Polymers in Sport and Leisure

References and Abstracts
fibres began within the last 25 years. Current sales of
advanced fibres are measured in thousands of tons per
year, not in hundreds of thousands of tons per year, as are
sales of glass structural fibres. Selling prices are measured
in tens of dollars per pound as compared to dollars per
pound for glass fibres. Therefore, advanced fibres must
still be considered as speciality materials that will be
selected based only upon their high performance. While
much thanks is due to the aerospace and sporting goods
industries for keeping the interest in advanced fibres and
composites alive, it is generally agreed that the market
will not grow (and prices will not decline) until these fibres
are accepted in the industrial market. Industrial market
opportunities are identified for advanced fibres and
composites in the next century. Specific, potential
applications are cited, and the estimated volumes and
values of these applications given.
USA
Accession no.604715
Item 313
Modern Plastics International
26, No.9, Sept.1996, p.33-4
BIKE OF THE FUTURE MAY BE CHEAP,
UNIVERSAL AND PLASTIC
Seirer A
A composite bicycle took first place in the 1996 Owens-
Corning Global Design Challenge. A team from the
University of Sao Paulo designed a bike, named the
Kangaroo for the shape of its frame, which can be adjusted
to fit most riders and could be made available to
consumers for less than 100 US dollars. The bicycle frame,
rear-arm and seat-pillar are moulded in SMC 30% glass
fibre-reinforced polyester. Ross Bicycles recently
launched a thermoplastic PU bike reinforced with 40%
carbon fibre and long glass fibre.
OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORP.
USA
Accession no.604039
Item 314
Plastics in Canada
3, No.1, Feb/March 1996, p.69
TRICOR FILLS CANADIAN VOID IN GOLF
BALL MANUFACTURING
Tricor Golf Ball Manufacturing is reported to have
become Canada’s only golf ball producer. Tricor’s first
golf balls came off the company’s used, 250 ton Trueblood
vertical injection moulding machine in December. Plans
are to produce 3,000-5,000 balls daily for the domestic
and American markets. Like so many plastics
entrepreneurs, Talarico and his four partners Frank Bosco,
Tony Gigliotti, Nick Aiello, and a silent partner were not
moulders when they decided to enter this competitive
field. But they did see an opportunity. Some company
information is presented.
TRICOR GOLF BALL MANUFACTURING INC.;
GENESIS PLASTIC MACHINERY LTD.
CANADA
Accession no.603230
Item 315
Advanced Composites Bulletin
Sept.1996, p.4
BALSA CORE GIVES SUPERIOR DURABILITY
Marine surveyor David Pascoe of Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, USA, is reported to have determined that
composite boats with a sandwich construction
incorporating balsa cores are better in resistance damage
than boats with monolithic hulls or cored with foam
plastics. Baltek is aggressively promoting the use of balsa
cores in the marine industry. An emerging trend seems to
be the adoption of balsa core construction when a
company uses the Seeman Composites resin infusion
moulding process (SCRIMP). SCRIMP is a variant of
resin transfer moulding adapted for large scale structures
such as boat hulls. A good example of the simultaneous
use of SCRIMP and balsa is provided by Hinckley of
Southwest Harbor, Maine. Details are given.
BALTEK CORP.
USA
Accession no.603056
Item 316
Advanced Materials Newsletter
18, No.14, Iss.405, 22nd July 1996, p.2-3
COMPOSITES GOLF SHAFTS INCREASE
DOMINATION OF CAPACITY AND SUPPLY
At the local SAMPE chapter meeting held recently in
San Diego, JCT Sports reported on some market research
into the composites golf market. The area from Los
Angeles to Tijuana, mainly San Diego County, is known
widely as the Golf Coast of America, because all of the
companies in shaft and club manufacturing are located
here - Aidila and Aidila Mexico, UniFiber, HST,
Grafalloy, Quadrax, AJT, West Coast Composites,
Callaway, Taylor Made, Cobra, Apollo Golf, Composites
Dynamics, Easton Composites, Fujikura Composites
America, Players Golf, and more. Callaway may reach
700 million US dollars in 1996 golf equipment sales,
while Aidila is expected to make 58 million and HST
50 million US dollars in composites shaft sales. Aidila
alone makes over 400,000 graphite fibre and epoxy
shafts per month. Production may be in the region of
143,000,000 annually. This includes shafts made with
all materials. However, the demand for shafts currently
is estimated at only 55% of that figure, which might
explain the dramatic price drop in composite shafts over
the last year. Details are given.
SAMPE
USA; WORLD
Accession no.599048
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