As Ticona (D-65451 Kelsterbach; www.ticona-eu.com) reminded those who attended its press conference at the “JEC 2003” composite show in Paris, the share of composites in the Airbus industry is set to rise from 8% to 20% between 1980 (Airbus A300/310) and 2004 (Airbus A 380), and will probably double again from 2004 to 2010. As one example of a value-adding chain, Ticona produces “Fortron” PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) which is the sole thermoplastic approved for aeronautical construction alongside PEI (polyether imide). Lipp-Terler of Gafflenz, Austria, converts this into PPS sheet with a gauge of 50 to 200 µm, which aeronautic-industry supplier Ten Cate Advanced Composites (Nijverdal, Netherlands) then uses as a matrix material for carbon-fibre-mat composites. Fokker Special Products (Hoogeven, Netherlands) subsequently moulds the composites under pressure and heat, before assembling them. These parts, which include the J-nose for the leading edge of the wing on the Airbus A340-500/600 and A 380 are then put together by Airbus. The key advantages are a weight reduction of 20% compared with aluminium and a cycle time of 5 minutes, which brings down production costs.