Discussion and Conclusion

This survey covers 117 companies active in the metal matrix composite industry at the end of 2001 (20 more previously active), producing some 157 materials and 73 products. One can thus conclude without ambiguity that metal matrix composites have entered the engineering world, even within the rather narrow scope of the present survey (given in Section 2.1: these numbers would for example be significantly higher if cemented carbides and diamond tool materials were included). Metal matrix composites have thus reached a first level of industrial maturity.