Seldén Mast expands its production of carbon fibre products
by Seldén Mast AB 25 Feb 08:00 UTC
Seldén Mast carbon fibre mast production in France © Seldén Mast
Since 2002, all production of carbon fibre masts, booms, spinnaker poles and bowsprits has been concentrated at Seldén Mast Ltd in the UK, but to meet increasing demand, the Seldén Group is supplementing its manufacturing capacity with an additional production unit.
Seldén Group CEO Peter Rönnbäck explains:
"Our product mix has been expanded in recent years with carbon fibre furling masts, and we are pleased that the demand for these masts is high. They take a relatively long time to complete, so in order to be able to take advantage of the opportunities we have with old and new customers, we have expanded our factory in France with a hall for winding, hardening, processing and painting carbon fibre masts. This facility will complement our factory in England."
Seldén Mast SAS in Le Poiré-sur-Vie is a 3300 m² facility that Seldén built in 2007 and has since been the hub for the distribution of stock items and the production of aluminium masts for customers in France and southern Europe. The new carbon fibre production hall is an extension of another 1800 m². Production has already started and consists of masts and booms for J70 boats, among other one-offs and OEM masts.
The production method that Seldén uses in both factories is called 'Mandrel filament winding'. A long aluminium mandrel rotates under CNC-controlled application of pre-impregnated carbon fibre tows. The winding is done at different angles to optimise the weight, strength and trimmability of the mast and it is repeatable, meaning that, for example, all J70 masts are exactly the same. After winding, the laminate is cured and compressed with heat and pressure in a 22 metre long autoclave. The mandrel is then separated from the laminate and the result is a tube that is processed and painted in a 38-meter-long spray booth.
The official inauguration of the carbon fibre facility will take place on February 28th.
Find out more at www.seldenmast.com