The Materials Processing Institute is a Middlesbrough technology centre that helps steel and materials companies develop new processes and cut energy use and environmental impact.
The Materials Processing Institute is a technology centre for organisations involved with materials, materials processing and energy. It focuses on challenging processes, especially those involving very high temperatures, tough environments and hard-won skills, such as making iron and steel. Its aim is to help clients develop new materials and processes, improve existing ones, gain energy efficiency and process reliability, and reduce environmental impact. It says it supports some of the world's leading steelmakers and equipment suppliers.
The Institute says it has roots in the UK iron and steel industry, and it has since created two newer facilities to support growth in the wider materials sector. We did not find a founding date or named founders in the material we read, and we found no formal mission statement beyond the description above, so we have not invented one. Its approach, in its own words, is to offer practical, simple and robust solutions to complex engineering problems.
The Institute is based on Eston Road in Middlesbrough, in the North East of England. Its facilities range from laboratory-scale experiments to demonstration-scale pilot plants. The two newer ones are the Pilot and Demonstration Facilities, for large pilot equipment, and Specialist Melting, which can handle melts from 10 kg to 7,000 kg per heat with ingot or continuous casting. It also has mineral, metallurgical and analytical laboratories, and mathematical, physical and thermodynamic modelling teams.
Its services include process support, such as forensic analysis of complex problems in a plant, materials and metals consultancy across the supply chain, and development of iron and steelmaking technology. It has an SME Technology Centre that offers technical, facilities and business support to help smaller companies grow, and a Doctoral Academy that mentors doctoral students and connects them with industry, universities and small firms. It describes its people as a dedicated team of engineers and scientists who are industrial problem solvers with experience across many industries.
The staff at a place like this include metallurgists, process engineers, chemists, modelling specialists, laboratory technicians and plant operators, as well as business and support teams. If you like chemistry, physics and practical problem solving, and are curious about how steel and other metals are made and made cleaner, this is a good example of a modern career in an old industry. The Institute is open to working with universities, so students at nearby universities may meet it through projects.
Website: www.mpiuk.com
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