News for July 2011

News Archive

Teijin automotive CFRP technology wins Frost & Sullivan award Teijin automotive CFRP technology wins Frost & Sullivan award

Teijin Ltd has announced that its mass production technologies for carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) have been recognised by Frost & Sullivan through its 2011 Global Automotive Carbon Composites Technology Innovation Award.

Reichhold introduces flame retardant corrosion resin

Reichhold Inc's new low-styrene, low viscosity, flame retardant epoxy vinyl ester resin DION® FR 9350-01 is suitable for corrosion markets.

Gamesa and Iberdrola end wind farm agreement

The two Spanish companies will continue to work together to strengthen their positions in the wind energy industry.

iREMO holds workshop during COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011

The iREMO (intelligent REactive polymer composites MOulding) project will hold a workshop during the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011 trade show in Stuttgart in September.

Offshore wind capacity increases in Europe

The capacity of offshore wind installations in Europe grew 4.5% during the first half of 2011, according to the EWEA.

REpower Systems sees revenue rise by 23%

The wind turbine manufacturer has posted preliminary results showing an increase in earnings and revenue.

VDMA partners with COMPOSITES EUROPE

The German Engineering Federation VDMA has signed up as an institutional partner of the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show.

Composite façade fronts Amsterdam museum Composite façade fronts Amsterdam museum

The composite sandwich panels which make up the façade of the new Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam are based on Teijin carbon and aramid fibre and vinyl ester resin.

Glastic introduces pultruded bridge deck profile Glastic introduces pultruded bridge deck profile

Röchling Glastic Composites has developed a new pultruded pedestrian bridge deck profile and scaffolding board with a grooved anti-slip surface.

Last week's top 3 stories Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Quickstep receives first purchase order for F-35 parts

Australian advanced materials company Quickstep Holdings Ltd has received its first purchase order to manufacture parts for the F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter) military aircraft.

Europe's HIVOCOMP project to develop carbon composite technologies for high-volume automotive applications

The HIVOCOMP collaborative research project will focus on advancing carbon composite materials technology to speed up the composites production process, a key factor in making composites suitable for the high volume commercial vehicle market.

Lantor introduces SORIC XXF core material for wind blade manufacture

Lantor Composites has developed a new product in its SORIC® range of flexible core materials: SORIC XXF is optimised for wind turbine blade manufacture.

Vestas to supply turbines to Brazil

The 90 MW order comprises 10 of the company's V90-3.0 MW machines, and 30 units of the V100-2.0 MW.

UK's National Composites Centre up and running

The University of Bristol’s National Composites Centre (NCC) building is now completed.

ORNL establishes carbon fibre consortium

Fourteen companies have teamed up with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to establish the Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium, which will work to accelerate the development and commercial application of low-cost carbon fibre and composites materials in various industries.

Suzlon wins 100 MW Indian turbine order

Orient Green has placed an order for 48 of Suzlon's wind turbines.

Wisconsin Oven designs batch oven for curing aerospace composites

Wisconsin Oven Corporation has designed and manufactured a gas-fired, walk-in batch oven to cure composite material for the aerospace industry.

ACCIONA and Navantia to develop offshore wind in Spain ACCIONA and Navantia to develop offshore wind in Spain

A framework agreement, inked at the shipyard in Puerto Real (Cadiz), backs up the companies' intention to co-operate in joint technological and offshore business development along the value chain.

SMC/BMC Alliance issues sustainability report

The European Alliance for SMC/BMC has released a Position Paper on the sustainability of SMC and BMC based products.

Last week's top 3 stories Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Insituform CIPP technology used at San Diego International Airport Insituform CIPP technology used at San Diego International Airport

High strength iPlus® Composite cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) technology from Insituform Technologies Inc enabled the relining of a sewer pipe at San Diego International Airport with reduced cost and disruption.

Ahlstrom starts production of wind energy reinforcements in China

As part of its growth strategy in Asia, Ahlstrom Corporation will start Chinese production of speciality reinforcements for the wind energy market.

