REINFORCEDplastics MARCH/APRIL 201310 www.reinforcedplastics.com
BUSINESS
In brief
Kineco Private Ltd of India,
and Kaman Aerospace Group
Inc, a subsidiary of Kaman
Corporation, USA, have formally
inaugurated their joint venture in
Goa, India. The new company,
Kineco Kaman Composites –
India Pvt Ltd, will manufacture
composite parts for aircraft and
helicopters as well as for other
industries. The joint venture will
initially employ 50 people; this
number is expected to grow to
over 500 in the next three-five
years.
THE US Federation Aviation
Adminstration (FAA) has
announced that it will conduct a
comprehensive review of the
Boeing 787’s critical systems,
including their design,
manufacture and assembly.
Boeing 787 in safety review
TENCATE, A producer of
composites for space and
aerospace, protective fabrics and
geosynthetics, has announced it
will acquire Amber Composites, a
UK-based manufacturer of
prepregs for the industrial and
automotive markets.
The fi nancial details of the
acquisition have not been
disclosed.
Netherlands-headquarter-
ed TenCate’s activities in the
composites market are mainly
focused on aerospace, space and
radome applications and within
the TenCate Advanced Compos-
ites group, which has activities in
the USA and Europe. TenCate is
a leader in thermoplastic
prepregs for the aviation industry
under the Cetex® brand.
Amber Composites was estab-
lished in 1988 to manufacture
prepreg materials. It is headquar-
tered near Nottingham in the UK
and serves a number of industries
including motorsport, automotive,
aerospace, communications,
marine and wind energy.
The acquisition of Amber
Composites will help accelerate
TenCate’s thermoset composites
activities in the European market,
and in the industrial and auto-
motive composites, tooling
materials and aerospace market.
Announcing the news, Amber
Composites stated that by
joining forces with Tencate it will
strengthen its ability to provide
its customer service on a more
global basis.
• TenCate recently announced an
alliance with BASF for thermo-
plastic composites for the auto-
motive market, as well as with
3M for the US tooling market,
aimed at expansion of its
market potential for thermoset
composites. The recent acquisi-
tion of PMC Baycomp in the US
and the current acquisition of
Amber Composites also
support the company’s expan-
sion into new markets.
TenCate; www.tencate.com
Amber Composites;
www.ambercomposites.com
TenCate acquires Amber Composites
In November, Boeing announced that it would be increasing production of the 787 Dreamliner to fi ve aircraft per month. The aircraft sells for around US$206.8 million. (Picture © Boeing.)
This follows incidents in January,
including an electrical fi re, brake
problems, and fuel leaks.
The purpose of the review is to
validate the work conducted
during the certifi cation process
and further ensure that the
aircraft meets the FAA’s levels of
safety.
A team of FAA and Boeing
engineers and inspectors will
conduct the joint review, with an
emphasis on the aircraft’s
electrical power and distribution
system.
Industry commentators note that
new aircraft often have some
‘teething problems,’ but incidents
such as those the Dreamliner has
experienced over recent weeks
could aff ect the public’s percep-
tion of the plane.
“We are confi dent that the
aircraft is safe,” says FAA Adminis-
trator Michael P. Huerta. “But we
need to have a complete under-
standing of what is happening.
We are conducting the review to
further ensure that the aircraft
meets our high safety standards.”
“We also stand 100% behind the
integrity of the 787 and the
rigorous process that led to its
successful certifi cation and entry
into service,” said Boeing CEO Jim
McNerney in a statement. “We
look forward to participating in
the joint review with the FAA,
and we believe it will underscore
our confi dence, and the confi -
dence of our customers and the
travelling public, in the reliability,
safety and performance of the
innovative, new 787 Dreamliner.”
Composite materials make up
50% of the primary structure of
the 787, including the fuselage
and wing.
• On 16 January, Japanese
airlines All Nippon Airways
(ANA) grounded its fl eet of 17
Dreamliners when one aircraft
was forced to make an
emergency landing because of
battery problems. Japan Airlines
followed suit, grounding its 17
787s until further notice.
FAA; www.faa.gov
RP0213_Business News 10 14-02-2013 13:38:30
