Morgan Advanced Materials
British advanced materials manufacturer specializing in carbon, advanced ceramics, composites and related engineered products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Morgan Advanced Materials plc is a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of specialist materials and engineered components. Its technologies are built principally around carbon, advanced ceramics, insulating materials, composites and associated joining and sealing expertise. The company supplies products used in demanding industrial environments where resistance to heat, wear, electrical current, corrosion or mechanical stress is important. Its applications span thermal processing, molten-metal handling, electrical power equipment, transportation, healthcare, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial machinery, energy and other specialized markets. The business traces its origins to six Morgan brothers who operated as importers and exporters in London. After seeing an American crucible made using a process that combined clay with graphite, they obtained British Empire distribution rights and established the Patent Plumbago Crucible Company in Battersea in 1856. The use of graphite produced crucibles with greater durability than conventional alternatives, and the company developed an international orientation early in its history, sourcing graphite as well as selling crucibles abroad. By the 1870s it was widely known as Morgan Crucible and had become a major, internationally active crucible manufacturer. The enterprise broadened its technical base during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It moved beyond crucibles into furnace linings, electrical brushes, lighting carbons, resistors and other carbon products. Work on electrical brushes became commercially established by the end of the First World War, while refractory production was later expanded through a new factory at Neston. Carbon components for rotating electrical equipment became an important part of the group's identity and commercial activity. Morgan became a company in 1890 and ended its long period as a predominantly employee- and director-held enterprise after a public share issue in 1946. The flotation supported the transition from a family-associated manufacturer into a publicly traded industrial group. Subsequent expansion included the acquisition of Steatite & Porcelain Products from Imperial Chemical Industries in 1964, strengthening the group's ceramics capabilities. The company also developed international partnerships, including a thermal-ceramics joint venture with Carborundum Universal, part of India's Murugappa Group, established in 1982. The group has historically organized its activities around specialist business units including Thermal Ceramics, Molten Metal Systems, Electrical Carbon, Seals and Bearings, and Technical Ceramics. At the beginning of 2024 these were consolidated into three reporting segments: Thermal Products, Performance Carbon and Technical Ceramics. This structure combined related manufacturing and engineering capabilities while retaining a broad portfolio of applications. The group has also invested in technical development centers covering insulating fibre, structural ceramics, metals and joining, and carbon science. In February 2013 the company adopted the name Morgan Advanced Materials to communicate a broader portfolio than its traditional crucible and refractory heritage. Its headquarters moved within Windsor in 2020. The company remains an active, publicly listed global materials supplier, with operations and employees distributed across the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, China and other markets. Its identity combines a long industrial history with a strategy focused on specialized materials, process knowledge and engineered components rather than mass-market consumer products.
History
Morgan Advanced Materials originated in the Victorian industrial economy. The six Morgan brothers—William, Thomas, Walter, Edward, Octavius and Septimus—initially traded in London as importers and exporters. At the 1851 Great Exhibition they encountered an American crucible manufactured using a process in which clay was mixed with graphite, then commonly called plumbago or black lead. The process improved durability and attracted the brothers' commercial interest. They secured exclusive agency rights for the British Empire from the American manufacturer Joseph Dixon and in 1856 created the Patent Plumbago Crucible Company, with manufacturing established at Battersea. The company's early development combined manufacturing with international trading. It searched for suitable graphite, first in Ceylon and later in Madagascar, while selling crucibles beyond the United Kingdom. During the 1870s the business was commonly referred to as Morgan Crucible and was regarded as the world's largest crucible manufacturer. In 1890 it was incorporated as a company, ending its formal status as a family concern, although ownership remained associated with directors and senior employees for decades. Morgan used its knowledge of graphite and high-temperature materials to diversify. During the early twentieth century it conducted extensive development work on electrical brushes, which became an established business by the end of the First World War. It added furnace linings and other refractory products, and in 1939 its Morganite Crucible subsidiary opened a works at Norton in Worcestershire. After the Second World War, refractory production moved to a new Neston factory, while carbon resistors were produced at a new facility in County Durham. The group also manufactured lighting carbons and other carbon products. A major ownership transition occurred in 1946. At that year's annual meeting, the chairman announced a departure from the previous policy of retaining all equity among workers and former workers. A public issue of shares was completed in September, bringing Morgan to the London Stock Exchange while preserving its identity as a major crucible and carbon-products manufacturer. The company later became an early adopter of business computing: it ordered a HEC4 computer in 1954, which became operational in 1955, and was the first commercial purchaser of an ICT 1900-series computer in 1964. The acquisition of Steatite & Porcelain Products from Imperial Chemical Industries in 1964 expanded Morgan's ceramics capabilities. The acquired Stourport business had originally been established as Ernst Hildebrant Limited in 1907. International development continued through partnerships and joint ventures, including the thermal-ceramics venture with Carborundum Universal, associated with the Murugappa Group, that began in 1982. By the twenty-first century Morgan had become a diversified advanced-materials group rather than a company defined solely by crucibles. Its activities included thermal insulation, ceramics, carbon products, seals, bearings, molten-metal systems and other engineered components. The corporate name changed to Morgan Advanced Materials in February 2013 to reflect the breadth of its products and end markets. The headquarters moved from the Quadrant to York House in Windsor in September 2020. The company's recent history has included both organizational restructuring and operational challenges. In February 2023 it announced a cyber-security incident that disrupted some systems and could cost up to £12 million. Until 2023 the group operated through five principal business units. From the beginning of 2024 it reorganized these into three segments: Thermal Products, Performance Carbon and Technical Ceramics. The company has maintained a worldwide development network, opening centers of excellence for insulating fibre in Bromborough in 2008, structural ceramics in Stourport-on-Severn in 2015, metals and joining in Hayward, California, in 2016, and carbon science in State College, Pennsylvania, in 2018. In 2025, a large part of the former Molten Metal Systems business was reported to have been sold to Vesuvius. Morgan remains a publicly listed British specialist-materials manufacturer with a global operating footprint.
