Tank technology for license

Reichhold expands in Brazil THE LARGEST unsaturated polyester (UP) producer in Brazil, Reichhold’s subsidiary Resana SA, has purchased the Brazilian UP resin business of German company Vianova. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The agreement between the two companies is restricted to Brazil; Vianova will continue to produce and sell its UP products in other parts of the world. The deal gives Resana the right to use the Alpolit@ tradename for one year. The companies have also signed a toll manufacturing agreement under which Vianova will produce the Alpolit line for Resana for a short period of time.

The Vianova acquisition strengthens Resana’s presence in the Brazilian composites industry where it is estimated to have a 20% share of the 84 000 tonnes/year UP market. Over 10 UP producers currently operate in the Brazilian UP market and consolidation looks likely to continue. The deal will allow Vianova to concentrate on its speciality coatings business. The former synthetic resins business of Hoechst AG, Vianova, based in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, has four business lines: liquid coatcoating ing resins; powder resins; and resins; technical printing ink resins. It operates in 16 countries around the world.

Tank technology

for license

THE September 1998 issue of Reinforced Plastics (page 8) featured a modular glass reinforced plastic (GRP) tank for water storage. Puma Plastics, a member of the Forbes Group, claimed to have developed this new method of producing tanks. The design was actually invented by Roland Halliday who developed the new closed mould technology for the production of the modular tank. This process of assembly and structure was developed by using asymmetric panels which allowed the tank to be assembled using

no external reinforcement. A license to produce these panels can be obtained from Roland Halliday, the owner of the patent; tel: +44-135 382390.

The

More composite fuel tanks for US Navy aircraft

market

portation

study

Markets

posites: Emerging

for

TransCom-

Opportunities

layer consists of glass fibre impregnated with an epoxy

603-673-0312.

for composite external fuel tanks for the Super Hornet fighter aircraft currently being

resin specifically formulated by Lincoln for fuel compatibility. The outer layer is a carbon/

evaluated by the US Navy. Under the low rate initial production (LRIP) contract

glass hybrid impregnated with another epoxy resin. The outer layer is the primary structural

rent and probable future market developments, technology issues and business factors. Advanced Technical prodInc’s Lincoln Composites division has opened

from Boeing, St Louis, Missouri,

component

its new natural

2001. Each Super Hornet

aircraft

can carry up to four 2180 litre fuel tanks. Because of the variable number of tanks carried by the Super Hornet it is anticipated that between 700 and 1000 fuel tanks will eventually be ordered. The tank is a composite structure which meets the US Navy’s stringent survivability requirements. The inner fuel permeation barrier and outer structural shell are fabricated

16

RElNWRCEDplastics

Lincoln,

of the tank. a

division

of

Advanced Technical Products Inc, is presently under contract for LRIP I and LRIP II. LRIP I requirements include the delivery of a total of 38 tanks in 1998 and 1999. LRIP II requires 60 tanks to be delivered in 1999 to 2000 at a rate of six to eight tanks per month. The scope of work for LRIP II was increased to include the integration and assembly of the fuel/defuel valve and acceptance testing, in addition to the fabrication of the fuel tank ‘shell’.

October

1999

made rotationally

as oil separators

coln, Nebraska, USA, has received a follow-on contract

deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2000 and finish in

tanks, Mouldings

one-piece water while Balmoral

one-piece fuel, moulded water and septic tanks as well

by filament winding. The inner

Composites,

and

is available from Technology Assessment Associates; tel: +l-

Lin-

LINCOLN

tanks

includes

The

evaluations

report of cur-

ucts

gas vehicle

(NGV) fuel tank manufacturing facility in Lincoln,

and sewage

treatment plant. Owens Corning

is

investing US$13 million in a facility in Concord, North Carolina, USA, to make bushings for glass fibre production. The facility will employ about 90 people. The company plans to spend $1.7 million

locally

to upgrade

the

Nebraska, USA. At over 5000 m2, the new facility is

building; it will also move equipment from its facilities

double the size of the previous manufacturing area and provides the capacity to meet the growing demand for NGV tanks. Two divisions of the Balmoral Group, Aberdeen, UK, have merged to form a new operating division, Balmoral Tanks. Prior to the merger, Balmoral Composites produced GRP hot press moulded sectional

in Anderson and Ridgeview, South Carolina. The National GRP Federation, London, UK, has issued revised copies of two of its Technical Guidance Notes: TG2:99 The Storage, Handling and Protection of GRP Products; and TG3:99 Design Guide for Tolerances in GRP Cladding. Contact: National GRP Federation; fax: +44-171-608-5081.