Gurit showcases 2011 Product Portfolio JEC 2011, Paris, France

RENUVO™ – Blade Repair System
Gurit’s extended Core offering for the Wind Energy Market
Gurit Launches SE 84 Nano – Next Generation Marine Prepreg
Carbon Composite Body Panels and Manufacturing Capability Continues to Grow

29th March 2011, Gurit (SWX Swiss Exchange: GUR) – Gurit, a leading global supplier of composite materials and technical solutions to the global Wind Energy, Transportation, Tooling, Marine markets and other selected application areas will be showcasing its latest product innovations this year at JEC 2011 (Paris, France) from 29th - 31st March on stand K44.

WIND ENERGY
RENUVO™ – Blade Repair System
Gurit will be showcasing its new blade repair system, RENUVO™, at JEC 2011. RENUVO™, a finalist in the Wind Energy Category of the JEC Innovation Awards, offers a fresh and novel approach to the blade repair market, addressing many of the practical issues that have prevented more effective and expedient maintenance programs. Addressing damage arising from production, transportation and in-field use, the RENUVO™ blade repair system provides the solution.

A wider weather window for repair has been achieved by the working temperature range starting at +5°C. Traditional wet laminating materials must normally be used above +15°C as they can suffer from bi-product and handling issues. Summer and Winter grade versions of the RENUVO™ MPS (Multi-Purpose System) and RENUVO™ PP (Prepreg) are available to cope with most conditions.

The RENUVO™ product range has transformed the conditions for repair by using UV light from the RENUVO™ Lamp Technology to cure materials in minutes. A spot lamp is available for simple maintenance repairs with a higher intensity product available for deeper structural repairs using RENUVO™ PP. Both lamps are available exclusively from Gurit.

Summary of benefits:

Over 50% reduction in structural repair time
Low odour, zero VOC resin
Styrene and amine-free
Germanischer Lloyd Certificated product range
Extended weather window for repair from +5°C
Zero post-cure for repair
Compatible with all types of blade construction including prepreg, epoxy infusion and polyester infusion

A RENUVO™ demonstration will be taking place at JEC 2011, on the Gurit stand K44, at 11.00 and 15.00 daily. Dr Dan Jones, Gurit’s Research & Technology Manager, will also be giving a paper titled ‘Novel approach to the blade repair market: UV curing repair system' at the Wind Energy end user forum on Wednesday 31st March, 14.30 – 17.00.

Structural Core offering for the Wind Energy market
In response to the demand for multiple core designs Gurit has extended its structural core product range and now covers PVC, PET, Balsa and SAN core types all with a distinct range of properties and attributes.

Corecell™ T-Foam has been developed as a technological step-change from traditional PVC and Balsa structural core with the feature of low resin uptake to reduce cost and weight..
G-PET – Recyclable Structural Foam is a highly adaptable, recyclable, thermoplastic foam with good balance of mechanical properties, temperature resistance, density and cost for a wide range of applications and production processes.
PVCell™ G-Foam is a closed cell, crosslinked PVC foam developed specifically for the Chinese Wind Energy market to provide the complete core range.

MARINE
SE 84 Nano – Next generation Marine Prepreg
SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit, has today launched SE 84 Nano, a new high performance hot melt epoxy prepreg incorporating 3M™ Matrix Resin.

SE 84 Nano has been developed for marine applications where compressive performance is a key requirement. When vacuum bag moulded SE 84 Nano exhibits a 20% increase in compressive strength compared to SP-High Modulus’ SE 84LV through a combination of SP-High Modulus proprietary formulation technology and 3M™ Matrix Resin. This marriage of technology delivers a significant boost to mechanical properties with the cure and handling characteristics of SE 84LV.

With its very high compressive strength SE 84 Nano is ideal for use on components with strength driven designs such as dagger boards, bulkheads, fixing plates and hull inner skin. For stiffness-driven components, SE 84 Nano provides equivalent stiffness properties with the 20% increase in strength for peace of mind.

TRANSPORTATION
Carbon Composite Body Panels and Manufacturing Capability Continues to Grow
Gurit’s Automotive composite part production facility, launched in 2007, has secured further OEM programs in 2010 with both Porsche and BMW/Rolls-Royce. Although originally established to supply Aston Martin with carbon fibre panels for the Aston Martin DBS, the strength of Gurit’s technology combined with the sustained performance of the facility were key factors in securing further OEM programs.

This has driven further expansion of Gurit’s engineering and design capacity, with another 5 CATIA design seats being added in 2011. Gurit has also been developing its management systems and in 2011 Gurit will see the completion of an 18 month project to implement TS16949, solidifying Gurit’s position as a leading Tier 1 Automotive manufacturing facility.

The development of innovation technology is the defining strength of Gurit and is enabled by the unique understanding of composite materials, structural design and materials processing. This knowledge base provides the capability to formulate, design prototype and manufacture fully assembled, primed and coloured exterior body panels.

Staff will be available at the show to discuss this year’s product portfolio. Further product information is available at www.gurit.com