Moving on Relocations and expansions

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MOVINGON

Relocations and expansions across Europe

Hexcel invests in new R&T facility

Hexcel has established a new £6 million R&T facility and additional investments for capacity expansions at the site. These investments will add up to 100 jobs to the Duxford, UK, workforce by 2017.

Duxford is Hexcel’s largest centre for research into resin systems and adhesives. Hexcel’s innovations in polymer chemistry and material science, together with advanced fibres from Hexcel operations in the United States, were instrumental in Hexcel being awarded its largest ever contract by Airbus to supply all of the carbon fibre prepregs for the A350 XWB primary structures. The site is also Hexcel’s centre of excellence for process technology including product scale-up and research into new process methods for making composite materials, including quality control methods.

Hexcel decided to create a new dedicated facility to house all chemistry functions, to further expand R&D expertise and continue the development of leading edge technologies that will enable composite materials to penetrate further in aerospace structures and in selected industrial applications for energy, automotive and other industrial markets. Construction of the Innovation Centre is scheduled for completion in 2016. Visit: www.hexcel.com

New subsidiary for SCHOTTEL

SCHOTTEL has founded a new subsidiary: SCHOTTEL HYDRO GmbH. The new company will incorporate the hydrokinetic energy business of SCHOTTEL and comprises activities in three segments: hydrokinetic turbines, semi-submerged platforms, and components, such as turbine hubs and drives. SCHOTTEL HYDRO is located in Spay, Germany, while SCHOTTEL sales and service locations ensure customer proximity worldwide.

“For a few years we have been working on the development of highly efficient, reliable and cost-effective solutions for gaining instream energy,“ explains Prof. Dr Gerhard Jensen, CEO of SCHOTTEL. “SCHOTTEL HYDRO allows us to dedicate even more to hydrokinetic energy solutions. By now we are involved in projects around the world and aim at a full penetration of the emerging hydrokinetic energy market with our solutions and products.“

SCHOTTEL hydrokinetic turbines are lightweight, yet robust in-stream generators, with a rotor diameter between three and five metres. Visit: www.schottel.de

Works starts on flagship Morgan facility in the Middle East

Work has started on Morgan Advanced Materials’ first dedicated facility in the Middle East, located in Kizad, Abu Dhabi – a major trade and logistics zone. The factory will focus initially on the production of hightemperature fibre products for use in sectors including oil & gas, aluminium, steel, energy, petrochemicals and fire protection, with expansion into other product areas planned for the future. Through an initial 30-year agreement, Morgan has committed to an initial investment of AED 50 million (around £8.25 million) in a facility of more than 400,000 sq ft (37,000m2) at Kizad.

Morgan has had a presence in the region since 2001 when it established a sales office in the UAE to service customers in the Middle East and North Africa. The decision to create a dedicated local facility follows significant growth in demand for its products, especially in the areas of thermal insulation, energy saving, acoustic barriers and fire protection, many of which are produced to meet very high specifications and are designed for use in extreme environments. Visit: www.morganthermalceramics.com

DSM opens international research centre

Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has opened its new centre for research into and development of high-performance materials on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands. The completion of DSM’s largest materials centre worldwide is part of the €100 million investment in knowledge and innovation in the Netherlands that DSM announced in May 2012. The centre employs over 400 knowledge workers and combines important technological skills and expertise unique in the Netherlands for use in applications the world over.

The materials centre is an important base for DSM’s Materials Sciences research and marketing activities. Furthermore, it will be the most important research centre worldwide for DSM Engineering Plastics. Historically, Sittard-Geleen has been the main centre of DSM’s high-performance materials research. In addition, being located on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus offers opportunities for open innovation owing to the proximity of other start-up and established companies as well as research and education institutes. Visit: www.dsm.com

CybAero invests in advanced test facility

First North-listed CybAero, which develops and markets unmanned helicopters, has decided to build a test centre which will contain the industry’s most sophisticated equipment. The centre is scheduled to be ready for occupancy by April 2015.

“Our testing represents a large and important part of our commitment to offer customised solutions. Our goal is to become the leading supplier in the market based on customer satisfaction,” says Mikael Hult, CybAero’s CEO.

The test centre will occupy an area of 300 square metres and will be located only minutes away from CybAero’s head office in the Mjärdevi Science Park in Linköping, Sweden.

“At the test centre, we will be able to test components, customer-specific solutions and, together with clients, perform complete factory tests, including functionality and performance prior to delivery,” Mikael Hult explains. Visit: www.cybaero.se