JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #70 - January/February 2012 - 10

core materials

Celebrating 25 years of ideas
Spheretex was founded in 1986, five years after the Spheretex concept was born. The company was named after its first product. On 7 July 2011, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary at their headquarters in Hilden.
Holger Zorn SaleS & Marketing Manager SpHeretex gMbH

he success story of volumised core materials from Hilden, Germany, started 25 years ago.

A novel concept
In 1986, Mr Siegfried Gerhards developed the idea and volumised single glass filaments for the first time. To this end, a woven fabric made of glass yarns was impregnated with microspheres and then thermally treated. The sphere.tex product was born. Embedding the microspheres between the single filaments, not only between the single yarns, is crucial for this process. The structure of the woven fabrics plays an important role too. The textile increases the tensile strength of the laminate and reduces resin consumption in the centre of the sandwich. The volumised textile has an excellent drapability for complex shapes, but is mostly used in continuous laminating processes.

use complexes for closed mould systems, such as RTM or vacuum infusion. The company’s slogan “The sky is the limit” is fully honoured. The complexes can combine reinforcing layers, flow media and surface veils to meet all customer requests. Both the geometry of the unit and the specific production and process requirements of the customer are taken into consideration.

A worldwide activity
The company is now established on three continents: Europe, America and Asia. It operates its own distribution business in the USA, Spheretex America Inc., which is based in Florida. An agreement was recently signed between Spheretex America and a large American company for a blanket order lasting at least three

Spheretex has increased their core production line to a width of 3,40 m

years. This will strengthen the product but also the Spheretex brand. memory is about my former senior partner, Mr. Klaus Kölzer, who passed away two years ago. We founded the company together and went through many exciting years. All of them are worth remembering. Also I will surely remember the year 2009, when the stability and success of our company was put to the test by the general economic downturn. I am glad I could count on the great support of my team. All of us worked even harder to stabilize the company

interview
Siegfried gerHardS Ceo, SpHeretex gMbH

Product diversity
Over the past 25 years, Spheretex has developed to become a full-range supplier for the FRP industry. The company offers solutions for all common applications of thermoset resins. The product range varies from volumised core materials (e.g. for hand lay-up) to single-layer ready-to-

JEC Composites Magazine: What memories, if any, will you keep of the last 25 years?

Siegrfried Gerhards : My first

10 jec composites magazine / No70 January - February 2012

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #70 - January/February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #70 - January/February 2012