Vectorply at CAMX 2024

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The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) is happening Tuesday, September 10th– Thursday, September 12th in San Diego, California! Join us at North America’s largest composites and advanced materials exposition. We will showcase innovative solutions for a wide array of industries, with several members of our sales and engineering teams in attendance to answer any questions. Stop by booth HH33, where we will demonstrate how our fabrics provide stronger, faster, and lighter results.

To exhibit composites in action, Vectorply will also participate in multiple live demonstrations at the Composites One and Closed Mold Alliance Demo Zone, located at space AA21. Watch as our engineers perform several different processes and highlight the conformability and ease of use of our products. We cannot wait to see you there!

Vectorply CEO and President Elected to CSP Board of Directors

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The Center for Sportfishing Policy (CSP) recently elected Vectorply’s CEO and President, Trevor Humphrey, as the newest member of their board of directors. CSP advocates for marine boating and recreational fishing while also protecting and preserving our water resources. Their main goal is to enhance opportunities for saltwater recreational anglers by uniting fishing stakeholders to create a unified voice for shaping federal marine fisheries management policy. Through their discussions with Congress and legislators, they ensure that anglers in marine resource management feel seen and heard.

As a key supplier to the marine industry, sportfishing in North America is vital to the success of our customers. Through his board membership, Humphrey will assist in aligning the interests and perspectives of various groups into a unified, concise voice when addressing issues with policymakers. Additionally, Humphrey will continually educate himself, the committee, and Vectorply on the state of saltwater recreational anglers and any laws or regulations that change and may affect the industry as a whole.

When asked about his recent induction, Humphrey says, “I appreciate the nomination and respect the CSP and their mission. My partnership will allow us (Vectorply) to better understand the challenges the marine industry faces and ensure that our team is knowledgeable on current matters. This will greatly benefit our customers as well and continue strengthening our relationships with them and those within the marine industry.”

Learn more about the Center for Sportfishing Policy and their mission at www.sportfishingpolicy.com

Vectorply Welcomes Newest Composite Materials Engineer Noah Baumann

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Vectorply is excited to onboard our newest Composite Materials Engineer, Noah Baumann. Noah joined the team May 6th, 2024, from Carstens Industries, where he held a similar role. He brings prior experience in mechanical design engineering working with a variety of mediums, from windows to boats to vehicles.

Noah graduated from North Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. In his new role at Vectorply, Noah will assist customers with the technical aspects of their projects through our Vectorlam software and working alongside Composite Test Engineer Xavier Rachel in our lab, setting up infusions, testing parts, and more.

Vice President of Composites Engineering, Trevor Gundberg speaks, highly of Noah, saying, “Vectorply is ecstatic to further expand our engineering department and believe with Noah’s skill set and experience that he is a great fit. As a North Dakota State graduate myself, I am thoroughly impressed with the program and know that Noah is coming into this role well-equipped and ready.”

Vectorply Volunteers with Project Greene Light

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Over the past year, a team of Vectorply employees have participated in a leadership program led by the East Alabama Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the program, they have toured various businesses within East Alabama, learned how to be strong leaders, and had opportunities to give back to the community.

The community service project they chose to complete was cleaning up the Project Greene Light house. Project Greene Light is a resource house for foster children within the Russell County community. Their mission is to provide support for foster children, through sponsoring birthdays, providing them with emergency clothing kits, and opening their house as a safe space for foster children and birth families to visit with one another.

In addition to bringing further awareness to their mission, our team pressure washed the house, planted flowers around the entrance, and painted parts of the exterior to ensure the outside of the house felt as welcoming as the inside.

Thank you, Brian Hickman, Chase Ramsey, Jeremy Story, and Kaylene Griffis, for your involvement in this project. Also, a big thank you to Project Greene Light for providing a safe place for foster children and families within Russell County.

To learn more about Project Greene Light or how to get involved, visit https://projectgreenelight.org/.

Auburn Engineers team up with Vectorply for HERC Challenge

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Every year engineering students worldwide compete in the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) to design and engineer human-powered rovers. Teams endure a series of challenges from obstacle courses and missions to judges scoring based on design and functionality. The goal of this project is to further interest in scientific exploration and for students to better understand the task requirements of roving vehicles on the moon.

For the past semester, several senior students from Auburn University’s engineering school visited Vectorply to work on their rover’s wheels. With speed and weight key deciding factors in the race, Auburn HERC team members were tasked with creating new non-pneumatic wheels for their rover. Throughout this process, they partnered with our engineering team to learn the value of mold-prep and fabricated laminates via open molding and infusion.

Composites Engineer Xavier Rachel, an Auburn University Mechanical Engineering Graduate (Class of 2020) led the team throughout this project. Over the course of four months, Xavier demonstrated and oversaw various processes of vacuum infusion and open molding, answering their questions and meeting with them after hours to ensure that everything ran smoothly. “Working with students from my alma mater was an exciting experience and this project was a fun challenge,” Xavier said. “Getting to share the benefits and versatility of our materials to the next generation of graduates was very special.”

The wheels were designed with layers of our C-LT 1800 carbon fabric and filled with polyurethane foam, while the hubs were attached using J-B Weld. Team member Ashley Eng noted, “Our wheels were the most reliable part of the rover and had no issues at all. They held up extremely well for both our runs on the obstacle course and are still in great condition.”

The competition took place April 19th-20th in Huntsville, Alabama where out of the 62 teams participating, Auburn’s HERC placed 13th in the college sector.

