Championed as its European Centre of Excellence for thermoset prepreg systems, the opening of TenCate Advanced Composites’ extended facility at Langley Mill, Nottingham has followed a period of significant investment for the UK operation of the company, which has seen growth in its TenCate AmberTool tooling prepreg systems, plus the award of the AS9100:2009 Rev C certificate for its standardised quality management systems, expanding its capabilities into the aerospace market from its UK site.
Technology levels of the Langley Mill plant of TenCate Advanced Composites are now said to mirror those of the company’s sister facility in Morgan Hill, California in the production of unidirectional tapes and woven-based prepreg composite materials for aerospace, space and satellite and communications markets. Together with a doubling of capacity, Langley Mill’s extended facility now houses a carbon-free manufacturing line, dedicated to the manufacture of electrically-pure materials.
The extended UK factory opening is said to represent a significant milestone in the growth of company and its commitment to serving the European markets with its customer service and certified quality, which is now further enhanced with high-tech, high-spec materials and solutions. Furthermore, the new equipment and infrastructure installed at the UK plant is completely bespoke to TenCate’s design requirements.
According to TenCate Advanced Composites’ director of sales and marketing, Nick Tiffin, the opening signifies the next chapter in the company’s penetration into the European aerospace market with its thermoset technologies.
“The market for radomes demands a high clarity of carbon-free, conductive-free or contamination-free prepreg,” he begins. “If microwaves pass through carbon fibre material there is the possibility that it can ignite, so in order to guarantee electrical purity, we felt the best way to do it was to install a dedicated facility which can support growth in both the satellite communications and radome markets.
“TenCate is a primary supplier in North America to these kinds of aerospace related programmes. Our feeling is that this market in Europe will grow, but it will also support growth in the conventional radome market too. TenCate already has a proportion of this market, but we previously only made these electrically-pure materials in the US. This facility now gives the European market a footprint for carbon-free materials.”
Driving the change
The expansion in capabilities and capacity will also boost their offerings for industrial markets, including high performance automotive, Formula 1, and medical, which have been served by TenCate for almost 30 years.
The site, previously known as Amber Composites, was acquired by TenCate in 2013, and continues to build on a strong foundation of flexibility, responsiveness and outstanding customer service.
“We find that this expansion will both complement and enhance our thermoset product family for the European market,” states the company’s head of product management, John Darlington. “Alongside the carbon-free materials and aerospace qualifications, this period of growth has run parallel to ongoing innovations and new product developments for automotive, motorsport, medical and tooling.
“A perfect example is the multiaxial HXR series of tooling prepregs, which we launched at the JEC World show earlier this year. It started a dialogue about how process innovation and material development can meet the demands of our customers.”
This material innovation has a firm foundation in the AmberTool tooling prepreg system, which have been employed by motorsport tier 1 and 2 component manufacturers for over 25 years. In conjunction with projects in Formula 1 and motorsport, recent high profile projects for TenCate include the Alfa Romeo 4C monocoque, made from its E700 series carbon fibre prepreg, which was the first OEM project of its size in the automotive industry.
A partner of choice
Tiffin believes that the combination of TenCate’s facilities in the UK and North America now positions the company as a partner of choice for thermoset composite materials, allied with thermoplastic capabilities that enable it to provide total composite material solutions to its customers on a global scale.
“And from an equipment and production operations viewpoint, our redevelopment of the extension of the laboratory facility is really crucial to the certification and approval process of operating within these safety-critical markets. For a start, there are far more testing requirements - whether they be for batch release or initial quality base.
“Our new manufacturing infrastructure is something that we have spent a lot of time strengthening and we’ll continue to do it to satisfy market needs. In addition, AS9100 was an accreditation that we really needed, and which we achieved last year. What is most important for me though is the calibre of our people – it’s not just about the machinery and equipment.”
Within the exacting and strict demands of the aerospace industry, suppliers like TenCate need to be flexible, have all the necessary technology and all the quality assurance that’s wrapped around it, all running within a facility operating world-class manufacturing conditions. It has meant a fundamental step change to TenCate’s Langley Mill facility that now incorporates cleanroom standards. Any supplier that wants to be involved in the production of non-conductive materials has to do it properly, and according to TenCate, this is what it now demonstrates today.
“We’ve been working in the aerospace industry for 25 years,” Tiffin concludes. “As a materials supplier, satisfying the often strict and demanding requirements of thermoplastics and thermoset qualification are second nature to us. We know, understand and respect why we have to meet these conditions. It’s an important responsibility when supplying to this industry and represents part of our DNA in being able to perform within this market.”
TenCate will be exhibiting its portfolio of thermoset and thermoplastic composite materials for both aerospace and industrial applications at the Advanced Engineering show in Birmingham, 2-3 November, stand L130.
