Barrday Inc., a major player in the composite market, and Arkema (Colombes, France; www.arkema.com) announce the creation of a joint venture to manufacture and market carbon fiber and specialty polymer tapes for the growing oil-and-gas industrial market.
The new venture, to be named Barrflex TU, will supply efficient thermoplastic composite solutions to the various players of the oil-and-gas industrial markets.
The tapes will deliver substantial improvements in terms of weight reduction (replacement of metal) and corrosion resistance for the flexible pipes used in the deep offshore as well as onshore operations of tomorrow.
The complementary offerings of Barrday (proven experience in thermoplastic composite manufacture) and of Arkema’s range of specialty polymers and resins (PVDF, Polyamides 11 and 12, PEKK, etc.) will enable Barrflex TU to fully capitalize on the growth of the oil-and-gas market by marketing a new comprehensive and integrated range of solutions.
“This partnership with Arkema provides us with access to a unique and wide range of proven polymer solutions for this sector. For a long time Arkema has been an innovative and renowned player in fluoropolymers with Kynar PVDF, in specialty polymers with Rilsan® PA11, and more recently with its new Kepstan PEKK resins. We are delighted to be teaming with Arkema for this exciting oil and gas opportunity,” said Michael Buckstein, Chief Executive Officer of Barrday Inc.
“Barrday is an innovative first-class supplier of thermoplastic composites for the composite pipes market serving the oil and gas industry. Our respective capabilities and expertise are highly complementary, and this new integrated offering will deliver high added value to our pipe manufacturing customers as well as the major oil groups,” commented Christophe André, Executive Vice President advanced materials, Arkema.