Magnesium Elektron
Magnesium Elektron Ltd (MEL or the Mag) is a British materials manufacturer which produces magnesium and zirconium metals and compounds. Since 2018 it has traded as Luxfer MEL Technologies, following a series of mergers and acquisitions. It is still based in Manchester.
History
[edit]The company was founded in 1934, as the British Magnesium (Elektronmetal) Ltd. In 1935 it became Magnesium Elektron Ltd, formed as a joint venture between ICI (48%), I.G. Farbenindustrie (30%) and F.A. Hughes & Co (22%).[1] It started by producing Elektron (or Elektronmetall) under licence. Elektron was first developed in 1908 by Gustav Pistor and Wilhelm Moschel at the Bitterfeld works of Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron (CFGE or CFG), whose headquarters was in Griesheim am Main, Germany.
In 1936, the company opened a factory on Lumns Lane at Clifton Junction, to the north west of Manchester, to produce magnesium metal. A second plant near Burnley began operation in 1943.[2] During the Second World War, the company made an important contribution to the nation's war effort producing thousands of tons of magnesium metal alloys for the aircraft industry.[3][4]
During the late 1940s, the company diversified into the production of zirconium and its compounds, and was acquired by the Distillers Company in 1951.[5] Zirconium carbonate production commenced in 1956, to meet a growing demand from the paint, paper and textile industries.
In the 1950s MEL developed magnesium alloys (known collectively as magnox) with non-oxidising properties for use in the cladding of fuel rods for the UK's magnox nuclear power stations.[6][7] The production of hafnium metal for use in Britain's nuclear submarines began in 1958.
In 1961, Magnesium Elektron became a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Aluminium Company. In 1996, the company was sold to the Luxfer Group.[1] In 2018 it was recombined with MEL Chemicals to become Luxfer MEL Technologies.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "MEL Chemicals Company History". Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ Ball, C J P (February 1957). "The History of Magnesium". Journal of the American Society for Naval Engineers. 69 (1): 81–94. doi:10.1111/j.1559-3584.1957.tb04052.x.
- ^ "Memoirs of a Wartime Welder, part 1 of 4". WW2 People's War. BBC. 24 December 2005. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ Barnes, Russell W. "The WWII plant at Harrington for extracting magnesium from seawater". Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Distillers Co". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ General Nuclear Engineering Corporation (1957). Power Reactor Technology. Dunedin, Florida: United States Atomic Energy Commission. p. 32.
- ^ "Magnesium Alloys - Characteristics and Uses". Nuclear Power. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "About Us | Metal & Chemical Manufacturer". Luxfer MEL Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
External links
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