Original Composites & Fiberglass (OCF) Suppliers Showroom

Practical Steps to Making Composites More Sustainable

Exel Composites discusses a practical, multi-faceted approach — including biomaterials, recycling and partnerships to build scale — as well as the industry’s circularity challenges and future opportunities.

Praana, 3B and Original Composites & Fiberglass: The Next Chapter

Praana’s acquisition of Owens Corning’s glass reinforcements business and resulting integration with 3B into Original Composites & Fiberglass brings scale, expansion into India, Asia and investment in a new model for global glass fiber composites.

Exel Composites, OCF Build Commercial-Scale Use of Circular Composites Across Europe

The composites manufacturer has strengthened its partnership with Original Composites & Fiberglass to adopt Sustaina continuous filament mat in its production process.

Composite Conductor Cores Boost Capacity, Cut Cost to Help Power Grids Meet AI Demand

Composite cores have evolved to increase conductor capacity 2X and cut transmission losses by up to 50%, achievable within 1-3 years with existing infrastructure, but also enable sensing and smart, adaptive grids.

Composites End Markets: Energy (2026)

Composites continue to drive energy innovations, from new materials and installations of recyclable wind blades to nuclear CMC and offshore oil pipelines.

Owens Corning Glass Reinforcements business is now operating as The Original Composites Co.

Following finalization of Glass Reinforcements sale, the new name clearly honors where Owens Corning came from and where the company is headed.

What is the future for Owens Corning Glass Reinforcements?

An industry pioneer discusses divergent visions in a global industry, consolidation and growth in Asia, doubling market share and tells a composites sustainability story involving circular fibers.

Owens Corning Glass Reinforcements commissions its first circular glass fiber production line

L’Ardoise factory now produces SUSTAINA LOOP fiber, continuously incorporating fiberglass waste back into its production furnace, now running a hydrogen trial to significantly cut CO2 emissions.

Gjenkraft, Owens Corning bolster use of post-industrial fiberglass waste

Per a new agreement, Gjenkraft’s thermolysis recycling process will support the introduction of recycled glass fibers into Owens Corning’s production of new glass fibers.

EuCIA launches the European Rebar Council to drive FRP rebar market opportunity

Composite rebar promotion and adoption goals form the backbone of this sectorial alliance, with four working groups to drive the Council’s activities.

Composite Recycling, Owens Corning form recycling strategy

Collaboration will develop and refine methodologies for incorporating reclaimed composites waste into Owens Corning’s existing glass fiber production streams.

JEC World 2025 highlights: Evolving recycling and biomaterials technologies

CW technical editor Hannah Mason shares sustainability-focused composites trade show highlights featuring maturation, scale-up, new partnerships, and new technologies in biomaterials and recycling.

Industry alliance targets closed-loop circularity for nautical construction

Six partners will deliver a composites circularity model from recycled waste to final boat production as a jumping off point for industries beyond marine.

Owens Corning to sell glass fiber business to Praana Group

Transaction with India-based holding group completes Owens Corning’s previously announced strategic review of the business, strengthens its focus on residential and commercial building products.

Trends fueling the composites recycling movement

Various recycling methods are being considered for composites, from novel dismantling and processing, to building capacity and demonstrating secondary use applications.

ZEBRA project demonstrates closed-loop wind recycling system

Consortium partners have proven the complete recycling of thermoplastic wind turbines via two manufactured wind blades, featuring reduced operating cost, CO2 emissions.

Composite materials, design enable challenging Corvette exterior components

General Motors and partners Premix-Hadlock and Albar cite creative engineering and a move toward pigmented sheet molding compound (SMC) to produce cosmetic components that met strict thermal requirements.

Autocomposites market is expected to double revenue by 2032

Increase in demand for lightweight vehicles, stringent regulations and a rise in EV adoption are factors that are currently driving growth in automotive composites, according to a recent report.

JEC World 2024 highlights: Glass fiber recycling, biocomposites and more

CW technical editor Hannah Mason discusses trends seen at this year’s JEC World trade show, including sustainability-focused technologies and commitments, the Paris Olympics amongst other topics.

Owens Corning initiates review of strategic alternatives for glass fiber business

Owens Corning considers alternative options like a potential sale or spin-off as part of its transformative move to strengthen its position in building and construction materials.

