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Composites worldwide from FRP Services
Composites worldwide fkom FRP Services The composites industry is now a global business, but any doubters looking for proof need look no further than FRPServices. The firm boasts a product distribution network across 80 countries covering every bet of reinforced plastics. Aman& Weaver spoke to some of the companies represented by FRP on their joint stand at this year’sJEC exhibition.
Over the last 20 years Osaka-based FRP Services has grown into a global distributor. It serves 80 countries from five warehouses in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the USA and The Netherlands as well as in Japan, and has a European office in Aixen-Provence, France.
The variety of products and services offered by FRP Services has grown as well and now covers the whole reinforced plastics in-
The firm started out as a distributor for Japanese companies and now represents 44 different Japanese firms with a spectrum of activities across the chemical and glass fibre fields. More recently it has supplemented its portfolio with Asian, European and American producers of a range of specialist products. Polyester production
Reinforced
Plastics September
1995
dustry from basic technology to advanced materials and equipment. “We guarantee prompt, reliable delivery anywhere in the world, backed up by qualified engineers to find the ideal solutions for our customers,” says director of overseas sales Johann Cooke.
at one of SHCP’s plants in South East Asia.
00343617/95/$7.000
The majority of companies participating in FRP’s stand were fibre or fabric manufacturers, but unsaturated polyester proHighSingapore ducer polymer Chemical Products (SHCP), was also there. The firm operates a 36 000 tonnes/year plant in Singapore, a 12 000 tonnes/year plant in Malaysia and has just
1995, Elsevier Science
Ltd
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
opened 24 000 tonne/year plant in Indonesia.
manufactures carbon and aramid fibres and epoxy prepregs.
Grades produced include general purpose, isophthalic, bismaleimide and a neopentyl-glycol gel-coat. The company also makes resin for plywood, casting, roofing and artificial marble as well as for heat resistant and marine applications. A key selling point is the ability to make a resin to the customer’s specific requirements, says marketing manager Andy Tsai.
Reduced print-through in composite laminates is offered by the glass tissues and veils made by Regina. The firm is the sole Australian maker of glass tissues, where it has had a plant since 1963. It sells to Europe as well as South East Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
Annual production is 4 Glass fibres are offered by million m2 of tissue mainly several of the firms reprefor the composites market, sented on FRP Services’ although some is also supstand. Nittobo claims to be plied for battery separator the oldest glass fibre manumaterials or insulation facing. facturer in the world. It has The tissue is made using been developing and manua dry process which gives facturing continuous glass a lighter softer product than tibre since its invention in Westwind’s Weskor core materials combine the advantages tissues made by the wet of honeycomb and foam. 1939 and now produces a process, says manufacturing full range of products includKorean company Hankuk Fiber manager Ken Howgate. The tissue ing yarn, roving, chopped strands Group makes its glass fibres using a complements gel-coats and gives and chopped strand mat. The firm direct melting electric furnace dea smoother finish eliminating also has licensees for its technology signed in-house. Various processes print-through. in Australia, Korea, West Germany, are used to produce composite raw the USA, India, China and Italy. Reduced print-through is also materials, says the firm. It also offered by the U-Pica core mat Nippon Sheet Glass produces developed jointly by similar products to polyester resin proNittobo on a smaller ducer Japan U-Pica scale. But its specialiCo and textile comzation is glass flakes pany Toyo Cloth Inc. which inhibit corroU-Pica mat is a low sion. FRP Services density, nonwoven, claims that Nippon continuous strand laSheet Glass and minate mat containOwens-Corning are ing some 45 ~01% the world’s only promicroballoons and ducers of glass having a density of flakes. Corrosion re0.045 g/cm3. sistant linings made from resin and glass flakes are used in a variety of areas such as marine cooling pipes; and baths and tanks used in the food, fisheries, transportation and metal plating industries.
