The Netherlands-based TenCate Advanced Composites — a developer and manufacturer of advanced composites for aerospace, space and industrial applications, and part of functional materials conglomerate Royal Ten Cate — and Tokyo-based Toray Industries Inc. — a manufacturer of fibers, textiles, resins, composite materials, films, chemicals, electronics and other products — have signed a five-year supply agreement under which Toray will provide carbon fibers to TenCate for the production of TenCate Cetex® RTL thermoplastic composite materials for aerospace applications.

"Thermoplastic materials are rapidly establishing a meaningful position in a growing amount of aircraft applications, and are also used in structural parts of the latest aircraft," said Frank Meurs, director, TenCate Advanced Composites EMEA. "TenCate Cetex has been used in aircraft applications for more than ten years. TenCate will continue to focus on the market for large commercial aircraft and regional jets with its TenCate Cetex product line."

The companies also will look into a joint market-product development of thermoplastic composites for automotive applications.

"TenCate Cetex thermoplastic composite materials are suitable for volume markets like automotive, where low cost materials and processing are of critical importance. With the growing need for weight savings in trucks and automobiles, these markets offer great potential. Joint development programs will accelerate the introduction of new applications," Meurs said, noting that Toray has been developing carbon fiber for automotive as well as aerospace applications. "We see a need to cooperate within the value chain in order to speed up the time to market for new materials and processing technologies," he added.

June 21, 2011