Fiberglass conduit manufacturer grows into new products, infrastructure applications

Texas-based Champion Fiberglass, a five-time CW Top Shops honoree, expands its success in the fiberglass composite conduit market into new applications and products, looking toward future automation and sustainability initiatives.

JEC World 2024 preview

The world’s largest composites industry trade event returns to Paris, France, March 5-7, 2024, featuring exhibits, awards, conference programming and more.

JEC World 2024 spotlights composites sustainability, innovation

This past year’s JEC Innovation Planets and awards are returning, with new opportunities like Country on Stage, a Building & Infrastructure Planet and more villages dedicated to specific aspects of the industry.

Women in the Composites Industry brings together women for networking, educational opportunities

Aiming to support the growth of women in this industry, the WCI industry group and its partners recently held its first live training event hosted by Owens Corning.

Live demonstrations present closed molding advancements

CAMX 2023: The Composites One and Closed Mold Alliance demo zone returns with short but engaging exhibitions featuring vacuum infusion, reusable bag molding, light RTM and other technologies through the show.

Owens Corning completes sale of Russian operations

The decision, made earlier this year, includes a composites and insulation manufacturing plant based in Russia.

Takeaways from International Conference on Sustainable Wind Turbine Blades 2022

Organizers and attendees lessons learned and outlook from November 2022 conference at DTU Risø in Denmark.

NCC announces Crown Estate Scotland, Owens Corning and TotalEnergies to join SusWIND

Leading stakeholders will add their voices to the SusWIND community in order to deliver a sustainable future for composites in wind.

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.

Owens Corning and Pultron Composites form joint venture to produce fiberglass rebar

Composites companies pivot to increase market access to Pinkbar + Fiberglas Rebar and Mateenbar Fiberglas Rebar, expound on the growing rebar industry.

Owens Corning acquires WearDeck, composite decking and structural lumber manufacturer

Transaction supports company’s strategy to strengthen position in building and construction products. Composite decking reportedly capture more than 30% of the market and is on the rise.

Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling

Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.

ZEBRA project launched to develop first 100% recyclable wind turbine blades

A cross-sector consortium has been brought together to demonstrate the relevance of thermoplastic wind turbine blades, with an eco-design approach to facilitate recycling.

SMC material configurations tailored to automotive battery enclosure design

SMC battery cover offers various module configurations, levels of performance, mass and cost for electric vehicles.

Brazilian composites industry meets Top of Mind award winners

Latin American Composite Materials Association (ALMACO) releases the winners of the 12th Top of Mind of the Composites Award.

ALMACO discloses Top of Mind 2021 award finalists

The primary award for the Brazilian composites sector identifies the three most-voted companies in 27 categories. Winners will be announced Dec. 9.

NREL explores novel manufacturing approach for next-generation wind turbine blades

3D printing of thermoplastic blades enables thermal welding and improves recyclability, offering the potential to reduce turbine blade weight and cost by at least 10%, and production cycle time by 15%.

CAMX 2021 Show Daily highlights composite technology innovations

As the CAMX media sponsor, CompositesWorld reported on several new or improved developments on display, from CAMX Award and ACE Award winners, to the keynote speaker and interesting technologies.

Owen Corning acquires vliepa GmbH

Combination expands Owen Corning’s global nonwovens portfolio to address sustainability, lightweight building materials and more labor-efficient construction solutions in European markets.

Additive manufacturing adds versatility to large marine structures

Dive Technologies and Moi Composites are among those extending composite 3D printing’s design flexibility past prototyping and into customizable end-use parts.

Impossible Objects, Owens Corning to produce new high-performance 3D printing materials

Collaboration will develop tailor-made materials for composite-based AM, bring CBAM process to industrial scale to compete with other high-volume manufacturing methods.

MAMBO tests the waters for 3D printing large marine structures

With its MAMBO boat, Moi Composites demonstrates use of its continuous fiber 3D printing technology for customized, automated production for the boating industry.

Glass fiber supply chain struggles amid pandemic, economic recovery

Transportation issues, rising demands and other factors have led to higher costs or delays for gun rovings and more. Suppliers and Gardner Intelligence share their perspectives.

Annual Brazil: Top of Mind of Composites Industry survey begins

The initiative serves to award several most-remembered companies in the Brazilian composites sector each year. Winners will be announced Dec. 10 on ALMACO’s website and social pages.

