Vectorply Corporation exhibiting at CAMX and IBEX next month

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PHENIX CITY, Ala. – In September, Vectorply Corporation will be exhibiting at the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) and the International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX).

The CAMX 2017 show will take place September 11-14, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The goal of CAMX is to “connect and advance all aspects of the world’s composites and advanced materials communities,” according to the show’s official website. Vectorply will be located in booth F22, and visitors are encouraged to stop and visit with our sales and engineering teams.

The IBEX Show will take place the following week, September 19-21, 2017 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL. This will be the second consecutive year that IBEX takes place in Tampa, and the 2018 show will also be in Tampa. This year, Vectorply Corporation will be located in booth 1150.

As the leader in the marine market for composite reinforcements, Vectorply has built a legacy of making boats stronger, lighter, and faster. At IBEX, several marine-focused materials such as Aramid/Carbon/E-glass hybrids and reinforcements with added print-block capabilities will be on display at Vectorply’s booth. Vectorply’s proprietary laminate analysis software, VectorLam Cirrus 2.0, will also be demonstrated for users who are interested in building their own laminates to achieve specific goals of stiffness, strength, weight and cost.

At both shows, visitors will be able to learn more about Vectorply’s recent addition of the 53,000 sq. ft. (5,000 sq.m.) Donald L. Massey Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center (ACRC). The ACRC features 38,000 sq. ft. (3,500 sq. m.) of manufacturing space dedicated to producing the company’s VectorUltra™ line of carbon multiaxial reinforcements as well as a 6,000 sq. ft. (557 sq. m.) fully-equipped composite materials lab for Vectorply’s Technical Services and Engineering Team.

Vectorply Corporation commissions Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center with Grand Opening Ceremony

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Phenix City, AL – Vectorply Corporation, a Phenix City, Ala.-based manufacturer of high performance composite non-crimp fabrics (NCF), officially opened the doors of their new Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center with a Grand Opening Ceremony in front of friends, customers, and suppliers on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.

The new 53,000 sq. ft. (5,000 sq.m.) facility features 38,000 sq. ft. (3,500 sq. m.) of manufacturing space dedicated to producing the company’s VectorUltra™ line of advanced multiaxial reinforcements. In addition, the new facility boasts 6,000 sq. ft. (557 sq. m.) for Vectorply’s Technical Services and Engineering Team, including a fully-equipped composite materials lab. The expansion also includes a two story, 9,000 sq. ft. (836 Sq. m.) office for the sales and service staff.

Currently, Vectorply produces 19 standard carbon products ranging from a 3-oz. (100 gsm.) biaxial fabric to a 94-oz. (3,193 gsm.) mirror-image quadraxial tooling fabric.

Vectorply’s Liba Max 5 carbon machine pictured in the new Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center.

Vectorply’s new composite materials lab was built with a goal of fabricating and mechanically testing composite laminates for both customer project support and internal/external R&D efforts. The new lab provides the capability to fabricate laminates via hand lamination, vacuum infusion, wet bagging, LRTM, or oven cured prepreg, with all relevant processing parameters tracked and recorded. The finished panels are then precisely machined for testing to determine tensile, compressive, flexural, in-plane shear, or interlaminar shear properties on their new United SFM “SMART 1” Floor Model 100kN test frame.

With the addition of the Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center, Vectorply is further establishing themselves as a premier supplier of high-performance carbon fabrics for demanding applications where weight savings and performance are key. Targeted market segments include aerospace, defense, and transportation along with infrastructure, marine, and sports and recreation.

The new Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center was named in honor of Vectorply’s founder and CEO, Don Massey. The pictured plaque on the front of the facility commemorates the dedication.

Along with the additional manufacturing capabilities, Vectorply is also committed to growing an already highly-skilled team of employees. Recent additions of Customer Service Team Leader Mandy Pierce, Process Improvement Manager Paul Shiver, and Composite Materials Test Engineer Leigh Nolen have brought a wealth of specified experience to the team. Vectorply will also welcome Quality Assurance Manager Jay Woodrow to the team in July to continue the mission of only providing the highest quality fabrics with unparalleled consistency to customers.

Vectorply’s new addition proudly reflects the name of founder and CEO Don Massey, who started the company in 1992 as Tech Textiles, USA. In May, Massey was presented with a bronze plaque that was placed on the front of the building naming the facility the ‘Donald L. Massey Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center’, which included one of his core business principles for success, “A company’s reputation is its only sustainable competitive advantage. We will constantly strive to preserve our reputation of excellence”.

For more information on Vectorply, please visit our website, vectorply.com, or call our team at 334-291-7704 or 1-800-577-4521.

United States Senator Richard Shelby visits Vectorply

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Phenix City, Ala. – On Saturday, March 25th, United States Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama visited Vectorply Corporation as part of his tour of Alabama businesses. Senator Shelby discussed several topics with members of Vectorply’s management team including the use of composites in the infrastructure, pipe, and defense markets.

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VectorLam Cirrus 2.0 updates released

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VectorLam Cirrus 2.0 is a laminate analysis and design tool created by high performance composite reinforcement manufacturer Vectorply Corporation (Phenix City, Ala.). With the most recent software update, VectorLam has added vital alert massages along with new features to improve the user experience. Below are some of the new features:

  • Materials can now be deleted.
  • When a user deletes a report, a confirmation/warning message will appear.
  • Previously, a confirmation message appeared when a ply in a laminate was deleted. This was removed to speed up the process of modifying laminates.
  • Throughout the Beam, DNV, ISO, Plate, etc. reports, warning messages have been added. These warn users about required values and if values are entered that are outside of the applicability of DNV and ISO.
  • A user can now save a partially completed beam or plate within DNV, ISO Plate, etc. and return to it later. In the past, the beam or plate had to be fully completed before it could be saved.

