Our story

In 1946, a group of young engineers headed by Dr. Otakar Kallauner from the Czechoslovakian Manufacture of Building Materials and Ceramics founded in Brno a separate research facility (predecessor of the Building Materials Research Institute). They were graduates of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering (of the University of Technology Dr. Edvard Beneš in Brno), led by the pioneer of our silicate science, Professor Otakar Kallauner Sr.

In 1950, the institute moved to a modified building in Brno-Komárov, and this marked the beginning of a new stage of the institute’s development.

In 1953, a temporary pilot hall was built and 
a pilot rotary and later shaft furnace was installed. In 1955, a new hall No.II was built with a new modern rotary kiln, which is still used for firing special limes.

In 1964, by decision of the Ministry of Construction, the institute was appointed as the leading departmental workplace of scientific and technical development in the field of building materials.

By another decision of the Ministry, on January 1, 1966, the institute was transferred to a state economic organization, which meant the possibility of obtaining financial resources both from the state budget and from contract activities.

In 1962, the institute was expanded to include the Experimental Cement Plant located in Čebín, controlled by a computer, with continuous control of the chemical composition by an X-ray fluorescence analyzer.

Also a unique technical research was carried out here, which verified the mathematical model of the rotary kiln enabling the simulation of the operating conditions of the kiln and at the same time solved the issues of the new technology of firing clinker with pre-calcination.

There was extensive activity in the field of mortars (1970s) in the field of lime such as the introduction of the production of semi-burnt dolomite.

In the 1980s a significant stage in the field of lime was the development of a new way of firing limestone in a rotary kiln, which is based on firing coarsely ground limestone in a short rotary kiln with an exchanger and a fluid cooler.

This technology was implemented for the first time in 1964 in the Čebín limestone (capacity 100 tons/24 hours).

In the 1980s, it was realized in the Loděnice limestone (1981, capacity 200 tons/24 hours) and in the Kerbala limestone in Iraq (1984), where the Swiss company Maerz built 4 kilns, each with a capacity of 300 tons/24 hours as part of a license purchased from the institute and in close cooperation with the institute.

In the 1990s, there was significant cooperation with the cement and lime industry. Especially in the verification of the suitability of not only domestic raw materials, but in many cases also foreign raw materials.

Starting from the determination of the chemical composition, design and calculation of the raw material mixture, and the verification of limestone and dolomite for the production of lime in various types of kilns, determination of burnability, up to verification firings and assessment of the quality of the produced clinker, including its grindability.

In the area of lime, it was primarily the verification of its applicability for the hydrothermal process of filling pressure cylinders for acetylene with a porous calcium hydrosilicate mass based on tobermorite and xonolite.

The institute began in 1990s the production of highly active lime for special purposes, semi-burnt dolomite, Viennese lime, dry mortar mixtures and sealants was thus started.

An important product directly produced and supplied by the institute is a special lime with high purity, high activity and high viscosity of lime slurry used for the synthesis of filling material for acetylene pressure cylinders.

At the end of 2020, there is a change in the ownership relations of the joint-stock company.

From 2023, the Building Materials Research Institute is undergoing a gradual transformation and restructuring under the leadership of Ing. Zdeněk Krejza, Ph.D, a new development strategy is formulated in relation to the research priorities of the Czech Republic and the Circular Czechia 2040 strategy.

Some new research goals are defined for the Long-term concept of the development of the research organization.