The managing director of a pyrometallurgical engineering firm has been awarded fellowship of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
The fellowship is a prestigious grade for those who have made a significant contribution or established a record of achievement in the materials, minerals, mining or other technical disciplines covered by the Institute.
Chris Oldroyd, who runs Wakefield-based Inprotec, was awarded the fellowship having made a significant contribution in a senior management role to the metals and processing equipment industry.
Having been nominated by Wardell Armstrong, a multidisciplinary engineering, environmental and mining consultancy which has worked with Inprotec since 2016, Chris succeeded in a rigorous application process in which he was peer reviewed. His assessment resulted in an A-star rated application.
Having studied biochemistry at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and working across various technology industries, Chris took over the business in 2010. Inprotec’s work across the globe has seen the development of new non-ferrous pyrometallurgical processes and equipment, specifically in the lead, antimony and precious metals sectors and has provided refineries across the globe with a dedicated engineering group.
Most notably, Inprotec have become the forerunners of the Top Blown Rotary Converter (TBRC) and Short Rotary Furnace (SRF), which have been successfully used in various applications over the years with clients including global firms Johnson Matthey and Glencore.
Chris Oldroyd comments: “I’m extremely proud and honoured to have my work and contribution recognised by the IOM3. There’s no doubting that it has been a challenging sector to operate in over the last decade, but that has only inspired more hard-work and dedication from myself and my talented team, whom I’m hugely grateful to. I’m excited by the opportunities that will hopefully materialise for the industry as the UK takes a more responsible approach to recycling and recovering valuable metals and looking forward to supporting the drive for a circular economy.”
Ian Bowbrick, director of membership and professional Standards of IOM3 comments: “Chris clearly demonstrated an impressive responsibility for various different designs, of which there are very few fellows in the UK in this arena. It typically takes a minimum of 10 years to achieve fellowship by working in the industry and he started at a time it was beginning to reduce in the UK. In order for companies to survive they have had to change product lines and extend their markets overseas. To sustain a business in this sector in the UK is very notable. Chris is a respected practitioner who we are greatly enthused by and he is certainly deserving of the fellowship.”
Ian continued: “Whilst the industry has undergone a difficult period in the UK, we are confident it is going to grow over next five-10 years as we become more reliant on battery technology which comes from extracting metals to make future technologies such as electric vehicles and we’re confident we will see Chris and his business thrive as the sector grows.”
143 fellows were elected over the past year and Chris’s joins 2,800 fellows of IOM3 since the organisation began.
