This week, John Melilli of Composite Automation LLC joins me on our last podcast episode of 2023. John has over 30 years of experience in the application of mechanical, electrical & industrial automation components and systems for manufacturing. He's been working with composite part manufacturers since 2004.
Composite Automation is the only manufacturer’s representative firm in North America that focuses on providing innovative composites manufacturing solutions to companies manufacturing various types of composite structures.
On this episode, we'll be discussing Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) technology by Cevotec. This system enables manufacturers to build complex fiber composites in high volume. This process has the potential to revolutionize the production of complex lightweight parts in several industries.
You can learn more about Composite Automation by visiting https://www.compositeautomation.com.
This week Stephen Nolet, senior director, innovation & technology for TPI joins me on the podcast. TPI was founded in 1968 and since 2001, has manufactured over 90,000 wind blades.
They are a global company focused on innovative and sustainable solutions to decarbonize and electrify the world. They accounted for approximately 38% of all onshore wind blades on a megawatt basis globally, excluding China, in 2022.
TPI is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and they've expanded their global footprint to include domestic facilities in Newton, Iowa; Warren, Rhode Island; and Santa Teresa, New Mexico and international facilities in Kolding, Denmark; Chennai, India; Juarez, Mexico; Matamoros, Mexico; and Izmir, Turkey.
Their mission is to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to decarbonize and electrify the world by expanding the adoption of renewable energy.
On this episode, Steve will be sharing the background of TPI and the incredible opportunities ahead in the wind energy market. Wind energy is expected to make up over 30% of electricity generation in 2050 with close to 8,000 gigawatts installed. Compare this to approximately 830 gigawatts generated in 2021!
You can learn more about TPI by visiting https://tpicomposites.com.
Manufacturers in every sector are incorporating promising new processes and materials into product development and production—which often involve coating, sealing, and bonding.
Because these molecular interactions are invisible, a host of unseen environmental conditions can compromise surface integrity during production, leading to costly flaws and breakdowns.
On this episode, Lucas Dillingham of Brighton Science joins the podcast to highlight their company’s technology – a system that allows manufacturers to confidently assess surface readiness for bonding, coating, or sealing at the point of preparation.
More than 20 years ago, Brighton Science began as a development lab for plasma polymerized coatings.
Through research and development work led by their Chief Scientist and founder Dr. Giles Dillingham, Brighton Science made great strides in the field of material science and adhesives in manufacturing.
It was during this time that Brighton Science developed the Surface Analyst, the first hand-held contact angle measurement device used in the development of adhesive bonding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
You can learn more about their technology by visiting https://www.brighton-science.com.
On this episode, Lorenzo Mencattelli of Helicoid Industries joins me to discuss how their company is gaining international recognition as a groundbreaking innovation in the composites market.
Their biomimetic composite technology enhances impact toughness, reduces weight, provides superior structural integrity, safety, reduces raw-material costs, and improves energy efficiency compared to conventional composite laminates.
They're collaborating with world-leading composites parts manufacturers and composites material suppliers to develop innovations in the sporting goods, consumer products, impact protective equipment, ballistic armors, automotive components, wind turbine blades, naval, oil & gas, and aerospace market segments.
You can learn more about their technology by visiting www.helicoidind.com.
On this episode, Russell Covarrubia of Covarrubia Energy joins me to discuss how they are using pyrolysis technology to meet the demands of energy transition and electrification globally. Their goal is to produce reliable, renewable utility-scale power plants that deliver both on energy and financial output.
This is part 3 of our interviews from CAMX 2023 in Atlanta last week.
This episode features interviews with Daniel Neumann, Andrew Pokelwaldt and Peter Hedger of the ACMA, as well as companies like Toray Advanced Composites and CEAD.
This is part 2 of our interviews from CAMX 2023 in Atlanta last week.
This episode features interviews with companies like Vibrantz Technologies, Fives, Crimson Racing, and ACS International.
On this episode, we share some interviews from CAMX 2023 in Atlanta last week. It was a great show and we had the opportunity to speak with several companies during the event.
We'll be making these "CAMX interviews" a three part segment.
For part one, we feature interviews with Paua, a UK-based material technology company, and CAMX award finalist. This episode also includes interviews with John Kehoe of Boaz Partners, Adam Harms, the founder of Modulus, and John Thoma of Gefran.
