I am preparing this Chairman’s Corner with Christmas just a few weeks away and would like to extend best wishes from your Management Committee to all our members and everyone else who has given us such excellent support throughout the last twelve months. It has been a good year for the Materials Technology Forum.The number of members who now subscribe has continued to grow and in return the MTFW has organised a variety of successful events and seminars in both North and South Wales. For instance our annual prestigious seminar at the Deeside College on a beautiful Spring day was memorable..

It focused on Aerospace Materials, and not only was a great technical success but also a highly rewarding experience for everyone who attended.Alongside such events, the Bulletin has continued to evolve and, from all feedbacks, is now extremely well received.Throughout the year featured themes in Bulletins have included Bio-derived sustainable and renewable materials, non-metallic materials including composites and plastics and, of course, metals processing. What is clear from all the contributors, many of whom are MTFW members, is that Wales is not a ‘back-water’ in the development and promotion of materials technology. It is crystal clear, that while the traditional metal industries have diminished in importance, smaller companies have evolved to fill the resultant vacuum.These companies are working with materials and processing methods that are at the forefront of the technology and potentially world beating. Many are applying expertise and skills learnt in the traditional industries in new and exciting ways. Some of these new companies, however, are introducing entirely novel concepts to the benefit of the Welsh economy and technology base. Nanotechnology is a prime example.The MTFW has a central role to play in this revolution. It provides important links between major players, it is a conduit for information exchange and for the promotion of new ideas and technology,

it is a powerful facility for networking and most importantly it has access to the people and facilities that can assist companies in the development of their full market potential. If you have not already done so, join us now and enjoy the benefits of membership. At the present time we are finalizing our programme for 2004. However, one event already scheduled is our Prestigious Seminar which will focus on Materials in Architecture and the need for sustainability.This event will be held at the Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans, where the House of the Future is located, and will take place in May. Key speakers have already been booked and full details will be publicised in our next Bulletin.The Bulletin, itself, during 2004 will continue to focus on key issues with specific case studies from MTFW member companies. This quarter we have articles from and Rubbertech.These are highly successful companies who are providing fascinating insights into their technology and products.We are also promoting a brokerage event ‘The Exchange’, which will be held at ECM2 in March. I know you will find much of interest at this exciting event. Finally, it is my pleasure to announce that our long awaited members only page on the Website has now been launched. Please enjoy it and use its capabilities to the full.