Blog
IPS Ceramics Celebrates its 10 year anniversary
Posted by Liam Morgan on February 27, 2019
IPS Ceramics, based on the High Carr Business Park in Newcastle-under-Lyme, celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and does so while looking forward with great optimism to the years ahead. The company has forged a solid reputation as an expert voice in the field of high temperature ceramics and, while today operating from Europe, Asia and the USA, has its roots firmly embedded in North Staffordshire.
When IPS Ceramics was established at the Dyson Works in Stoke-on-Trent in 2009, it in fact embraced the designs and legacy of four of the world’s most renowned kiln furniture companies – with a history stretching back over 150 years. J Hewitt & Son of Fenton – where today’s operations director Ian Wright cut his teeth in this industry – was established in 1863. J Gimson & Co, also based in Fenton, came along in 1919 and then in 1933 both Acme Marls Ltd and Diamond Clay Co were formed, in Burslem and Stoke respectively. IPS sales director Phil Green led the export sales drive at Acme Marls for many years.
After noted international success and then many ups and downs, these four companies found themselves all operating together under a single name from 2000. They were part of Dyson Group’s ceramic division, where Sukhjinder Singh was a director – today he is MD of IPS and President of IPS Ceramics USA. Dyson boasted its own long history in high temperature products. It was established as a brick maker by John Dyson in 1834 and went on to become a global force in steel refractories. When Dyson Group sought to divest its kiln furniture arm during 2009, Ian, Phil and Sukhjinder effected a management buyout.
Along with fellow director Rob Brennan – himself a ceramics veteran of some 28 years’ standing – this management team is reckoned to bring more experience to the field than any other in this part of the industry. Moreover, other members of the IPS Ceramics family, in the UK, the USA and Asia, have also contributed to the team’s efforts over some decades, meaning that all told there is over 200 years’ worth of experience in the design, manufacture, sales and supply of high-performance ceramics.
“We are delighted as a team to celebrate a decade of IPS Ceramics,” commented Sukhjinder Singh, “and I say team because since we began operations, we have benefitted greatly from the committed attitude of all employees, working with the same level of intensity to serve all our customers around the world, whether they are buyers of modern kiln furniture systems or selecting from our ever-widening portfolio of technical ceramics.”
The company is rightly proud of its achievements, built on a platform of highly regarded ceramic products. These include one of the broadest ranges of kiln furniture in the world, including kiln shelves, ceramic tubes, advanced cordierite products and, in the technical ceramics area, components made from alumina, silicon carbide, aluminium nitride, zirconia, glass ceramics and steatite. Additionally, IPS Ceramics has in-house product design and CNC prototyping facilities at its North Staffordshire base, and offers alumina tube cutting to custom lengths with options for accelerated delivery. Alumina tubes can now be ordered from our online shop.
As the company has become increasingly visible right across the world as a trusted supplier of technical ceramics, the team participates in more and more exhibitions in North America, Europe and Asia. This year customers will also be able to catch up with IPS Ceramics at the one-off Ceramics UK exhibition, taking place at the Telford International Centre over 10-11 July. This is a free-to-attend event. More details here https://www.ceramics-uk.com/about/
“I see only further encouraging results in the future,” concluded Sukhjinder. “We have had a very good start to 2019, with new enquiries coming in daily and we are seeing our products being employed across a much wider number of applications. We’re very optimistic about the next ten years!”