and Feature Articles
Camille Cox
OnRamp Communications
805-497-6400
Camille@onrampcomm.com
News
Feature stories and substantial articles feature MFG entities:
Retrospective on the top American composite supercars and how they impacted the industry
With the help of supplier Owens Corning, MFG manufactured the fiberglass bodies for the first generation Corvette.
Automation is in the Wind
Industry demand is driving the need for wind blade automation, and Composites Manufacturing summarizes the trends that are in play. MFG's Carl LaFrance weighs in on what his company is actively doing to advance manufacturing process at the companies North American plants.
MFG's Pete Emrich Inducted to ACMA Hall of Fame
Peter Emrich, MFG’s VP of Technology was singled out for the prestigious Hall of Fame award for career contributions to the composites industry. Pete has been active in the ACMA as a member, a past recipient of ACMA’s President’s Award, and is the current co-chair of the Communications Committee.
WASHINGTON—Wind power is facing a make-or-break moment in Congress, with renewable-energy firms' projects on hold as lawmakers debate whether to extend subsidies for new wind farms this month.
Richard Morrison, chief executive of Ohio-based Molded Fiber Glass, which makes wind-turbine components, said orders for early 2013 are already behind. For now, Mr. Morrison's employees are busy as developers rush to meet the end-of-year deadline.
Composites have long been used in the construction industry for moulds, interior architecture and exterior cladding of buildings, but where are the other opportunities for composites?
Reinforced Plastics journalist
Kari Williamson investigate various where and how composites are being used in the construction industry around the world.
January 2012 Issue
For the past 24 years MFG has been manufacturing blades, nacelles, and spinners for the North American wind industry, specializing in composite structures for more than six decades in all.
Bayer MaterialScience Develops Polyurethane-Based Composite Systems for use in Large Windmill Blades
Bayer explain the results of the studies and development of the low-viscosity, long-gelling polyurethane systems are detailed in a technical paper: "Polyurethane Composites for Wind Turbine Blades," authored by Dr. Usama Younes, Principal Scientist with Bayer and Frank Bradish, a researcher with Molded Fibre Glass Research Company. Dr. Younes will present their findings during the annual SAMPE Tech 2011 conference and exhibition, taking place October 17th – 20th in Fort Worth, Texas.
Adelanto plant assembles key parts to large-scale wind farms
ADELANTO • Tucked away in the city's industrial park, in a 100,000-square-foot space about 2 miles west of Highway 395, workers clad in white protective suits and face masks work daily building essential components for large-scale wind farms.
World War I Memorial Restored
MFG Union City assisted the Union City Memorial Park in resotring its WW I "doughboy" statue. MFG manufactured a rifle bolt and bayonet to complete the statue's restoration in time for the 2011 memorial day ceromonies.
Blade repair: Closing the maintenance gap
Blade repair and maintenance explored.... Composite wind turbine blades are designed to last for 20 years in the field. But those who service them say that without proper maintenance and repair, their actual service life will fall short, and during that shorter life, overall turbine efficiency will diminish. In fact, every defect on the surface of a wind blade disrupts its aerodynamic efficiency and, as a result, reduces the turbine’s power production.
Fickle Turbine Winds
In the southwest Minnesota city of Pipestone, the last of 110 workers laid off from the Suzlon wind-turbine blade factory walk out the door this week, all but shuttering the plant.
Just 200 miles to the northwest, in Aberdeen, wind-turbine blade maker MFG South Dakota has a completely different problem: It needs up to 40 more workers and managers to boost its workforce to about 400.
Dakotas Keeping Good Business Climate
MFG South Dakota, Aberdeen SD - live on Fox Business Network discusses the boom in wind energy in wind country USA.
Despite the huge growth in American wind power, it provided only 1.8 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2009. In Texas, wind provided 6.2 percent of generation for the power grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which accounts
Dallas Star-Telegram reports on the state of wind energy in Texas. In Gainesville, Molded Fiberglass Cos. manufactures 131-foot, 13-ton blades that power turbines.