3D printing with continuous fiber: A landscape

Growth continues in suppliers, part size, production volume and markets.

Moi Composites debuts 3D printed glass fiber boat

Moi used its patented CFM 3D printing technology for depositing continuous fibers impregnated with thermosetting resin to develop MAMBO’s unique design.

The making of glass fiber

The old art behind this industry’s first fiber reinforcement is explained,with insights into new fiber science and future developments.

Composites suppliers, fabricators respond to coronavirus

Companies across the composites industry supply chain share how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their businesses, and how they are available to help.

The growing role of composites in infrastructure

From bridges to rebar and pilings, composites provide installation and life cycle cost savings over steel and concrete.

On the road with CompositesWorld

CW Senior Editor Scott Francis offers a recap of recent composites industries events including CAMX 2019 and SPE ACCE 2019.

IACMI SMC Workshop: From What to Why

Introductory course teaches students about composition, characteristics, benefits of sheet-molding compound.

The still-promised potential of basalt fiber composites

Although the long-anticipated market surge in basalt fiber-reinforced polymer composites remains largely in the future, basalt fiber manufacturers are making headway over the technical and market hurdles toward large-scale application.

Owens Corning and Thought3D collaborate on adhesive for composite 3D printing filament

Magigoo PP-GF aids in the first layer adhesion for challenging prints using XSTRAND GF30-PP.

Video: Manufacturing the Future With Composites

CAMX 2018 showcased a video giving attendees a glimpse of the future through the eyes of the composites industry and illustrating the way advanced materials are being used to improve our lives.

Racing catamaran still performing

Gougeon Brothers Inc. created a composite racing catamaran in 1990 that is still setting speed records decades later.

CAMX 2018: Big changes coming

3D printing goes thermoset, pultrusion aims at automotive, a polyester resin with Tg>250°C and much more from the Dallas exhibit floor.

2018 CAMX Award finalists announced

The winning entries will be announced and presented during the General Session at CAMX on Tuesday, Oct.16 in Dallas, TX, US.

Composite container protects satellites — on the ground

Cored composites add the strength, smoothness and portability needed for a container built to ship satellites over air, land and water.

Continuous Fiber Manufacturing (CFM) with moi composites

Continuous fiber 3D printing using epoxy, vinylester and acrylic with continuous glass, carbon, basalt and other fibers, including deposition along nonlinear curves, is only the beginning.

U.S. styrene-reduction mandates: Go or no-go?

Legislative changes are slow in coming, but technology forges ahead.

Owens Corning partners with CPIC to support growing wind energy demand

The two companies announced a joint investment in a new facility dedicated to the manufacture of high-modulus glass fiber products in China.

Composites perform water rescue in high-speed rail tunnel

Channeling out the great quantities of water that flow into Spain’s Pajares railway tunnels in the Cantabria Mountain range required an award-winning composites innovation.

Composites Pavilion at AIA 2018

New composite products for architecture/construction and student designs innovate how composites can be used.

M. Holland Co. to distribute Owens Corning filaments for 3D printing

M. Holland will manage a network of sub-distributors and directly distribute XSTRAND filaments to M. Holland clients in the thermoplastic resin industry

Big composite container protects vital satellite

Before they experience the vibrations of launch and the rigors of the space environment, satellites first have to make it to the launch pad. Pagnotta Engineering Inc. (PEI, Exton, PA, US) was called upon by Orbital ATK (Dulles, VA, US) to design a shipping box to protect Orbital ATK’s GEOStar-3 geosynchronous satellite bus structure, during shipment.

Carbon/glass spar cap enables world’s longest wind blade

LM Wind Power goes long with a resin-infused hybrid carbon composite strategy.

Composites at AIA 2017

The ACMA Architectural Division exhibited its 4th annual Composites Pavilion and 2nd annual COMPOSITES CHALLENGE for architectural students.

Composites recycling: Gaining traction

Recycling of carbon fiber, glass fiber and — at last — resins, is growing as new players enter the space.

Wait, wait, there’s more: JEC 2017

There’s never enough time to see everything at the JEC World event, and this year the problem was even worse. Here’s more information on new products and companies, from Paris…

Another opportunity to meet, and learn, in Paris

At the JEC World 2017, improvements in materials and processes were present at nearly every stand, with the emphasis on automotive-capable production speeds.

