Fresh Strawberries for Astronauts Composite Roofs for the Al

shape The Gurit Magazine N° 13 August 2013

Fresh strawberries for astronauts Composite roofs for the Al Haramain railway stations Infiniti 100S – designed to outperform any superyacht Lightweight dragon wings Sauntering through a supercar paddock The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

22 Corporate News A fresh look beyond the known Cut and kitted closer to our customers 28 Continuous improvement made visible 34 Preferred supplier status with ABA 34 Weekly benefits from continuous improvement meetings 35 04 Gurit Composite Materials Fresh strawberries for astronauts A greenhouse for Richard Wagner 08 Composite roofs for the Al Haramain railway stations 10 Palm Beach Motor Yachts embrace composite technology 14 Global trends in the wind energy market 16 Gamesa relies on Gurit materials for its offshore turbine 24 Materials for space 32 exploration Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering Contributing to safety at sea 15 Lightweight dragon wings 18 Sauntering through a supercar paddock 26 Infiniti 100S – Designed to outperform any comparable superyacht 29 TM 35 TechTalk Fire retardant G-PET Being Gurit Building a boat in one morning 33

Imprint Gurit Holding AG, Group Communications Editor in Chief and Concept Bernhard Schweizer, Gurit Group Communications Contact Thank you for your feedback at [email protected] Pictures courtesy of Arianespace (Cover, 4, 5, 6, 7); Flickr/creative commons licence by attribution to DLR German Aerospace Center (Beach view, 7); Museum Rietberg Zürich (8, 9 center); Premier Composite Technologies LLC (10, 11, 13); Palm Beach Motor Yachts (14); iStockphoto/Fotolia (16); Ramboll UK Limited (18, 19, 20); AM Structures and Denbighshire County Council (20, 21); Gamesa (24, 25); Infiniti Yachts and Danish Yachts (29, 30, 31); Dr. Alexey Kondyurin/Sydney University (32). All other pictures: Gurit Archives Shape The Gurit magazine has been optimised for online and mobile reading on desktop screens, tablet PCs and handheld devices. Shape The Gurit magazine is published under Creative Commons license by attribution, share alike. Design Eclat AG, Erlenbach Dear Reader

Over the last six years, SHAPE has gathered a growing international readership, and more and more people read SHAPE online on their desktop computers, tablet PCs or handheld devices. Starting with this edition, we have thus optimised the format of SHAPE – and of our current Half-Year and next Annual Reports – to better cater to the global online readership. The touch up of SHAPE also comes with our new way of looking at featured projects: One group of articles primarily looks at where Gurit materials are used, a second group of articles looks at Gurit’s engineering and finished parts offering, reflecting our new Group organization. The full range of the stories impressively shows how versatile composites are and what kind of astonishing tasks only these engineered materials are able to fulfill in a growing range of applications and industries. While Gurit materials, services and finished parts are requested by an expanding range of customers, the sales development in the first half of 2013 was largely earmarked by slow material and tooling equipment sales to the largest end-market – the global wind energy industry. Overall, the half-year sales of CHF 129.7 million reflect a decline of 33.7% over the same period last year. In Asia and China in particular, overcapacities along the entire wind energy supply chain have impacted pricing and installation rates. In the USA, sales have by far missed the 2012 levels as a conse- quence of the late renewal of the production tax credit subsidies for re- newable energies, but they are gradually picking up. Mid and longer term, the wind energy market continues to be a very promising – while short- term volatile – market. On the very positive side, sales to non-wind energy related customers continue to grow. We have made important inroads into new applications and markets, as you can see in this edition of SHAPE. So let us take you into space, join us building one of the biggest composite roofs, have a stroll across a lightweight composite bridge, enjoy new chapters in boat building, and discover how composites are changing the automotive industry.

Yours sincerely Rudolf Hadorn CEO 4 Gurit Composite Materials The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

Fresh strawberries for astronauts

Composites are very material, the ATV also carried food were grown, but probably not in versatile and useful and personal consumables for the Switzerland given the meteoro- materials. But who astronauts living on the Interna- logically bad conditions of Spring would have thought tional Space Station (ISS). Along this year. However, we do know they were vital for with the usual stocks of lightweight that Gurit materials contributed to some people to get a and optimised «space food», the their safe journey up. The Swiss taste of fresh straw- unmanned spacecraft reportedly company RUAG Space built the berries this Spring? surprised the astronauts with fresh Ariane 5 payload fairing, which strawberries, lasagne, tiramisú, protected «Albert Einstein» on its On June 7, 2013, «Albert Einstein», parmigiano cheese, and other short journey through the atmo- the fourth Automated Transfer earthly delights. sphere, with high-tech Gurit pre- Vehicle (ATV), was successfully preg materials. Before and during launched into space from Kourou A mission with many Swiss launch, the ogive-shaped fairing in French Guiana, using a special contributions protects the cargo spacecraft version of an Ariane 5 rocket. On the initiative of the Swiss ESA against mechanical stress, fric- Weighing just over 20 tonnes, this delegation, the fourth ATV bears tional heat and dirt. At an altitude European cargo spacecraft is the the name of Albert Einstein, surely of about 120 km and after just 3 heaviest payload ever launched the most famous scientist of all minutes and 33 seconds of flight, into orbit by an Ariane 5 rocket. time, and a Swiss citizen since the rocket had left the Earth’s at- Apart from fuel, water, oxygen, 1901. We could not find out where mosphere and the payload fairing clothes, spare parts and scientific the space-launched strawberries was jettisoned. For the first time,

5 RUAG Space also introduced a new horizontal separation mechanism on this mission, significantly reducing mechanical shocks during the separation procedure. RUAG Space also played a major role in the construction of the cargo transporter itself. The company supplied the framework for the ATV’s propulsion module, the special racks for storing the payload – including the strawberries – in the cargo hold, the thermal in- 141 bags containing over 1400 individual sulation, and the computer that items – including some strawberries – were safely loaded into the unmanned monitors docking with the ISS. spacecraft «Albert Einstein». Once separated from the rocket, the ATV flew on to the ISS, powered by its own propulsion nominal orbit and serves as a tem- fairing manufactured with com- system. In a fully automated ma- porary habitation module. The ISS posite technology, based on alumi- neuver, «Albert Einstein» docked now weighs more than 418 metric num honeycomb cores with car- with the ISS’s Russian Zvezda tonnes, including the European bon-fibre reinforced skins, Gurit module on June 15. The unmanned laboratory, Columbus. After re- materials have been used for the spacecraft delivered a total of 6.6 maining docked to the ISS, the as- two 180º ogive top sections and tonnes tons of cargo to the ISS. In tronauts will load the ATV with the subsequent cylindrical 90º its tanks, it carried 860 kg of pro- waste items. At the end of its mis- sections that form the complete pellant, 100 kg of oxygen and air, sion, scheduled for 28 October, payload fairings of the European and 570 kg of drinking water, all to the ATV will separate from the Ariane 5 rockets. be pumped into the Station’s tanks. Station. The following day, it will Gurit and RUAG Space are now In its pressurised cargo module, it be directed to burn up safely in the evaluating next-generation mate- carried over 1400 items packed atmosphere during re-entry over rials to extend this successful co- into 141 bags, including 2’480 kg of the South Pacific Ocean. operation into the future. As an dry cargo, such as scientific equip- expert in large composite struc- ment, spare parts, food and clothes Gurit materials in space tures, Gurit is currently working on for the astronauts. Gurit and RUAG Space enjoy a out-of-autoclave solutions for fu- In addition to serving as a cargo long-standing partnership. Ever ture space launcher fairings based transporter, the ATV is also de- since 1988, when RUAG Space on its patented SPRINT™ tech- signed to re-boost the ISS into its introduced the world’s first rocket nology.

