Pictured: Paul Hipkiss

Mantec, the British technology group with a portfolio of manufacturing businesses based in Stoke-on-Trent, has announced that with immediate effect the three companies previously operated as subsidiaries of the technical ceramic division have now merged into a single, business - Mantec Technical Ceramics Ltd (www.mantectechnicalceramics.com).

The three companies involved are Taylor Tunnicliff, Ceramic Gas Products and Fairey Filtration Systems. They have in any case been operating under common management, from the same premises, for the past four years and so this a logical step to take.

Sales & Marketing Director Paul Hipkiss said: "This merger establishes a stronger and at the same time more flexible presence in the global technical ceramics market. This move will enable us to redouble our efforts in constantly striving for manufacturing excellence and we remain committed to bringing specialist ceramic solutions to a variety of user industries all around the world."

While the name of Mantec Technical Ceramics will now be the one associated with all administrative, legal, accounting and sales channels, leading brand names owned and manufactured by the group will naturally be retained.

The oldest of these is Bullers Rings, world renowned as highly reliable pyrometric devices and items which have been in continuous production for over 80 years in the UK. Bullers Rings are used by the world's leading ceramic manufacturers to measure the amount of heat work that has taken place in the kiln, giving an independent, accurate and reliable indication that the firing of the product is correct and unaffected by any variations in temperature and kiln loading.

Ceramic producers rely on Bullers Rings for reproducible quality standards and companies in 45 countries make continuous use of them. Customers' applications are served by a wide range and grade of rings which enable a temperature range of 750°C-1770°C to be monitored.

The second major brand is Ultralite which the group has been manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent for a number of years. Thanks to a combination of superior start materials and a bespoke manufacturing process unique in the ceramic field, the result is a lightweight refractory aggregate designed to be a modern and very cost effective substitute for more traditional insulation materials across a number of quite distinct applications.

It is especially effective as a loose infill material in kiln cars and the special refractory formulation that is used to produce Ultralite has given it an edge over, for instance, micaceous and siliceous minerals. Sales of Ultralite have just seen their most successful year.

Finally, in the field of filtration, the Star-Sep and Puremet brand names will be carried forward by Mantec Technical Ceramics. The Star-Sep ceramic membrane filter has been specifically developed for efficient crossflow microfiltration. The filter channel's unique 'star' form brings energy related operational benefits that have spearheaded its sales, providing a unique and energy efficient solution for filtration OEMs and end users. Mantec's 'Puremet' product is a unique ceramic formed as a reticulated irregular, three-dimensional, open cell structure with a high average surface area. It is ideal as a catalyst, bio-mass support medium or metal pour filter for the investment casting industry.

"These brands are all highly successful and have established themselves as 'go to' products in the user industries which they serve," added Paul Hipkiss. "They stand as flagship products for Mantec Technical Ceramics and certainly form a solid platform from which to launch other high performance ceramics while consolidating all such activities into a single entity. We have brought about this change rapidly and have already received strong support from our existing customer base.

"A new website for Mantec Technical Ceramics has already been developed and has gone live and the new name will feature prominently at upcoming events such as Indian Ceramics, Ceramitec and Ceramics China. We are putting maximum effort into growing sales in every area of the business."