Dymag to increase carbon fiber wheel production

Dymag (Chippenham, Wiltshire, U.K.), designer and manufacturer of lightweight carbon composite hybrid and full carbon wheels for cars and motorcycles, has announced plans to raise an additional £5m of growth capital in the next year, resulting in a new production line ultimately capable of delivering 50,000 wheels per year.

The company supplies both complete wheels and carbon barrels (rims) as sub-components to third party aftermarket companies in the U.K., Europe, U.S. and Japan. Its clients include a global supercar brand and the company says other OEM deals are in the pipeline.

Dymag plans to increase its production capacity with the aim of driving down costs as it strikes agreements with leading tier one automotive suppliers specializing in wheels and structural composite components for the automotive, industrial and aerospace sectors. The resulting agreements will see the company’s technology applied to wheels on mid-market cars and other vehicles in the passenger vehicle market.

Carbon fiber wheel weight reduction benefits are substantial; estimates from a leading sports car OEM manufacturer suggest a Dymag Carbon Hybrid wheel is typically at least 40% lighter than an equivalent cast aluminum wheel.

Dymag boasts that its aftermarket wheels are designed and manufactured to internationally recognized standards and are fitted to vehicle brands including Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini and JLR’s Jaguar F-Type. The firm’s technology has a full U.K. patent for its design, which strengthens the wheel rim using different materials constructed to deliver a complete wheel that is reportedly lighter, stronger and faster than conventional designs. The wheel is said to be highly durable and performs safely in high impact conditions.

“The technology is now starting to move into mainstream vehicle production having been developed and proved in advanced supercar applications,” says Chris Shelley, CEO of Dymag. “At present wheels are produced in relatively small run numbers of hundreds per month. We are ready to deliver on a plan to scale up production to thousands per month. The planned increased capacity will also drive prices down rapidly, bringing them towards economic viability for all passenger vehicles.” 

He adds, “International competition is modest but also gearing up for a ‘transformation’ in wheel technology. An Australian firm has recently raised U.S. $50 million on sales expectations in this important niche sector of the future automotive supply chain market. We have been talking to a number of interested investors and have scaled up our plans to meet their ambitions and the opportunities we see in the future market.”