6 Gurit Composite Materials The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

A special kind of beach view: «Albert Einstein» is launched into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

The ogive shaped payload fairings which form the top end of the rockets and protect the cargo during the flight through the atmosphere are made with Gurit materials.

7 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials Treibhaus Wagner... … was the motto of the Zürich Festival 2013. It translates into «Greenhouse Wagner». Although it may sound a bit strange, the motto actually unites many aspects of the performing arts programme commemorating Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday, and it superbly encapsulates one of the most spectacular event sites of this year – a summer pavilion built with cardboard columns and carbon beams, manufactured with Gurit prepreg, and covered with a tent roof and polycarbonate wall sheeting that very much resembles a greenhouse.

Integrating the loggia and the terrace stairs, this ultra-light-weight summer pavilion turned into a prime location every night for different theatre performances, con- certs, readings and discussions – mostly related to the works of Richard Wagner, who spent his Shigeru Ban, the star Japanese years in Zürich on this hill, in the architect who just saw the inaugu- Wesendonck villa, and in a small ration of the spectacular wood and cottage on the estate often called glass office building he designed the «Asylum» or the sanctuary. for a leading Swiss media group in Having left Germany for «revolu- Zürich, also designed a very special tionary actions,» Wagner chose pavilion for this year’s Zürich Fes- the liberal town of Zürich as his tival. Located on the terrace of Villa new home. It is here that he com- Wesendonck, the lightweight pa- posed the famous Wesendonck ground, the pavilion really is the vilion features cardboard columns, Lieder; one song bears the title «In ultimate «Greenhouse Wagner» ultra-light cross beams made out the greenhouse.» It was also here during the Zürich Festival. of Gurit carbon prepreg, a tent roof, where Wagner fell madly in love Richard Wagner’s «green hill» and large polycarbonate windows. with his landlord and sponsor is not only one of the focal points When the windows are wide Otto Wesendonck’s wife, Mathilde. for Festival goers this year. It is open, visitors have a wonderful Their frantic and fatal love affair led also a must-see for architects, view of Rieter Park that surrounds to nothing less than the composi- builders and engineers, and fans the Wesendonck villa, the city and tion of the opera «Tristan and Isol- of modern architecture. Just think the lake of Zürich. de.» Against this historical back- of it! How light a structure must be

8 The carbon cross beams that support the tent roofing of the Summer Pavilion rest on cardboard columns which were only «unveiled» when the roof was up. Festival goers and park visitors alike hope that the lightweight pavilion will be put up again next year.

hold the roof up and provide stiff- fibre carriers that support a levi- ness to the whole building. tated roof structure. CarboFibretec Thomas Leschik, Managing has also manufactured the 10 car- Director Technology of CarboFi- bon cross beams and other parts bretec GmbH, Friedrichshafen, is for Zürich’s Summer Pavilion. very enthusiastic about the use of «Apart from lightweight mate- innovative materials, such as car- rials with top mechanical perfor- bon prepregs, for architectural mance, it was the superior fire, structures: «We have gathered a smoke and toxicity features of wide array of expertise in light- Gurit’s materials that convinced weight components in applications Mr. Ban and us,» said Thomas such as aerospace, the medical Leschik explaining the specifica- industry, general industrial appli- tion of Gurit’s EP 121 and EP 137 if it rests on cardboard columns! cations and bicycle racing. The carbon prepregs for this project. Using lightweight materials is a proven advantages of carbon fibre During the day, the pavilion is constant in Shigeru Ban’s work. materials are now increasingly be- open to the public and serves as He is one of the key heralds in ing discovered by the leading ar- additional seating area for a café. architecture promoting the use of chitects of the world.» The BMW Given the late Spring and wet early new, innovative materials. Gurit is Guggenheim Lab, a mobile labora- Summer Zürich experienced this proud that Shigeru Ban and the tory travelling around the world to year until July, many people en- subcontractors, CarboFibretec, have inspire innovative ideas for urban joyed the warmth of this airy chosen Gurit carbon prepreg to design and new ways of thinking greenhouse. build the arching beams, which about urban life, features 64 carbon

9 Composite roofs for the iconic Al Haramain railway stations

10 Gurit Composite Materials The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

With the Al Haramain Rail, Saudi Arabia will be the first country to benefit from high-speed train technology in the Middle East. The landmark project will also feature four ultra-modern train stations. Gurit has teamed up early with key contractors of this prestigious project and is proud to supply material for the fast-track construction of two iconic stations.

Al Haramain Rail is a USD 7 billion project financed by the Saudi Government’s Public Investment Fund. The 444 km electric railway will link the cities of Medinah, Mecca and Jeddah via the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh (KAEC), the future big economic city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At 320 km/h, the future high-speed trains will reduce the travel time between the two holy cities to merely two hours therefore relieving heavy road traffic during the pilgrimage

11 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials

period. Not only will the tracks and composite materials were ideal for trains be equipped with the latest this application. technology, the new railroad will For this reason, Buro Happold also feature ultra-modern train sta- and Foster + Partners had ap- tions designed to allow passengers proached Premier Composite Tech- to move about in wide spacious nologies (PCT) in Dubai at an early lanes. All stations share a com- stage to develop a number of pro- mon planning but will have an in- totypes that meet all customer dividual distinctive design and requirements. The final design al- building envelope to represent lows for a complete turnkey solution the respective cities they serve. by integrating aluminum framed The stations will provide a broad windows, reflective light shafts, range of facilities and offer a su- suspension systems for cleaning perior passenger experience. They cradles, roof cappings and exter- will have different arrival and de- nal walkways directly into the parture zones and ample circula- panels. This results in massively tion space. The public areas of the shorter installation times on site. stations, along with the platforms, Hannes Waimer of PCT says: «Not will be environmentally controlled least based on the successful co- to provide comfort and will also be operation with Gurit for the clock illuminated with filtered natural tower in Mecca, we wanted to daylight. The stations were de- tackle this next huge project again signed by Buro Happold and Foster with Gurit’s support as engineer- + Partners and feature shops, res- ing, technology and solution part- taurants, mosques, car parks, heli- ner and materials supplier.» pads and VIP lounges. One of biggest architectural Bespoke materials for composite applications to date Haramain railway station project specific solution Gurit provided structural engineer- was a great chance to demon- Launched only in 2009, the inau- ing services and now supplies the strate the capabilities of Gurit’s guration of the Mecca-Jeddah- composite materials to PCT for the technical team and develop be- Medina line is scheduled to be Medina station roof. This roof com- spoke composite materials solu- completed by 2014. This demand- prises 32 modules, 27 m by 27 m tions, material samples, and fold- ing timetable asks for special each, creating a total surface area ers of very demanding reports, building technologies: Due to the of 28’000 m2 of composite panels. reviews and on-the-spot answers», fast-track construction program The weight of the composite struc- says Rudy Jurg, Gurit Sales Man- of the project, designers Foster + ture is only about 750 tonnes and ager, Middle East & Africa. «Unlike Partners have adopted a modular this makes it one of the most ex- other building materials such as approach for designing the sta- tensive uses of advanced compos- concrete, wood or metal, compos- tions with a high degree of prefab- ites in the architectural industry to ite solutions are engineered for a rication. Weight saving advan- date. specific purpose and application. tages allowing for very elegant The technical team at Gurit The physical characteristics of solutions combined with the re- was instrumental in rapidly pro- composites are thus a blend of a petitive detail in the design of the ducing very detailed material stud- complex material mix where each roof panels meant that advanced ies. «Supporting PCT with the and every component brings in an-

