CTS Inc. bringing new composite product lines
September 15, 2009 Filed in: Aerospace
technology
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
KETTERING, Ohio – Resins made from cashew nut shells instead of petroleum, fire-resistant additives made from nanoparticles instead of heavy metals, and lightweight, composite gas cylinders are three product lines Composite Technical Services Inc. hopes to introduce to U.S. markets in the coming months, company executives say.
CTS
incorporated as an Ohio company in May and opened s
small office in the National Composite Center
this
summer in order to find U.S. markets for Italian
materials and manufacturing technologies. The
company held an open house today to welcome
members of the business community and local public
officials.
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said the community is grateful CTS chose to locate in the Dayton region. “We’re thankful. We know you had many options. We are going to partner with you to help you build your company,” he said.
Foley said CTS will find itself in a rich environment with other composites manufacturers, technology-transfer organizations such as NCC, and research resources such as the Air Force Research Laboratory and local universities.
Enrico Ferri, chief executive officer of CTS, said the company is looking locally for a site to manufacture a line of products based on a new industrial polymer it calls ExaPhen. ExaPhen is a phenolic resin derived from cardanol, which comes from cashew nutshells, and is a byproduct of cashew nut processing. The company is setting up a cardanol production plant in Brazil, where cashew nut production has been growing, he said.
In a separate interview, Ferri said some CTS products may find application in the aerospace industry, especially because of their inherent flame and smoke retardant characteristics. But he said the products are likely to find uses elsewhere first because of the aviation industry’s strict standards and costly certification procedures.
ExaPhen’s fire retardant qualities makes it a potential additive to a wide variety of foams and other materials where fire safety is an issue, from bed mattresses to armor panels, according to Elena Benedetti, technical director of CTS’ Materials Division.
Nanofire is a line of non-toxic additives that adds flame-retardant and smoke-suppressant characteristics to high-performance polymers such as PVC electrical cable. The nanoparticle-based additive uses a dispersion technology that makes it easier to mix, Benedetti said. Nanofire can partially or completely replace other additives that use heavy metals, she said.
CTS promotes its products as “green,” based on sustainable technology, but Benedetti said that alone won’t make a product competitive. “We understand you will not sell something just because it’s green. We go for performance,” she said.
A third product line is filament-wound gas cylinders. The cylinders were developed for storage of compressed natural gas, a potential automotive fuel. “We think there will be a very high demand for these cylinders,” Ferri said. CTS is already eyeing other applications, including rocket fuel storage. The cylinders have been used to store nitrous oxide in rocket-powered unmanned aerial vehicle tests, he said.
Ferri said CTS was established to find commercial markets for technologies developed in Italy by CimtecLab, Sepma and VEM. CimtecLab is a research and development company that has collaborated with Sepma, a gas cylinder manufacturer, and VEM, which manufactures continuous filament winding machines.
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said the community is grateful CTS chose to locate in the Dayton region. “We’re thankful. We know you had many options. We are going to partner with you to help you build your company,” he said.
Foley said CTS will find itself in a rich environment with other composites manufacturers, technology-transfer organizations such as NCC, and research resources such as the Air Force Research Laboratory and local universities.
Enrico Ferri, chief executive officer of CTS, said the company is looking locally for a site to manufacture a line of products based on a new industrial polymer it calls ExaPhen. ExaPhen is a phenolic resin derived from cardanol, which comes from cashew nutshells, and is a byproduct of cashew nut processing. The company is setting up a cardanol production plant in Brazil, where cashew nut production has been growing, he said.
In a separate interview, Ferri said some CTS products may find application in the aerospace industry, especially because of their inherent flame and smoke retardant characteristics. But he said the products are likely to find uses elsewhere first because of the aviation industry’s strict standards and costly certification procedures.
ExaPhen’s fire retardant qualities makes it a potential additive to a wide variety of foams and other materials where fire safety is an issue, from bed mattresses to armor panels, according to Elena Benedetti, technical director of CTS’ Materials Division.
Nanofire is a line of non-toxic additives that adds flame-retardant and smoke-suppressant characteristics to high-performance polymers such as PVC electrical cable. The nanoparticle-based additive uses a dispersion technology that makes it easier to mix, Benedetti said. Nanofire can partially or completely replace other additives that use heavy metals, she said.
CTS promotes its products as “green,” based on sustainable technology, but Benedetti said that alone won’t make a product competitive. “We understand you will not sell something just because it’s green. We go for performance,” she said.
A third product line is filament-wound gas cylinders. The cylinders were developed for storage of compressed natural gas, a potential automotive fuel. “We think there will be a very high demand for these cylinders,” Ferri said. CTS is already eyeing other applications, including rocket fuel storage. The cylinders have been used to store nitrous oxide in rocket-powered unmanned aerial vehicle tests, he said.
Ferri said CTS was established to find commercial markets for technologies developed in Italy by CimtecLab, Sepma and VEM. CimtecLab is a research and development company that has collaborated with Sepma, a gas cylinder manufacturer, and VEM, which manufactures continuous filament winding machines.