Vorwerk’s integrated
TechnoTex distartce fabrics leak monitoring systems.
can be used to make tank walls
with
Reinforced
Flexural strength, flexural modulus and shear strength are better than for rigid PVC or urethane foam because U-Pica mat can absorb up to 55 ~01% resin, say its developers. The mat
Plastics September
1995
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
ing if required, says Westwind.
the same Structure ofU-Pica core mat. strength and stiffness. The microballoons give good impact the compressive properties of the strength and thermal insulation. laminate and reduces resin and Other advantages include easy glass usage, says Said. handling thanks to its light weight, The foam is injected into the reductions in the amounts of glass honeycomb using a proprietary mat and resin required, decreased process. Westwind holds patents laminating time in thick structures on both the foam and the honeyand reduced print-through. comb. A wide variety of honeyA major application for U-Pica comb/foam combinations are mat is in the manufacture of available for different applicapanels for container trucks in the tions, for instance modified polyurUSA, says FRP. ethane foam with a phenolic impregnated craft paper honeyAnother unconventional core comb. Industrial applications for the material is offered by FRP’s newest products include hulls and decks supplier, Westwind Composites Inc for the marine industry, and floors of the USA. The firm was founded fand panels for transportation appliive years ago to produce Weskor cations. These panels can be insulatIts link foam filled honeycomb. with FRP will allow it to serve the European as well as North American markets, company president Mann Said told us. He says that Weskor is less expensive than competitive core materials but offers superior properties. Important applications for the material include ski laminates and Westwind says that it is currently in negotiations with three ski manufacturers. Weskor combines the properties of both foam and honeycomb cores. The honeycomb structure stabilizes the foam eliminating the problem of shear. While the foam filling enables 100% bonding with the surface of the honeycomb. It also improves
An alternative to using a core material might be to use a 3-D space fabric, such as those produced by Vorwerk of Germany. The firm’s TechnoTex distance fabrics are made using velvet weaving technology. Pile fibres are integrated between two layers of fabric as the warp beam moves from one layer to the other. When the E-glass fabric is impregnated with resin by the moulder it gives a space fabric which can be used to make lightweight sandwich panels in one process from one material. The skins are integral to the core which provides excellent peel strength and laminate integrity. Space fabrics are particularly interesting in applications where there would be moulding or chamfering problems associated with using a foam core. The space fabric makes it easy to integrate load introduction points, says Ulrich Kbrber, apphcations engineer for TechnoTex, it merely needs to be down during weighted resin impregnation to stop the spacers expanding. Tank and lining manufacture is another major application for Vorwerk’s space fabrics. The structure of the fabric can be used to monitor leaks, either by installing a liquid indicator at the lowest point of the tank or by applying a positive pressure to the space and looking for a drop in pressure.
The non-crimped fibres in knitted fabrics offer strength advantages, says Advanced Textiles.
Reinforced Plastics September 1995
Weaving technology is also used by Colan Products to make its range of fabrics. The firm claims to
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
offer the most technologically advanced weaving facilities in Australia and is developing a range of specialized textiles for use in composite reinforcement. Colan’s main markets are in Australasia, Asia and the Middle East but its position in Europe has been strengthened since it joined forces with FRP Services some ten years ago.
rently out for tender. Advanced Textiles Inc of Seguin, Texas, is also a weaver of composite reinforcement fabrics. But the firm believes that its knitted fabrics offer the best potential for future growth. Knitted fabrics are a growing area because of the high strength offered by the noncrimped fabrics in them, says Charles Pedersen of FRP Services. They also offer reduced weight and higher ultimate tensile strengths compared with woven fabrics. Applications for knitted fabrics include reinforced structures for boat hulls and decks, lightweight pultruded tailgates for trucks, high strength carbon fabrics for aircraft laminates, water and snow skis, chemical storage tanks and piping, and large corrosion-resistant industrial fan blades.
Andrew Lucas, Colan’s export manager, says that the firm’s fabrics are used for aerospace products as well as to make marine items such a special kayaks for white water rafting. A special wide woven fabric is also made for use in truck panels. In the future the firm is optimistic that it will gain substantial business supplying woven fabrics for an Australian Navy minehunter which is cur-
GO AHEAD WITH m{
K’95
l
Diisseldorf
b Advanced Textiles manufactures both types of fabric at its Seguin plant. The standard product range includes more than 35 knitted fabrics and 20 standard woven fabrics. It can also custom design fabrics to optimize customers’ moulding operations in a range of fabrication technologies. The plant produces fabrics in a variety of fibres and orientations and can also stitch fabrics to various substrates and attach surface veil materials.
l
WINDING
MACHINES
Hall 10
10 F 59
5.-12.10.1995 CIRCLE
This year was the first time FRP had exhibited at JEC. But the investment in a large stand for its suppliers to showcase their products was more than justified, says Cooke. “The response was tremendous and created a very good impression with our customers.” n
352 ON ADVERTISING
l
RESPONSE
l
Stand
CARD
Reinforced Plastics September 1995
Over the last 20 years Osaka-based FRP Services has grown into a global distributor. It serves 80 countries from five warehouses in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the USA and The Netherlands as well as in Japan, and has a European office in Aixen-Provence, France.