12 other set of properties. Finding the This artist rendering shows how the natural light will filter through the composite roof best solution for each application panels into the environmentally controlled public areas of the station. involves a lot of know-how and expertise.» site. The lamination of the panels Gurit. PCT produces panels of some is now well underway at PCT in 30 m2 in size. On completion, these Different approaches female moulds following erection prefabricated panels are then Premier Composite Technologies and successful testing of one shipped to the Kingdom of Saudi (PCT) located in Dubai is now sup- quarter of a module. The correla- Arabia with all surface finishes in plying the roof and inner ceiling tion between this full scale test place. On site, the panels are then panels for the Medinah station. and the deflections predicted by preassembled into larger seg- PCT will supply the composite the Finite Element model devel- ments at ground level before they roofing panels and interior ceiling oped by Gurit engineers was very are hoisted up by crane onto the for an entire surface area of good with a difference of less than main steel structure. In addition to 28 000 m2. The lightweight panels 2% between the two. The manu- the rapid building process, this ap- are manufactured using moulds facture requires large quantities of proach also stands out for improved and high-end advanced composite the fire retardant resin Ampreg health and safety conditions. materials so that they can be easily 21FR, Spabond adhesive and lifted into place and installed on G-PETTM FRLITE foam core from

13 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials Embracing composite technology to improve efficiencies

Owner and director of Australian- The last few years have been challenging to say based Palm Beach Motor Yachts, the least for companies in the marine sector. Mark Richards, has a lot to be proud What key factors have enabled you to stay in of. Having won ‘Best New Power- business when others haven’t? We have turned boat’ at the Newport International to newer technology and construction methods to Boat Show two years in a row (for promote efficiency in our build process. The invest- the 50ft in 2010 and the 55ft in 2011), ments we have made enable us to offer our custom- the company is going from strength ers a product that is excellent value for money, with- to strength. SHAPE finds out why. out compromising on quality.

SHAPE: Congratulations on your run of awards One of the construction methods now em- at the Newport show. What do you think differ- ployed at Palm Beach is the B3 SmartPac from entiates your boats from others in the sector? Gurit. What sort of impact has this had on your Mark Richards: One of the design features of all our efficiencies? I have been working with the team at models, from the 45 – 65ft, is a single open plan liv- Gurit (Asia Pacific) for 25 years now: since Palm ing space, which appeals to our female customers. Beach was founded thirteen years ago, and as a And the state of the art equipment and performance builder of custom sailing yachts and professional aspects of the boats appeal to our male customers. sailor prior to that. By using composite materials for Of course, this is a generalisation, and doesn’t apply our designs, we are able to achieve a fantastic pow- to everyone, but it’s what we’ve experienced to date. er-to-weight ratio. If you want good results in terms These two aspects appear to be a winning combina- of performance and fuel efficiency, nothing beats a tion for us. composites solution. So it’s great to be able to get our composite fabric and core materials supplied in a way that helps our production efficiencies too. We use the B3 SmartPac system for all of our models, and have reduced our overall lamination time by a significant 35% since introducing it a few years ago. This means that not only can we deliver boats to customers more quickly now, but the system also con- tributes to us being able to offer a high quality product at a competitive price – that value for money I mentioned earlier.

14 Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

Gurit and Schat-Hard- ing agreed on a joint Contributing to development project to build the moulds for a next generation totally safety at sea enclosed life boat.

«We realised that there was a their steel tube rigs. The MCB1000 need for a larger, totally enclosed moulds feature a built-in structural lifeboat that could seat up to 100 foam and fibreglass structure.» people», says Eivind Kjerpeset, There were three plugs and R&D Project Manager at Harding moulds to engineer and build: the in Norway. Rather too big for com- hull, the canopy and the inner liner. mercial ships this type of lifeboat The inner liner was the most chal- will mainly be used on offshore Gu Liqian, Design Engineer at Gurit Tool- lenging part as this piece features drilling platforms and so called FP- ing (Taicang) works on one of the moulds many steep angles and sharp cor- for the new totally enclosed life boats. SOs. These floating production, ners. «It was a learning process storage and offloading units are In late November 2012 when the for the engineers, sure, but the usually converted former oil tank- shape of the new totally enclosed communication and co-operation ers or purpose-built vessels an- lifeboat MCB1000 was defined, between Gurit and Harding were chored close to drilling platforms Harding forwarded the files to excellently managed, so we never and used for the processing of hy- Gurit. Howard Jones, Project Man- had doubts that we will end up drocarbons and for storage of oil. ager at Gurit Tooling (Taicang), re- with a super product», Eivind con- Harding regularly relies on third- calls: «The complex shapes of a gratulates the Gurit Tooling team. party mould makers. boat were a true challenge for our Asked what the biggest chal- With a view to expand Gurit’s engineers, and very different from lenge for Gurit was, Howard ex- tooling activity beyond wind ener- our typical wind blade moulds with plained: «To develop a high-gloss gy, Matthew Muhlenkamp, Tool- surface finish suitable to produce ing Sales and Service Manager for out-of-mould finished parts. But Gurit Tooling (Taicang) got in we learnt a lot from Harding’s ex- touch with Schat-Harding. perience with gelcoat fin- After initial contacts, ishes.» Gurit proposed to «The hull, inner lin- launch a joint develop- er and canopy moulds ment project – techno- for the MCB1000 are logically and commercially as good as it gets», Eivind beneficial for both companies. confirmed. Harding soon realised that they would benefit from Gurit’s latest Harding – A short new name 3D and FEA analysis tools and The new owners led by the investment fund Hercules have merged their state-of-the-art manufactur- Schat-Harding and Noreq this year to form Harding – a global leader in ing technology at Taicang. life-saving equipment. Harding is one of the best known brands for ma- «The engineering capabilities rine safety, with a long history. A pioneer in the development of offshore of Gurit are a true differentiator», lifeboats , the company developed the world’s first freefall lifeboat. With Eivind explains, «and a very con- over 900 employees in 30 different locations worldwide, the Norwegian vincing argument for us.» company specialises in lifeboats, davits, winches, and rescue boats.

15 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials

ment to renewables. The «2DS Scenario» is the focus Looking of IEA’s Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP). It describes «an energy system consistent with an emission trajectory that recent climate science re- into the search indicates would give an 80% chance of limiting average global temperature increase to 2°C.» This crystal scenario counts on cutting energy-related CO2 emissions by more than half by 2050 and also includes vital changes in non-energy sectors, such as industry, ball transport and housing. The «Advanced Scenario» expects the cumulative wind power capacity to reach Major experts agree that there were almost 1,150 GW by the year 2020 while the IEA’s some 240 GW of cumulative wind «New Policies» scenario expects only a bit over 585 power capacity installed at the end GW to be cumulatively installed by 2020. If mankind of 2011 and that wind power has wants to allow only a maximal 2°C global temperature become a mainstream source of increase, wind energy capacity should reach at least electricity in many countries. As we 655 GW by 2020, according to the 2DS. The longer have learned during the last three the forecast period, the greater become the differ- years, the considerable size of the ences. industry does not make it immune to global economic trends or disturb- Still talking big numbers ing impacts of the subsidy policies Comparing expected growth rates depicts even in some countries. What’s the trend sharper contrasts. Coming from yearly growth rates of of the global wind energy market? well above 20% for the past 15 years, the «New Poli- cies» scenario expects GW growth to be around 16% Views quickly diverge when experts look into their until 2015 and calculates that the rate will fall to 6% crystal balls. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) per year by 2020 and slow down to not more than 4% and Greenpeace established two views based on the by 2030. GWEC’s estimates are more optimistic with International Energy Agency’s (IEA) «New Policies» growth rates of 11% – 13% and 6% for 2020 and 2030 scenario. That scenario «takes account of respectively. Even if growth rates decline, we broad policy commitments and plans that are still talking big numbers: For wind en- have been announced by countries, ergy to reach an 18% share of electric- including national pledges to reduce ity production – necessary to limit greenhouse-gas emissions and global warming to 2°C – an addi- plans to phase out fossil-energy tional 2000 GW of installed ca- subsidies». pacity will be required by 2050. This equates to about a nine-fold Different scenarios all increase in capacity from the end- show growth 2011 levels. The GWEC data for the GWEC’s «Moderate Scenario» goes various global market areas provides a step further expecting implementa- interesting insights, too. While China tion of all commitments for emission re- took over as the driving force when the Eu- ductions agreed at the UN Climate negotiations ropean countries suffered from the economic in Cancun in 2010. The «Advanced Scenario» even crisis, experts assume China – having also sharply de- depicts a best-case, yet still reasonable vision assum- clined recently – will only attain substantial growth ing an unambiguous political and industrial commit- again after 2015.

