AGY (Aiken, South Carolina / USA; www.agy.com) has increased production of its “S-2 Glass” fibre reinforcements in Aiken by 20% to meet rising demand from the aerospace and industrial markets. The specialty glass materials manufacturer said output of the fibres, which are used in applications such as helicopter blades and aircraft flooring, can be further increased in line with market demand. The plant’s capacity was not disclosed.

S-2 Glass has a higher tensile strength than standard-modulus carbon fibre, as well as most grades of aramid fibre, AGY said. The company offers products designed to be compatible with phenolics, epoxies, polyesters, vinyl esters, rubber and many thermoplastic resins.

AGY also announced an agreement under which CTG/Taishan Fiberglass (Shandong / China) will manufacture AGY’s “S-1 HM” high performance glass roving for wind turbine blades in China. Manufactured under licence from AGY, the roving will be sold globally by both companies. AGY will focus on the US and Europe, while CTG/Taishan Fiberglass will focus on Asia Pacific and Africa.

The S-1 HM roving provide a higher modulus and enhanced fatigue performance compared with traditional E-Glass, enabling manufacturers to make larger blades, said AGY president Drew Walker. The roving are specifically aimed at areas of the blade where high-performance glass will allow weight savings, such as the spar and spar caps, leading and trailing edge and blade root, he added.

CTG/ Taishan Fiberglass said the S-1 HM materials will complement its existing glass fibre products. “We currently supply roving and fabrics for the large blades used in wind generation,” said chairman and president Zhiyao Tang. “We will combine the new S-1 HM materials with our existing products in our sales and marketing efforts to the growing wind energy market.”