How would you describe the overall objectives of R&D?
Our goal is to establish a product line that is the best performing in the market.
We're always working to position new products against traditional materials, such as steel, aluminum, and wood.
What are some of the new products that are under development?
We're in the testing phase of a new high performance epoxy pipe product for the filament winding process. It's designed to compete effectively with stainless steel in high-pressure applications. It's a technically sophisticated product in terms of strength and resistance to cyclic fatigue.
You're working with a variety of materials in a variety of applications?
An interesting one is phenolic reinforcement for the pultrusion market. It takes advantage of the unique fire-related properties of phenolic resins. We're developing a new nylon reinforcement for impact formulations that gives high toughness and is easier to process. And we're working with panel producers on a good-processing, high-clarity product to allow maximum light to pass through a wall.
Turning to quality, what's the big news?
We have been registered under ISO 9002 since 1996. We are currently working on meeting the revised higher standard that covers all aspects of design, product development - just about everything. We anticipate this registration in early 2003.
At the same time, we're updating our quality system to cover environmental, health, and safety.
What are you doing to improve product quality?
There are cross-functional teams for each product line that include manufacturing, R&D, quality, marketing, and technical services. The teams are designed to be responsive to customers to get to a high level of quality and customer satisfaction.
|
 |