Comments Invited on Atlantic Offshore Wind Developments

The US Department of the Interior (DoI) is asking for public comment on the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) considering the potential environmental and socioeconomic effects of offshore wind developments off the Eastern seaboard.

Nordex USA commissions 150 MW wind farm Nordex USA commissions 150 MW wind farm

Nordex USA Inc has commissioned 60 N90/2500 wind turbines at the 150 MW Cedar Creek 2 wind farm in north eastern Colorado.

Boeing and ANA conclude 787 service readiness validation Boeing and ANA conclude 787 service readiness validation

Boeing and Japanese airline ANA have completed a service ready operational validation of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft in Japan.

Gamesa supplies 70 MW to two Spanish wind farms Gamesa supplies 70 MW to two Spanish wind farms

The 35 Gamesa G90-2.0 MW wind turbines will be installed at the two sites in Salamanca, Spain, in 2011.

Boat builder Fairline sold

UK powerboat builder Fairline has been acquired by a joint venture involving investment company Better Capital Ltd and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Rise in number of countries using wind energy

86 countries are now generating energy from wind power, according to an industry report.

Scott Bader Europe increases prices of Crystic gel-coats and pigments

Scott Bader has announced a price increase for its Crystic® gel-coats and pigments.

Renewable energy produced 20% of 2010 global electricity

Renewable energy supplied 16% of global final energy consumption and almost 20% of electricity production in 2010, according to REN21.

JM expands glass fibre production in Slovakia JM expands glass fibre production in Slovakia

Johns Manville (JM) has announced plans to expand glass fibre production at its facility in Trnava, Slovakia.

Audi MedCup yachts use ACG prepreg Audi MedCup yachts use ACG prepreg

Two yachts competing in the 2011 Audi MedCup Circuit were built by Spanish boat builder Longitud Cero Composites SL using prepreg from Advanced Composites Group Ltd (ACG).

Applied Nanotech receives DOE grant for lightweighting hydrogen fuel tanks

Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc has been awarded a US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to develop lower weight carbon fibre/epoxy hydrogen fuel tanks using carbon nanotube reinforcement.

RPC Pipe Systems Pty Ltd acquires Fibrelogic Pipe Systems

RPC Pipe Systems Pty Ltd – a joint venture between RPC Technologies and Nuplex Industries – has acquired Fibrelogic Pipe Systems, creating a leading player in the glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pipe market in Australia.

Gamesa begins production of wind turbines in Brazil Gamesa begins production of wind turbines in Brazil

The 400 MW wind turbine nacelle factory has created 100 jobs in the Northeast of Brazil

Boeing values India aircraft market at $150 billion

Boeing forecasts a US$150 billion market for 1320 new passenger aircraft in India over the next 20 years as the economy aims for double-digit growth, stimulating strong demand for new and replacement aircraft.

Last week's top 3 stories Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

Wind and marine to see huge employment growth

A new report predicts thousands of new jobs in wind and marine energy industries by 2021

Safe handling of unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins – new guides issued

The European UP/VE Resin Association has updated its Safe Handling Guides.

3A Composites introduces AIREX T90.150 upgrade 3A Composites introduces AIREX T90.150 upgrade

3A Composites Core Materials has upgraded its AIREX T90.150 product, part of its AIREX® T90 family of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) core materials for applications with high flame, smoke and toxicity (FST) requirements.

Clean and renewable investments reached US$211bn in 2010

Global clean and renewable energy investment grow 32% reaching US$112 billion 2010, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

European organisations collaborate on composites recycling

The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA), the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) and the European Composite Recycling Services Company (ECRC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on recycling and sustainability of composites in Europe.

Vestas announces successful testing of 'stealth' turbine for radar-sensitive locations Vestas announces successful testing of 'stealth' turbine for radar-sensitive locations

Vestas says it has successfully tested a full-scale 'stealth' rotor blade on a wind turbine, which could pave the way for wind farms to be located near military, airport and other radar systems without interfering in their operations.

