Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Why Boeing and Airbus Are Betting on Composites Again

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Why Boeing and Airbus Are Betting on Composites Again

Jeff Sloan recently highlighted something significant: both Boeing and Airbus are openly discussing next-generation single-aisle (NGSA) programs, with production targets of 100 aircraft per month up from today's 58 A320s and 40 737s.

For more than a decade, there has been no new major western passenger aircraft program – it seemed no one knew where to innovate. Now we have two, and production targets are super ambitious!

The 787's troubled development led to serious questions about composites' readiness for large-scale commercial aviation.

Wing box buckling, BVID (barely visible impact damage) and composite joints problems led local thickening. High safety factors as a result of our poor understanding of material behavior. All led to more than three years of delays. First machines heavily overweight. Over $10 billion in cost overrun.

In 2014, Boeing's VP of aircraft materials stated that if they "knew then what they know now, material decisions might have been very different on the 787."

I heard from industry experts expressing doubts about whether the next generation would maintain composite content. The disappointment was real.

So what changed?

We learned a lot. And we have new materials and technologies now that can help solve most of the early composite material problems.

It’s hard to achieve 100 aircraft per month with thermoset composites requiring hours of autoclave curing.

This is where thermoplastic composites become necessary:

✓ In-situ consolidation

✓ No autoclave needed

✓ Weldable joints

✓ Better damage tolerance

But they're harder to process. The technology wasn't ready 15 years ago.

Now it might be.

In March 2025, Airbus explicitly connected their NGSA to the successful completion of the 10-year European Clean Sky program—which invested heavily in thermoplastic manufacturing readiness.

When a major OEM connects their future aircraft to a research program, the technology has crossed from "interesting" to "producible at scale."

The 787 taught us what doesn't work. Clean Sky developed what might work. NGSA production rates demand it works at speed and scale.

Have we finally figured out how to make composites work at scale and speed?

I think the answer might be yes. Not betting on composites in the new generation is a step back.

What's your perspective? Can thermoplastic composites enable 100 NGSAs per month?

source : Jeff Sloan/ Fedor Antonov

Envalior receives EcoVadis Gold Medal

Envalior, a global leader in Sustainable & High-Performance Engineering Materials, today announces the successful completion of its first EcoVadis assessment, receiving a Gold Medal award. This milestone comes not long after the publication of the company’s first sustainability report and the launch of its Envalior CARES strategy – reflecting its ongoing commitment to integrated sustainability across all areas of the business and transparently reporting on its progress.

EcoVadis is one of the world’s most widely recognized and trusted sustainability ratings platforms, with more than 150,000 rated companies across more than 185 countries and over 250 industries. Medals are awarded based on a company’s percentile ranking. Companies with scores in the highest 5% of those assessed over the preceding 12 months receive the Gold Medal. Given the breadth and depth of the EcoVadis assessment, it is unusual for a company to be awarded Gold on its first attempt. In addition to this achievement, Envalior’s EcoVadis score was in the top 3% of all companies assessed in its sector.

Achieving Gold with top scores in Environment and Labor & Human Rights

The assessment covers sustainability management performance across a wide range of topics. Companies must provide evidence of their practices across up to 21 sustainability criteria, grouped into four themes: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. The final score is based on a company’s scores across all four themes. Envalior’s best-performing areas were Environment and Labor & Human Rights.

Commenting on the result, Günter Margraf, Director of Sustainability at Envalior, said, “Third-party sustainability assessments such as EcoVadis are an excellent way to provide greater clarity to our customers and value-chain stakeholders on our sustainability management performance. We are extremely happy with the result and look forward to implementing further improvements as we execute on our Envalior CARES strategy.”

Driving continuous improvement in sustainability management

At Envalior, driving progress in these and other areas comes under the umbrella of the Envalior CARES strategy. This organization-wide sustainability framework is designed to improve transparency, accountability, and performance across key environmental and social focus areas, built on the pillars of Low CArbon, Sustainable REsources, and Social Responsibility.

Greater clarity for customers and stakeholders

Envalior’s EcoVadis score demonstrates its progress on its Envalior CARES pathway, highlighting its approach to integrated sustainability management and transparent reporting. This is particularly relevant given the increasingly complex regulatory landscape for manufacturers and the consequent scrutiny of suppliers.

source :Envalior

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : The Rise of Regenerative Fibers and Future Textiles

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

The Rise of Regenerative Fibers and Future Textiles

Fashion is under pressure to cut carbon, chemical use, and waste. Materials are the starting point, and a new class of regenerative fibers is moving into the spotlight. Hemp and flax lead the plant side, joined by nettle, bamboo processed as closed-loop lyocell, and dryland agave and sisal. On the animal side, responsibly sourced wool and alpaca are improving land outcomes while delivering durability. At the same time, mycelium-based textiles, plant-based bio-leathers, and low-impact dyeing are turning once niche ideas into real options.

