JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia - 50

SPECIAL An interview with Halim Chtourou, Managing director & CEO, Gulf Composite Materials L.L.C. >> JCM: What is your development strategy based on? H. C.: We base our development strategy on working closely with at least one prospective customer from each market. We offer strong technical support to these customers, right up to manufacturing the prototype and performing tests to qualify for specific requirements. JCM: How are you promoting your technology? JEC Composites Magazine: Why did you choose Dubai to set up your company? Halim Chtourou: Dubai is a great place for our company because of its strategic location in the Middle East, with easy access not only to key Middle Eastern and European markets, but also to China, South Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Asian markets. The composite industry is experiencing solid growth up to 25% annually in certain markets and surrounding regions. Dubai offers a tax-free environment with a strong, growing economy. Setting up our company in Dubai will give us the benefits of a strategic location and the opportunity to grow within the different composite markets. JCM: Which regional markets are you targeting in particularly? H. C.: We are focusing on the unique features and advantages of our Simprex prepregs to attract customers. Most hand lay-up composite manufacturers prefer to avoid using epoxy prepregs because of their high price and the freezing storage requirement. Our prospective customers are often surprised when we mention that, with proper barrier film packaging, our Simprex prepregs simply require room temperature (20-23°C) for storage and shipping. They can remain stable for as long as 1 year under such conditions. Price-wise, we can easily compete with epoxy prepregs. In many cases, the overall cost of using our prepregs is equivalent to that of the hand lay-up process, sometimes even more cost-effective. JCM: What new challenges are you contemplating for the future? H. C.: In the Middle East, we are mainly targeting the leisure boating market and the GRP pipe market. These two markets are growing alongside the rapid infrastructural development of the real estate market. Marina-style real estate projects are becoming increasingly more common. Boat manufacturers are faced with demands greater than their production capacity. Using our Simprex prepregs instead of traditional hand lay-up can increase productivity by a factor of 2 or 3, with improved quality and performance, and much friendlier working conditions. As regards the GRP pipe market, we have achieved substantial developments to offer an effective pipe joining solution using our Simprex prepreg. This solution will increase pipe joining productivity by 4 and bring down overall costs by 30-35% in comparison with the traditional hand lamination process. H. C.: The main challenge for us is to be patient and take the time needed to develop new markets for our Simprex prepregs. In general, people are hesitant to change especially when they have been using the same production method for decades. Even though our results show superior performance and theoretical studies show economic advantages, it is still not easy to make the necessary changes in an operational composite factory when adopting a new material or process. Resistance to change is perfectly normal behaviour. We need to address this issue by working hard on highlighting the pluses of our Simprex prepreg technology and exposing its advantages in relation to the traditional hand lay-up process and other processes. Easy processing All Simprex prepregs can be processed similarly to conventional epoxy prepregs, by either compression, vacuum-bag, or autoclave moulding. During the lamination process, as with any other prepregs, it is convenient to debulk the materials every few layers by subjecting the stack to vacuum in a temporary bag or on a vacuum table. Other techniques can be applied to debulk the materials before curing. Whatever the moulding process, the three keys for a successful cure are: 1) no trapped air between the layers, nor between the mould and the first layer; 2) applying a minimum pressure of one bar and maintaining it along the whole curing time; 3) applying increasing, or constant, heat in order to bring the inside temperature of the compressed prepreg layers close to the specified curing temperature, and maintaining it for about 15 minutes. If maximum Tg and mechanical performance are required, postcure for 30-45 minutes at a temperature 10-15°C below the maximum specified Tg has to be considered. Bright prospects for the future Simprex customers are manufacturing advanced composite Special JEC Composites Asia / No44 October 2008

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia