Solvay Invests in Thermoplastic Composites

Solvay Specialty Polymers, Alpharetta, Ga., announced at the K 2013 show in Dusseldorf that it has reached an agreement to acquire a financial interest in Canadian-based Aonix Advanced Materials, Ottawa, Ont. The partners aim to accelerate development and commercialization of mass-produced thermoplastic composites using Solvay’s range of high-performance thermoplastics as a matrix and as overmolding polymers. Target markets include mobile electronics, automotive, oil and gas, and sporting goods. The agreement won’t affect joint projects with other companies involving Solvay’s KetaSpire PEEK.

Aonix offers a range of proprietary thermoplastic composite prepregs and customized equipment for high-volume, low-cost, automated manufacturing of composite parts. Its turnkey solutions are said to eliminate the labor-intensive processes of traditional composites manufacturing. Says Armin Klesing, Solvay’s business development manager for aerospace and composites, “We expect our partnership to capitalize on the integrated value chain from material formulation to component manufacturing. Work on commercial applications is under way in a range of end-use markets.”