Construction industry

At van der Mast we serve this industry worldwide and most of our clients have their presence in the housing construction, utility and infrastructure. A specific segment to mention is the plasterboard market which is growing fast (+50% in 2030) and where glass fibers are used for fire-resistance, sound-insulation, moisture-resistance, thermal properties and impact-resistance. Besides glass fibers there are insulation materials where polyester and some natural fibers like cotton, wool and flax are used. Fiber insulation is a specific type of insulation that works by capturing air within the fibers, preventing heat transmission through convection. Due to its porous structure, it’s also good at soundproofing and can be used in acoustics insulation.

Meanwhile there is also proven success in the infrastructure. In New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific durable fiber glass rebar is used in more than 30 years in various infrastructure projects. The main reason is that this rebar is corrosion-resistance, high durable (100-year design life cycle) and lightweight ( ¼ the weight of steel). 

Another specific segment is the piping industry where Glass(fiber) Reinforced Plastic (GRP) and Glass(fiber) Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) can be used in a variety of water distribution networks, water treatment, chemical process plants, etc.

Automotive & Aerospace

We see that this industry is often using advanced or high-performance composite materials like Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) and is always keep pushing the limits. An airplane like the Dreamliner has an frame comprising nearly 50% CFRP which offer weight savings and maintenance advantages. 

Besides Carbon there is also high-quality Basalt used in the automotive industry for production of CNG cylinders, brake pads, mufflers and other parts for interior applications. Nowadays there is more than thirty Kgs of fibers used in a car for interior as well as exterior purpose. What is probably not well known is that visible carbon parts of a car are manufacturing largely by hand, a time-consuming process. Think of preparation, cutting, curing, demolding, milling and lacquering. Therefor it’s limited to high-end brands and racing cars today. 

To complete there is another applied fiber in the automotive and aerospace industry which need to be mentioned, Flax. This natural fiber is mainly applied for thermal and acoustical insulation and is for example incorporated in interior trims and door and floor panels.

Consumer products

This market is difficult to define but is mainly characterized by non-food products. From personal protective equipment (helmets), leisure products such as skis and bicycles to electrical appliances in the kitchen (oven) and bathroom furniture. All types of fiber are being used in this market to get the properties for that specific product as optimal as possible. To mention a few, with Fiberglass our clients are able to make boats, surfboards, whirlpools, ovens, etc. But its also used in textiles where Fiberglass composites have been shown to be effective as ballistic armours. The laminate of the above mentioned skis are probably also from Fiberglass, but nowadays Carbon is also used for the light weight for the uphill climb. Like the skis, helmets also use Fiberglass and/or Carbon fiber mostly in combination with Polycarbonate. Add Aramid and you get ballistic helmets.

Textile

We separate two mainstreams when we talk about this industry. One mainstream is textile which is being used in the infrastructure for reinforcement of roads and railways or for example as protection layer for foundations and water borders. This textile is known as Geotextile. For this we see that Polypropylene fiber is in place. The other mainstream is textile as raw material for clothing. Besides natural fibers as Flax and Cotton also fibers like Aramid, Carbon and Basalt could be applied. Aramid and carbon fibers are often spun into yarns for application such as safety gloves or electroconductive clothes. When high and low temperature protective clothing is required Basalt is also an option. 

Raw materials 

Due to the rapidly transformation to a more sustainable society we have multiple clients who are active with recycling fibers. Aramid fiber is a good example, when recycled and milled it is used in brake pads and also in polymer compounds for friction related automotive parts. The quality of recycled Aramid fibers have nearly the same quality properties as virgin grades, but the prices are much cheaper. A fiber as Carbon could also be recycled, lowers CO2 emissions (sometimes 20 times less) and offers as a reinforcement an unrivalled mechanical performance and durability with low weight. An example of recycling Carbon is that the returned fiber after selection and segmentation eventually is being chopped in strands where further processing of the fibers during injection molding or pressing can be carried out without problems in high and low temperature ranges. Besides recycling we also provide our solutions to clients who make primary materials for reinforcement.

Research

Van der Mast spends a lot of time on research and development. This has led to multiple patents in the past. In this sense, we also often work together with our customers on innovative solutions. We also maintain good contacts with universities and research institutions. Nowadays a lot of research is being done into applications of fibers in various markets. Think for example of the possibilities of several fibers for the construction industry. People active in research facilities like to use our knowledge and solutions for the processing of these fibers. We welcomed several institutions in the past years and are happy partnering with them and share our findings. We have developed some standard solutions for this specific and important market.