News for July 2012

News Archive

Mainstream applies for consent to build 450MW offshore wind farm in Scottish waters

Renewable energy developer Mainstream Renewable Power has submitted its application for consent to build its Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm.

Hartzell develops composite propeller for kit aircraft Hartzell develops composite propeller for kit aircraft

Hartzell Propeller Inc has developed a three-blade ASC-II™ composite propeller for Van’s Aircraft RV-10 four-seat kit aircraft.

Revolver 42 speedboat manufactured using vacuum infusion Revolver 42 speedboat manufactured using vacuum infusion

The Italian-built Revolver 42 speedboat features a composite hull and deck based on vinyl ester resin and manufactured using a vacuum infusion process.

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.

Dow Automotive Systems opens two composites development centres Dow Automotive Systems opens two composites development centres

Dow Automotive Systems is expanding its composite processing expertise with the opening of development facilities in Switzerland and the USA.

AGY to sell CFM business

AGY, a US-headquartered producer of glass fibre yarns and reinforcements for composites, has announced that it plans to sell its continuous filament mat (CFM) business.

Composite Integration moves to new facility

UK company Composite Integration Ltd has moved to a new purpose-built facility, enabling it to expand production of its RTM, vacuum and infusion processing equipment.

SABIC increases STAMAX thermoplastic composite capacity to meet automotive demand SABIC increases STAMAX thermoplastic composite capacity to meet automotive demand

SABIC’s Innovative Plastics says it is "significantly boosting" capacity for its STAMAX long glass reinforced polypropylene composite at its facility in Genk, Belgium, to meet growing demand from automotive customers.

Discovery Yachts switches to vacuum infusion for Discovery 57 hull Discovery Yachts switches to vacuum infusion for Discovery 57 hull

Discovery Yachts' new Discovery 57 is said to feature the largest fibreglass sailing yacht hull produced by resin infusion in the UK to date.

Hexcel reports 2012 second quarter results

Hexcel Corporation reports net sales for the second quarter of 2012 of US$399.2 million, 12.9% up on the second quarter of 2011.

Umeco prepregs used for high performance bicycle wheels Umeco prepregs used for high performance bicycle wheels

German automotive and cycling components manufacturer AX-lightness GmbH is using Umeco’s MTM®49-3 prepregs to produce wheels for competition bicycles being used at national and international events.

Faurecia acquires Sora Composites automotive business Faurecia acquires Sora Composites automotive business

Automotive equipment supplier Faurecia has announced the acquisition of Sora Composites's automotive business, which generates annual sales of around €70 million with a total staff of 500.

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.

AIC Group wins £0.5m autoclave maintenance contracts AIC Group wins £0.5m autoclave maintenance contracts

AIC Group has renewed existing maintenance and service contracts with Trelleborg, three Formula 1 teams and two aerospace component manufacturing companies.

Cytec completes $439m acquisition of Umeco

Cytec Industries Inc has completed its acquisition of Umeco plc, a UK headquartered provider of advanced composite and process materials, for US$439 million.

Offshore wind turbine installations in Europe up 50% on last year

2012 could turn out to be the best year ever for offshore wind energy in Europe, says the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Siemens secures 1.8GW supply deal for its 6MW offshore machine from Dong

Dong Energy and Siemens Energy have signed a framework agreement for the supply and servicing of wind turbines totaling 1.8GW in capacity.

COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 preview COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 preview

A preview of the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 exhibition will be published in the September/October issue of Reinforced Plastics magazine.

Zyvex Marine unveils LRV-17 nano-composite manned boat Zyvex Marine unveils LRV-17 nano-composite manned boat

Zyvex Marine is launching the 17 m LRV-17 Long Range Vessel which is built from carbon fibre reinforced plastic enhanced with carbon nanotubes. This is the first time nano-composites have been used as the primary material for a manned vessel.

AVK 2012 conference programme now available

The programme for the International AVK Conference, which take places in Düsseldorf this October, is now available.

Front section for first flyable A350 XWB arrives at Toulouse Front section for first flyable A350 XWB arrives at Toulouse

Airbus has delivered the front fuselage for the first flyable A350 XWB (MSN1) to its Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France.

Pauger Carbon Composites yacht wins Balaton Blue Ribbon Regatta 2012 Pauger Carbon Composites yacht wins Balaton Blue Ribbon Regatta 2012

Pauger Carbon Composites' 50 ft catamaran 'Fifty-Fifty' has won the Blue Ribbon long-distance sailing regatta on Lake Balaton in Hungary.

CDI installs demonstration prepreg machine in China CDI installs demonstration prepreg machine in China

Century Design Inc (CDI) has installed its small production prepreg machine, the CD6015 Combi, at ATA Carbon Fiber Tech. Guangzhou Co Ltd's facility in China.

Umeco establishes Asian hub

Umeco is forming a company in China to act as its Asian hub.

Fibrelite composite trench panels offer alternative to metal Fibrelite composite trench panels offer alternative to metal

Fibrelite has launched a new range of composite trench access panels with load ratings from A15 to E600 (EN 124) which provide an alternative to metal and concrete access covers.

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.

GlassFibreEurope publishes LCA report GlassFibreEurope publishes LCA report

GlassFibreEurope has published a life cycle assessment (LCA) report covering continuous filament glass fibre products.

