Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America enters the advanced composite materials market

On June 8, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC, New York, N.Y, U.S.) announced its entry into the advanced composites market with the formation of its NEXX Technologies Advanced Materials Business Unit, which operates within the company’s subsidiary, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America (MGCA).

MGC is one of 26 independent and unrelated Mitsubishi-branded companies and has no affiliation with carbon fiber manufacturer Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and Composites (MCCFC, Calif., U.S.). Regardless, the company notes that, with more than 100 years experience in producing a wide range of chemical and functional material solutions, it has now developed a unique portfolio of advanced composite materials for customers of all sizes and market segments.

“This is an exciting time for us,” says MGCA vice president Shoji Matsukawa. “For many years, we have wanted to participate in the advanced composites market space. In mid-2019, we realized this goal with the opportunity to move our business into the advanced composites arena while staying in line with our strategy focused on the mobility and transportation market sectors.”

NEXX Technologies will also introduce a range of thermoset and thermoplastic platforms covering the majority of the performance range. “The focus will be on high-performance segments covering many aerospace, space and urban air mobility [UAM] applications for both structural and radome performance,” Matsukawa adds.

NEXX Technologies’ new line of composite materials includes modified epoxy platforms that don’t require frozen storage, eliminating refrigerated transit, freezer storage and onerous out-time tracking.

“In addition to eliminating out-time restrictions and frozen storage requirements, our prepreg materials use a unique architecture allowing for z-directional breathing, dramatically reducing the need for complicated debulk steps and, in many cases, autoclave processing,” shares Joseph Kidd, GM of NEXX Technologies. “As we’ve entered the market with NT-350, customer feedback has been very positive. We’ve seen examples of very thick laminates being produced with as many as 34 plies, and achieving less than 1% void content without complicated debulk or autoclave processing. It’s an exciting time and we look forward to the future and the success of our customers.”

NEXX Technologies Advanced Materials is located in southern California with administrative headquarters within Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America located in New York City. For more information, contact Joe Kidd at jkidd@nexx-technologies.com.