JEC Composites Show Paris 2010: Richard Morrison Guest of Honor
Richard Morrison is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Molded Fiber Glass
Companies. Privately owned and managed by the Morrison family, MFG has grown to include strategically focused facilities in 10 states and Mexico. The company continuously
invests in new facilities, programs, technology, and personnel to better serve the market.
Carbon Fiber Recycling
As the first commercial-scale carbon fiber recycling operations go online, research continues into both recycling alternatives and applications for recyclate. There is much ongoing research in the area of recycling carbon fiber, including looking for better ways to deal with contaminated carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) scrap, methods to improve the overall properties of reclaimed fibers,and approaches to improve the processability of reclaimed fibers. As explained in this article, MFG is involved at the cutting edge of this important work.
On the waterfront: Composite marine piles build on success
Composite sheet pile competes against heavy-gauge steel while composite round piles enhance their position in the market and target wider acceptance in structural applications.
Nano-enhanced SMCs improve performance, resolve paint issues
Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG, Ashtabula, Ohio) has developed Nano-fill SMC, a proprietary formulation with a nano-scale additive that significantly lowers its density, compared to conventional microsphere-filled SMC.
FRP Pile Jackets Restore New York Pier
THE RESTORATION of St George Fishing Pier in New York City is employing stay-in-place fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) pile jackets to rehabilitate the timber structure.
Radomes Revealed
The basic function of a radome is to form a barrier between an antenna and the environment with minimal impact on the antenna's electrical performance. Under ideal conditions a radome is electrically invisible. How well a radome accomplishes this depends on matching its configuration and materials composition to a particular application and RF frequency range.
Locomotive 'nosecones' bolster business at MFG
Molded Fiber Glass Companies is now manufacturing fiberglass "nosecones" for the front and back ends of locomotive engines, which will be used to haul freight to Europe. This is the most shapely part of the locomotive and is much lighter than parts made from fabricated metal.
Corvette's Unique Body
One of the Corvette' most unique features, is its fiberglass/composite body. The Corvette wasn't the first fiberglass bodied vehicle to exist, but it was the first mass produced car to utilize the material for its body panels.
Wind Power Blades Energize Composites Manufacturing
The world's growing appetite for wind energy is transforming wind blades into one of the hottest composite applications around. The huge build-up of wind-power generating capacity-particularly in the U.S, China, and Spain-has raised a bumper crop of new plants for manufacturing these composite parts.
Fluted Round Columns Highlight Elegance
In Los Angeles' Century City/Beverly Hills region, the 42-story, 147-unit luxury condominium tower known as "The Century" is designed to be an epicenter of upscale living on the Avenue of the Stars. The design includes 256 fluted concrete finished columns created with customized fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) column forms produced by Molded Fiber Glass Construction Products (MFG-CP), Independence, Kan.
A Fundamental and Technical Review of Radomes
Historically, a variety of materials have been used for constructing radomes, including balsa and plywood in early structures. Modern ground-based and ship-based radomes are manufactured using composite materials such as fiberglass, quartz, and aramid fibers held together with polyester, epoxy, and other resins.
Custom RFP Arch and Column Forms - Creating a unique façade for new West Point library
The unique configuration required for the new West Point library arches and columns at the entryway lead to the decision to use a custom fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) formwork system. Molded Fiberglass (MFG) Construction Products, located in Independence, KS, was selected to produce it.
FRP Column Forms Provide Smooth Construction Solution For Perimeter Of $90 Million Stanford Stadium's Fast-Paced Renovation
The $90 million Stanford Stadium project required construction of approximately 400 round columns that would adorn the entire perimeter of the stadium and support the steel field bleachers. MFG Construction Products (a division of Molded Fiber Glass Companies) offered a FRP/RCF solution whose composite properties made them corrosion resistant and reusable.