16 Global cumulative capacity in GW – The wind energy market is becoming global; this may better balance fluctuations in specific various 2011 IEA NP 238 GWEO moderate key markets. 238 GWEO advanced 238 – The average capacity per installed turbine will con- 2015 398 tinue to grow, asking for new materials and tooling 425 531 equipment. 2020 – Politics will play a decisive role, as it provides either 587 759 a stable planning landscape or undermines the in- 1150 2030 dustry’s willingness to invest. 918 1617 2541 Implications for Gurit Our tooling and broad materials portfolio supports the Need for stable policies needs of turbine manufacturers and blade builders, To meet the targets, the IEA recommends that gov- and all of that under one single roof. Gurit’s offering ernments adopt transparent and predictable energy remains at the forefront of innovation. The industry strategies, as uncertainty threatens to undermine in- benefits from recent innovations, such as the ILAT- vestments. In addition to the flexibility of energy sys- ECH Tooling Coat, which improves the longevity of tems including smart grids, transmission and flexible the moulds, shortens production cycles, and enables generation of energy, storage should be enhanced to safer de-moulding. The SparPregTM AirstreamTM tech- better integrate variable and distributed energy sourc- nology has brought a new economic and efficient way es like wind and solar. The expansion of renewables to produce thick laminates, e.g. for central spars, and into new countries is also essential to reach the goals. the development of long-shelf-life prepregs curable at Western European markets are already mature in ambient temperatures of up to 35°C now also puts the wind energy terms. New potential may arise off advantages of prepregs in the hands of those manu- shore. But «offshore» today only accounts for lower facturers who have no storage coolers or lack air con- single-digit percentage rates of the overall wind en- ditioning in their manufacturing halls. Last but not ergy generation. Political shifts driving electricity fur- least, the development of UvotechTM resulted in a ther away from nuclear power may also prove to be a next-generation balsa core material, which greatly im- source for growth. proved and lowered resin uptake. Markets such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Wind energy will continue to be a major com- some African countries are considered to be the next posite market, and Gurit is globally well positioned important growth areas. While in 2005 wind energy to supply it. generated electricity was almost exclusively an OECD feature, the picture will have changed by 2017. But while the non-OECD countries develop dynamically, Non-OECD countries will soon outnumber these markets will not be able to make up for the slow- OECD members in Wind Energy downs in Europe, America and Asia. So lower growth Onshore Offshore rates in the future are a given. 2005 2005 2 0 10 2 Overall a positive future 2011 2011 14 1 The key learning from these diverging and rather vague 28 6 projections are: 2017 2017 40 1 – Despite any short-term turbulence the fundamental 31 10 drivers are still valid. People want secure energy sup- Non-OECD plies, stable electricity prices and are increasingly OECD concerned about the environment and job security. 17

Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

Lightweight dragon wings

The new lifting bridge over Rhyl Harbour in In response to a tender call from North Wales, serves as an additional crossing Denbighshire County Council, for pedestrians and cyclists. Spanning the Ramboll and Dawnus developed a River Clwyd from Rhyl’s West Parade to a newly design proposal consisting of two created public area on the Kinmel Bay side mirroring, 30 meter long decks, of the river, the elegantly opening lightweight which are hinged on a central cais- bridge named «Pont y Ddraig» has already son and lifted by cables running up become an iconic landmark attracting visitors. to a central mast. Almost 50 me- Hundreds watched the two lightweight tres tall, the mast is stayed by a composite decks – or dragon wings – being rigging similar to a sail boat’s and lifted into place in early Summer. makes the bridge and the harbour

19 20 Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

visible from miles around. The result in considerable savings stiffness of the bridge decks to mast houses the pulley mecha- compared with a steel structure. meet the required comfort criteria. nism and lifting cables. To balance The design proved to be success- AM Structures built the decks us- the lift, the decks, engineered by ful, and AM Structures was ap- ing CorecellTM M-Foam, Ampreg Gurit (UK) and built at AM Struc- proached for the fabrication of the 21 resin, and a mixture of glass and tures using many Gurit materials, decks. Gurit was contracted by AM carbon reinforcements supplied by are lifted simultaneously. Structures to carry out the detailed Gurit. The build of the decks was engineering of the bridge decks, already a spectacular sight. But the Lightweight and which presented some interesting shipment from the Isle of Wight to sculptured deck shapes challenges. The decks are very the mainland, the transportation to To give access to moorings up- slender, partially for aesthetic rea- Wales and the lifting of the decks stream of the bridge, the new pe- sons, but also to ensure that the into place, all attracted crowds. destrian and bike crossing is likely inshore lifeboat would have suffi- to open many times a day. So, the cient headroom to pass under the Naming the bridge Denbighshire County Council was lowered bridge at all tide levels. The new crossing needed a catchy interested in minimising the use name. A naming competition was of energy for lifting. The use of ad- Thorough analysis of open to pupils at local primary vanced molded fibre reinforced dynamic behaviour schools. An independent panel plastic (FRP) for the bridge decks Due to the lightweight and slender considered over 30 names and fi- was an integral part of the design structure of the decks, detailed nally selected «Pont y Ddraig», as concept to save as much weight consideration of the dynamic be- one student had suggested. By as possible to make lifting cycles havior of the bridge under pedes- the middle of July, hundreds of fast and energy efficient. It also al- trian loading was required. The people had flocked to Rhyl with lowed a sculptured deck shape, bridge was designed with predom- their cameras to catch the mo- which provides a striking, iconic inantly glass reinforcements with ment when the second deck – or is sight when the bridge is opened. longitudinal stiffness enhanced by it a Dragon wing? – was lifted into Ramboll approached AM Struc- local planks of carbon fibre. Gurit place. A large crane hoisted the tures in early 2009 to review the made extensive use of finite ele- 30m long, FRP deck into place. concept of the bridge deck con- ment analysis to carry out transient Following installation, Gurit will struction and to provide feedback dynamic analysis of the bridge us- now carry out a testing program to on the construction and weight ing load models from Eurocodes. A verify the dynamic behavior of the estimate for the FRP decks. AM number of load conditions were bridge, using in-house accelerom- Structures asked Gurit to review analyzed, corresponding to groups eters and data acquisition equip- the structure of the bridge, and ini- of pedestrians walking and running ment. The official opening is tial studies confirmed that the over the bridge, in addition to a scheduled for September, when bridge concept was feasible with crowd loading case. This analysis all pupils who had participated in some minor changes in the geom- led to optimisation of the laminates the naming competition will lead etry, and that the FRP decks would for both longitudinal and torsional the first walk across the bridge.

21 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Corporate News

A fresh look beyond the known

Stefan Gautschi joined Gurit in capabilities to serve respective demands. But, the February as General Manager of initial focus is clearly on better loading underutilised Gurit’s Composite Materials Unit. capacities. SHAPE spoke with Stefan after his first 100 days with Gurit. Stefan Has Gurit’s market focus been too narrow in the has gained a lot of insight into past? I understand that Gurit has been mainly focus- the large potential of Gurit and is ing on those industries which were first to adopt ad- now starting to formulate new vanced composites as key material categories. We goals for the future. built a wealth of know-how and grew considerably along with our customers in these industries and re- SHAPE: What was your prime focus in your first main fully committed to supporting them in the fu- weeks with Gurit? Stefan Gautschi: Because I joined ture. Today, new industries and new applications are Gurit from outside, I obviously needed to learn as fast discovering the versatility of composites. This much as possible about Gurit, as quickly as possible. provides important additional opportunities for Gurit. I met a lot of talented people at Gurit across the whole organisation. I am also deeply impressed by our well-run factories and processes. Yet, it also be- came clear during my first visits that some of our production capacities are underutilised. To put it posi- tively, our existing manufacturing set up and scope provide room for growth.

