Dear E-LASS member,

We had a great meeting in Finspång and many thanks (!) to Göran Olsson and SAPA for their hospitality and support of the event. Also thanks for the opportunity to see their impressive technic for production of aluminum profiles and of super-large and light friction stir welded panels.  Thanks also to Johan Rutfors Isaksson and Mattias Larsson at Siemens for letting us visit their production site in Finspång where they presented how they use the additive manufacturing method and how it e.g. enables an extremely fast and cost-effective management for the replacement of worn parts. In relation to the event, I would further like to thank Marc Denjean and SICOMIN for sponsoring the dinner together with us.

The seminar was highly interesting as expected with many good discussions. I was in particular very happy about the many positive and forward looking presentations with new interesting polymers and materials and also presentations demonstrating need for lightweight ship design in relation to the introduction of electric propulsion systems. This is to some extent, already technology in use but it seems very likely that we will see much more of this as environmental and petroleum-based fuel restrictions becomes even more than now, requirements the shipping industry has to manage.

All presentations from the seminar are available here at www.e-lass.eu.

As mentioned in my previous e-mail we are preparing to sort all members into categories as described below (Material producer added to previous list):

  • Authority
  • Class
  • Consultants
  • Design
  • Engineering
  • Installation
  • Manufacture or supply
  • Operator
  • R&D
  • Service
  • Shipyard
  • Support Organization
  • Training and Education
  • Material producer

Please send info to alexander.hertzberg@sp.se of where you would like to be included. If you do not send information we will sort your organization to the best of our understanding of what you do.

I am happy to announce that our next event will take place at the Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia. Most likely in September 2017. Vito Radolović from Uljanik has indicated that we will be able to see interesting examples of FRP usage at the shipyard. I am looking forward to this. I feel that I, thanks to the kind offer from Uljanik, have been able to fulfill my promise in Finspång to have the next arrangement somewhat more to the south under somewhat warmer conditionsJ. Having said that, I think all who participated in Finspång will agree that the snow covered city was a very nice and pretty place. -Quite a fascinating town actually, with a long history of industrialism. Somewhat more than ten thousand inhabitants and five (!) larger industries present: Gränges, Aurubis, SAPA, Siemens and SSAB. Anyway, I am sure Pula will be an interesting place to visit too.

Best regards

Tommy