Women At Refractories Fired Up Interview With Katy Moss

22nd September 2025

Katy Moss is the owner and CEO of Trent Refractories Ltd, a UK-based company founded in 1989. Despite her background in finance and banking, she grew up immersed in the refractory industry, often answering calls about minerals from a young age. As the CEO, Katy wears many hats, managing various aspects of the business, especially given the challenges of working remotely from the west coast of Canada.

Balancing work and family life is a priority for her, even amidst the demanding nature of the industry. Katy is passionate about the refractories industry, driven by a desire to honour her father's legacy and contribute to the future of UK manufacturing. She also advocates for more female representation in the industry, emphasizing resilience and strong values as key attributes for success.

Katy, why don't you introduce yourself, who are you?
I am the owner and CEO of Trent Refractories, based in the UK the company was established in 1989 by my late father

You are the CEO of Trent Refractories Ltd. What exactly does that mean? What is your day like?
Stands more like Chief Everything Officer, I think in an SME (Small and medium-sized enterprise) you need to have a good, broad understanding of all areas of the business. I have recently moved to the west coast of Canada, so having an -8hr time difference with my office means my day starts at 6am, usually when all my meetings are scheduled so I have to 'come round' quickly.

Once the office has closed, I walk my daughter to school then set to work on my emails, projects and networking, being based over there now also means I can start to further opportunities over there. Finishing around mid afternoon I then head off to pick up my daughter. Usually I can have the late afternoon with her and if needed I may pick up my laptop once she has gone to bed.

Your background is in finance and banking, but you grew up with refractories. What does "refractories" mean to you and what fascinates you about it?
Growing up with refractories meant at the age of 3 I was already answering the telephone for my father taking messages about andalusite and dolomite, minerals were always in discussion, I was informed to listen hard in chemistry lessons. I never truly understood what he did but when I was 16 I did some work experience at the company. 

It wasn't until my father died that I was truly open to seeing the importance and also the magic of it all and recalled some of the things he had told me as a teenager, somehow it resonated more now he was gone and I felt the urge to protect his life's work. It started out that I was doing it for him and my mother but quickly became about the industry and the UK's future for manufacturing refractories. What fascinates me is the mystique that no one knows what refractories are which is crazy when you consider how they are used.

How do you balance work and private life, especially in such a demanding industry?
Now that I have moved, I am able to pick up my daughter from school which is great, I also get those precious after school hours and have a hard rule about weekends unless there is an emergency. That being said, travelling back and forth to the UK as often as I do can mean long periods without seeing my daughter, she is 9, and this is tough on both of us. In order to get the balance you live with 'perma-exhaustion' then it is achievable.

Do you have a female role model in the industry? If so, who is it and why?
This was a tough one as there are so few of us but a lady who stood out from the moment I met her is Nancy Bunt from Imerys, feisty, strong, confident and self-assured in a good way she has progressed through the ranks when there were even less women in our industry and has adapted and thrived, she remains kind and warm and gives her time and energy when she doesn’t need to.

Why do you think there are so few women in the refractory and process industries, especially in management positions?
Because the environment is just so tough, there are still a lot of games being played and bias towards women. We’ve been inadvertently copied into emails over the years, some from companies in the industry, where the language just isn’t ok and doesn’t make for an environment that is supportive to our success. Some women say they have to work twice as hard to be noticed, do any of you feel like this?

How do you think this can be changed?
I’m not sure in our generation, having stood up to some of it myself it hasn’t got me anywhere, the thing is we don’t want to have ‘special’ treatment we just want the same standards, expectations and respect.

From the perspective of a managing director of a refractory company, what skills do you think are particularly important for women in the refractory industry?
Resilience, strong core values and confidence in your beliefs.

What do you particularly appreciate about women in your company and women in the refractories industry?
First of all, for the women in my company, what I just said, nearly half my workforce is female and 2 out of 3 of my top people are women, if you include me then its 75%. They are go getters, they have a good work ethic and they appreciate give and take.

To the women in the industry, thank you for getting involved and helping even the field, I think a balanced perspective is best for anything but particularly if refractories becomes more balanced then I feel positive the industry will change for the better.

How do you see future developments in your industry and how are you preparing for them?
The way in which people are buying is changing, new processes and industries are emerging and markets are altering, disrupting stable and established supply chains. We are looking at our strategy, we have built a strong technical team to be able to proactively respond to customer needs, focusing on being ambassadors for the industry in what we do and giving a technical, bespoke service.

#ICR2025 #TrentRefractories #Refractories #Monolithics #Precast #Bricks

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