This week Ryan Oner of AKPA Chemicals joins me to share some of the latest news from their company. AKPA Chemicals specializes in the production of organic peroxides & initiators.
They'll be featuring at CAMX in Atlanta next week and will be located at booth T44.
You can visit their website at https://akpachemicalus.com.
This week Madeline Wehrle joins me on the show. She is the business development manager at Re:Build, a company that develops and manufactures technologically advanced products from concept through production at scale here in the United States using a "Brain to Box™" process.
Re:Build offers customers a new model of American industrialization. They've developed a combination of manufacturing operations and engineering capabilities that enable their customers to grow a local, robust, competitive business.
Projects begin with concept development and product engineering. Then they work closely with customers to develop a highly flexible manufacturing process and solution or, as they like to say, go from Brain to Box™.
We'll be discussing their process and some of the industries they're involve with.
You can learn more by visiting https://rebuildmanufacturing.com.
On this episode, John H Moore of JHM Technologies joins me on the podcast. For over 30 years JHM Technologies, Inc. has provided closed molders worldwide with proven closed molding solutions. Known globally by their passion for the industry and assisting molders to achieve their closed molding goals. JHM Technologies' innovative approach provides molders with custom turn-key packages that are precisely tuned to meet their production needs.
John is the president of the company and he'll be discussing some new technology they've developed to assist open molders. This technology retrofits on to existing spray systems and helps resin & gel coat operators maintain proper catalyst levels during temperature changes inside the plant.
On this episode, Cindy Squires and Rebekah Stacha join me to highlight CAMX 2023 taking place down in Atlanta at the end of October. CAMX is the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America.
It offers a robust education program with a massive exhibit hall showcasing hundreds of manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers. You can register today by visiting https://www.thecamx.org.
You can check out a list of ACE and CAMX award finalists at: https://camx23.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/#/searchtype/sessionkeyword/search/Award%20Entries/show/all.
On this episode, Dan Neumann joins me to discuss how a government shutdown will affect our industry for the short term. Dan is the
provide a unique setting to meet with Members of Congress and agency leadership to educate them on the valuable capabilities of composites and further open markets.
You can learn more by visiting https://acma-org.my.site.com/flyin2024.
This week, Colin Mackinnon of PPSS Group joins me on the podcast. Colin is a specialist consultant in PPE options, workplace violence and staff security.
PPSS Group is an internationally recognized firm specializing in the development and supply of high-performance personal protective equipment, clothing, and workwear, offering protection from edged weapons, blades, hypodermic needles, blunt force trauma, and bites.
Their stab vests body armor is made from an ultra high-performance carbon fiber composite, offering fully certified, operationally sound, and thoroughly field-tested levels of protection from edged weapons.
You can learn more about them, by visiting their website at www.ppss-group.com.
On this episode, ACMA consultant Andrew Pokelwald joins me to discuss how the composites industry is meeting infrastructure challenges. In construction projects, many are seeing the cost-saving advantages of building with highly durable and innovative composite materials.
Composites offer the advantages of corrosion resistance and durability, leading to longer service life for structures.
We'll be looking at some of the biggest opportunities in infrastructure and how composite manufacturers are meeting those challenges.
This week David Morgan, the chief strategy officer at Carbon Rivers joins me to discuss their upcycle programs in the wind energy, automotive, marine, construction, and glass fiber markets.
Based in Knoxville, TN Carbon Rivers is the only company in the world that can upcycle glass fiber and provide clean, mechanically intact glass and composite intermediates for various OEMs. They are also the only company in the world that supplies and deploys pristine graphene nanoplatelet flakes for a variety of global industries.
This technology company is dedicated to sustainable, green circular economies.
Instead of incineration, landfill, or aggregate in other materials, Carbon Rivers reclaims glass fiber from a variety of production and end of life waste streams in order to provide clean, high-quality glass fiber.
You can learn more about their technologies by visiting them at www.carbonrivers.com.
On this episode Dr. Rigoberto Advincula joins me on the podcast to discuss some of their work research on using image-driven machine learning (ML) to optimize the thermo-mechanical properties of 3D Printed Composites.
