Our History
Morgan Crucible's roots go back over 150 years. Our story is one of evolution, continually adapting our business model to better anticipate and meet the changing demands of our customers and markets.
19th century: The Morgan brothers’ entrepreneurial spirit
The Patent Plumbago Crucible Company (as Morgan Crucible was originally known) was founded in 1856 in London by the Morgan brothers, when they secured a licence to sell American-built crucibles in the UK. Soon the brothers began manufacturing crucibles, not only for England’s Royal Mint but also for mints in India, France and Germany. Thus the brothers, eight out of ten of whom worked in the business, laid the foundations of a company whose products were in demand throughout the world.
20th century: expanding overseas
In the early 20th century Morgan Crucible diversified its product range and developed a range of carbon brushes for the rapidly expanding electricity industry. Manufacturing expansion overseas soon followed, with sites in New York, Russia and Germany. At home, a sizeable factory was established in Battersea, south London, which continued to supply the world with foundry products until the early 1970s, when our main carbon production was moved to Morriston, South Wales.
The second half of the 20th centure is a story of expansion. By the early 1990s, prompted by a strng acquisition strategy, Morgan Crucible comprised 200 companies in 80 countries.
21st century: building world leader businesses
By the late 1990s and early 2000s Morgan Crucible was underperforming its peers, suffering from lack of strategic focus and a burden of debt. A new management team was appointed with a brief to turn the business around and to set a new strategic direction.
Following the Group's 150th anniversary in 2006, Mark Robertshaw was appointed Chief Executive, having been Chief Financial Officer since 2004. His appointment led to the formulation of the strategy which has guided the Group ever since.
History timeline
An animated showcase of the first 150 years of our history can be accessed by clicking on the link below.
Our history timeline requires Adobe Flash Player. The latest version is available to download from the Adobe website.