Composites for builders: Establishing structural foundations

Doors open to composites in residential and light commercial construction, above and below ground.

SMC: Old dog, new tricks

A sheet molding compound renaissance highlights new reinforcements, new fillers, new matrices, new opportunities.

CW Plant Tour: Aeris Energy, Caucaia, Brazil

This young, up-and-coming wind blade manufacturer was founded to serve the Brazilian wind energy market, but it’s poised to do much more.

Owens Corning donates fiberglass composites for restoration at Pearl Harbor

This program will restore the historic Battleship Row mooring quays, while helping U.S. Army personnel transition to civilian jobs.

Fast-build construction with composites

A Brazilian modular wall system that can deliver affordable homes and schools in days is exported to meet global needs, including for refugee resettlement.

History, myths and urban legends of pultrusion

CW guest columnist and composites industry pultrusion consultant David E. Green tells us that many interesting stories have been told about the early days of pultrusion, and some of them are true.

More and more composites blowing in the wind

Wind energy is putting the uncertainty that was the hallmark of this industry in the rearview mirror. Electricity from this renewable resource is cheaper and more competitive than it's ever been — and getting more so. This massive consumer of composite materials has a bright future.

Engineering large-diameter underground pipe

A combination of design and new materials enhances pipe performance without adding cost.

Huntsman, Acciona collaborate on all-composite lighthouse

The first-ever all-composite lighthouse is now installed at the port of Valencia in Spain.

Fine-tuning fiberglass: Smart fiber sizing

Some insights into those proprietary chemistries that can customize performance at the fiber/resin interface.

The composites super cycle — are we still living the dream?

Predicted before the 2008 recessionary crash, the super cycle’s foundations were to be built on an increasing use of composites in aircraft. How did it play out?

JEC World 2016, the full report

CompositesWorld's editors report on the technologies and products that caught our eye at JEC World 2016, in early March.

Low-density SMC: Better living through chemistry

Proprietary sizing, special glass roving and microspheres strip 9 kilos of weight from Corvette body panels.

How have composite bridges measured up?

The latest US highway bill includes a provision to assess performance of composite bridges built years ago, bridges that CW wrote about.

CAMX 2015: More green, more customization, more growth

CAMX, the second year, was in interesting event, marked by a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of innovation and many new products.

Slideshow of SPE ACCE 2015

A look at the 15th edition of SPE’s Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE).

Tires that never go flat

SciTech Industries and Rapid Composites develop high-volume production tires that use glass fiber/PET composite springs instead of innertubes and compressed air.

Wind turbine blades: Back to the future?

Dayton Griffin, MSc, a senior principal engineer at DNV GL (Seattle, WA, US), considers the challenges that increasing blade length poses for designers/manufacturers in terms of weight mitigation, stiffness optimization, manufacturability and transportability.

The building envelope: FRP unitized façades

New composite design reduces framing, simplifies construction and improves performance vs. conventional aluminum-framed glass curtainwalls.

CAMX 2014 show report

Bigger, better and more inclusive than any previous U.S. composites trade event, the inaugural show turns North American eyes forward to the future.

Dual-laminates: Scaling up to scrubbers

A double-protection strategy for this massive fiberglass vessel tests pushes the limits of this shop’s fabricating and logistical planning skills.

SPE’s ACCE 2014 preview

Automotive composites a hot topic in the Motor City.

Public transit: Modular composites update Sao Paulo ferries

When the Brazilian state of São Paulo, through its state-controlled company DERSA, funded new composite superstructures for 12 existing car ferries, Barracuda Advanced Composites (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) specified materials and engineered the new design.

2014 JEC Europe Review

The composites world met again in Paris, vibrant, stronger, and more forward-looking than ever before.

Inspection: 30-year-old fiberglass pipeline stands test of time

Examined after three decades in service (half its predicted service life), this filament wound fiberglass pipe showed no signs of degradation.

Bus station pavilion: A marriage of design and manufacture

Architectural design studio and boatbuilder cooperate to make this passenger terminal "first" a first-class showpiece.

Market outlook: Fiber-reinforced phenolics

Phenolics gain new footholds in anticorrosion markets now dominated by polyesters and epoxies.

