The Beauty of Technology … Developed in our Backyard
A special thanks to Michael Cichon , Director of Marketing and Kendall Oblak , Sales Account Manager for the tour of TenCate and for making it comprehensible to us non-engineer types . Thanks also to Ben Fox , Director of Quality ( not pictured ), for help understanding the testing procedures . Finally a very special thanks to our friend Addie Bryant-Habit for setting the whole thing up .
Written By Larry J . Mickartz
The TenCate manufacturing site in Morgan Hill is an extraordinary company . In very simple terms , they make cool stuff that other people make even cooler stuff out of . Think steel . Steel mills produce the frames for cars , buildings and bridges . TenCate Morgan Hill makes carbon fabric products , called advanced composites , that people use to make airplane bodies , satellite structures , launch vehicle cases , general aviation aircraft support beams , armor , and thousands of light-weight , superstrong components .
The Morgan Hill location is only one of TenCate ’ s sites throughout the world . TenCate ’ s Advanced Composites has three sites in California , ( Morgan Hill , Fairfield and Camarillo ), one in Canada , two in Europe ( Netherlands and UK ), and one site in China . Until the company went private in 2016 ,
TenCate Advanced Composites was part of Royal TenCate , headquartered in the Netherlands . It ’ s history began with fabric-weaving that dates back to 1704 . Since that time , the weaving business became more of a commodity business , so Royal TenCate invested in businesses based upon high technology fabric technologies ranging from armor , military uniforms , fire-proof fabrics , geosynthetics and advanced composites .
TenCate Advanced Composites is now a standalone entity and manufactures components that are used in : Aerospace ( aerostructures , space and satellites , launch structures , radomes , interiors , high-temperature jet engines , compression molding ); Automotive ; Motorsport & Formula 1 ; Energy ; Medical ; Consumer Electronics ; and Sport & Recreation . Did you know that high-end sneakers like the Nike Air Jordan use TenCate composites in the inner sole for lightweight and rigidity ?
In addition to the advanced composites produced in Morgan Hill , the other standalone TenCate companies produce fireproof protective clothing for first responders and the military . They manufacture a variety of synthetic turfs and geotextiles , which are synthetic fabrics with specialized uses . A good example is the TenCate GeoTube a large bag where wastewater is filtered through . It allows water to penetrate , but captures sand and debris .
Promotional materials from TenCate note that every satellite from the Western world has some TenCate composite materials in it ! Local companies that TenCate provides materials to include Loral Space Systems in Palo Alto , Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space in Sunnyvale and Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation ( AASC ) in Stockton .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN MAY / JUNE 2017 gmhtoday . com
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The Beauty of
Technology…
Developed in
our Backyard
A special thanks to Michael Cichon,
Director of Marketing and Kendall
Oblak, Sales Account Manager for
the tour of TenCate and for making
it comprehensible to us non-engineer
types. Thanks also to Ben Fox, Director
of Quality (not pictured), for help
understanding the testing procedures.
Finally a very special thanks to our
friend Addie Bryant-Habit for setting
the whole thing up.
Written By
Larry J. Mickartz
T
he TenCate manufacturing
site in Morgan Hill is an
extraordinary company. In very
simple terms, they make cool
stuff that other people make even cooler
stuff out of. Think steel. Steel mills
produce the frames for cars, buildings
and bridges. TenCate Morgan Hill makes
carbon fabric products, called advanced
composites, that people use to make
airplane bodies, satellite structures,
launch vehicle cases, general aviation
aircraft support beams, armor, and
thousands of light-weight, super-
strong components.
The Morgan Hill location is only
one of TenCate’s sites throughout the
world. TenCate’s Advanced Composites
has three sites in California, (Morgan
Hill, Fairfield and Camarillo), one in
Canada, two in Europe (Netherlands
and UK), and one site in China. Until
the company went private in 2016,
TenCate Advanced Composites was
part of Royal TenCate, headquartered
in the Netherlands. It’s history began
with fabric-weaving that dates back
to 1704. Since that time, the weaving
business became more of a commodity
business, so Royal TenCate invested in
businesses based upon high technology
fabric technologies ranging from armor,
military uniforms, fire-proof fabrics,
geosynthetics and advanced composites.
TenCate Advanced Composites
is now a standalone entity and
manufactures components that are used
in: Aerospace (aerostructures, space and
satellites, launch structures, radomes,
interiors, high-temperature jet engines,
compression molding); Automotive;
Motorsport & Formula 1; Energy;
Medical; Consumer Electronics; and
Sport & Recreation. Did you know
that high-end sneakers like the Nike Air
Jordan use TenCate composites in the
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2017
inner sole for lightweight and rigidity?
In addition to the advanced
composites produced in Morgan Hill,
the other standalone TenCate companies
produce fireproof protective clothing for
first responders and the military. They
manufacture a variety of synthetic turfs
and geotextiles, which are synthetic
fabrics with specialized uses. A good
example is the TenCate GeoTube a large
bag where wastewater is filtered through.
It allows water to penetrate, but captures
sand and debris.
Promotional materials from TenCate
note that every satellite from the Western
world has some TenCate composite
materials in it! Local companies that
TenCate provides materials to include
Loral Space Systems in Palo Alto,
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space
in Sunnyvale and Applied Aerospace
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