Business Zone
18 · Business Reporter · October 2015
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Lighter, faster and more efficient: a track record in innovation
Driving global business growth
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cott Bader is a global speciality chemicals group with annual sales of around £200million, employing more than 650 people. Its adhesives & advanced composites division has a worldwide reputation as an innovator of high-performance materials and structural adhesives for composite parts used in demanding interior and exterior applications by the marine, rail, road transportation, wind energy and building markets. The focus of Scott Bader’s R&D team is on continuously developing new materials to improve the performance of customer endproducts, to make them tougher, lighter, more UV-weather resistant, and with improved fire resistance. Manufacturing cost is important, hence new innovations also look at ways for composite parts to be produced with greater precision, more cost effectively and with increased productivity. The company additionally has a strong R&D focus on creating products with consideration for personal health and safety, sustainability and the environment: developed two years ago, Crystic Ecogel® S1PA is an ultra-low styrene content spray gelcoat used globally by a leading global wind energy blade manufacturer, as it cuts total styrene emissions by more than 55 per cent. New bio-resins compatible with
A Image courtesy of Axon Automotive
natural fibres are also under development. Recent advanced technology products developed include: Crestapol® high performance acrylic resin compatible with carbon fibres; “halogen free” fire retardant Crystic® Fireguard gelcoats; the Crestabond® range of primer-less structural adhesives for bonding metals, composites and plastics, which compliments the long-established Crestomer® range of marine adhesives, used structurally by leading fibreglass boat builders. Scott Bader’s advanced material technologies are award-winning. At the JEC International Composites exhibition in Paris, the 2015 Jury Prize was awarded to Hyundai and design partner Axon Automotive (part of Far-UK Ltd) for the Intrado crossover concept car, which used both Crestapol resin and Crestabond adhesive products to produce the super-lightweight carbon fibre composite chassis. Crestapol technology also features in two companies shortlisted by Composites UK for the 2015 design and manufacturing category Innovation Awards – confirming the validity of Scott Bader’s “We think innovation” strapline.
dvanced composite materials have been widely used in the marine industry and in the production of wind turbine rotor blades for years across the globe. At the same time, aspects such as fuel consumption, efficiency gains, and performance drive adoption of advanced composite materials in ever new application fields such as cars, buses and trucks. Among the crucial success factors for the transformation of metal structures and conventional constructions into lightweight composite solutions are the development of the geometry, the consideration of loading constraints, the analysis of projectspecific requirements and the careful selection of the best qualified composite materials. Gurit has a track record of innovation in the composites industry spanning more than 30 years. From engineering the first advanced composite sailing boat, patented material technology to the production of smaller-series, high-class automotive components for super premium and premium cars, the company combines a fundamental understanding of composite technology, with one of the broadest ranges of composite
enquiries@scottbader.com www.scottbader.com
materials available from a single manufacturer. This heritage has led to the development of a complete range of automotive composite materials for structural as well as cosmetic applications, with a focus on both high-quality and high-volume manufacturing. Gurit Cosmetic Carbon Prepregs produce superior surface quality and thus contribute to increased production output and a major reduction in scrapped parts. The company’s prepregs for press moulding enables cycle times of less than five minutes, resulting in time and cost savings per part. With production sites and offices in Europe, North and South America, Asia and the Pacific region, the company is well positioned to support and supply a global customer base. Find more information online at www.gurit.com
How increasing diversity gives companies an edge Video special
Claire Buchanan, CCO of Self-Configuring Infrastructure Optimised Networks (SCION) vendor Bridgeworks, examines the growing big data opportunities and challenges. See more at http://bit.ly/1W6DG1W
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he biggest challenge facing the engineering sector is how to remain profitable, productive, innovative and viable in a challenging environment in which we are facing serious and worsening skills shortages and an ageing workforce. Increasing diversity in engineering – especially gender diversity where there is a fairly large pool of untapped talent – is the obvious solution, and it has the advantage of not only supplying talent but also supplying an edge to companies who get inclusivity right. But the practicalities of how to achieve this remain a mystery for many companies who want to do the right thing without it being merely a box-ticking exercise, but don’t know how to. Much talk of quotas has appeared lately, and while these seem unpalatable to many individuals, including the women themselves, there is no doubt that legislation drives
change. While quotas for employment may be a step too far, quotas for a 50/50 male-to-female ratio for jobs shortlists is a serious and plausible alternative. Another key driver of behaviour would be the publishing of not only pay but also of corporate gender ratios per occupational grade, and these should be published openly, along with targets for improvement. At the end of the day true corporate diversity requires a cultural change, and this is true of our society in general as much as it is for the engineering sector in particular. But change is coming, and companies who wish to survive and thrive should ensure that they are at the front of the race. Dawn Bonfield (left) is president of the Women’s Engineering Society info@wes.org.uk www.wes.org.uk