James Cropper Celebrates National Composites Week 2023

This year’s theme is ‘Composites Are Now.’ True to this phrase, the industry is quickly evolving, always looking (and moving) forward. The capability to lightweight components and structures, provide optimal mechanical properties and enhanced longevity and a host of other benefits make the use of composites central to the challenges we currently face as a society – sustainability and reduced carbon emissions being a couple of prime examples.  

To celebrate NCW 2023 we were delighted to welcome our colleagues from the James Cropper Creative and Luxury Papers division to an Open Morning at our Advanced Materials site in Burneside, raising the awareness of critical role composites play in all of our lives and highlighting the multiple ways in which our Advanced Nonwovens enhance the performance of composite materials. Our guests were also invited to join a tour of our newest manufacturing line, which opened in 2021, followed by a Composites Q&A session with experts from our sales, operations and technology teams.

James Cropper’s advanced materials provide solutions for challenging applications in aerospace, defence, fuel cells, automotive, advanced air mobility and wind energy. We pride ourselves on the performance and quality of our nonwovens and specialise in developing & adapting them to meet the specific performance, process, and aesthetic requirements of our individual customers

As the composites industry moves forward, the focus on environmental sustainability remains at the forefront.  James Cropper’s Advanced Nonwovens support this shift and provide trusted solutions to multiple applications, including renewable energy, mobility, carbon capture and more, all of which support the Global drive to ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions, and ultimately enable a cleaner, greener future for generations to come.

Our nonwovens are used extensively in both primary and secondary aero-structures and as a result, are present on the majority of commercial aircraft in operation today. Our materials are accredited to Aerospace Standard: AS9100, giving our customers the reassurance, that high quality is paramount.  

Typical uses include acting as a carrier substrate for adhesives or fragile materials, providing a superior surface finish, imparting functionality such as EMI shielding and electrical conductivity, as well as enhancing fracture toughness or resin flow. 

As the industry strives for more environmentally friendly, sustainable choices and moves away from traditional materials to eliminate unnecessary weight and achieve better fuel efficiency, ultimately reducing harmful emissions and supporting the drive to net zero. Our specifically designed lightweight nonwovens, from just 2gsm, deliver composite performance, compatibility and meet aesthetic requirements; supporting and facilitating the drive for reduced emissions, without compromising on material strength or performance.  

Learn more about our nonwoven solutions for Aerospace here.

Composites offer many structural and weight advantages over traditional steel and injection moulded automotive parts. 

Beyond lightweighting, switching to composite battery enclosures can also enable a host of other benefits such as more complex geometries, better impact performance, corrosion resistance, faster assembly, greater durability and — with specific formulations — better flame resistance/fire containment.

One of the latest applications for our nonwovens within the automotive industry is in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).  Our lightweight veils facilitate the move from the use of metal to composite in battery enclosures, a move that is necessary to achieve the larger, protective structures required whilst still ensuring they are lightweight, in the drive to reduce emissions.  

Learn more about our nonwoven solutions for Automotive here.

The use of our nonwovens is well established in wind turbines, with applications ranging from the surface finish of blades to improving the interlaminar toughness and providing EMI shielding to nacelles.

The size of the wind turbines has increased significantly over the years, putting greater emphasis on minimising the weight of the structures whilst maintaining strength and maximising service time. 

Learn more about our nonwoven solutions for Wind Energy here.