TenCate completes move to textiles with final sale

TenCate completes move to textiles with final sale

Reinforced Plastics  Volume 59, Number 2  March/April 2015 BUSINESS Southern Spars to acquire Future Fibres our customers with a wider range of ad...

51KB Sizes 68 Downloads 107 Views

Reinforced Plastics  Volume 59, Number 2  March/April 2015

BUSINESS

Southern Spars to acquire Future Fibres our customers with a wider range of advanced rigging options.’ Future Fibres first entered the composite rigging market after its founder Tom Hutchinson devised a better way to terminate composite fibers by continuously winding PBO (Zylon) fiber around two titanium thimbles at any required length. Future Fibres’ approach has allowed composite rigging to be used on every area of the boat and not restricted to just aft rigging as it historically was before.

Depressed market ‘The team at Southern Spars is excited about the acquisition of Future Fibres,’ said Richard Lott, CEO of Southern Spars. ‘The mast and rigging market is quite depressed after the GFC which has been putting pressure on Southern Spars and Future Fibres’ business. However, the Future Fibres team has developed some advanced mast moulding technologies which complement our advanced computer-based rig design tools.’ Southern Spars; www.southernspars.com

TenCate completes move to textiles with final sale Royal Ten Cate (TenCate) has agreed for Platinum Equity, a US-based private equity investor, to buy TenCate Enbi, a supplier of components and materials to leading companies (original equipment

manufacturers) primarily in the printer and copier markets. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2015. The sale completes TenCate’s strategy to become a materials

technology company focusing on technical textiles. Royal Ten Cate; www.tencate.com

Toray marks place in European prepreg Toray Industries has moved into the European market with its acquisition of Saati SpA’s European carbon fiber fabric and prepreg business. Toray plans to take over the assets of Saati’s plant in January 2015 and start operation as Composite Materials Italy Srl (CTI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toray. Saati’s American composite business will still belong to the Saati Group.

Saati’s carbon fiber fabric and prepreg business has been expanding rapidly in recent years as a customer of Toray Group’s carbon fiber-related companies, while Toray is already engaged in carbon fiber polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor at its French subsidiary, Toray Carbon Fibers Europe SA (CFE). It also runs a CFRP parts business that uses carbon fiber fabric at its German subsidiaries of Euro Advanced Carbon Fiber Composites GmbH (EACC) and

ACE Advanced Composite Engineering GmbH (ACE).

Global focus The company says that this acquisition strengthens its carbon fiber composite materials business in Europe. Going forward, Toray Group will transfer its technology to CIT while aiming to expand the business beyond Europe to acquire a more global focus. Toray Industries; www.toray.com

TPI to supply wind blades to Vestas TPI Composites has signed a multiyear supply agreement with Vestas Wind Systems A/ S to provide blades for the V110 wind turbine from TPI’s factory in Dafeng, China. Vestas launched its V110-2.0MW wind turbine in the China market in October 2014.

‘We are thrilled that Vestas has selected TPI to be its first outsource partner of Vestas designed blades,’ said Steve Lockard, president and CEO of TPI Composites. ‘From Dafeng, China we will supply V110 blades to China and export markets in a reliable and cost-effective manner.’

TPI has been building wind blades to international quality standards in China since 2008. The company’s Dafeng plant measures 35,000 m2 and is located 250 km north of Shanghai in Jiangsu Province. TPI Composites; www.tpicomposites.com

71

BUSINESS

Southern Spars, part of the North Technology Group (NTG) and a specialist in carbon fiber spars and rigging, has acquired Future Fibres, based in Valencia, Spain. Future Fibres makes carbon cables, masts, booms, spreaders and custom components. ‘Future Fibres has long been an innovator in the field of advanced fiber rigging,’ said Tom Whidden, CEO of North Technology Group. ‘With NTG’s support, Southern Spars now has the resources to provide