Solvay and 3A Composites partner for specialty foam products

In a bid to help processors replace heavy plastics and metals in advanced transportation applications, materials supplier Solvay SA has partnered with composites maker 3A Composites to produce specialty foam materials.

The firms said they initially will build on Solvay’s Radel foam and so-called sandwich materials, used on Airbus A350 and Solar Impulse, and they later will expand that to products Solvay is developing. Target applications for transportation industries such as commercial aircraft or high-speed trains range from the cabin to ducting and trolleys and help to improve energy efficiency.

“Our alliance is a game-changer in making high-tech foams available on a large scale,” Armin Klesing, global business development manager, aerospace and composites at Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit, said in a statement. “Part makers will benefit from greater flexibility in their designs and from uniting strength and insulation performance at the highest level of fire resistance.”

3A Composites said additional foam extrusion capacity in the U.S. will come on stream 2016.

Brussels-based Solvay serves markets such as energy, environment, automotive, aerospace and electronics. It employs 26,000 in 52 countries and reported sales of US$10.8 billion in 2014.

3A Composites, a business area of Schweiter Technologies, employs about 2,500 at locations in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.