BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE
Prepreg carbonfibre producer could open continental facility to cater for Airbus
Japanese synthetic fibre maker Toray Industries is considering opening a prepreg carbonfibre production facility in Europe to support the Airbus A350 and other European aircraft programmes.
Toray only produces prepreg carbonfibres at its Tacoma, Washington facility and last year unveiled plans to expand its Ehime plant in Japan to meet soaring demand driven by its exclusive supplier deal with Boeing for the 787. Sources say Toray expects to finalise its first prepreg carbonfibre contract with Airbus later this year and may produce the material in Europe.
Airbus has tentatively selected Hexcel and Toray to supply prepreg carbonfibre for the A350, but has not yet awarded raw material contracts for the new aircraft programme. Toray now manufactures non prepreg carbonfibre for other Airbus aircraft, including the A380, through deals with first- and second-tier suppliers, but has never provided prepared carbonfibres directly to Airbus.
Toray says it “has no concrete idea to start prepreg production in Europe” and will “have to think about it” before deciding to invest in a new facility. But industry sources say Toray is looking at producing prepreg carbonfibre in Europe from 2010 to meet A350 production requirements and will need to make a decision on the proposed factory within the next two years because it takes a long time to qualify a new facility.
Toray joint venture Soficar already has a manufacturing facility in France, which produces non- prepreg carbonfibre. The recently upgraded 114,000m2 (1.23 million ft2) Toray Composites America factory in Tacoma is now the only supplier of prepreg carbonfibre for the 777 and 787.
Toray says its Ehime plant, which is now being expanded from 5 million square metres to 10.8 million square metres, will become in January 2007 a second prepreg carbonfibre supplier to Boeing and will mainly ship to Japanese manufacturers who are building 787 components.
Source: Flight International