VectorLam Cirrus 2.0 is a free program for anyone interested in designing and analyzing laminates. To register, visit www.vectorply.com and follow the link under our technical services tab.

Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center on track to open this spring

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PHENIX CITY, Ala. – Vectorply Corporation’s Advanced Composite Reinforcement Center (ACRC) and corporate offices are scheduled to open this spring. The gallery below highlights the latest pictures of the construction progress. Follow us for more updates on the construction of our new facility and grand opening information.

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Vectorply to highlight VectorUltra products at CAMX, IBEX

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PHENIX CITY, Ala. – Vectorply Corporation will showcase its full VectorUltra™ line of carbon multiaxial fabrics September 26-29 in Anaheim, CA at the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) 2016.

Vectorply’s standard VectorUltra products are offered in unidirectional, biaxial, double-bias, triaxial, quadraxial, and multilayered architectures ranging from 3 oz./yd.² (100 gsm) to 94 oz./yd.² (3,193 gsm). These products are always in stock and readily available for customers. Visitors to Vectorply’s booth will be able to view and discuss our full line of VectorUltra materials with our sales and engineering teams.

The VectorUltra line of advanced reinforcements provides a wide range of unique products that allow users to accomplish their specific goals. Vectorply’s balanced and symmetric C-4QX 9400 fabric, for example, is an excellent fit for tooling, panel, and thick section advanced composite applications. A toughened line of products with added Micromesh veils help to reduce delamination/damage zone size and retain structural integrity in the event of an impact.

Vectorply Corporation Director of Composites Engineering, Trevor Gundberg, P.E., will also participate in an aerospace textiles panel organized by SAMPE’s Ted Lynch. Gundberg will discuss the advantages of non-crimp fabrics in the aerospace market during the panel, which will be followed by a Q&A session for the audience. The panel will take place Thursday, September 29 from 8 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. in a meeting room yet to be determined.

Visit Vectorply’s booth at space J48 to learn how our wide range of composite reinforcements can make your product lighter and stronger while also reducing processing time and labor costs!

Vectorply will also be exhibiting at the International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) in Tampa, FL on October 4-6 in booth 1051.

We look forward to seeing you at CAMX and IBEX this year!

Composites One visits Vectorply for BOI meeting

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On August 2-3, Vectorply hosted distributor Composites One for a Business Optimization Initiative (BOI) meeting. The two-day meeting covered a wide range of topics focused on improving efficiency as we strive to always keep our collective customers happy!

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Construction begins on Vectorply’s Advanced Composites Facility

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PHENIX CITY, Ala. – Vectorply Corporation announced in February at the company’s National Sales Meeting that the addition of a new Advanced Composites Facility would begin during the spring. With the site preparation completed, foundation construction began this week as the first concrete footings were poured. Check back at www.vectorply.com for more news and updates about this exciting addition!

 

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Successful composite products begin with Vectorply’s R2O

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Phenix City, Ala. – In an industry as competitive as composites fabrication, any edge that manufacturers can gain has the potential to pay huge dividends. As numerous customers have already discovered, Vectorply’s powerful tool known as the Road to Optimization (R2O) can identify key areas for improvement in the production process leading to higher quality products, increased efficiency, and a competitive edge in the market.

The Road to Optimization begins with an on-site technical meeting and audit by members of Vectorply’s engineering and sales teams. From the first time the material is handled at the customer’s facility, our team will have eyes on the process until the final product is complete.

With the meeting and audit complete, the Road to Optimization moves into the laminate analysis and design stage utilizing Vectorply’s proprietary software, VectorLam Cirrus 2.0. VectorLam is a free internet-based program (accessible at www.vectorply.com) that allows the engineering team and customer to determine the correct laminate schedule for the specific application. The selected materials are then tested, finalized, and the reinforcements are built to order.

The Road to Optimization was designed to help customers optimize their production process with the ideal materials and procedures. To find out more about Vectorply’s R2O and the difference it can make in your production process, call us today at 334-291-7704.

Vectorply composites strengthen Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge

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Destrehan, LA – Spanning the Mississippi River to connect Destrehan on the east bank to Luling on the west bank, the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge (also known as the Luling Bridge) is one of the Luling Bridge Picstate of Louisiana’s most crucial pieces of infrastructure.  With the bridge in need of surface repairs, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development turned to Engineering Consultant Malcolm Huval of Huval and Associates to find a solution that provided the most longevity.
The Luling Bridge is a 10,699-foot-long suspension bridge that presented Huval and Associates with the difficult task of developing a flexible composite structure that would adhere to the steel plate on the bridge as well as the concrete that would be poured for the roadway.  For this tall task, Huval developed a composite system utilizing Vectorply’s Kevlar/E-glass hybrid material and a highly adhesive and flexible epoxy resin.

“Bridges constantly move, especially suspension bridges, so a typical concrete and steel reinforced surface does not do well by itself and will eventually end up cracking,” explained Vectorply’s South/Central Region Sales Manager Doug Lachapelle. “The combination of specialized composite materials and resins make concrete surfaces on suspension bridges possible.”

The Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge is the latest infrastructure project to show the value composites provide in revitalization and repair. To find out more about using composites in your infrastructure or construction application, call Vectorply at 334-291-7704 or visit our website www.vectorply.com.

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