So how is Gurit going to grow its materials business? Through a series of initiatives, we need to fully leverage the potential of our global presence. This is a true differentiator in the market place. Historically, Gurit has established strong positions in a) specific industry sectors and b) mostly in those regional markets which are closest to our production sites. We clearly want to widen our reach. Therefore, we have established a new regional sales organisation with How do we go about taking advantage of these the necessary technical support to better cover all new opportunities? Being a – or in some cases geographies across the globe. In a next step, we may even the – leading materials supplier to a handful of also look at strengthening certain regional production key industries partially obstructed our awareness of

22 «Today, new industries and new applications are fast discovering the versatility of composites. This provides important additional opportunities for Gurit.»

other markets. During the past half year or so, Gurit been instrumental in positioning Gurit as the innova- has thoroughly studied and assessed new or even tor in our traditional target markets. This is what we just emerging uses for composite materials. We be- want to repeat in new areas as well. We are, to give lieve Gurit has an important technological benefit for you an example, rapidly establishing ourselves as many new customer categories. Our regional sales materials and technology partner in architecture and force and technical support are now systematically go- construction. We have successfully targeted a coming after these opportunities, and, as an organisation, pletely new audience at trade shows and conferenc- we are committed to investing in our global sales re- es. And I believe, we delivered an impressive mes- sources. Additionally, we believe that greater expo- sage about how the use of composite opens up new sure to new and emerging composite material end- options and possibilities. In addition, we are already users will greatly benefit our traditional customer working on a series of new products for specific ap- base. Another terrific benefit of composites is that plications and hope to be able to talk about positive you learn new applications every day, and these will results before too long. expand our role as an innovator in our traditional markets, also. Eventually, innovation will create new production and sales opportunities. What about opera- Where do you expect to see the biggest inno- tions in the shorter term? Our production plants vations? Composite materials are engineered, are now controlled by group-wide operational man- purpose-made materials. So, we will see innovation agement. This helps us roll out a joint global excel- where the need for innovative materials and out-of- lence system in all our operations. We want to share the-box thinking is biggest. I was impressed to see best practices at all sites and achieve an even higher how responsive Gurit is and how we can offer solu- consistency in terms of quality and efficiency, cus- tions to pressing customer needs. We have a great tomer benefit and responsiveness. In every respect, research and development team. These guys have we want to deliver the future of composite solutions.

23 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials Gamesa relies on Gurit materials for its new 5MW offshore turbine

Gamesa is reaching achieved in the following months. The result of dedicated out at sea. The com- The installation of the initial off- research and engineering pany has successfully shore units is set to follow in 2014. This offshore turbine platform fea- installed its new 5.0 Arinaga port is a complex piece of tures a stunning 128 m rotor diam- MW turbine in Gran infrastructure, highly representa- eter and a modular, redundant de- Canaria. While its tive of the kinds of challenges sign. This ensures reliability and pioneer installation is faced at offshore wind farms. Ari- maximises energy output. The pi- land-based, the new naga is subject to high winds, oneer turbine of this new family, turbine type with its which are excellent from the point the G128-5.0 MW, includes the 128 metre rotor diam- of view of electricity generation, technology proven and validated eter is designed for but which render assembly more by Gamesa for its 4.5 MW turbine, offshore deployment. difficult. Moreover, its characteris- along with the know-how and ex- tics as a marine port impose a se- perience gained through its use. Gamesa currently expects the 5.0 ries of technical limitations, which The company invested more than MW offshore prototype turbine, Gamesa successfully surmounted half a million engineering hours in installed in Arinaga, Canary Islands, thanks to its experience in the con- the turbine’s design process. Ac- Spain, to begin operating in the struction of turnkey projects; this cording to Gamesa, over one hun- third quarter of 2013. Upon com- broad-ranging experience has been dred people alone worked on the pletion, certification work will essential to successful execution blade’s design. For the manufac- commence and is expected to be of this project. ture of the gigantic blades, Game-

24 The 62.5m long blades were manufactured in Aoiz (Navarra) in Spain, travelled overnight to the Port of Bilbao where they were loaded onto a ship bound for Grand Canaria. sa relied again on Gurit as key ma- The wind turbine’s main elements, The three blades all traveled one terial partner. such as the tower, the nacelle and by one overnight from Aoiz to the In late 2012, Gamesa obtained the blades, offer a spectacular port of Bilbao, where they were design certification for its new off- sight on Gran Canaria’s Arinaga loaded with the nacelle and the shore turbine from Det Norske Quay. The new turbine was offi- tower elements onto a ship bound Veritas (DNV). The endorsement cally commissioned on July 25, for Gran Canaria in the Canary by this independent foundation, 2013. Islands. aimed at safeguarding life, prop- The tower measures 90 me- erty, and the environment, herald- The 62.5 metre blades feature tres in total and is made by Windar ed a major leap forward for Game- several Gurit materials – a joint venture between Gamesa sa in the system’s development, Gurit supplied various materials and Daniel Alonso. The nacelle, guaranteeing the 5 MW turbine’s including multi-axial and unidirec- made in Tauste (Zaragoza), mea- launch, commercial rollout, and tional glass prepregs and glass sures over 12.5 metres long and is manufacture in the coming years. SPRINTTM materials, as well as 4 metres tall and wide. It alone The Annual output of a single CorecellTM structural foam for the weighs 72 tonnes. Once the na- turbine of this new type is over 23 manufacture of the large 62.5 me- celle was hoisted onto the tower, GWh per year, enough to meet the tre blades. Each of the blades work began to assemble the three electricity needs of some 7500 weighs 15 tonnes. They were man- blades, each of which measures households. ufactured at a Gamesa plant in Aoiz 62.5 metres long and weighs 15 Gamesa has installed its first (Navarra) and hold the record as tonnes. G128-5.0 MW offshore prototype the longest turbine blades to be Gurit congratulates Gamesa at the Arinaga Quay in Gran Ca- manufactured and transported in on the successful completion, in- naria Island. This is Spain’s first Spain. They are also among the stallation and commissioning of its prototype offshore wind turbine. largest in Europe. first 5 MW offshore turbine.

25 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering

Alex Beim (left) and Peter Jennings (right) are particularly interested in certain car body details.

Ryan Muller (left) and Ian Cowley study aspects of premium cars and discuss the use of composite car body panels. Sauntering through a pedigree car park

The Goodwood Festival owners the opportunity to show- A yearly sight: Gurit parts of Speed in the UK case their gems in a stunning set- «I believe ever since Aston Martin brings together an im- ting and a relaxed «garden party» first showcased its DBS here in possibly heady mix environment: Visitors to this year’s 2007, some car body parts manu- of cars, stars and motor Festival of Speed were greeted by factured by Gurit were always on sport ‘royalty’ to create a strikingly arranged Supercar display here», says Martin Starkey, the largest car culture Forward Parking. With around Managing Director of Gurit (Auto- event in the world. 200 spaces allocated, it allowed motive) as we entered the pad- SHAPE joined some owners of exotic machinery to dock. Let’s have a look around. Gurit (Automotive) become part of the Festival. Car When Gurit started producing specialists on their stroll makers exhibited their latest off- class A carbon fibre car body parts, through the supercar spring at the Supercar Paddock. it was first the premium supercar paddock. Cars making their world dynamic manufacturers who opted for ultra- debuts at Goodwood this year lightweight panels. SHAPE read- Goodwood is for many a car en- were McLaren P1, Vencer Sarthe, ers will remember how the story thusiast an unparalleled chance to Alfa Romeo 4C, VUHL 05, SIN R1 began in cooperation with Aston see – and often even drive – some and Skoda Octavia vRS, with the Martin. Over the years, especially of the latest supercar models. A first UK sightings of the Ferrari continental European supercar dedicated vehicle evaluation route SP12 EC, Rolls-Royce Wraith, manufacturers discovered the ver- within the grounds of the Good- Peugeot Onyx, Bertone Aston satility, additional design freedom wood Estate includes the revered Martin Jet 2+2, Renault Twin’Run, and the substantial weight savings Goodwood Hillclimb. At the same Maserati Ghibli, Nissan 370Z that can all be achieved with car- time, Goodwood gives car manu- Nismo, Porsche 918, and many bon fibre car body panels and fol- facturers and even private car others. lowed suit.

