Back to the Future
13 May 2016
İbrahim Yıldırım
Do you remember the famous film series "Back to the future"? Imagine you are very lucky and the time machine is invented when you are living. What would you see if you visit year 2115?
Even it seems like fortunetelling, actually it is not. Nothing happens in a short time and there are today's and yesterday's trends and events signaling us about what will happen.
Now, let's take a closer look at them.
Increased Environmental Concerns
Increased environmental concern is the first trend. Fossil fuels are limited and global energy demand is increasing as population grows. Today high CO2 emissions damage our world through global warming. Now sustainability is not just a fancy word but a real concern. Many governments, institutions and companies are working more on green technologies. Energy efficiency and recyclability are other major manufacturing issues. This is an energy game with strong implications on political and economic stability.
Urbanization driven by globalization
Second trend is urbanization driven by globalization, especially at emerging countries. The number of mega cities are increasing thus forming more service driven businesses are due to increased number of middle class people seeking personalized goods and services. Growth driver for the next decades will be those cities through demand shifting to the East.
Internet of Things
Third major trend is the internet of things. Internet has already changed and unified the world and this will continue until everything in the world is tied together. Information is more accessible than ever and even conventional education is under question. Customer is a "knowledgeable" king now demanding the "best" immediately and continuously.
And more; there are technological trends: Increased use of robotics driven by the improved sensor technologies, nanomaterials and nano manufacturing through better characterization and modelling and finally 3D printing which is a real breakthrough for all manufacturing industry.
In 2115, our grandkids will be using a different clean energy source, most probably solar based. Internet will be everywhere; on wearables, tools, houses...Dangerous tasks will be performed by robots. We will be producing our cars at our garage with our 3D printers. There will be new materials programmable to change shape and physical properties. All those new materials will be recyclable. Our grandkids will also live longer lives with the advances in medicine and gene therapies. Sounds good?
Kordsa Global and Composites
What's Kordsa Global doing today to be a part of our grandkids' future? We are working harder for new composite technologies to fulfill the mega need for lighter, stronger and more durable materials. Today, composite structures reinforced by high strength-high modulus fibers are being used more and more compared with the last 30 years.
Tire is a good example of dynamic composites, beginning with cotton followed by nylon, rayon, polyester, steel and aramid. Similar story is the airplanes evolution from wood to steel, aluminum and glass to carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Automotive industry is also very active for thermoplastic composites in hybrid and electrical technologies with nameplates like BMW i3, i8, Tesla and Strati.
We are experts on reinforcing rubber through polymerization, spinning, textile and coating with a strong fit of our competencies in the adjacent area named "Composite Reinforcement". We established our new "Composite Reinforcement Business Unit" in April 2014 and already began production of carbon fiber fabrics through our new weaving loom.
Thermoset prepregs (impregnated Carbon Fiber fabrics) production will also commence in 2015 for particular industries like aerospace, sports & leisure and automotive. Kordsa Global will differentiate with her "high precision processes knowledge", "resin recipe development capability" and "product design competencies" gained with extensive R&D efforts.
Composite Technologies Center of Excellence
Excellence Center
We covered an important milestone with the groundbreaking of "Composite Technologies Center of Excellence" at Teknopark İstanbul in December 2014. Kordsa Global and Sabancı University collaboration created a unique business model enabling the participation of Sabancı University graduate programs of composite research, joint material and processing labs for composites, Kordsa Global R&D Center and the production plant for thermoset and thermoplastic prepregs altogether under the same roof.
We are preparing Kordsa Global for the future. As Peter Drucker said: "The best way to predict the future is to create it.”