Although production boatbuilders have long been major users of composite materials, they can still learn new tricks from other industrial users, says Ronny Ledent, sales director with resins producer DSM Composites. And he should know. Before going into the chemicals business, he managed some of the best-known brands in boating. He talks to bob greenwood. |
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|  How did you come to transfer from building boats to supplying composite materials to boatbuilders?
I had been involved in the boating industry since I joined OMC Europe in 1986, when they were buying up boat companies in the US at a rapid rate. My job was to set up the sales and marketing of these brands — Four Winns, Chris Craft, Sunbird, Seaswirl and others — in Europe. Pretty soon we were importing more than 3,000 boats a year and it was going so well that OMC decided to start building in Europe. I went over to the US for three years to learn how to build boats. When I returned in 1990, I was put in charge of Kelt (France) as technical director, where I oversaw the company’s transition from sailboat to powerboat builder. Then, in 1996, I joined Brunswick as managing director of Uttern Båtar in northern Sweden. While I was there, US resin producer AOC courted me to head sales of its European operation in Italy.
What persuaded you to
‘Cross the Rubicon’?
It wasn’t just the better climate in Italy that prompted a move, although it has to be said it did have the edge over being close to the Arctic Circle! I simply wanted to be higher up in the supply chain. AOC (and DSM when I joined them in March last year) knew I had ‘been there, seen it and done it’ for 20 years when it came to boatbuilding and so they appreciated that I knew what the customer expected. That’s why DSM has given me a special brief to develop its marine business. But, while I welcomed the opportunity to see many different boat companies, I was also glad to see how manufacturers in other industrial sectors use composites and learn from them.
What can boatbuilders learn from other users of composites?
Boatbuilders have tended to be very conservative about composites. Their main worries are usually osmosis and delamination. They have traditionally not been open to change, but I’ve seen things they could learn from in other industries — for example, product cosmetics. Here the automotive industry has set the standard with its insistence on ‘Class A’ finishes. Boatbuilders want that too and can achieve it without the massive capital investment that the auto giants are able to make.
As far as osmosis is concerned, boatbuilders can learn from the tank and pipe-manufacturing industries. Companies in this sector produce holding vessels in composites for oils, acids and other chemicals, so they know a thing or two about handling aggressive and corrosive products.
It’s our view at DSM that the composites industry should be leading the transfer of knowledge across its various market segments. That’s why we try to be more than simply a resin supplier. We are a business partner to our customers as well.
What do you see as the big challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for builders of FRP boats?
Going forward, the big driver will continue to be the environment. The marine industry will look to outside influences such as the automotive industry and how it’s using composites. The drive to reduce the ‘carbon footprint’ of cars is leading the auto industry to develop its use of composites. This will start to happen in the marine sector too, particularly as regards powerboats. Boats will have to be lighter and use less fuel, which will require lighter and stronger laminates that are more environmentally friendly. This is the future.
For its part, DSM has announced a new family of hybrid thermoset and urethane resins called Turane. These have a higher mechanical strength than many existing resins. They combine the mechanical properties of epoxy and the workability of polyester resins. Laminates can be infused or hand-laid, have lower VOC emissions and won’t require seriously expensive investments in tooling.
Materials continue to get ever more costly, however. Boatbuilders have been seeing steady rises in the price of resin over the past couple of years. How do you as a supplier justify that?
We’ve all seen crude-oil prices increasing worldwide; as consumers, a year ago when we were filling our car tanks, we were paying E1 per litre for gasoline, but now that’s risen to E1.30-E1.40. Crude oil is feedstock to many of our raw materials. In addition, resin suppliers are developing new and better products, increasing sustainability, expanding capacity, and all of this needs to be funded. The future of composites is in all our hands. We are working together with our customers to ensure this.
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