About Us

The appropriate selection and use of materials in any manufacturing sector can make the difference between commercial viability and failure. It can increase the relative safety of a product for end users and protect our living environment for future generations. For many companies, however, combining the acquisition of knowledge to tackle strategic materials issues with the challenge of keeping pace with changes in production and processing technology is daunting.

For these reasons, the MNW was established in 1995 (formerly known as the Materials Technology Forum in Wales), to raise awareness of the importance of materials issues in general and to enhance the ways companies might use appropriate materials to maintain their competitive edge. The Materials Network Wales (MNW) functions as a network serving all the materials-using companies in Wales.

The Network has three main objectives:

• To raise industrial awareness, particularly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), of new technologies, new materials and new ways of using existing materials, and to encourage planning and investment
• To help Welsh manufacturing organisations become more profitable by promoting appropriate cross sectoral activity through collaboration with other sector fora and materials bodies.
• To encourage interaction between research organisations and industry and networking within the various materials industry sectors.

The forum welcomes participants from both manufacturing industry and academia.