JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #118 - January/February 2018 - 11

A world leader in advanced materials

The centre has two laboratories (chemistry and physics),
a large number of up-to-date
instruments and equipment
used for research and development, but also to test raw
materials and finished products.
So far, it has obtained more
than 30 patents and more
technologies are on the way.
In cooperation with famous
scientific research academies
such as the Shanghai Jiao
Tong University, the centre
conducts independent research and development, according to the current trends
in the composite field, and
develops special products to
meet the different needs of

interview

Frank Hu,
CEO
Shanghai Leadgo-Tech

JEC Composites Magazine:
How do you explain Leadgo's
rapid growth?

Frank Hu: Leadgo-Tech
is the only company that
produces as many items in
its own range of products.
In addition, the full capacity of our factory is dedicated
to the composites industry.
Today, the main composite
part manufacturers are more
and more keen to work with
processing material manufacturers because they can
control the quality of materials and the original source.
In our business, many com-

its customers both at home
and abroad.
At present, its primary goal
is to research and develop
high-quality, high-technology, high-efficiency products
to meet the market needs.
More than
100 product lines
Leadgo has 200 employees -
including 130 operators, 20
technicians, 10 quality personnel and 40 managers - and
proposes more than 100 product lines: vacuum bagging
film, release film, sealant tape,
peel ply, flow mesh, double
face adhesive, tubing, etc. 90%
of the products are developed
and manufactured in-house.
panies are only distributors
and can buy one day from
a supplier and the next day
from another. Final end users do not always know
what they are using exactly
and they are not sure about
traceability. Another aspect
is our production capacity and our worldwide presence. Major OEMs require
a large volume of materials
and only a company such as
Leadgo-Tech can securely
supply composite part manufacturers worldwide in sufficient volumes.
Last but not least, we made
a major investment in R&D
that enables us to respond
very rapidly to customer requests for products changes
or to adapt products to new
processes, new resins, etc.
What sectors do you plan to
develop?

F. H.: Wind energy was

the first big market for the

While the most popular product in the range is
peel ply, one of the company's strengths is also its ability to deliver these products
in various widths. The latest
blowing machine, which just
entered into production, further increases this capacity to
provide vacuum film, for example, in large dimensions.
There is a strong demand, especially in the wind sector,
which produces increasingly
long blades and accounts for
more than 60% of the company's activity.
The 30,000m² manufacturing
site in Ningbo includes modern plant, a large number of
Leadgo Group and it will
certainly grow in the years
to come, but now we also
focus on the aerospace sector with the development of
our high-temperature product range.
What is the percentage of
your sales in China compared
to abroad?

F. H.: Foreign countries

account for 40% of our sales
and China for 60%.

What are your next challenges facing the competition?

F. H.: We are the new big
player in this business and
we have been facing competition since the beginning,
so this is our everyday context. Our main challenge is
to explain to our customers
and prospects how different we are from many of our
competitors. We are very excited to open our factory to
our customers in order to
help them understand what

N°118 January - February 2018

advanced equipment and a
thorough quality management system. All the equipment passed the AS9100
standard.
During the past years, the
company's sales network was
consolidated in China, with
the Beijing Branch, offices in Xi'an and Guangzhou,
and abroad in America and
Europe. With a professional technical team and an efficient after-sales service,
Leadgo-Tech provides professional and reliable services to a wide customer base at
home and abroad.
More information:
www.leadgo-tech.com

kind of partner we could be
to help them in their worldwide growth.
What are your strengths and
weaknesses?

J. Z.: I think we already exposed previously where our
strengths are. Our weakness
is maybe that we still need
to spread our name within the composites world
and change some mindsets
thinking that in China we
cannot produce good-quality products at the right price
and with a great technical
support worldwide. We only hold a few aerospace qualifications and we hope to
convince the main aircraft
manufacturers to listen to us
and get our materials qualified in a near future.
Have you already planned
new investments?

F. H.: We currently have

no plans for new investments.

/ jec composites magazine

11
http://www.leadgo-tech.com
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