26 an OEM’s high paint bake line and can even go through the E-Coat/ KTL line. «The first CBS 200 composite panels we have sent down our customers’ E-Coat/KTL line have proved to be a great success and the results are very exciting», said Peter Jennings. Over the last year, Gurit (Auto- motive) has developed a new press Goodwood is a great place forming manufacturing process. to meet automotive ex- This significantly reduced the lead perts: Greg Aratoon (left) and a professional car time to 8 minutes per panel. To- enthusiast in discussion. gether with the new CBS 200 material technology has allowed Gurit to expand its customer database. «We are currently starting the production of a first larger volume Greg Aratoon, Gurit (Automotive) specialty of Gurit.» «But not the CBS 200 parts production using Account Engineering Manager end of the story», interrupted Peter the newly developed, automated added: «First, we started off in an Jennings, Gurit (Automotive) De- press process. We have success- all hand layup process. So the num- velopment Lead Engineer. «Our fully brought the manufacturing ber of parts that could be produced goal was to develop new materials time down to 8 minutes per piece. from one tool was obviously limit- and manufacturing processes to At this speed and with this tech- ed. Yet, our ability to supply body offer super lightweight designs in nology, we are targeting the Pre- parts with impeccable surfaces much higher production run num- mium car sector. Up to 30 000 which were ready to be mounted bers. This is synonymous to mov- parts from one single tool are now on the finished car increasingly ing from exclusive supercars into feasible per year», Greg Aratoon caught the interest of additional car the realm of premium cars which added. makers and convinced existing are manufactured in larger series.» «This is quite a game changer ones to assign Gurit with larger in the manufacture of composite production runs». Up to 30 000 composite car car parts and its my belief that Towards the end of the first de- parts per year from one tool we’ll see this first press formed cade in the new millennium, Gurit Gurit’s traditional target market part here at Goodwood in 2014», had firmly established itself as a has been the super sports and lux- Martin Starkey summarised when tier one supplier for the premium ury car sector with production runs we arrived at the far end of the Su- segment of the automotive indus- of 500 to 2500 vehicles per year, percar paddock. try. «Look here», added Ian Cow- using the Car Body Sheet 96 (CBS With the prospect of higher ley, Gurit (Automotive) Programme 96) material, in a hand layup, out- series volumes, faster production Engineering Manager, pointing at of-autoclave technology. cycles, more complex car body de- another car in the paddock, «you Based on the accumulated signs, and with more and more won’t see a difference between know-how and experience, Gurit automotive engineers discovering metal and carbon car body panels. developed a next generation of CBS the beauty and versatility of com- You can’t tell them apart. The pro- resin and materials branded as posites, the Goodwood supercar duction of fully painted and fin- CBS 200. CBS 200 has been de- paddock will certainly have to be ished car body panels is still a key veloped to be processed through expanded in the years to come.

27 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Corporate News Cut and kitted closer to our customers

Gurit not only provides and G-PET™ are now stocked at partnership with composite kit accurately shaped InCom in Europe. manufacturer Mahogany Company and knife-cut structural of Mays Landing (New Jersey) for core materials from Moving closer to customers the fabrication of Gurit’s B³ Smart- its own kitting facilities in Europe … Pac™ solution. in Canada and China All these core materials are pro- «Our agreement with Mahog- but also cooperates cessed onsite at InCom, according any will bring together Gurit’s vast with a growing range to Gurit’s specifications. All Gurit’s materials and design capabilities of independent sub- standard marine core finishes and with the wealth of kitting experi- contractors for the non- thicknesses are available now. ence of Mahogany, which will ben- wind energy related «Having this capability closer to efit our American customers in markets. In the wind our EMEA customers and distribu- terms of service and product offer- energy market, we tor network allows us to shorten ing,» says Lance Hill, Gurit’s Re- have a long-standing lead-times considerably. This co- gional Sales Director, Americas. tradition to work operation also allows us to offer with Mau&Mittelmann the additional service of local kit- Large volumes and in Europe and with ting and B³ SmartPac™ manufac- special needs from strong Corekits in America, ture,» Mathieu added. Customers home bases and we supply core are now also able to place smaller Gurit (Americas) remains the lead- materials to other orders. Previously, the minimum ing production and kitting site for kitters on customer order size out of the Chinese or Ca- Gurit’s Corecell™ structural foam. request. nadian works had been a full con- Kits requiring bespoke densities or tainer to cover freight costs. non-standard cuts or finishes are «We have been working with in- thus manufactured in Magog, Can- dependent kitting specialists for … and in America ada, along with the high volume years,» says Mathieu Cariou, Busi- In order to move closer to boat wind energy core kits for the local ness Development Manager Core/ building customers in America, market. Gurit (Tianjin) in China is Kitting at Gurit (UK). Gurit’s net- Gurit has recently entered into a ideally located to respond to the work of independent kitters, how- regional requirements and needs ever, has seen some important ad- of the Chinese and Asian wind en- ditions over the past few months. ergy, industrial and marine sec- At last year’s METS in Amsterdam, tors. Gurit (New Zealand), the first Gurit and InCom signed an agree- site to produce B³ SmartPac™ so- ment for InCom to provide ware- lutions, is still leading the way here housing, core processing and kit- and continues to deliver high qual- ting services from their Spanish ity glass and core SmartPacs to and British sites on behalf of Gurit, regional customers. mainly for the European marine To discuss your specific kitting market. Since the beginning of this Complex shapes produced by specialists needs, please contact Gurit at year, Corecell™ M-Foam, PVCell™ according to customer specifications. www.gurit.com/contact-form.aspx

28 Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

DSS patented system utilises retractable foils to reduce heel angles when desired and provides progressive dynamic lift, complementing the traditional fixed keel. This revolutionary system heightens comfort, reduces displacement, and has proved to increase velocity made good. Designed to outperform superyachtany comparable

The Dynamic Stability Systems (DSS) fines performance sailing in every respect. The Infiniti technology has been around for 100S is designed to deliver the future of sailing NOW! some years. It now leaps forth into Infiniti Yachts are a new benchmark in supery- the true superyacht realm. Infiniti achts; exclusive, visually stunning creations utterly Yachts and Danish Yachts have bespoke in every respect. Each Infiniti Yacht has the launched Infiniti 100S, a 100 foot DSS revolutionary Dynamic Stability Systems (DSS) at the boat designed to outperform any core of its design, as its nautical DNA. The DSS pat- comparable superyacht. Gurit are the ented system uses retractable foils to reduce heel structural engineers to this perfor- angles and provide progressive dynamic lift, comple- mance cruising yacht. menting a fixed keel. Faster, smoother, and safer than any other method of achieving speed in a monohull Designed to encapsulate performance and style and yacht, making for a yacht that is lighter, more versatile at the same time deliver a new and fresh approach, and with exceptional balance and precision. the Infiniti 100S from Danish Yachts is setting new standards in the industry. They deliver a significant Extensive R&D, state-of-the-art design increase in performance and comfort, by using the work and days of tank testing patented technology of Dynamic Stability Systems Ten years of research, structural engineering and ma- (DSS). On April 30, 2013, Infiniti Yachts and Danish terials and process development provide the revolu- Yachts announced they will be building the first 100S tion that drives the performance of the Infiniti 100S. At on the terrace of the Real Club Nautico de Palma over- the heart of each Infiniti design is a very high level of looking the two Infiniti 36GTs that raced in the Palma state-of-the-art naval architecture combined with Vela event. DSS as its core DNA. Welbourn Design has worked closely with Gurit, No simple goal: Delivering the future the structural engineers, and Design Unlimited, the of sailing NOW! interior designers. Working from the naval architect’s The aim was no simple goal: the creation and con- brief, Gurit is developing a structure that both meets struction of a revolutionary breed of yacht that rede- the requirements regarding weight, yet allows for a