JEC Europe 2013 review

Snow in Paris slowed traffic to the show floor but did nothing to cool the enthusiasm of composites innovators in a broad range of markets.

SAMPE Europe 2013/JEC Europe 2013 highlights

Held concurrently, these two seminal European composites events weathered a rare Parisian snowstorm to plumb the depth and breadth of the industry.

Pultruding polyurethane: Sheet pilings break boundaries

High-pressure pultrusion process creates polyurethane composite sheet pile system with the strength and stiffness to compete with steel.

ACMA COMPOSITES 2013 review

Once again, cautious optimism, an abundance of revealing research and a parade of notable new products are ACMA convention keystones.

JEC 2013 at first blush

CT Editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan risks some immediate reactions to his week in Paris at the JEC Europe 2013 composites trade show.

Swimming pools: Fiberglass resurfacing option extends useful life

GRC Fiberglass Coatings (Santa Rosa, Calif.) rehabilitates aging swimming pools in the U.S. and Canada using a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) approach first developed for steel and concrete corrosion protection in African gold refineries.

Market Outlook: Fiber-reinforced phenolics

When it comes to corrosion resistance and low smoke toxicity, it's hard to beat fiber-reinforced phenolics. Manufacturers look for new applications for this often overlooked material.

Composites evolution, big and small

We like to focus on the Next Big Thing in composites, but everyday processes need attention too.

Composite-cored conductors: Holding the line

After a decade of incremental inroads, two different composite-cored electric power transmission products are connecting with those who specify for the grid.

SPE ACCE 2012 Review

Bursting at the seams, the 12th annual Society of Plastic Engineers Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition tops its previous bests.

IBEX 2012 Review

Under the banner “The Future of Marine Technology,” the 22nd International BoatBuilders’ expo confronts a brave new world.

Cured in place pipe: Trenchless trends

A variety of CIPP products are enabling the rehabilitation, rather than excavation and replacement, of underground pipe for wastewater and drinking water.

Industrial corrosion control: Huge opportunities

Fiber-reinforced plastic is the ideal but still widely ignored option in environments that eat away at most metal alloys. Opportunities abound, but the key is still education.

Taking the gamble: Betting on material markets

Polystrand builds a new plant to produce market-leading quantities of thermoplastic composite material.

Rapid layup: New 3-D preform technology

Hook-and-loop fasteners speed layup of carbon, aramid, glass and hybrid fabrics while improving composites’ mechanical performance.

WINDPOWER 2012 report

Continued technology-driven performance gains are overshadowed by PTC gloom and predicted Asian overcapacity.

Composite booth: ATM delivers "green" in more ways than one

Edra Equipamentos (Ipeuna, Brazil) has developed a composites-intensive automated teller machine (ATM) enclosure that is not only attractive and functional, but also environmentally sustainable.

2012 JEC Europe Highlights

JEC’s annual Paris exhibition reports impressive attendance figures as exhibitors tout big news.

SPE ACCE 2011: Growing again

The Society of Plastics Engineers’ 11th conference on automotive composites fields a top slate of speakers and attracts its largest crowd.

Composite vs. corrosion: Battling for marketshare

Market trends and tighter budgets are helping to expand the use of composites to repair and replace corrosion-damaged infrastructure — aboveground and underground.

Small wind gets big

Massive growth, complex blade designs reopen challenging market in wind energy niche.

Automating swimming pool production

Small producer ramps up productivity with "entry level" robotics.

Heavy-duty infusion: Scaling up for scrubbers

Infused 3-D woven fabric preforms best steel in beams and unitized deck structures built for the caustic confines of massive flue gas desulfurization systems.

Training surge: Too little, too late?

Hands-on programs are aimed at younger students by educators hoping to prevent shortages of composites technicians and engineers.

Nanotechnology: It's real

CompositesWorld's conference director Scott Stephenson reviews several recent conference presentations as evidence that nanocomposites are no longer just the stuff of dreams.

Carrier-capable, all-composite external fuel tank

Legacy product positions builder for a shot at an F-35 contract.

Nanotechnology: Into the realm of real

Fast, scalable process grows nanostructures directly on composite reinforcements for a “drop-in” use in volume production processes.

Antiballistics: Better defense, less expense

Armor applications grow on the strength of new markets, new composite materials.

