Sales slow at Clariant

industry

,

Composites THE COMPOSITES

Institute

at USQ

of

Australia Inc and four of its leading members are sponsoring a Chair in Fibre Composites at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Toowoomba, Australia. The Composites Institute of Australia Fibre Chair in Composites will mainly focus on the use of composites in civil engineering applications, but is also expected to generate information of value to engineers and designers industry.

in all segments of the The sponsorship and

appointment are for five years initially. USQ has appointed Professor Gerard Van Erp to the new Chair. Van Erp is current head of the Fibre Composites Design Group within the Faculty of Engineering and Surveying and his work over the last few years has concentrated on the application of theoretical and experimental techniques to design of new fibre composites for use in the civil and structural engineering industries. The co-sponsors of the Chair

are Transfield

RP/C, the

Performance Polymers Division of Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the Australian operations of Huntsman Chemical Co and PPG. Noel Drayton, executive director Institute,

of the Composites says that this combi-

nation of a major engineering/ manufacturing company and leading world suppliers of thermosetting resins, adhesives and reinforcements will not only provide financial support for the initiative, but will contribute broad based technical and practical support. Further input will

come

from consulting engineering group Connell Wagner, which is enthusiastic about the commercialization prospects of the projects currently being undertaken at USQ. Work to date is consistent with the objective of making composites structures cost competitive with traditional materials without the need for external subsidies. Composites Institute of Australia Inc; tel: +61-3-97235688; e-mail: asn.au

ciainfo@compinst.

Magnum wins Reinforced Plastics’ Product of the Year 1999 MAGNUM Industries’ FIT technology has won Product of the Year in the 1999 Reinforced

category winners were: SP Systems’ Prime 20 for Best Resin System; Neste Polyester’s

Plastics Industry Awards. Magnum’s FIT technology

Maxguard NP for Best Gel-Coat; Chomarat’s Coreglass for Best Reinforcement/Compound/Pre-

is

designed for advanced flowcoating of both glass/resin and

PPG posts record last quarter

gel-coat in open moulding applications, offering reduced emissions and less waste.

preg; Baltek Corp’s SuperLite for Best Core Material; and

GLASS

Creative Pultrusions’ Dynapul for Best Continuous Processing

income

The awards, which are voted for by the readers of Reinforced

Equipment. Plastech ‘IT picked up two awards, for its Hypaject

including

Plastics, are designed

Mk 111 machine (Best Resin Injection Equipment category) and for Dynamic Seal (Best Moulds/Tooling). For more details of the

charge.

to honour

the materials and processing equipment which are likely to be of most value to the composites industry in the future. Magnum’s FIT Technology came top in the Best Spray-Up Equipment category. The other

14

REINFORCEDplastics

March

winners and runners-up see the feature on pages 28-34 of this issue.

2000

FIBRE

Industries’

producer

fourth was

after-tax

PPG

quarter

US$162

$2 million

net

cost

reduction

Excluding

the

charges,

net

was $647 million.

Sales

income

from

were a record $7.76 billion.

an

acquisition-related

Glass

segment

operating

Sales were

$2.05 billion,

a

to $568 million,

$79 million,

slightly certain

For the whole of 1999, net income amounted

in after-

on

glass

gains

costs and

set

restructuring

associated

product

original

products.

manufacturing weaker lines.

for as and

Overall,

efficiencies prices

and

improved

volume

well as automotive flat

sales

earnings

fibre glass products,

tax acquisition-related charges

initiatives.

million,

record for any quarter.

including

with

across

offall