15 MW offshore wind nacelle test facility gets £25m 15 MW offshore wind nacelle test facility gets £25m

The planned 15 MW offshore wind turbine drive train and nacelle test rig at Narec, UK, is receiving £25 million in funding from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).

AOC announces price increase for fire retardant resins

AOC LLC has announced a global price increase for all fire retardant resin products.

Cape Verde wind farms start construction

Cape Verde has seen the erection of the first wind turbines at the Cabeolica wind farm project, as part of a commercial-scale public private partnership (PPP) wind farm development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

BMW M3 CRT debuts carbon fibre technology BMW M3 CRT debuts carbon fibre technology

The carbon fibre reinforced plastic bonnet and front seats of the BMW M3 CRT sports car are produced using the process BMW has developed for the manufacture of the body components for its forthcoming i3 and i8 models.

Mainstream and Sinovel deliver 1 GW of wind in Ireland

Mainstream Renewable Power and wind turbine manufacturer Sinovel Wind Group will build 1 GW of wind energy projects in Ireland by 2016.

NCC launches composites training programme

The National Composites Center (NCC), Dayton, Ohio, USA, has developed a series of training courses designed to meet the needs of composites industry professionals.

Geothermal has potential to grow tenfold by 2050

Geothermal heat and electricity production has the potential to grow tenfold between now and 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Royal Engineered Composites starts expansion

US manufacturer of composite aerospace products Royal Engineered Composites has commenced Phase 1 of three expansions planned for its site.

Vestas turbines power Brazilian wind farm

Vestas’ 2 MW V100 wind turbines will be installed at a 60 MW wind project in Rio Grande du Norte, Brazil.

Plasan acquires KaZaK Composites Plasan acquires KaZaK Composites

Defence and automotive supplier Plasan has acquired KaZaK Composites, a US-based company specialising in pultrusion.

RTP Company develops glass fibre reinforced PLA bioplastic compounds RTP Company develops glass fibre reinforced PLA bioplastic compounds

Thermoplastics compounder RTP Company claims to have commercialised the industry's first line of glass fibre reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) compounds that overcome the limitations of unmodified PLA by delivering greater strength, stiffness and thermal performance.

Last month's top 3 stories Last month's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website during June.

Last week's top 3 stories Last week's top 3 stories

The following stories were the most popular with visitors to the Reinforced Plastics website last week.

ATK to open commercial aircraft centre of excellence

Aerospace and defence company ATK is nearing completion of its Aircraft Commercial Center of Excellence (ACCE) in Clearfield, Utah, USA. The new facility allows for expanded production of composite aircraft structures.

Kansas University ice-tracking UAV employs ACG prepreg Kansas University ice-tracking UAV employs ACG prepreg

Kansas University’s school of Aerospace Engineering (KUAE) has used MTM®45-1 prepreg from Advanced Composites Group (ACG) to build a fleet of Meridian unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) destined to monitor the flow of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

UK renewable consumption up marginally in 2010

Renewable energy provisionally accounted for 3.3% of energy consumption in the UK in 2010, and 25,734 GWh of electricity was generated from renewable energy sources.

Enduro Composites acquires Bay Products

Houston, Texas, USA, headquartered Enduro Composites Inc has acquired Bay Products Inc (BPI) of Stateline, Nevada.

Vestas becomes wind turbine supplier to EDF EN

EDF Energies Nouvelles will source at least half of future onshore wind installations in Europe and a minimum of 30% of its future onshore wind installations in the US from Vestas for deliveries in 2012 to 2014.

Premium AEROTEC ramps up A400M production Premium AEROTEC ramps up A400M production

Premium AEROTEC is currently ramping up the production of assemblies for the Airbus A400M military transporter aircraft.

Scottish 2020 Routemap for 100% renewable electricity

The Scottish Government has released its 2020 Routemap for 100% renewable electricity and 30% overall renewable energy in Scotland by 2020.