29 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Systems and Engineering

The purposeful, curvaceous lines that resonate on the exterior of the yacht are carried through into the interior. stylish interior. Key areas included the engineering and manufacturing processes to ensure the production to be cost effective, at the same time meeting the weight targets. Alex Shimell, Marine Consultancy Di- rector at Gurit said: «The structure is based on a rela- tively thick foam sandwich shell, aimed to reduce the interior structure in order to increase room for the «built-in» noise insulation. At the same time, this ex- pedites build times. Gurit will work closely with Dan- ish Yachts to develop the build concept and construction details to enable them to achieve the structural weight targets whilst maintaining control of the build hours. During this process we will also work closely with Design Unlimited and Hugh Welbourn to incorpo- rate the looks and design features that have been designed in the Infiniti 100S.» As the inventor of DSS, Welbourn Design has overseen Infiniti’s intensive programme of tank testing and on-the-water evaluation, which gives the In- finiti 100S its superior performance. Velocity Predic- tion Programs (VPPs) were developed, necessary for the sail designers to be able to correlate the on-the- water test results with those derived from tank and CFD analysis and double check that the trim and be- havioral characteristics of the model were in line with how the yacht was expected to behave. While retaining the modern, hi-tech feel, Design Un- limited has adapted the exterior themes to create a

30 calm and welcoming environment within, that is ideal Dymamic stability systems for relaxation and socialising. The taut and sweeping forms introduced in the coach-roof and cockpit draw the eye in one continuous flow through the saloon for- 10 years wards to the guest accommodation and ultimately to the master suite. The interior provides for six guests in of R&D went into DSS. The technology uses a re- three en-suite cabins and due to its unique design, tractable foil that deploys to leeward to complement provides an excellent connection between the interior the fixed keel of the yacht. The DSS foil creates and the cockpit. Righting Moment or stability. This can be thought of as power. The DSS foil also reduces drag, by lifting The ultimate fusion of performance the boat out of the water. The DSS foil also reduces and comfort pitching which causes sea-sickness and reduces Because Infiniti Yachts are designed around Dynamic heeling, making the yacht smoother to sail, more Stability Systems (DSS) they are significantly more comfortable and faster. comfortable than conventional yachts. Yachting World editor David Glenn wrote that DSS «not only worked but was simple to use… it reduces pitching and damp- ing the enjoyment and comfort of all on board is a core ens the motions usually suffered by a yacht». Increas- value of Infiniti Yachts. DSS heightens comfort for sailors, reduces displacement, and has proved to increase velocity made good (VMG) while providing stability to the yacht and reducing weight. When the breeze is light or the yacht is maneuvering the foil may be centered within the yacht without impinging upon the interior. Even when not using the DSS foil the yacht has plenty of stability from its keel to sail safely, meaning that in the unlikely event of a problem the ability to navigate safely is not compromised. The Infiniti 100S design is ideally suited for the Mediterranean and can cruise comfortably at speeds over 20 knots, providing a genuine fusion of performance and comfort. The yacht is designed to perform in both light and heavy winds ensuring comfort and performance in all conditions. The cockpit is deep, secure and comfortable and designed to ensure that it’s both safe and dry when sailing, and at the same time intimate and relaxing at anchor. The twin helm stations are fitted with foil and mainsheet controls. The cockpit and saloon interface is unique, providing a seamless indoor/outdoor flow. This allows substantial natural light into the saloon area and at the same time gives added protection when passing from the cabin into the sheltered cockpit. The interior is modern and open, yet with a Scan- dinavian stylish feel. Owner and guests share three en-suite cabins forward of the main saloon. The crew is accommodated aft of the companionway.

31 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Gurit Composite Materials Materials for mankind’s future space exploration

Gurit’s SE 70 prepreg reaches new heights! A hot melt, low temperature cure epoxy prepreg achieved a number of «firsts» as part of a NASA research project undertaken by the University of Sydney.

Future space exploration will require large, lightweight structures for use as habitats, greenhouses, space bases and so on. They are likely to require preparation, in terrestrial conditions, of a prepreg, which can then be shipped un- Inflating the balloon that took Gurit SE 70 prepregs to new heights. cured in a container into orbit and used for structural applications in fixed to the outside of the balloon’s payload, including the uncured SE space construction projects. cabin, a telemetry unit, and the bal- 70 prepreg, was exposed in the Dr Alexey Kondyurin, a Senior loon was launched from Alice stratosphere, and reached a maxi- Research Fellow at the University Springs Seven Mile Airport in Aus- mum altitude of 40 km. Tempera- of Sydney, Australia, led a team to tralia on April 16, 2010. Over the ture variations from –76°C to investigate the effect of the strato- next three days the balloon and its 32.5°C and pressure up to 2.1 torr spheric conditions on the polymer- were recorded during the flight. ization process in the polymer ma- After three days, the payload was trix of a composite material, with separated from the balloon, and Gurit providing its SE 70 carbon over 3 hours it descended by para- epoxy prepreg to the project. chute to land nearly 1000 km from the launch site. Testing prepreg reaches altitude of 40 km Prepregs are curable Uncured samples of SE 70, along on-site in space with one cured control sample, Some of the flight cassette sam- were stapled to a sleeve attached ples of SE 70 prepreg, as well as to an aluminum base, together those from the ground control cas- making up the flight cassette. sette and the refrigerator control

Once weather conditions were These test samples were sent cassette, were analysed, with par- suitable, the 1 kg cassette was up into the stratosphere. ticular attention paid to the curing

32 Being Gurit The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013

reaction and the degree of cross- in May this year. A subsequent ing, paving the way for further re- linking. The results show there project saw the remaining sam- search into the exciting future of was no significant difference be- ples of Gurit’s SE 70 prepreg cured space construction. Gurit is de- tween the glass transition tem- at an altitude of 26 km during a lighted to have been a part of this peratures (Tg) of the flight, ground stratospheric flight in November groundbreaking project. control and refrigerated samples. 2012, resulting in it being the first This demonstrates that uncured prepreg in the world to be fully For more information, see samples of SE 70 prepreg can be cured in the stratosphere. Analysis Dr Alexey Kondyurin’s blog at: delivered and stored in the strato- of the samples is ongoing. http://largeconstructioninspace. sphere with no negative impact on Both projects demonstrate that blogspot.com.au its curing capability. uncured prepreg can be prepared The full NASA report on this in terrestrial conditions and trans- part of the project was published ported into space, for on-site cur-

Being Gurit Build a boat in one morning

During the New Zealand summer – that is in February – NZ Marine Indus- try Association held its annual Marine Trades Challenge, a boatbuilding competition for industry apprentices and high schools. Gurit has been a longstanding supporter of the event, which always encourages a good crowd of visitors. «Special about this year’s Marine Trades Challenge was that Gurit supported two all-girls entries from Tamatea High School in Tamatea High School girls team as they Napier, NZ», says Sian Stimson, marketing communications manager for near completion of their monohull. Gurit (Asia Pacific). As an Industry Supporter of NZ Marine, Gurit staff members are fa- miliar faces at various industry networking events and conferences, including the annual Graduation Dinner for the marine industry apprentices, and the Auckland On Water Boat Show. At the Marine Trades Challenge, Gurit treats visitors and the competing apprentices and students to a Kiwi BBQ whilst they watch the action or take a short break from boatbuilding. It’s quite hard to make the teams leave their yards for even a second, as they have just one morning to build their boat at Westhaven Marina in Tamatea High School, supported by Gurit, Auckland. They are given most of the construction materials and tools, collect the high schools’ trophy. and have specific criteria to meet, but otherwise have a freehand in the design and build process. The teams’ efforts are judged on both their ability to finish building within the timeframe, and also on the presentation of the boat. In the afternoon, the boats are truly tested as the teams race each other in a series of ‘round the buoys’ races. Gurit congratulates Tamatea High School team for winning the High

School Challenge, and Alloy Yachts for being the overall winner of the Peter Busfield, Executive Director of NZ event. Marine, grabs some lunch at the Gurit BBQ.