Life Cycle Assessment: Are composites "green"?

Methods for calculating the impact composites have on the environment enable data-driven comparisons to traditional materials on a level playing field.

Double-bag infusion: 70% fiber volume?

A double vacuum-bag system and tight process control enable repeatable fiber volumes of 60 to 70 percent and improves consistency of infused laminates.

Blades? Yes! Towers ... maybe

Although steel dominates the utility-scale wind turbine tower market, height increases, on- and offshore, are shifting the wind toward composites.

Hotel wrap: Curvilinear pultrusions

Airport hotel’s striking wraparound roofline made possible, durable and affordable with pultruded flat panels and profiled support structures.

Thermoformable thermoplastic composites

Thermoplastic composites that can be shaped into finished parts via thermoforming are proliferating as the thermoforming process gains traction, particularly in aerospace manufacturing. The following short article and chart provide some guidance in terms of sourcing.

Building a bigger Big Wheel

Machining specialist scales up the 1970s icon, producing plugs and tools for an exact fiberglass replica at a Disney resort.

Antiballistics: Composites in the cross hairs

An increasing quantity and variety of fiber/polymer solutions are stopping bullets and blast debris in armored ground vehicles and stationary structures.

FEA facilitates custom megayacht design

Modeling software and design ingenuity meet vibration challenges in ocean-going luxury yacht.

JEC Composites 2009 showcase

Despite the doleful state of the global economy, the turnout in Paris — exhibitors and visitors — proved surprisingly strong.

CNC routers optimize cooling tower build

Although cooling towers traditionally have been made with wood and concrete, composite materials are gaining acceptance due to their corrosion and rot resistance, light weight and ease of installation.

COMPOSITES+POLYCON 2009 Showcase

Despite the deepening recession, composites pros returned to the show in its new time slot to explore the wealth of products and services collected here.

Resin systems update: The greening of thermosets

Thermoset resin formulators seek environmental benefits as customers demand reduced cost and increased performance.

Composites help create "ghostly" sculpture of bygone time

Sculptor Lawrence Argent of Argent Studios Ltd. (Denver, Colo. ) recently completed another of his several Denver-area public art installations, an internally illuminated, translucent composite sculpture called Ghost Trolley.

Wind Blade Manufacturing: Are thermoplastic composites the future?

In a market dominated by thermoset composites, some wind turbine blade manufacturers are actively pursuing new composite blade designs featuring faster-processing reinforced thermoplastics.

High-Volume Preforming for Automotive Application

More than a dozen parts for four Aston Martin models are mass produced in France using Ford Motor Co.'s optimized Programmable Preforming Process and resin transfer molding.

Engineered fiberglass cladding replaces metal for retail architectural applications

When FormaShape's (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada) engineering manager Henry Czenczek approached Husky Energy, one of Canada's largest energy companies, his demonstration of the way fiberglass composites could dramatically improve the look, weatherability and vandal-resistance of the ribbed tin architectural cladding on Husky's Travel Centre retail outlets was enough to persuade Husky execs to overhaul the entire network. For the Husky project, FormaShape applied NEi Nastran finite element analysis software, Solidworks 3D, supplied by Noran Engineering Inc. (Westminster, Calif.

Composites and Polymer Concrete Refine Mining Processes for Nonferrous Metal

Cost-effective alternatives to steel-reinforced concrete offer corrosion-resistant acid tanks to electrolytic refinery operations.

FRP forms enable fluted concrete column design

The Century Project, a 42-story luxury condominium tower in Los Angeles, Calif. , designed by Robert A. M.

Standing Up to Natural Disasters

Composites are answering the call for residential and commercial structures that can weather future "perfect storms."

Rapid Manufacturing, Part II: Pioneer Applications

Harbingers of what could be a significant trend, these composites manufacturers demonstrate the potential of additive fabrication and several innovative materials in tool-free manufacture of complex components.

Composites Protect Pipe in Downhole Environment

Glass-reinforced epoxy provides a durable and affordable liner for alternative pipe used in enhanced oil recovery.

Inside Manufacturing: CIPP Lights Way in Buried Pipe Repair

Spiral-wound, UV-curable fiberglass CIPP bests competitors and bears loads in “trenchless” wastewater pipe rehabilitation project.

