The six Morgan brothers (William, Thomas, Walter, Edward, Octavius and Septimus) began as importers and exporters in the City of London trading as "Druggist Salesmen and Hardware Merchants".

The distinguishing feature of the “new process” involved mixing the clay with graphite, then usually known as plumbago or black lead, giving it much greater durability.

One of the features of the early years was extensive international scope of the business, both in the marketing of the crucible and the search for the ideal graphite – first in Ceylon and then Madagascar.

In the early 1900s lengthy development work was undertaken on electric bushes and by the end of World War I it was an established part of the business.

[14] A joint venture of Morgan's Thermal Ceramics division and the Carborundum Universal company, part of the Indian industrial conglomerate Murugappa Group, has existed since 1982.

[15] The company changed its name to Morgan Advanced Materials in February 2013 to reflect the fact that it produces a variety of different products and supplies to many different industries.