CMPND

In Ohio’s growing wind energy market sector, those in the materials business probably know about the scarcity of balsa wood for such uses as wind turbine generator blades. But few think about other applications that are much less visible, such as the construction of specialized rail cars, where the same problem exists – dependence on balsa wood.  Over 98 percent of the world’s balsa wood grows in the tropical forests of Ecuador. The supply of balsa wood has become unreliable with increasing geo-political uncertainties. Consequently, any industry that uses large quantities of balsa wood is actively seeking alternative materials. One Ohio company, Webcore Technologies, LLC, in Miamisburg, has developed TYCOR®, a strong, lightweight polymer composite material as a viable alternative to balsa wood.

Owens Corning (OCV) is one company whose products are used to enhance the performance of products ranging from everyday household items to military applications. With the increasing threats experienced by our military, OCV™ recognized potential for some of its products to provide lightweight armor that could provide protection without limiting the maneuverability of military vehicles. OCV had developed ShieldStrand™ reinforcements but had not established the application base for sales of the products.  Manufacturing scale-up was planned and underway, but purchase orders were needed to base load the facility.