HEATCON Composite Systems, a provider of repair equipment, repair material sales and technical services for the composite repair industry, has strengthened its relationship with Hexcel, a supplier of advanced composites, by signing another agreement for the supply of specialized materials.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Hexcel will supply materials to HEATCON for use in custom composite repairs. HEATCON uses the materials mainly to offer customized cuts for manufacturing and repairing composite structures, which helps to decrease costs for manufacturers by preventing wastage of a large quantity of material.
In the past, businesses had to buy bulk amount of composite repair materials, including prepreg materials, primers and film adhesives. These materials need to be kept in expensive freezers for proper storage, as many companies order more than the usual requirement. Eric Casterline, President of HEATCON, remarked that the company delivers small quantity orders therefore companies need not purchase the material in bulk or store them in expensive freezers.
HEATCON provides bagging film, peel ply, carbon, fiberglass and other materials to aerospace companies and military. Composite materials are utilized largely to manufacture and repair new wind turbine blades, helicopter rotor blades and Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft. HEATCON saves money of aerospace firms by enabling businesses to purchase nearly 10 yards or single rolls of material, rather than several hundred yards. At present, HEATCON provides approximately 100 custom orders per month and the company expects an increase in orders in the future.