PLANTTOUR

ATL/AFP

Plant tour: Avel Robotics, Lorient, France

From AFP hydrofoils to more efficient aircraft parts, Avel uses digital design, multiprocess production and a rule-breaking approach for complex 4D composites.

Ginger Gardiner
Senior Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Carbon Fibers

Plant tour: National Institute for Aviation Research, Wichita, Kan., U.S.

NIAR, located at Wichita State University in the heart of the American aerospace manufacturing industry, has evolved to become a premier hub of teaching, R&D, creativity and innovation.

Hi-Temp Resins

Plant tour: Qarbon Aerospace, Milledgeville, Ga. and Red Oak, Texas

Veteran aerostructures Tier 1 transforms into 21st century leader in thermoplastic composites and multiple new markets.

Carbon Fibers

Plant tour: Victrex Composites Solutions, Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S.

De-risking thermoplastic composites at industrial scale via hybrid overmolding.

Compression Molding

Plant tour: Bucci Composites, Faenza, Italy

A stalwart in Italy’s “Motor Valley” opens its doors for a discussion and exploration of the company’s history in composites manufacturing for high-performance cars and other applications.

Glass Fibers

Plant tour: ATC Manufacturing, Post Falls, Idaho, U.S.

ATC is at the top of the list when it comes to thermoplastic composites and aerostructures manufacturing. CW explains why.

Prepregs

Plant tour: Hexcel, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

The scale, precision, speed and quality of carbon fiber manufacture has evolved substantially since the material’s modern introduction in the late 1960s. Hexcel offers a glimpse of the state of the art today.

Carbon Fibers

Plant tour: AvCarb, Lowell, Mass., U.S.

Composites are often selected for their structural properties, but at AvCarb, innovation in carbon fiber-based products has driven fuel cell technology advances for decades.

Jeff Sloan
Editor-in-Chief, CompositesWorld

Prepregs

Plant Tour: RUAG Space, Decatur, Alabama, U.S.

Out-of-autoclave composites manufacturing facility comes of age with first U.S.-made composite structures for the Atlas V launcher, and qualification parts for the Vulcan.

Glass Fibers

Plant Tour: Holland Composites, Lelystad, Netherlands

Balancing performance with affordable production, this industry veteran continues to explore composites’ infinite possibilities.

Nanomaterials

Plant Tour: Veelo Technologies, Woodlawn, Ohio, U.S.

Advanced materials company evolves from nanomaterials to multifunctional composites and processing solutions.

Testing

Plant Tour: STELIA Aerospace, Méaulte, France

Supplier of Airbus fuselage sections pushes boundaries of hybrid aerostructures production, assembly and thermoplastic composites.

Aerospace

Plant tour: Meggitt San Diego, CA, US

This aerospace and defense fabricator upgrades to a larger facility and gets, in the process, a chance to rethink and optimize material, people and process flow.

Plant tour: Composite Resources, Rock Hill, SC

Equipped to meet vertical needs with rapid turnaround, Rock Hill, SC’s Composite Resources has found the sweet spot between prototypers and large composites manufacturers.

Thermoplastics

Plant tour: ÉireComposites, Galway, Ireland

An in-house testing business and R&D focus has led to innovative materials use and projects in a range of markets, from civil aerospace to renewable energy to marine.

Hannah Mason
Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Aerospace

Plant tour: Spirit AeroSystems, Wichita, KS

Spirit AeroSystems was an established aerospace supplier when it earned that distinction, winning the contract for the Boeing 787’s Section 41. Now its sights are set on the next generation of aircraft.

Molds/Tools

Plant tour: Tods Aerospace, Crewkerne, U.K.

Tods Aerospace, located in rural England, is part of the larger Unitech Aerospace manufacturing group and specializes in highly engineered aerospace defense structures.

Aerospace

Plant tour: Van Horn Aviation, Tempe, AZ

Van Horn Aviation seized a real opportunity in helicopter blades, with little composites acumen but big desire. The rest is history worth reading.

Thermoplastics

Plant tour: A&P, Cincinnati, OH

A&P has made a name for itself as a braider, but the depth and breadth of its technical aptitude comes into sharp focus with a peek behind usually closed doors.

Epoxies

Plant tour: FBM Composite Materials, Kiryat Gat, Israel

Tier 2 composites manufacturer FBM Composite Materials developed the right pill for a Boeing headache and became the sole supplier of 787-9 Dreamliner door surrounds.

Glass Fibers

Plant tour: Elbit Systems Ltd., Haifa, Israel

Military and commercial tier supplier Elbit Cyclone maintains precision and quality as it continues growth in composites, complex assemblies and high-rate production.

Carbon Fibers

Plant tour: Dowty Propellers, Gloucester, U.K.

Transforming decades of design and RTM production reliability into more sustainable, next-generation composite propellers.

Ginger Gardiner
Senior Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Cutting/Kitting

Plant tour: Israel Aerospace Industries, Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is developing increasing expertise both in and out of the autoclave as it expands an already broad composites production portfolio.

ATL/AFP

Plant tour: Kanfit Ltd., Migdal HaEmek, Israel

Aerospace tier supplier Kanfit Ltd. is expanding, offering both composite and metal parts for applications in an expanding range of high-performance markets.

Infusion

Plant tour: Diamond Aircraft Austria, Wiener Neustadt, Austria

Composites use among general aviation manufacturers is far from unusual, but none apply them quite like this airframer does.

Glass Fibers

Plant Tour: FiberCore Europe, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

From debond-proof bridges to cost-saving infrastructure rehab, InfraCore technology is establishing composites as the fourth major construction material.

Injection/Overmolding

Plant Tour: Fraunhofer ICT, Pfinztal, Germany

This wide-ranging research center works with government and industry to develop the best of polymer composite processing, across a range of technologies.

Machining/Drilling

Plant Tour: BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis, Austria

High-volume CFRP structures pioneer makes industrialization and multimaterial assembly look easy.

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