33 The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 Corporate news Continuous improvement made visible

Gurit (UK) has launched in June a reinvigorated 5S pro- SUSTAIN – The on-going gramme throughout its factory environment to im- commitment which holds prove standards, efficiency and the working environ- the first 4 principals of 5S ment for all staff. 5S stands for the following principles: together. SORT – No unneeded items, less clutter, improved 5S Audits are con- health & safety standards (e.g. less trip hazards), raised ducted at each end of morale, more respect for your machine area. shift, for each respective SET IN ORDER – The locating of necessary items machine or area in an ef- so that they are easy to use; label them so that anyone fort to drive continuous can find them and put them away; aim to eliminate improvement. The audit scores are added daily to a unnecessary motion and provide operators with an database and updated score cards show in real time ergonomic process environment how each of the 16 teams is performing. The early SHINE – To keep everything in top condition so response from the production teams has been enthu- when something is needed, it is ready to be used; to siastic and yielded notable improvements in all areas. ensure the working environment is clean, main- 5S ensures, positive results are seen by each individ- tained to a high standard aiding work place safety ual as it is them who are making the positive changes and efficiency to their own areas and work environments helping to STANDARDISE – To ensure standards are reached, improve morale, raise health & safety standards and maintained and remain implemented. drive efficiency.

Gurit awarded Preferred Supplier of Choice status with ABA

The American Boat builders Association they offer high quality products, excellent technical (ABA) has selected Gurit as «Preferred support, and valuable engineering resources. We look Supplier of Choice» for the supply of forward to enhancing our relationship with Gurit in the G-PET™, PVCell™, and Corecell™ SAN future.» says Jay Patton, President, ABA. structural foam cores. ABA member companies have Structural core materials are a key materials cat- approximately 5,000 employees in the United States, egory in boat building. Cores in a sandwich construc- with 15 facilities in 9 states. ABA companies produce tion are specified by boat designers and naval archi- more than 15% of all the boats above 16 foot built in tects to increase stiffness and reduce the weight of America. With Chaparral Boats, Cobalt Boats, Correct a composite structure. «Gurit has a comprehensive Craft, Godfrey Marine, Grady-White Boats, Monterey range of core materials to fit any specification or Boats, Regal Marine Industries, Rinker Boat Compa- manufacturing process. Our materials can be offered ny, Tiara, Pursuit, Stingray Boats, Thunderbird Prod- in sheet form and with a variety of cut patterns and ucts as members, ABA is one of the leading U.S. buy- finishes. We welcome this agreement with ABA to ing groups for independent boat builders. «ABA is offer them tailored products to fit their members’ pleased to reach an agreement with Gurit (USA) as the needs and processing choices,» says Lance Hill, Re- Preferred Supplier of Choice for this wide range of gional Sales Director Americas Gurit Composite Ma- core materials. We’ve chosen Gurit (USA) because terials.

34 TechTalk The Gurit Magazine N°13 2013 G-PET™ core materials range now includes fire retardant version

G-PET™ 75FR and G-PET™ 100FR have been devel- ogy which is being used for the roof panels of the Me- oped in order to meet the growing need for structural dinah Station of the Haramain High Speed Railway in core materials with good fire, smoke and toxicity Saudi Arabia. (FST) properties used in marine, civil engineering and Following the launch, the technical team at Gurit transportation markets. The newly added G-PET™ FR has now completed and achieved important fire certi- range offers a much lower cost FST material com- fications which include DIN 5510-2, ASTM E1354, pared with existing competing high-cost / high-perfor- ASTM E662, BSS 7239 and FAR 25.853. mance materials such as PMI, PEI, PES foams, ad- dressing lower requirements and needs. Fire retardant versions Starting with G-PET™, the basis of Gurit’s extrud- have been added to the ed structural PET core, flame retardant additives are existing G-PETTM family added to improve FST properties. The manufacturing of core materials. process remains the same as for G-PET™, with slight variations in process settings. The material is available in all standard knife-cut finishes as well as featuring the new G-PET™LITE surface heat treatment technol-

Corporate news Benefits from weekly meetings

Gurit Americas – the former Gurit (Canada) – benefits The target of the second project in multiple ways from the work of its continuous im- was to speed up change-over time provement steering team. Since Autumn 2012, this at a specific machine: In the con- group meets on a weekly basis to follow up on running text of a single minute exchange of projects, provide support for the workers involved and die (SMED) project, the project to help overcome any obstacles. Recently, the team team defined a new standard procedure, made certain was honoured for the successful completion of three modifications to the machine to support this process. projects. The outcome was again stunning: Not only was the A first project in Corecell™ produc- change-over time greatly reduced, the team also found tion investigated ways of improv- out that with the newly defined standard process, the ing the ergonomics of one specific operator could actually operate two machines at a time. worksite while increasing the prod- A third project analysed the way a uct quality as well as the speed and certain job was done. The team output of its sanding process: Adding a cleverly posi- came to realise that with a couple tioned handle to the tool, installing a more powerful of changes the machine could be sander and by changing the way necessary equipment started up in a much quicker fash- and tools needed for the job were placed nearby, one ion. The time to stock this specific work station with worker instead of the former two is now operating the material was also greatly reduced. Together these two whole process. measures led to a valuable increase of productivity.

35 Gurit Agenda 2013

Gurit will showcase its wide range of material packages, solutions and technologies at a trade show near you.

The Gurit teams look forward to meeting you and introducing you to the latest in advanced composites at the following shows:

→ Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition, Michigan/USA 11 – 13 September 2013, Focus: Automotive; Gurit is a session sponsor and will give a presentation → China Composites EXPO, Beijing/China 11 – 13 September 2013, Focus: All markets → Composites Europe, Stuttgart/Germany 17 – 19 September 2013, Focus: All markets → Auckland On Water Boat Show; Auckland/New Zealand 26 – 29 September 2013, Focus: Marine → Composites Association of New Zealand – Conference & Trade Show, auckland/New Zealand 11 – 12 October 2013, Focus: All markets, Engineering → Busworld Kortrijk, Kortrijk/Belgium 18 – 23 October 2013, Focus: Transportation, Engineering → Indian Composites Show 2013; New Delhi/India 24 – 26 October 2013, Focus: All Industries; Engineered Structures → Composites Engineering Show, Birmingham/Great Britain 12 – 13 November 2013, Focus: All industries, Engineering → Railway & Mass Transit Interiors EXPO, Cologne/Germany 12 – 24 November 2013, Focus: Transportation → METS 2013; Amsterdam/The Netherlands 19 – 21 November 2013, Focus: Marine → Tidal Energy Summit, London/Great Britain 25 – 27 Novemer 2013, Focus: Tidal Energy; Engineering → Performance Racing 2013, Indianapolis/USA 12 – 13 December 2013, Focus: Automotive

For details on Gurit’s sales and distributor network, please consult: http://www.gurit.com/sales-and-distributors.aspx For general enquiries, please visit: http://www.gurit.com/contact-form.aspx

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