions against two paramedics on Thursday in the ketamine overdose death of Elijah McClain after the Black man was pinned down by police.

The appeals court ordered new trials for Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec. McClain, 23, had been forcibly restrained by police, who stopped him in response to a suspicious person complaint as the massage therapist walked home from a convenience store in 2019.

McClain’s final words — “I can’t breathe” — foreshadowed those of George Floyd a year later in Minneapolis.

A jury in 2023 found Cooper and Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide following a weekslong trial in state district court. The jurors also found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree felony assault.

Cooper avoided prison and was sentenced to 14 months in jail with work release and probation. Cichuniec received five years in prison.

The appeals court upheld Cichuniec's assault conviction, but faulted the instructions given to jurors with respect to the criminally negligent homicide charges before they deliberated. Thursday's ruling sends their cases back to a lower court for a new trial on that charge.

Cichuniech was released early from prison in 2024 after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation. That judge, Mark Warner, cited “unusual and extenuating circumstances,” a part of Colorado’s mandatory sentencing law that allows a court to modify a sentence after a defendant has served least 119 days in prison. Warner said that Cichuniec had to make quick decision the night of the arrest as the highest-ranking paramedic at the scene.

The Associated Press left a voice mail seeking comment with the attorney for McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain. Other requests for comment were left with the paramedics' lawyers and their union.

Gruver reported from Fort Collins and Brown from Billings, Montana.

FILE - Demonstrators carry a banner while marching down Interstate 225 during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain, June 27, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. A trial for two of the officers charged for McClain's death is set to begin Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 with jury selection. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)

FILE - A demonstrator carries an image of Elijah McClain during a rally and march, June 27, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. Two paramedics were convicted Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in the 2019 killing of McClain, who they injected with an overdose of the sedative ketamine after police put him in a neck hold. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)