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TRENDS AEROSPACE Huge acquisitions alter composites manufacturing landscape Such momentous announcements are rare. Almost unprecedented are four of this magnitude within eight business days. Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD, US) reported on July 20 that it had entered into a “definitive agreement” to acquire Sikorsky Aircraft (Stratford, CT, US), a manufacturer of military and commercial rotary-wing aircraft, for US$9 billion. On the same day, Avcorp Industries Inc. (Delta, BC, Canada) reported that it had done the same with regard to Hitco Carbon Composites (Gardena, CA, US), the composite aerostructures division of a subsidiary of SGL Carbon SE (Wiesbaden, Germany). The following Tuesday, July 28, GKN (Redditch, UK) announced it will acquire Fokker Technologies Group (Papendrecht, The Netherlands) from Arle Capital for €706 million (US$781 million), a move that will lift GKN into the number two position for lightweight aerostructures. And not to be left out, the very next day, Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay entered into a definitive merger agreement with U.S.-based Cytec Industries Inc. (Woodland Park, NJ, US) to acquire 100% of its share capital for about US$5.5 billion. Cytec’s and Solvay’s boards of directors unanimously recommended the transaction, which reportedly will make Solvay the world’s second largest provider of materials for aerospace composites. Lockheed Martin says it plans to align Sikorsky under the Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST) business segment. MST and Sikorsky currently partner on a number of critical US military programs, including the VH-92 Presidential Helicopter, Combat Rescue Helicopter and the Naval MH-60 Helicopter. For its part, Avcorp Industries, which designs and builds major airframe structures for some of the world’s leading aircraft OEMs, says the Hitco transaction will significantly expand its capabilities in composites, and is anticipated to approximately double Avcorp’s revenues in the immediate term, offering a strong platform to grow its profitability. Avcorp will purchase Hitco inventories, equipment, tooling and other fixed assets, intellectual property, contractual rights, good will, accounts receivable and work in progress, but will not acquire the assets of Hitco’s materials division. Avcorp will sustain operations at Hitco’s Gardena aerostructures facilities. GKN’s Aerospace division, a major, independent Tier One supplier of complex composite structures for airframes and aeroengines, with 2014 sales of US$3.43 billion and a global workforce of more than 12,000, believes Fokker’s 5,000 employees and operations in Europe, North America and Asia will boost GKN’s global exposure and that Fokker’s position on the Airbus A350 and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 ADVANCED MATERIAL SOLUTIONS Fiber Reinforcement • Carbon, aramid and other high performance fiber reinforcements Prepreg Systems • Advanced thermoplastic and thermoset uni-directional tapes and fabric prepreg Films and Laminates • Solution, powder-coated and film laminated fabrics/adhesives 86 Providence Rd. Millbury, MA 01527 508 581 2100 | barrday.com Aircraft Interiors Structural Aerospace Energy Transportation Carbon/Carbon Ablatives Military/Defense Finally, a fire retardant FRP with unmatched processability. Finally, there’s a fire retardant, low smoke/low smoke toxicity phenolic FRP that’s processed as easily as polyester. It’s called Cellobond ® FRP and it’s processed from phenolic resins available in a wide range of viscosities for: • Hand lay-up/spray-up* • <strong>RTM</strong> • Filament winding* • Vacuum Infusion • Press molding • Pultrusion *FM approved Gel coated Cellobond ® Phenolic FRP, using Cellobond ® phenolic resin far exceeds DOT and FAA requirements and meets all stringent European fire performance tests with ease. The low density, high temperature resistance, low flame and low smoke / smoke toxicity make Cellobond ® phenolic resin the hottest new material for fire retardant applications. For the aircraft and aerospace industries that require ablative materials, we also offer Durite ® phenolic resin from Hexion Inc. Call or write today for more information. Mektech Composites Inc. Distributor for Hexion Inc. 40 Strawberry Hill Rd. • Hillsdale, NJ 07642 Tel: (201) 666-4880 Fax: (201) 666-4303 E-Mail: Mekmail@prodigy.net www.cellobond.com • www.hexion.com Cellobond ® and Durite ® are registered trademarks of Hexion Inc. 20 SEPTEMBER 2015 CompositesWorld
