History

Following 10 years of commercial success of melt extract fibres in the US market, Fibre Technology Limited is incorporated as the UK sister company. The second melt extract manufacturing plant is commissioned to supply fibres into UK, European and Asian markets.

Fibretech quickly establishes itself a reputable supplier of stainless steel fibres and secures several large projects for petrochemical applications.

The first patent for the novel Melt Overflow process was made by US-based sister company, Ribbon Technology Corporation. This innovative technology built on the success of melt extract to harness a unique process – i-melt®.

Fibretech commissioned its own melt overflow plant to produce stainless steel fibres and filaments with unique properties, not available outside of the Group.

The Company continued to grow, increasing revenues and headcount as more projects are secured in steel, copper and aluminium industries.

Fibretech was acquired as part of a group acquisition – which included sister company Ribtec – to form a new specialised consolidator that focussed on ‘advanced materials’. The new group aimed to acquire companies that owned proprietary IP for manufacturing processes supplying niche markets.

Melt overflow fibres and filaments were an established product line within the Fibretech portfolio, supplied into filtration, automotive and aerospace applications.

The company continued to see rapid growth from its core markets, as melt extract fibre reinforcement for refractory materials became the globally accepted production method.

Melt overflow derivative products continued to grow into new markets, with key contracts to supply material for the exhaust systems of Mini Cooper S and Ducati motorbikes were secured.

The Group – now named Dynamic-Materials Group – was acquired by its current shareholders, following a series of successful negotiations. This provided new funding for further product development that continued to leverage the unique i-melt® process into novel technologies.

Through working collaborations with Cambridge University and MIT, Fibretech heavily invested in R&D projects that resulted in the pre-commercialisation of Fibrecore and Fibresheet.

Dynamic-Materials Group was named no. 57 in Grant Thorntons’ East Midlands top 200 fastest growing companies.

Fibretech was now an established world-leader in stainless steel fibres and filaments, with an enviable reputation for quality and reliability. Annual production exceeded 750mt, securing Fibretech’s position as the largest producer of stainless steel fibres and filament in Europe.

Fibretech was named as the primary lead on an R&D project to utilise a fibrous network within concrete to monitor and provide advanced warning of catastrophic failure – the project resulted in SENSECRETE technology.

A series of R&D programmes were undertaken to develop Fibrex DS, a duplex series melt extract fibre with exceptional corrosion and erosion properties, for use in marine and chemical environments.

Fibretech was awarded funding to support a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Loughborough University. This project focussed on developing materials for use in battery electrolysers, leveraging the novel melt overflow process and ability to produce custom alloys with highly specialised properties.

An R&D programme to further develop Fibresheet was undertaken, using Fibretech’s inhouse R&D facility and vacuum furnaces.

The Company invested heavily in Energy Monitoring Systems (EMS), which help to reduce the carbon footprint of its production processes and support CBAM reporting requirements.

Fibretech has released funds for further capital investment to increase the production capacity of its processes, following a period of sustained growth in its core markets.

New product development continues to drive innovative fibre solutions, with two new products added to the Fibrex portfolio.