Bast fibers setting the pace: hemp and flax

Hemp remains a backbone of the shift toward lower-impact apparel and interiors. Agronomic reviews point to resilience in rotations, modest water needs, and lower pesticide requirements when grown responsibly, with opportunities to valorize by-products across a circular economy. For an overview of agronomy and fiber processing advances, see this critical review in BioResources. Spinners and mills are blending hemp with cotton, lyocell, or recycled fibers to improve hand feel and drape, a practical route while dedicated long-fiber hemp supply develops.

Flax and linen add a strong traceability story. The Alliance for European Flax-Linen-Hemp operates the European Flax and Masters of Linen certifications that verify regional origin and supply chain steps. Because flax thrives in temperate climates with limited irrigation, and because European scutching and spinning capacity are expanding, linen is moving from seasonal shirting into year-round apparel and home goods.

Nettle, bamboo lyocell, and dryland fibers

Nettle, once a wartime standby, is returning as a niche bast fiber for blends. Properties and cultivation potential are summarized in open literature, with a practical buyer’s view in small-scale programs such as Apple Oak Fibreworks. Commercial scale is the current bottleneck, which is why most offerings are nettle blends rather than pure nettle textiles.

Bamboo’s sustainability depends on chemistry. Conventional viscose production can be chemical and water intensive, while lyocell relies on a closed-loop solvent system that is largely recovered and reused. The best documented example remains TENCEL Lyocell by Lenzing, which reports very high solvent recovery and publishes environmental disclosures in its annual and sustainability reports. For general readers, this Wired explainer on lyocell is a useful primer. If you specify bamboo lyocell, request evidence that the process is truly closed loop and that pulp sourcing is verified.

Agave and sisal provide tough fibers for rugs, rope, and composite reinforcements, and they can be grown in arid regions with relatively low inputs. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s profile of sisal outlines agronomy, uses, and market dynamics, with attention to improving farmer incomes and circular use of residues.

source : Rootsource Media

Sunday's THOUGHTFUL Post : Doing Business in the right way

 Sunday's THOUGHTFUL Post

Our client imposed a ₹75 lakh penalty and blacklisted us.

This was 2021. We at Think Lean Prefab Systems Pvt Ltd secure a ₹2.5 crore automotive project in Pune.

Brownfield project. We had only done greenfield sites before.

And we didn't understand the complexity until it was too late. Wrong sizes delivered.

Our measurements, site conditions and customer requirements - nothing tallied.

Production was working on version 3 drawings. Site engineers version 5. Customer's team referring to version 1.

Complete chaos. Nobody was on the same page.

This went on for a long time. Every week, a new problem. Every call was an escalation.

The customer was angry. Their purchase team was bearing the brunt of our inefficiencies. All of it came rolling down on me.

Because I had a good relationship with the SCM head, he called me: "Shekhar, you've received most of the payment for what material you’ve supplied - just a 3 lac difference.

Walk away - don’t supply the balance, let go of the installation - Blame it on us, the consultant or the user department.

We're blacklisting you anyway. Even if you finish the project - I can't guarantee you'll get your balance payment.”

He was offering me an exit.

For me, running away was out of the question. I said no.

The purchase head told me "Shekhar, You don't understand business at all."

Fine. But you'll face huge penalties. I said okay, let me worry about completing the project first.

We put a senior team on site. I frequented my visits on site. We fixed all mistakes and snag points - finally completed the project.

Then came the penalty notice. ₹75 lakhs deduction from final payment.

Naturally, I denied it. Said I want to meet the MD one time before the penalty was deducted.

I prepared a presentation. Showed him everything - every mistake we made, why it happened, how we fixed it.

Then I told him: I was advised to walk away from this project. To abandon you mid-way. But I didn’t.

You had already paid us. I couldn't desert you.

Don't deduct ₹75 lakhs. Instead, give me a 3-year defect liability period.

If anything goes wrong, penalise us then. Usually it's 6 months or a year. I'm giving you 3 years. We will also carry out AMCs for this period.

This penalty will break my firm. We'll wind down within a year."

He agreed. Fast forward to 2025. Same MD. Same purchase head.

Their cleanroom running perfectly. Zero issues in three years.

Their end customer was extremely happy with the facility. We got our full payment without any deductions. And we got a repeat order.

Today, they're still our customers. Still calling us for new projects.

If I had walked away that day, I might have saved a few lakhs.

But I would have lost my reputation. Lost the chance to fix my mistakes. Lost future relationships and orders.

In business, people forgive mistakes. But they never forgive intentional betrayal.

source: Shekhar Sangwikar