#Composites

2023-02-23

SGL Carbon sold its business activities at the Gardena site (USA)

As part of the realignment of SGL Carbon, strategic options were developed for all Business Units. In this context, the site network of the Business Unit Composite Solutions was also reviewed. The Composite Solutions Business Unit offers customer-oriented and tailor-made solutions based on carbon and glass fibers for high-tech applications in the automotive, aerospace, energy and other industrial sectors.

The review revealed that the Gardena site (California, USA) should no longer be embedded in the strategic alignment. Against this background, SGL Carbon sold its business activities at the Gardena site to an affiliate of Tex-Tech Industries, Inc., effective February 16, 2023. This also includes all plant and machinery as well as customer contracts served from the Gardena site that will be fulfilled by the buyer in the future. The employees of the site were also taken over by the buyer. The property will remain in the possession of SGL Carbon and will be leased to the buyer for use.

In the future, the Composite Solutions business unit will serve its North American business from Arkadelphia site (Arkansas, USA) which is being expanded as a hub for the manufacturing of composite components, in particular for large-volume orders from North American automotive customers.

SGL Carbon decides to restructure its Carbon Fibers business unit

The Board of Management of SGL Carbon SE today decided, with the approval of the Supervisory Board, to restructure the loss-making Carbon Fibers business unit. SGL Carbon will significantly reduce the business activities of Carbon Fibers and focus on a profitable core. Individual solutions are being developed for all Carbon Fibers sites, including the closure of unprofitable sites.

Novel flame-retardant and recyclable fiber-reinforced composite

Airplanes and passenger trains must meet strict safety requirements, including fire safety standards. This calls for materials that are flame-retardant, lightweight, robust, and scalable. Empa researchers, in collaboration with their industry partner Elantas, have now succeeded for the first time in making such a material – a composite – fully recyclable.

WHILL selects Teijin’s tough, lightweight Carbon Fiber Composite for new last-mile mobility

Teijin Limited announced today that WHILL Inc., a global leader in inclusive mobility technology, has selected Sereebo® P CFP series, a carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) material, for key structural components of the upcoming WHILL Model C Lite. Sereebo® P CFP series provides high strength, light weight, design flexibility and system cost advantages to the Model C Lite, which is a battery powered, single-seat, last-mile device. This new model combines maneuverability with light weight and one-handed folding to ensure ease of handling and operation.

Fewer pores, greater impact tolerance: Peter Dornier Foundation Prize 2026 honours material research on fibre-reinforced composite components for aerospace industry

Microscopically small pores that form during manufacture, or barely visible impact damage, can severely impair the load-bearing capacity and service life of fibre-reinforced composite components. Two young researchers have presented groundbreaking work in this field and will both be awarded the 2026 Peter Dornier Foundation Prize: Dr.-Ing. Benedikt Neitzel from the Technical University of Ilmenau for his doctoral thesis on pore minimisation in the RTM process, and Johanna Buschmann, M.Sc., for her master’s thesis, completed at the German Aerospace Centre, on the improved impact tolerance of 3D fabrics compared to 2D laminates.

Coats Digital launches AI-powered GSD RealMotion for motion analysis

Coats Digital has launched GSD RealMotion, an AI-powered solution designed to provide apparel manufacturers with greater visibility into factory-floor operations. By analysing shop-floor video and applying Coats Digital’s GSD methodology, the solution turns video recordings into structured, motion-by-motion method studies.

Archroma and Lameirinho partner in pioneering deployment of InOneGO single-step dyeing

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals, and Lameirinho, a leading home textiles manufacturer based in Portugal, are collaborating to bring InOneGO by Archroma, a new single-step dyeing process, into commercial production. Lameirinho’s first InOneGo bedlinens collection is now available worldwide.

Reducing development times for technical textiles by accelerated thermo-oxidative aging in a high-pressure autoclave

Synthetic polymers used in technical textiles can be effectively protected against degradation caused by heat, oxygen, and water through the use of stabilizer systems. This enables service lives of several decades, extending to more than 50 years. As the use of durable technical textiles continues to grow, so does the demand for reliable methods to predict their service life within economically feasible testing periods. For the first time the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) developed methods for robust service life prediction for textiles in an IGF research project.