To learn more about the HERC project and its origin, click here: About Human Exploration Rover Challenge – NASA

 

 

 

 

 

Vectorply Wins EACC Business of the Year Award

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Vectorply Corporation was honored to attend the East Alabama Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, held on March 21st at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. The evening was filled with insightful speakers, networking, and an opportunity to reflect on all the growth and developments unfolding within the Chattahoochee Valley. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, serving as the keynote speaker, gave an insightful speech as she highlighted exciting things coming to Alabama and her plan to continue moving our rankings forward.

Following her address was the awards ceremony, which honored various businesses and individuals for their dedication to leading change and expansion throughout the community.  As finalists for the “Economic Development Business of the Year” award, Vectorply was recognized for continued expansion and job creation throughout challenging economic conditions. Noting their commitment to economic development in the region and local community support, chamber members chose Vectorply as the 2023 award winner.

“On behalf of our nearly 200 employees, we are so thankful to our local chamber members for selecting Vectorply as the 2023 Economic Development Business of the Year,” said Marketing Manager Scott Phillips. “Our team works hard every day to ensure our more than 1,000 customers worldwide receive the highest quality reinforcements in the industry, and it’s because of them we are able to keep expanding and investing in our region.”

Vectorply promotes Nick Haas to South Central Region Sales Manager

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Vectorply Corporation is excited to announce the promotion of Nick Haas to our South Central Region Sales Manager. Nick will oversee the management of the following states: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This area was previously directed by Doug Lachapelle, who has fully transitioned to northeast region sales manager.

Haas began with Vectorply in September of 2019 after earning his B.A. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Alabama Birmingham. Joining as a composites test engineer, he managed the composite lab and worked directly with customers and sales staff, running physical tests, process simulation, product trials, hosting plant tours, and more.

In January 2023, Nick was promoted to field engineer where he primarily traveled in the south central region, serving as a technical resource for customers and Vectorply’s sales team. During his time as a field engineer, he gained extensive experience working throughout the region and using his engineering background to better understand and assist customers’ needs.

With his experience and in-depth knowledge of the industry, Vectorply is very excited for Nick Haas to take on the role of south central region sales manager.

Vectorply CEO & President Trevor Humphrey Wins ACMA Chairman’s Award

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On Monday, October 30th, 2023, at the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, Vectorply’s CEO and President Trevor Humphrey was awarded the 2023 ACMA Chairman’s Award. Megan Multanen Chairwoman of the board presented him with the award and attributed Humphrey’s win to his strong leadership and his incessant pursuit of involving Vectorply in various composites growth initiatives. This award has been presented by the board since 1988 and the Chairman’s recipient is selected by the Chairman of the ACMA Board of Directors in recognition for their exemplary contributions to the association and industry-at-large.

Trevor was completely surprised when his name was announced, as the award is chosen confidentially and announced publicly for the first time at the ceremony. During his impromptu speech, Trevor attributed the award to the company saying, “It really is the Vectorply team that is getting this award… and all of our partners in this industry.”

Trevor began working at Vectorply in 1996, following his service in the United States Army. He started as the Southeastern territory sales manager, working his way up to the vice president of operations, and eventually becoming the CEO and President of the company. Humphrey joined the ACMA board in 2022.

Vectorply onboards David Tierney for the West Region Sales Manager Position

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Vectorply Corporation recently hired veteran sales manager David Tierney for the role of West Region Sales Manager. In his new position, Tierney will manage our western territory, comprised of Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Western Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta, Canada.

Tierney has an extensive work history in sales and is already very familiar with our products and their uses. He was previously the National Sales Manager with Composites West for two years. Before that, David was a distribution sales representative in the Southwest for North American Composites for 25 years. His knowledge of the industry spans decades and he is already an established partner with the team.

Vectorply National Sales Manager Seth Holman is excited to have Tierney join the sales team given his expertise with composites and his long track record working within sales for the western region.

“We are very excited to have David on our team. He is a long-time partner to Vectorply who is already very familiar with our line of products and the entire composite production process,” Holman says. “His wealth of composites knowledge will prove to be an invaluable asset for our customers who are always pushing to create the most advanced products in the industry.”

Future Composites Solutions Discussed at Army Corps Dam Site Visit

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On February 22, Vectorply Vice President of Engineering Trevor Gundberg joined many other ACMA members on a visit to the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam site to learn more about United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lock and Dam Gate Structures. With more than 70% of the inland waterway systems’ steel gates in the United States nearing their design life, many of these structures will need to be replaced in a timely, cost-effective manner. The Corps of Engineers’ goal throughout the replacement process is to create a solution that will last twice as long as previous water way system gates, require minimal upkeep, and can withstand the elements.  

Pictured is the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam site in Olga, Florida. This dam was built in 1965 on the Caloosahatchee River.

Trevor met with many experts in the field and discussed how composites could safely and effectively solve this problem. Although the process will be a massive undertaking, composites will provide safer, more effective infrastructures that will last for upwards of a century. The next step for the team is to draw up the certification requirements for composites to be the solution to these aging waterways. 

 When speaking of his experience, Trevor states, “It was very interesting and inspiring both to see in person the applications that could be improved by using composites and to discuss these applications with the Army Corps of Engineers representatives. As a group, we all recognized areas where composites can and will increase service life and reduce lifetime maintenance costs.” 

Thanks again to the ACMA for inviting us to experience the exciting changes that are in the works for various infrastructures throughout the United States.