Background to TWI Technology Centre (Wales)

In 2003, TWI's expanding non-destructive testing technology group took the opportunity to benefit from regional funding from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh European Funding Office through their Objective 1 programme, and set up a facility in South Wales. The site chosen was located in Port Talbot - part of the Corus steelworks purchased by the then Welsh Development Agency to set up the Engineering Centre for Manufacturing and Materials (ECM ² ).

The focus of the facility is research and development of advanced NDT techniques, looking at the adaptation of existing technologies, developing new ones, and finding applications for all the techniques studied.

Since its opening, TWI Technology Centre has acquired a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment, and employed staff with complementary expertise, so at present there are over 20 experts working at the Centre.

Further regional funding has enabled TWI Technology Centre (Wales) to provide support for local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Wales by making the full range of TWI's services available to them through Technology Transfer programmes.