JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009 - 15

strong winds or earth tremors; - Excellent resistance to impact, lightweight, non-flammable and nontoxic, ease of repair and recyclability; - Maintenance-free durability (the panels do not rust or decay); - Resistance to rot and mould, excellent thermal insulation (R20 and greater); - Ease of assembly/disassembly, easy and varied interior finishing. The third and last patent pending relates to the manufacture of bridge decks made of thermoplastic matrix composites. This other development is indeed highly innovative in the field of bridge construction, with bridges being traditionally constructed from concrete, wood, steel or a combination of these materials. Aside from their weight, their poor weatherability, their relatively long installation and construction times and the possibly high costs of transportation, maintenance and replacement all contribute towards the increasing unpopularity of bridge decks made of these traditional materials. To counter these problems, ASC has developed, in co-operation with the Quebec Ministry of Transport and the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, a bridge deck system made of thermoplastic matrix composites. This bridge deck is assembled from panels made using the existing production machinery at ASC. It has been successfully tested, and the results show that it is globally superior to existing bridge decks. trailers), van air deflectors, interior kickplates for vans, concrete formwork panels, outdoor advertising hoarding, shells for lorries / trailers / mobile homes, bridge decks, road safety barriers, road sign panels, floors and fittings for vehicles / aircraft / trains / lorries, panels and mobile stages for shows, scaffolding beams and platforms, long-span joists, emergency housing, military barracks, community centres and the like, door or window shutters, garage doors and support panels for granite plates. This already long list is likely to grow still more in the months to come. More information: www.ascomposite.com Many and varied applications These are the main current applications of the ASC panel: van doors (semi- Contact: hborazghi@ascomposite.com AN INTERVIEW WITH HOSSEIN BORAZGHI, CHAIRMAN, AS COMPOSITE INC. equity in return for an exclusive licence for a target market. JCM: Have you assessed the value of the markets that you are targeting? H. B.: According to the research and analysis carried out for the targeted markets, ASC products have extremely promising potential. For Canada and the USA these markets are estimated at $400 million for concrete formwork, several billion dollars for prefabricated homes, $400 million for advertising hoardings, $220 million for road signal panels, $450 million for lorry air deflectors and doors, $1,120 million for safety barriers along roads and freeways and $900 million for bridge decks. Other markets are still being evaluated. Yet, as you can see, the potential market is considerable. JCM: What is your development strategy for the next two years? H. B.: In the first instance, the signing of a partnership with a company based in the Middle East and the increased demand for ASC panels for the current applications, growing rapidly on the North American and world market (van doors, mobile stage floors, concrete formwork panels, etc.), will necessitate the installation of a new and larger production machine. JEC Composites Magazine: What business model do you favour for your continued development? HOSSEIN BORAZGHI: On the markets where ASC is not recognized, the company favours the setting up of close and efficient partnerships with players such as Transtex Composite in Quebec, the Octogon Group in the USA and so on, rather than cater to these markets directly using its own resources. JCM: What are the company's revenue sources? H. B.: The company’s turnover in the medium term will come from two sources of revenues: direct sales of ASC panels on the markets that the company serves directly and the sale of ASC panel production machinery to licensed partners and foreign companies looking to serve the markets of other countries worldwide. The sale of production machinery generally comes with the application of a fee for the products manufactured and sold. In certain cases, ASC may take a share in the partner’s The housing concept proposed by ASC will require the setting up of several technological showcases for the targeted markets and zones. We are looking to do this in the southern United States with local partners, so as to facilitate market penetration in the states that were affected by the recent hurricanes (Katrina and Rita). Our US partners will contribute financially to the creation of these technological showcases. We will then go on to serve these newly developed markets from our Quebec plant at Pointe-Claire. The next stage will consist in setting up local production units in co-operation with our partners. To retain our position as leader and protect our technology, we continually work to improve this technology, as we develop new processes and products. The development of a reinforced foam produced by recycling the scrap from our products is one example of a current project. Other challenges are also worthy of note, such as the lamination process for high-temperature PEEK or PEI thermoplastics for aerospace and defence applications. We are also considering the construction of extendable factory space of up to 10,000 square metres, in line with our needs and to take account of our future projects. No46 January-February 2009 / jec composites magazine 15

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #46 - January/February 2009

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