JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #78 - January/February 2013 - 5

ment of carbon unidirectional fabrics designed specifically for longer blades. Our
next goal is to develop direct
supplier relations with the
major OEMs with a strong
focus on the supply of special
carbon fibre fabrics. That
really is our speciality.
JCM: What are the requirements in this market for your
products?

O.W. : Prepreg manufac-

turing is a very demanding
process. It requires the
multiaxial fabrics to be of a
superior quality yet processed and produced in very
large, batched rolls which are
a challenge to manufacture.
With unidirectional carbon
fabrics our goal is to manufacture materials that are easy
to infuse without compromising their mechanical
performance.

JCM: For the moment, Formax has only one production
site, in UK. Do you plan to
open others in other countries
in the future to obtain
contracts?

O.W. : We are exploring the

possibility of investing in
the Far East. We have two
potential partners who we are
in discussions with, either for
a joint venture or fully owned
operations. While it is absolutely true that it is easier in
the wind energy market to
obtain contracts with a local
production facility,
Formax is a specialist
manufacturer of difficult
fabrics, and these types of
materials do not necessarily
need to be sourced locally.

JCM: Recently UK Government
put some money on the table

for Composites. What do you
think about it?

O.W. : Composites being

identified as an emerging
industry in the UK is hugely
positive. However, I do not
think this recent funding will
impact Formax directly.
There has been a heavy focus
on aerospace investment and
at this time that is not a market we work in or supply to.

JCM: Formax recently signed
an agreement with the UK
Ministry of Defense. Is this
a sector you want to develop
your company in?

O.W. : We would like to

explore and develop the
ballistic composites market.
Our agreement with the UK
Ministry of Defence is largely
focused on combining superior structural properties and
ballistic protection in one
composite. This is a move
away from the traditional ballistic protection products like
aramid and phenolic resin
systems. It is a very exciting
and complex area of product
development and one that
will probably take some time
to perfect.

JCM: What are the differences
between Formax and its
rivals?

O.W. : Our focus at For

max is flexibility and the
manufacture of very specific
fabrics that fit our customers requirements. We have
the ability to re-configure
our machines rapidly and
precisely and this gives us a
set of skills that define us as
a market leader. When there
are opportunities to showcase our strengths, we pursue
them. We are committed to
demanding customers that

New Malitronic multiaxial machine

are searching for highly engineered fabrics. That’s where
we like to operate and where
our competitors do not want
to compete. We take on the
challenges that our customers set us and enjoy solving
their problems. This in turn
drives our product development process, ensuring that
we are constantly reviewing
our existing capabilities and
creating unique materials.
That’s what we enjoy doing
more than anything. Our
most successful customer
relationships are those when
we have taken a problem and
solved it by re-engineering
our machines to make something special.

addition, we are undertaking
a number of longer term development programmes with
academic institutions such as
Imperial College in London.
It is the combination of
these academic partnerships
for longer term innovation
coupled with demanding
customers for shorter term
development that drives our
business forward. This is one
of the reasons I’m still really
excited about composites and
Formax’s future.
JCM: What is your vision for
Formax?

O.W. : We see huge potential

JCM: What is your R&D road
map?

O.W. : We see our R&D

department as the future of
Formax and consequently
at least 20% of our turnover is
dedicated to R&D activities.
We have a number of exciting
projects underway that will
significantly alter the way
Formax fabrics are produced in the coming years. In

No78 January - February 2013 /

for our business to develop
within both the traditional
composites market and in
new areas such as construction and infrastructure. It is
for this reason that we are
strongly focused on continuing to develop and invest
in our R&D and engineering
departments so we can keep
creating new and exciting
products for our customers. n
More information:
www.formax.co.uk

jec composites magazine 5
http://www.formax.co.uk
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #78 - January/February 2013

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