The variety of products and services offered by FRP Services has grown as well and now covers the whole reinforced plastics in-
The firm started out as a distributor for Japanese companies and now represents 44 different Japanese firms with a spectrum of activities across the chemical and glass fibre fields. More recently it has supplemented its portfolio with Asian, European and American producers of a range of specialist products. Polyester production
Reinforced
Plastics September
1995
dustry from basic technology to advanced materials and equipment. “We guarantee prompt, reliable delivery anywhere in the world, backed up by qualified engineers to find the ideal solutions for our customers,” says director of overseas sales Johann Cooke.
at one of SHCP’s plants in South East Asia.
00343617/95/$7.000
The majority of companies participating in FRP’s stand were fibre or fabric manufacturers, but unsaturated polyester proHighSingapore ducer polymer Chemical Products (SHCP), was also there. The firm operates a 36 000 tonnes/year plant in Singapore, a 12 000 tonnes/year plant in Malaysia and has just
1995, Elsevier Science
Ltd
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
opened 24 000 tonne/year plant in Indonesia.
manufactures carbon and aramid fibres and epoxy prepregs.
Grades produced include general purpose, isophthalic, bismaleimide and a neopentyl-glycol gel-coat. The company also makes resin for plywood, casting, roofing and artificial marble as well as for heat resistant and marine applications. A key selling point is the ability to make a resin to the customer’s specific requirements, says marketing manager Andy Tsai.
Reduced print-through in composite laminates is offered by the glass tissues and veils made by Regina. The firm is the sole Australian maker of glass tissues, where it has had a plant since 1963. It sells to Europe as well as South East Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
Annual production is 4 Glass fibres are offered by million m2 of tissue mainly several of the firms reprefor the composites market, sented on FRP Services’ although some is also supstand. Nittobo claims to be plied for battery separator the oldest glass fibre manumaterials or insulation facing. facturer in the world. It has The tissue is made using been developing and manua dry process which gives facturing continuous glass a lighter softer product than tibre since its invention in Westwind’s Weskor core materials combine the advantages tissues made by the wet of honeycomb and foam. 1939 and now produces a process, says manufacturing full range of products includKorean company Hankuk Fiber manager Ken Howgate. The tissue ing yarn, roving, chopped strands Group makes its glass fibres using a complements gel-coats and gives and chopped strand mat. The firm direct melting electric furnace dea smoother finish eliminating also has licensees for its technology signed in-house. Various processes print-through. in Australia, Korea, West Germany, are used to produce composite raw the USA, India, China and Italy. Reduced print-through is also materials, says the firm. It also offered by the U-Pica core mat Nippon Sheet Glass produces developed jointly by similar products to polyester resin proNittobo on a smaller ducer Japan U-Pica scale. But its specialiCo and textile comzation is glass flakes pany Toyo Cloth Inc. which inhibit corroU-Pica mat is a low sion. FRP Services density, nonwoven, claims that Nippon continuous strand laSheet Glass and minate mat containOwens-Corning are ing some 45 ~01% the world’s only promicroballoons and ducers of glass having a density of flakes. Corrosion re0.045 g/cm3. sistant linings made from resin and glass flakes are used in a variety of areas such as marine cooling pipes; and baths and tanks used in the food, fisheries, transportation and metal plating industries.
Vorwerk’s integrated
TechnoTex distartce fabrics leak monitoring systems.
can be used to make tank walls
with
Reinforced
Flexural strength, flexural modulus and shear strength are better than for rigid PVC or urethane foam because U-Pica mat can absorb up to 55 ~01% resin, say its developers. The mat
Plastics September
1995
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
ing if required, says Westwind.