Dr. Advincula is a Governor's Chair Professor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee. He is the Group Leader of the Macromolecular Nanomaterials Group at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences(CNMS), ORNL. He was a Full Professor (now Adjunct) at Case Western Reserve University.
You can read more by visiting https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359836823004614?dgcid=coauthor.
On this episode, Wagner Paglia of BlueWind Technology joins me to discuss their company and one of the recent milestones they achieved - manufacturing 1,500 nacelle covers in 40 months with just one set of molds.
Based in Pensacola, FL, BlueWind is a fast-growing company that specializes in manufacturing composite materials for applications with high technical requirements, such as those present in wind power generation, agricultural and petrochemical industries.
The 1,500 nacelle covers produced by BlueWind were part of a contract signed in late 2019 with GE Renewable Energy.
Made of composites through the infusion process, nacelle covers house such critical wind system components as the wind turbine generator, gear box, brake, and controller.
You can learn more about their company by visiting https://bluewindtechnology.com.
On this episode, Zach Sinz of Stoner Molding Solutions joins me. Known for superior performance and consistent quality, Stoner has been helping manufacturers mold more parts in less time since 1942. Every Stoner formulation is designed to optimize your production process and significantly improve your bottom line.
Stoner’s brand portfolio offers solutions for any molding process. If you can mold it, they can release it. They manufacture molding solutions for the thermoplastics, polyurethanes, composites, rotational, rubber, fiber, and investment casting industries.
You can learn more by visiting www.stonermolding.com.
On this episode, I share an interview with Nick Santhanam, author of the best-selling book, The Titanium Economy. While silicon valley tech companies tend to dominate today's news headlines, many of the fastest-growing, most profitable companies in the United States are firms you’ve likely never heard of.
These booming companies belong to a burgeoning sector—industrial tech. This sector offers surprising hope to workers, consumers, and investors alike. You'll hear Nick explain why the future of America's industrial economy is bright.
On this episode, I welcome Kyle Jordan to the show. Kyle is the new director of certifications with the ACMA. Their CCT program supports professional development and facilitates uniform training and technical skills. It’s the only certification program of its kind in the industry.
This program is completed online and provides enrollees with all the resources needed to succeed in becoming a Certified Composites Technician.
You can learn more by visiting acmanet.org and going to “education hub”.
If you have questions about CCT training you can email Kyle at kjordan@acmanet.org.
On this episode, Alvin Ericson joins me to discuss GFRP rebar technology and the growing advantage in the infrastructure market.
With a long and costly history of corrosion worldwide, steel is no longer viewed as a cost-effective option in aggressive environments. Many governments and businesses can no longer afford the short or long-term costs associated with black steel. Placing unprotected, rusty re-bar in new concrete structures is being eliminated in many parts of the world.
Alvin is an independent technical consultant in North America specializing in fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) and fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) systems. Since 1988, he's been introducing new reinforcing technology to the precast concrete market.
We'll be discussing some of the latest GFRP technology, that includes the GBar, GWall, and GBolt. You can learn more by visiting https://www.gbar-gbolt.com.
This week Peter Hedger, of Composite Applications Group joins me as co-host as we welcome Martin Mclaughlin to discuss the Implosion of OceanGate’s Titan and Aerospace Certification Methods.
There has been a lot of speculation that the submersible implosion was due to the composite cylinder fatigue after repeated dives. On this episode, we'll be discussing the best practices for the design, development, and certification of a modern composite shell for deep-sea applications.
Martin has 22 years of experience in tactical aircraft and B-2 development; 17 years of space transportation systems development, with experience in advanced composite structures and composite cryogenic propellant tanks.
He's the founder of McLaughlin Aerospace LLC and has been involved in accident investigations during his career.
On this episode, Nick Ciparro joins me on the podcast.
Nick is the Chief R&D scientist at Carbon Rivers, a company that develops and commercializes technologies such as:
Nick has s super interesting story to share of how he got into the world of advanced materials and composites.
On this episode, we feature an interview with Joannie Harmon at IACMI's annual member meeting discussing workforce education.
IACMI has made workforce education and development a pillar of its mission, along with composites R&D and commercialization.
You can learn more by visiting https://iacmi.org/workforce.