FRP troughs help remove iron from mine water discharge

For more than 60 years, iron from iron ore deposits has polluted water that flows out of the abandoned Marchand Mine near Lowber, Pa., into Sewickley Creek and the Youghiogheny River. After it was shut down in the early 1940s, the mine began to discharge iron — almost 1 million lb (more than 450,000 kg) annually. In

Inside Manufacturing: Multiphase Process Forms Complex Shapes

Manufacturer adds extrusion and injection molding to thermoplastic pultrusion process to produce corrosion-resistant threaded rod.

New hybrid electric bus takes advantage of composites

Mobile Energy Solutions LLC (MES, Golden, Colo.) will soon premiere a “green” transit bus, featuring a fuel cell/hybrid permanent-magnet electric propulsion system (built by UQM Technologies, Frederick, Colo.) optimized for fuel efficiency with an all-composite body. The low-floor, 37-passenger vehicle is being

Reinforced Thermoplastics: LFRT vs. GMT

As the suppliers of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and glass-mat thermoplastics battle for market supremacy, the winner is … the composites OEM.

High Wind in China

China's renewable energy mandates motivate huge growth in its wind energy market, spurring production of composite components on the Chinese mainland.

JEC Composites 2007 Product Showcase

This year’s Parisian exhibition provides key evidence of the composites industry’s unprecedented breadth and technical sophistication.

JEC COMPOSITES 2007 Highlights

Advanced composites make notable marks not only in traditional aerospace apps, but in automotive, sport and infrastructure arenas as well.

Cutting Infusion Time And Cost

When open molders turn to infusion, careful planning, material selection and training precede process efficiency.

FRP Two way Joist System The Answer For Cleanroom Concrete Flooring

When electronics giant Texas Instruments Inc. (TI, Dallas, Texas) spec'd the 200,000 ft2 (18,850m2) multistory cleanroom for its new semiconductor manufacturing facility, it needed to accommodate not only strict indoor air quality requirements but heavy structural loads as well. The cleanroom was designated as the

Rapid Fiber Preforming On A Large Scale

A proven alternative to open molding of big parts.

Sizing Up Fiber Sizings

What glass fiber users need to know about sizings, and how new sizing developments are enhancing the performance of glass-reinforced composites.

Thermoformable Composite Panels, Part 1

Preconsolidated fiber-reinforced thermoplastics offer short cycle times, tailored properties, recyclability and lower cost.

Composites connect with the world of cabling

Composite cables prove they can handle high tension - on land, over water and under the sea.

Corvette converts floor panels, wheelhousings from glass to chopped carbon

Since 1953, General Motor's Chevrolet Corvette has been a trendsetter in glass-reinforced automotive composites and has served as the test bed for many GM innovations.

In-mold Preforming Cost-justifies Closed Molding

Computer-controlled robots spray preforms directly into the part tool, a running start for closed molding.

Pultruded Composites Span Infrastructure Gaps

Pre-engineered deck and superstructure systems are finding their niche in many locations around the world.

Fuel Economy Drives Big Rig Composites

A variety of materials and processing methods are lightweighting and economizing trucks and trailers in the commercial freight arena.

Fiberglass multiaxials reinforce their market share

Technological and market forces feed growing use of multiaxial nonwoven fiberglass fabrics and spur diversified product offerings.

Composites on the Line

Electric utilities are ripe for conversion from wood power poles and cross-arms and steel-cored conductive cables to composite constructions, but most must still be persuaded.

Elevated Sky Bus railway in India features composite coach bodies

Designed to accommodate 150 commuters and travel at speeds as high as 100 kmh, Sky Bus railway transit coaches built for India's Konkan Railway (Mumbai, India) by Kineco Pvt. Ltd. (Goa, India) are expected to ease public transportation in congested metro areas. Coaches will have 4m/13.1-ft-wide sliding passenger doors

Composites Open Road To Innovation In India

Railway and automotive applications point the way to composite mass production.

Fiberglass architectural elements restore Ferry Building

In a city filled with memorable landmarks, perhaps the most enduring is San Francisco's Ferry Building. A recent $90 million refurbishment included fiberglass architectural elements fabricated by Kreysler & Assoc. (American Canyon, Calif., U.S.A.) Completed in 1898 as the passenger terminus for the bay's ferry

Original Composites & Fiberglass (OCF)