Cytec opens new Application Centre

Cytec executives cut the ribbon at the Application Centre's official opening ceremony

Cytec, the composite manufacturing specialist being acquired by chemicals giant Solvay, has opened a new ￡8.7m (€12.1m) research and development centre in Derbyshire, UK, a move described by executives as a “milestone” in the goal of producing composite parts on an industrial scale.

The US-headquartered group’s new Application Centre in Heanor sits alongside Cytec’s existing facilities in the town and includes moulding equipment, robotics, material formatting, trimming, recycling and 3D-printing capabilities.

Speaking in Heanor, Mark Aschauer, vice president, Cytec Industrial Materials, said: “The opening of our new Application Centre is an exciting time for the company.

“It is the next step in our strategy to work collaboratively with our customers in the development of volume-production technologies for composite manufacture which will be key to the future of mass transportation.”

Outlining the decision to establish the Application Centre in Heanor, Cytec’s chief technology officer Carmelo Lo Faro said the group had a strong footprint in the UK, plus the domestic composites environment, particularly in the automotive sector, was attractive.

University-level education in composites was also a factor, he said.

Looking ahead, Cytec said it wanted to work collaboratively with customers and partners “to develop application technologies to enable the refinement of these new materials and their use for part manufacture in a high-volume setting”.