Acquisitons Alter Composites NEWS World military jet are a good fit with its own positions. The acquisition is expected to be complete in fourth-quarter 2015. Fokker, under its current leadership, will become an operating unit within GKN Aerospace, retain its headquarters, R&D and manufacturing facilities in The Netherlands and continue its ongoing partnerships with the Dutch government and knowledge institutes. Cytec’s composites businesses will be integrated into Solvay’s Advanced Materials operating segment. Through the Cytec acquisition, Solvay expects to gain critical scale and immediate “customer intimacy” in the aerospace market: In the fast-growing composite materials sector, which represents two thirds of Cytec’s sales, its principal market is primary and secondary aircraft structures. Conversely, in the automotive market, Solvay’s strong positions with original equipment manufacturers and Tier I suppliers are anticipated to bolster the growth of Cytec material sales and applications. Read more about Lockheed Martin’s acquisition on Sikorsky online | short.compositesworld.com/Sikors-acq Read more about AvCorp’s acquisition of HITCO online | short.compositesworld.com/HITCO-acq Read more about GKN’s acquisition of Fokker online | short.compositesworld.com/GKNFokker Read more about Solvay’s acquisition of Cytec online | short.compositesworld.com/SolvCytec BIZ BRIEFS Billionaire Warren Buffett is placing his bets on aerospace parts. His Berkshire Hathaway firm (Omaha, NE, US) is buying Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC), a Portland, OR, US-based manufacturer of complex metal components, for US$37.2 billion. That transaction will put aerocomposites manufacturer Composites Horizons (CHI, Covina, CA, US) in the Buffett portfolio as well — in July, PCC announced it would acquire CHI from American Industrial Partners (New York, NY, US). UK-based Meggitt PLC will buy the advanced composites businesses of Cobham for US$200 million. Cobham develops and produces composite aeroengine components (spinners, internal multi stage components, exhaust flaps), radomes and complex secondary structures (air -to- air refueling, structural munitions components). Cobham operates facilities in San Diego, Baltimore, and in the UK (Shepshed, Leicestershire and Stevenage, Hertfordshire). Royal TenCate NV (Almelo, The Netherlands) has been bought by Tennessee Acquisition BV, a company controlled by a consortium of investors that will help TenCate realize its business strategy, enabling it to invest in its protective fabrics, advanced composites, advanced armor, geosynthetics and grass market groups. The corporate identity and culture of TenCate will be maintained and its headquarters, central management and key support functions will remain in Almelo. No reorganization or restructuring will result in significant job losses. Precision Tooling and CNC Machining for the Composites Industry Precision Steel Invar NVD Nickel Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc Tel 705.526.7896 • Midland, ON www.webermfg.ca CompositesWorld.com 21
Page 1 and 2: Part-per-Minute Epoxies: THERMOSETS
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2015 /
Page 5 and 6: The cutting edge technology found i
Page 8 and 9: PERSPECTIVES & PROVOCATIONS Outer s
Page 10 and 11: BUSINESS INDEX CW Business Index at
Page 12 and 13: TRENDS The fabled Oshkosh Fly-in, f
Page 14 and 15: TRENDS AEROSPACE Automating inserts
Page 16 and 17: TRENDS Vacuum Test Unit Compact, li
Page 18 and 19: TRENDS MONTH IN REVIEW Notes on new
Page 20 and 21: TRENDS AUTOMOTIVE Quilted Stratum P
Page 24 and 25: TRENDS ENERGY US wind energy: Found
Page 26 and 27: TRENDS AEROSPACE NASA to enlist rob
Page 28 and 29: TRENDS Laser chemical vapor deposit
Page 30 and 31: WORK IN PROGRESS Fused-particle too
Page 32 and 33: WORK IN PROGRESS Sealing the frame,
Page 34 and 35: WORK IN PROGRESS they could do furt
Page 36 and 37: WORK IN PROGRESS VOC reduction stra
Page 38 and 39: WORK IN PROGRESS for lowering overa
Page 40 and 41: WORK IN PROGRESS but slightly worse
Page 42 and 43: Fan Blade High-Pressure Compressor
Page 44 and 45: MARKET OUTLOOK FIG. 3 Thrust revers
Page 46 and 47: MARKET OUTLOOK feature, made at Air
Page 48 and 49: Automotive composites: Thermosets f
Page 50 and 51: FEATURE / AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES Fas
Page 52 and 53: FEATURE / AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES (IA
Page 54 and 55: Mubea Carbo Tech: High-quality auto
Page 56 and 57: PLANT TOUR FIG. 1 Monocoque tubs vi
Page 58 and 59: PLANT TOUR FIG. 5 Parts, parts ...
Page 60 and 61: PLANT TOUR FIG. 6 CF + steel Mubea
Page 62 and 63: PLANT TOUR Read this article online
Page 64 and 65: INSIDE MANUFACTURING Composites upg
Page 66 and 67: INSIDE MANUFACTURING 1 Tubular poly
Page 68 and 69: INSIDE MANUFACTURING environmental
Page 70 and 71: CALENDAR Composites Events Sept. 8-
Page 72 and 73:
APPLICATIONS COMPOSITE BRACKETS FOR
Page 74 and 75:
NEW PRODUCTS Product Showcase » MA
Page 76 and 77:
NEW PRODUCTS » TESTING & MEASURING
Page 78 and 79:
MARKETPLACE MANUFACTURING SUPPLIERS
Page 80 and 81:
FOCUS ON DESIGN Automotive front ax
Page 82 and 83:
FOCUS ON DESIGN Simplified design I
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