JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #111 - March 2017 - Special JEC World - o - 5

Composite parts producers OPlNlON
These days, composites are everywhere
and in everything, and it is not always
easy to define a strategy. There are also
opportunities that must be seized on the
fly: creating the domes for the Russian
Orthodox Church in Paris was one of
those. That opened our eyes to a market
which we had never imagined, and at the
same time it made some architects realize
that it was possible to create building
components out of composites. So the
construction and civil works sectors are
now one of our diversification priorities.
JCM: In terms of in-house skills and
processes, do you have any specific projects
or investments in the near future?

D. D.: We are always investing in
employee training, and have created a
training centre to increase their skills and
train new recruits. This is a crucial aspect
of our strategy, since growth depends on
having operators of good standard. We also
work to improve our processes in order to
obtain better performance at lower cost.
That might seem simple, but it imposes
a culture of change, which is not easy to
espouse.
JCM: Specifically in the field of construction,
which is a sector with very high potential,
what obstacles to the development of
composites can you identify?

Just as in any sector where composite
materials have appeared, there is strong
resistance to change. There is always

Thomas Coville set a new record: 49 days 3 hours 7 minutes and 38 seconds, that is 8 days 10 hours 26
minutes and 28 minutes Seconds better than Francis Joyon in 2008. The boat was built at Multiplast.

that fear of losing one's "private reserve".
However, with a little groundwork, all this
will gradually become normal practice. In
construction, fire resistance is a particularly
important aspect. We don't yet have
solutions for all situations, but there has
been enormous progress with materials
and a lot of things are already possible.

We're working on a number of cases, and
it's only a question of time. Some architects
have understood that this is a good way
to stand out from the others, and we have
more and more cases to study.
JCM: More generally, don't you think that the
composite sector lacks visibility with user
markets? If so, what needs to be done to
correct that?

D. D.: Composite materials offer so many

possibilities that we have some stellar years
of development ahead! Nevertheless, as
I said before, there is always some strong
resistance to change.
Price is often a problem, because we are
talking about small quantities and heavily
manual activities. The automotive sector is
tackling the problem, and I'm convinced
that it will change the mentalities in a lot
of fields. Still, structuring the industrial
chain in the composite sector is absolutely
necessary and also inevitable. That will
make it possible to tackle the really big
markets.

Composites domes
on top of Orthodox
cathedral in Paris

No111 March 2017 /

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www.multiplast.eu

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #111 - March 2017 - Special JEC World - o