Biesterfeld Spezialchemie and Johns Manville conclude distribution agreement for thermoplastic composite sheets in Europe and Asia

Hamburg/Wertheim, 24. April 2023 – Biesterfeld Spezialchemie, one of the leading international distributors of specialty chemical products, pharma and food ingredients, and Johns Manville, a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products, are starting a new collaboration and agreed on distribution rights for Neomera® PA-6 thermoplastic composite sheets for Europe and Asia.

The portfolio comprises of Neomera® OS-6 containing woven fabrics (e.g  glass, carbon, or hybrid) and Neomera® NCF-6, a non-crimp fabric based on glass embedded in a thermoplastic matrix (polyamide-6). Especially industries with fast production cycles, such as the automotive industry, benefit from the unique characteristics of Neomera® PA-6 series, being high strength, high stiffness, and high impact resistance. The whole product range is manufactured in a unique one-step-process and is available in an area weight up to 2500 g/m². The in-situ polymerization of caprolactam leads to a complete impregnation of complex fabrics and a high molecular weight of PA-6.

“The thermoplastic composites industry has recently seen a strong growth. With this new collaboration we can further expand the market for these high-quality products in Europe and Asia. Johns Manville’s new Neomera® portfolio is a perfect fit to our existing range of products and solutions for the advanced composites market. Biesterfeld Spezialchemie represents the modern thermoplastic composites solutions towards a wide range of industries: from general industrial applications, to automotive, to aerospace and space applications,” says Stig Eines, Market Manager Performance Products, Biesterfeld Spezialchemie.

“We are looking forward to our partnership with Biesterfeld Spezialchemie, a partner with in-depth market knowledge and international distribution know-how,” says Stefan Mohr, Director for Johns Manville’s European business activities. “The properties of Neomera® thermoplastic composites are simply outstanding. We expect them to quickly find their way into many applications over the next few years. We are delighted to take this step together with Biesterfeld Spezialchemie.”

Source: Biesterfeld

Polyamide-6 Composite Sheets
Product description

Johns Manville, a leading producer of glass fibers, is developing innovative new technologies to produce composite materials. The recently developed Neomera™ NCF-6 is a non-chrimp fabric based on glass embedded in a thermoplastic matrix being polyamide-6. In particular industries with fast production cycles like automotive industry benefit from the unique characteristics of Neomera™ NCF-6.

The non-chrimp fabrics are available in a area weight up to 2500 g/m2 (UD, biaxial, triaxial, quadraxial) and are fully impregnated due to an unique one step process. The insitu polymerization of caprolactam is leading to a complete impregnation of complex fabrics, void-free composites and a high molecular weight of PA-6.

Woven fabrics are available as series Neomera™ OS-6 and IG-6. They are available in individual weave style as heavy as 2500 g/m2. Due to the full impregnation in one step, customers save time as there is no need for lamination/consolidation steps to build up thickness.

Chopped glass or carbon reinforced thermoplastic sheets are available as series Neomera™ CR-6. They provide an excellent formability, which is critical for producing parts with complex 3D-shapes. OS-6-series provides a high strength-to-weight ratio and can be tailored for specific applications as fiber type (glass, carbon, aramid), fiber length (12 mm to 50 mm), fiber content (40 – 70 wt%) could be controlled.

The thermoplastic matrix of all series allows hot forming capability via compression overmolding or injection overmolding resulting in shorter cycle teams within one minute compared to conventional thermoset composites. The also called organo sheets can be further processed via injection overmoulding.

The composite sheets are characterized by high strength, stiffness, and formability and are ideal structural reinforcement solutions for lightweight parts.

Source Biesterfeld

Tradename(s)

Neomera™ NCF-6, Neomera™ OS-6 & IG-6, Neomera™ CR-6