- 2025
Former Molten Metal Systems activities sold to Vesuvius
[1]A large part of the former business unit was reported as sold to Vesuvius for US$108.7 million.
- 2024
Business units consolidated into three segments
[1]Thermal Ceramics and Molten Metal Systems became Thermal Products; Electrical Carbon and most of Seals and Bearings formed Performance Carbon; Technical Ceramics and the remaining Seals and Bearings activities formed Technical Ceramics.
- 2023
Cyber-security incident disclosed
[1]The company reported that a cyber incident had disrupted some systems and might generate costs of up to £12 million.
- 2020
Headquarters moved within Windsor
[1]The headquarters relocated from the Quadrant to York House in central Windsor.
- 2013
Corporate name changed to Morgan Advanced Materials
[1]The new name was adopted to represent the company's wider advanced-materials portfolio.
- 1982
Thermal-ceramics joint venture established
[1]Morgan's Thermal Ceramics division formed a joint venture with Carborundum Universal of the Murugappa Group.
- 1964
Steatite & Porcelain Products acquired
[1]Morgan acquired the ceramics company from Imperial Chemical Industries, broadening its technical-ceramics activities.
- 1955
Early business-computing adoption
[1]The HEC4 computer ordered by Morgan became operational, making the company an early British industrial user of computerized financial records.
- 1946
Public flotation on the London Stock Exchange
[1]The company completed a public share issue, ending its longstanding privately held ownership model.
- 1939
Morganite Crucible opened the Norton works
[1]A subsidiary opened a manufacturing site at Norton in Worcestershire.
Products and positioning
A global specialist materials and engineered-components supplier serving technically demanding industrial applications through carbon, ceramics, insulation, composites, sealing and joining technologies.
Thermal insulation and refractory materials
Thermal Products
Thermal Products combines the group's thermal-ceramics and molten-metal activities. The portfolio serves high-temperature industrial processes and includes insulating and refractory technologies used to manage heat, protect equipment and improve process efficiency. Related products and systems are used in furnaces, foundries and other applications where temperature control, durability and resistance to aggressive operating conditions are required.
Carbon electrical and industrial components
Performance Carbon
Performance Carbon brings together Electrical Carbon and most of the former Seals and Bearings activities. It reflects Morgan's long history in graphite and carbon engineering, including carbon brushes and components for rotating electrical equipment. The segment also supplies engineered carbon-based products for industrial systems that require electrical conductivity, controlled friction, wear resistance or operation under demanding temperatures.
Advanced and structural ceramics
Technical Ceramics
Technical Ceramics covers specialized ceramic materials and components for applications requiring hardness, dimensional stability, electrical insulation, thermal performance or resistance to wear and corrosion. The segment includes the group's technical-ceramics heritage and part of its seals and bearings capability, supporting industrial, medical, energy, transportation and other technically demanding end markets.
Electrical carbon components
Electrical carbon brushes
Morgan's electrical-carbon heritage includes brushes and related components used on rotating electrical equipment. These products are engineered to transfer current while balancing electrical, mechanical and wear characteristics. Development began in the early twentieth century and became an established part of the business by the end of the First World War.
Foundry and metal-processing equipment
Crucibles and molten-metal systems
The company began with graphite-clay crucibles and later developed broader molten-metal products and systems. These offerings support the melting, holding and handling of metals in foundry and industrial environments. The business represents the historical foundation of Morgan's expertise in high-temperature materials and process equipment.
Engineered sealing and bearing components
Seals and bearings
Morgan's seals and bearings activities provide engineered components for systems where controlled friction, sealing performance, wear resistance and dimensional reliability are important. These products have been incorporated into the group's newer segment structure, with most associated activities placed in Performance Carbon and a smaller portion in Technical Ceramics.
Brand decisions
2025
Sold a substantial part of the former Molten Metal Systems businessM&ABackground
The transaction followed the reorganization of the group and the creation of the broader Thermal Products segment.
Action taken
A large part of the former Molten Metal Systems business was sold to Vesuvius.
Aftermath
The reported transaction reduced Morgan's exposure to those molten-metal activities and transferred the business to another specialist industrial group.
Reported transaction value. US$108.7 million (2025)
2024
Consolidated five business units into three operating segmentsStrategyBackground
Before 2024 the group reported through Thermal Ceramics, Molten Metal Systems, Electrical Carbon, Seals and Bearings, and Technical Ceramics.
Action taken
The company created Thermal Products, Performance Carbon and Technical Ceramics by combining related activities.
Aftermath
The structure aligned thermal activities, carbon activities and ceramics activities into three broader reporting and operating groupings.
2013
Adopted the Morgan Advanced Materials nameStrategyBackground
The historic Morgan Crucible name was increasingly associated with crucibles, while the group supplied a wider range of carbon, ceramic, composite and engineered-material products.
Action taken
The company changed its corporate name to Morgan Advanced Materials in February 2013.
Aftermath
The new identity positioned the company as a diversified advanced-materials group rather than a single-product crucible manufacturer.
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