Business News
3M and TenCate Announce Supply Agreement
Monday 18. October 2010 - New agreement combines expertise, expands markets for innovative technology
3M announces it has signed a commercialization and supply agreement with TenCate Advanced Composites USA Inc. that allows TenCate to purchase 3M Matrix Resin for the creation of customized products, bringing 3Ms innovative technology to multiple new markets.
TenCate Advanced Composites is a leading thermoset and thermoplastic prepreg supplier. Its prepregs are used in various markets, including but not limited to space, aerospace, marine, oil and gas, and infrastructure.
“As a technology enabler, 3M is looking for best-in-class partners who recognize the value of innovative products and ideas,” said Vic Genco, General Manager, 3M Engineered Products and Solutions. “TenCate has a long history of being a world leader in the industries it enters and 3M is excited to pair that experience with our own to bring this innovative technology to new markets.”
At the heart of the agreement is 3M Matrix Resin, a proprietary resin technology that, when combined with design and process expertise, can produce stronger, lighter, more durable composites. 3Ms proprietary resin technology makes it possible for manufacturers to avoid the traditional tradeoff between toughness / flexibility and stiffness / hardness; instead, the resin improves performance properties on both ends of the scale.
“An innovation can only be considered useful when it enables our customers to make progress, and thats just what this agreement with 3M is going to do,” says Joe Morris, Vice President, TenCate Advanced Composites USA Inc. “The TenCate motto is Materials that make a difference and were excited about the possibilities this new resin brings to our customers in the various markets we are in.”
3M is looking into additional applications for this product line, including those in sports and recreation, and industrial markets.