Study forecasts impressive growth for carbon composites in automotive market

According to a new Frost & Sullivan report, the automotive carbon fibre composites market is likely to grow to US$95.50 million by 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6%.

Hexcel joins Singapore A*STAR aerospace consortium

Composite materials developer Hexcel has joined Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Aerospace Programme.

GKN Aerospace to provide composite structures for Bell Helicopter’s 525 Relentless GKN Aerospace to provide composite structures for Bell Helicopter’s 525 Relentless

GKN Aerospace has been selected to provide Bell Helicopter with key metal and composite structures across the new 525 Relentless helicopter fuselage.

Ocean Power Technologies and Lockheed Martin join forces to develop 19MW wave energy project in Australia

Ocean Power Technologies and Lockheed Martin are teaming up again, this time to develop a 19MW wave energy project off Australia's coast.

Eurocopter Canada selects Virtek LaserEdge templating system

Virtek Vision International has sold its Virtek® LaserEdge® projection system to Eurocopter Canada for use in composite layup and reverse engineering.

GKN Aerospace opens fourth global engineering centre GKN Aerospace opens fourth global engineering centre

As part of a programme to grow its global engineering capability, GKN Aerospace has opened an engineering and technology centre at its Filton, UK site, near Bristol.

Spirit AeroSystems develops sustainable composite wing manufacturing technologies

Spirit AeroSystems Inc has developed a low cost, high rate composite manufacturing process for primary wing box parts production.

Hexcel and Herakles grant license to Karl Mayer

Developers of composite materials Hexcel and Herakles (Safran group) have granted textile machinery specialist Karl Mayer Malimo a license to produce machines and associated equipment for making multiaxial fibre sheets.

GKN Aerospace opens composite aerostructures facility in Mexico GKN Aerospace opens composite aerostructures facility in Mexico

GKN Aerospace has established a new facility in Mexico to manufacture composite airframe structures.

SAFEHUT composite shelter can be set up in 10 minutes SAFEHUT composite shelter can be set up in 10 minutes

SAFEHUT LLC collapsible, reusable composite shelters are manufactured from fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) panels based on AOC resin.

UK gives go ahead to another 1GW of offshore wind but projects await outcome of Renewables Obligation review

Two offshore wind farms approved by the UK government last Friday are only likely to proceed if the economics stack up under new prices for offshore wind power, to be unveiled by ministers within the next two weeks.

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.

AXSON buys Nanoledge

Nanoledge, a start-up company focused on the high performance epoxy market, has sold its high performance resin business to AXSON, a specialist in high performance polymer formulation.

Natural adhesives Natural adhesives

Most adhesives are manufactured from petroleum-based materials, but Fraunhofer researchers are now working on adhesive formulas obtained from renewable raw materials.

Composites deliver weight savings for UPS Composites deliver weight savings for UPS

Delivery company UPS is introducing composite materials to replace certain metal components on its vans to improve fuel efficiency.

US demand for high performance composites to exceed $10b in 2016 US demand for high performance composites to exceed $10b in 2016

US demand for high performance composites will rise almost 15% per year to $10.2 billion in 2016, forecasts The Freedonia Group in a new report.

Singapore, US, Australia, Germany lead the way in green buildings

Energy security, and environmental and livability concerns drive government policy on green building technologies but eventually cost and affordability determine the extent and pace of adoption, notes Lux Research.

Boeing forecasts $4.5 trillion market for new aircraft over next 20 years Boeing forecasts $4.5 trillion market for new aircraft over next 20 years

In its 2012 Current Market Outlook, Boeing projects a $4.5 trillion market for 34 000 new aircraft over the next 20 years as the current world fleet doubles in size. The report predicts strong demand for new, efficient aircraft.

Global wind power supply chain faces challenging future

Stagnating economic growth, low profit margins and waning government support mean market consolidation and/or contraction in the global wind energy supply chain is becoming ever more important, argues MAKE Consulting’s latest Global Wind Turbine Supply Chain report.

UK onshore wind generation up 51%

Electricity generation from onshore wind was up by 51% in the first quarter of 2012, as a result of huge increases in capacity, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed.

Airbus to establish assembly line in US Airbus to establish assembly line in US

Airbus has announced that it will establish its first US production facility. Located at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, it will assemble and deliver A320 family aircraft.

McLaren Automotive launches 12C Spider McLaren Automotive launches 12C Spider

12 months since the MP4-12C first went on sale, McLaren Automotive announces its next high performance sports car, the 12C Spider, which is based on the same carbon fibre MonoCell chassis as the MP4-12C.

Mainstream Renewables plans Ireland’s first wind export project

Wind developer Mainstream Renewables has unveiled plans for 5GW of wind capacity in the Irish midlands, which it says will export power to the UK to fill the British energy gap.

Ticona's North Carolina Fortron PPS plant sets production record Ticona's North Carolina Fortron PPS plant sets production record

Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese, has announced that its Fortron Industries LLC plant in Wilmington, North Carolina, has set a new production record, positioning it to satisfy global demand for Fortron® polyphenylene sulphide (PPS).

Dow and Aksa announce joint venture for carbon fibre and derivatives

The Dow Chemical Company and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii AS of Turkey have announced the official formation of DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings BV, a joint venture to manufacture and commercialise carbon fibre and derivatives.

June's top stories June's top stories

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