the same Structure ofU-Pica core mat. strength and stiffness. The microballoons give good impact the compressive properties of the strength and thermal insulation. laminate and reduces resin and Other advantages include easy glass usage, says Said. handling thanks to its light weight, The foam is injected into the reductions in the amounts of glass honeycomb using a proprietary mat and resin required, decreased process. Westwind holds patents laminating time in thick structures on both the foam and the honeyand reduced print-through. comb. A wide variety of honeyA major application for U-Pica comb/foam combinations are mat is in the manufacture of available for different applicapanels for container trucks in the tions, for instance modified polyurUSA, says FRP. ethane foam with a phenolic impregnated craft paper honeyAnother unconventional core comb. Industrial applications for the material is offered by FRP’s newest products include hulls and decks supplier, Westwind Composites Inc for the marine industry, and floors of the USA. The firm was founded fand panels for transportation appliive years ago to produce Weskor cations. These panels can be insulatIts link foam filled honeycomb. with FRP will allow it to serve the European as well as North American markets, company president Mann Said told us. He says that Weskor is less expensive than competitive core materials but offers superior properties. Important applications for the material include ski laminates and Westwind says that it is currently in negotiations with three ski manufacturers. Weskor combines the properties of both foam and honeycomb cores. The honeycomb structure stabilizes the foam eliminating the problem of shear. While the foam filling enables 100% bonding with the surface of the honeycomb. It also improves
An alternative to using a core material might be to use a 3-D space fabric, such as those produced by Vorwerk of Germany. The firm’s TechnoTex distance fabrics are made using velvet weaving technology. Pile fibres are integrated between two layers of fabric as the warp beam moves from one layer to the other. When the E-glass fabric is impregnated with resin by the moulder it gives a space fabric which can be used to make lightweight sandwich panels in one process from one material. The skins are integral to the core which provides excellent peel strength and laminate integrity. Space fabrics are particularly interesting in applications where there would be moulding or chamfering problems associated with using a foam core. The space fabric makes it easy to integrate load introduction points, says Ulrich Kbrber, apphcations engineer for TechnoTex, it merely needs to be down during weighted resin impregnation to stop the spacers expanding. Tank and lining manufacture is another major application for Vorwerk’s space fabrics. The structure of the fabric can be used to monitor leaks, either by installing a liquid indicator at the lowest point of the tank or by applying a positive pressure to the space and looking for a drop in pressure.
The non-crimped fibres in knitted fabrics offer strength advantages, says Advanced Textiles.
Reinforced Plastics September 1995
Weaving technology is also used by Colan Products to make its range of fabrics. The firm claims to
Composites worldwide from FRP Services
offer the most technologically advanced weaving facilities in Australia and is developing a range of specialized textiles for use in composite reinforcement. Colan’s main markets are in Australasia, Asia and the Middle East but its position in Europe has been strengthened since it joined forces with FRP Services some ten years ago.
rently out for tender. Advanced Textiles Inc of Seguin, Texas, is also a weaver of composite reinforcement fabrics. But the firm believes that its knitted fabrics offer the best potential for future growth. Knitted fabrics are a growing area because of the high strength offered by the noncrimped fabrics in them, says Charles Pedersen of FRP Services. They also offer reduced weight and higher ultimate tensile strengths compared with woven fabrics. Applications for knitted fabrics include reinforced structures for boat hulls and decks, lightweight pultruded tailgates for trucks, high strength carbon fabrics for aircraft laminates, water and snow skis, chemical storage tanks and piping, and large corrosion-resistant industrial fan blades.
Andrew Lucas, Colan’s export manager, says that the firm’s fabrics are used for aerospace products as well as to make marine items such a special kayaks for white water rafting. A special wide woven fabric is also made for use in truck panels. In the future the firm is optimistic that it will gain substantial business supplying woven fabrics for an Australian Navy minehunter which is cur-
GO AHEAD WITH m{
K’95
l
Diisseldorf
b Advanced Textiles manufactures both types of fabric at its Seguin plant. The standard product range includes more than 35 knitted fabrics and 20 standard woven fabrics. It can also custom design fabrics to optimize customers’ moulding operations in a range of fabrication technologies. The plant produces fabrics in a variety of fibres and orientations and can also stitch fabrics to various substrates and attach surface veil materials.
l
WINDING
MACHINES
Hall 10
10 F 59
5.-12.10.1995 CIRCLE
This year was the first time FRP had exhibited at JEC. But the investment in a large stand for its suppliers to showcase their products was more than justified, says Cooke. “The response was tremendous and created a very good impression with our customers.” n
352 ON ADVERTISING
l
RESPONSE
l
Stand
CARD
Reinforced Plastics September 1995