Materials Processing Institute

At the recent AGM of the Materials Processing Institute, Paul Kitson was elected as the employee representative on the Institute Council. This follows a vote in which all Institute employees were eligible to vote.

Paul will now represent employee interests for a three-year term. He is a Chartered Engineer and has worked at the Materials Processing Institute for seven years, initially as a Group Leader and more recently as Chief Engineer and Manager of the Institute’s Engineering Group. Prior to this, Paul had a long career in the steel and metals sector working for British Steel plc, Corus, and Tata Steel, including periods working in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The Council is responsible for the governance and strategy of the Materials Processing Institute. It is made up of industry professionals, senior executives, and employees of the Institute.

Paul said: “I am exceptionally proud to take this role on the Institute’s Council, representing my colleagues as we take the organisation forward. To be selected by my peers at the Institute is even more special and I am Iooking forward to working with other Council members throughout my term.”

Chris McDonald, CEO of the Teesside-based Materials Processing Institute, said: “On behalf of the Institute Council and all our employees I would like to thank Paul and the other candidates who put themselves forward for this very important position.

“Paul’s appointment means our employees will be represented at the highest level of the business and he will participate in all the decisions at Board level including setting the Institute strategy alongside the other Directors.

“Paul will be a focal point at Board level to ensure the needs of employees are taken into account. Having a directly elected employee member of the board has proven a really positive experience since the position was introduced six years ago and I would not want to run a business without one.”

ENDS

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF MATERIALS PROCESSING INSTITUTE

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Douglas 01325 363 436

Photo caption: L-R: Jon Bolton, Non-Executive Chairman, Materials Processing Institute, Paul Kitson; Dean Cartwright, Works Manager Coke, Sinter & Iron Manufacturing Strip UK, Tata Steel; Colin Church, CEO IOM3, Chris McDonald, and  Jonathan Neal, the Institute's Chief Financial Officer

Notes to editors:

Materials Processing Institute

The Materials Processing Institute is a research and innovation centre serving global steel and materials organisations that work in advanced materials, industrial decarbonisation, the circular economy, and digital technologies.

The Institute has served as the UK’s national steel innovation centre since 1944 having been set up by Sir Winston Churchill’s wartime government just before D-Day to equip the British steel industry for post-war reconstruction. It celebrated its 75^th anniversary in 2019.

Through collaboration with its customers, the Institute provides a range of technology and R&D based services and consultancy. It also has pilot and demonstration facilities and an SME Technology Centre to support supply chain businesses with the development of new technologies and products.

Works with: steel, metals and alloys, chemical processes, aerospace and defence, energy, mining and quarrying, construction, rail, transport, and infrastructure, offshore, subsea, and nuclear.

The Materials Processing Institute includes developments funded through Tees Valley Combined Authority, through the Local Growth Fund (Growth Deal).

For more information: https://www.mpiuk.com/