JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #76 - October/November 2012 - 51

interview

AlexAndre GuichArd President roctool

JEC Composites Magazine: What is the company’s current strategy in the composite sector?

Alexandre Guichard: We focus on

new trends and the “composite materials and processes of the future”. The company has three main lines of development: large-volume TP composite moulding, the “high-speed RTM” process, in particular for electric vehicles, and shaped profiles and tubing for sports & leisure and aerospace applications. We don’t see much future for old processes such as autoclave moulding, SMC in its different forms, or contact moulding, among others. In any case, they aren’t compatible with our strategy and business model, which is based on the production volumes and royalties.

- manufacturers or customers who wish to hold the rights to the technology and the implementation means outright; - processors and manufacturers of composite parts; - resin manufacturers or composite material manufacturers who, in this case, sell a “material and moulding process” package. Most of our development is with major processors, mainly in Asia, to whom we grant patent licences and transfer our technologies. Then our teams come in to set up and commission the equipment. During the summer of 2012, we set up ten new production lines for a Chinese customer for the production of composite laptops and touch-screen tablets. We receive an upfront payment upon signing the licence agreement, then only royalties from their sales. We have an in-house engineering department that can provide our licensees the necessary expertise to design moulds equipped with our induction technologies. Other departments take care of technology transfers and the maintenance and after-sales service for our equipment.
JCM: Are you targeting specific business sectors in which to place your technologies?

Hybrid carbon part, composite section

materials. Whatever the chosen propulsion mode, there is an obligation to make vehicles lighter, and manufacturers will have to make the transition to the use of fast, low-energyconsuming processes. Today, the vast majority of electronic manufacturers are still at the exploratory stage for composite materials, with the most advanced ones already at the qualification stage. We are wagering that over a very short term, electronics will become the sector that consumes the most composite materials, far ahead of automotive or aerospace. Qualification generally takes three to five years in automotive and at least five to ten years .../...

JCM: Can you specify your development mode: licensing, partnership, in-house R&D, or… ?

A. G.: We sign licensing and know-how

agreements with three types of customers:

A.G. : Yes, we’re giving priority to large-volume markets. For short term, we are focusing on the electronics market (smartphones, laptops, touch-screen tablets, eBooks, etc.) for volumes of around 100,000 to 1,000,000 parts per month, and the automotive market, which will be consuming more and more composite

More information
Established in 2000, RocTool (with headquarters in Bourget du Lac, France) has developed considerably on the international scene, with a foothold in Europe, Asia and North America. The company spent nine years developing its technology with practically no income or sales, before starting commercializing its processes in 2009. It has a portfolio of 75 patents, notably dealing with “Heat & Cool” moulding methods for injection-moulded composite materials and plastics. The company licenses out its patents and receives royalties on the parts that are manufactured using its processes. Turnover has grown from €0.9 million (M) in 2009 to €1.7 M in 2010 and €3.4 M in 2011. By the end of 2012, company turnover will be close to €5 M. RocTool is very confident about the future and anticipates strong growth over the coming years. It expects to have some 100 licences in all by 2016. Currently, 90% of its turnover is generated abroad, mainly in China, Japan, the United States and Germany. Roctool has also beefed up its teams, and its workforce has grown from 12 employees to 30 over the past months. The company opened a subsidiary in Taiwan in September. It also has development and demonstration centres in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and now Taiwan. The company had a dozen or so licensees in 2010 and now has more than 40. Since the company’s creation, it has invested nearly €15 million in R&D and marketing. It has the backing of several investment funds (A Plus Finance, Siparex and Caisse des Dépôts Innovation), and these account for about 70% of the company’s capital.

No76 October - November 2012 /

jec composites magazine 51

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #76 - October/November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #76 - October/November 2012