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Ready to grow bigger

Thanks to the expanding market,Vetroresina S.p.A. is operating at fullcapacity and has launched a pro-

gramme of extended production that willsoon bear fruit.In reality, theever increasingdemand fromclients doesn’tresult solely fromthe positiveperiod that thesector is expe-riencing, butalso from theincreasing use offibreglass lami-nates in motor-home construc-tion. Many

European manufacturers have converted tosandwich panels with double fibreglass she-ets, but even some companies who remainloyal to aluminium have progressively intro-duced fibreglass for the roof or floor. Thereason is simple: the hard-wearing qualitiesof fibreglass are well known (hail is no lon-ger a disaster, for example), while the inter-nal and external panelling permits woof-free sandwich panels, impregnable towater.“When we started supplying our productsto European manufacturers,” beginsSimone Colombarini, Sole Director ofVetroresina S.p.A., “it was only used for thewalls; an average motorhome generallyused about 35 m² of sheeting. Today, it canreach 100–110 m² instead.”Use of fibreglass has extended to the entirecasing of the living unit – walls, roof and

floor – and we’re no longer dealing withsimple sheets for the external lining but san-dwich panels with double sheets, both onthe outside and the inside. Eura Mobil wasthe first company to believe in “all fibre-glass”, already ten years ago, and it’s nocoincidence that the German brand startedoffering a ten-year warranty on the body-work, deemed highly reliable, last year.Fibreglass sheets have been introduced atvarious levels by many other manufacturers– take Hymer and Trigano – and there havenow been panels with double sheets for atleast five years. These changes have affec-ted Europe above all: in America, fibreglasshad already been introduced before, but –inexplicably – it hasn’t seen the develop-ment that it has on the Old Continent.“We’ve been supplying the American mar-ket for a long time,” explains Simone

The new production lines will shortly be active again, permitting an increase in productionand doubling of the length of the packaging rolls, to deal with the ever increasing use offibreglass in the European market. But the American market too is ready to receive the newtechnologies, and a factory extension programme has been launched to this end.

Words Giorgio Carpii

Simone ColombariniVetroresina SpA CEO

Vetroresina Spa - Via Portuense, 10 44020 Masi San Giacomo (FE) - ItalyPh. +39 0532 327911 - Web: www.vetroresina.com

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Colombarini, “and about fifteen years agowe introduced a big new development, thevery thick (3.8 mm) fibreglass sheet, toreplace the previous thin sheets coupledwith a plywood support, guaranteeingmore strength and zero water absorption.But we’re still talking today about externallinings almost exclusively. However, I believethat the time is ripe for development of theproduct in the American market too.”In recent years, much work has been doneto perfect sandwich panels for the floor: forthe upper side (passenger compartmentside) it is now possible to use prefinishedfibreglass sheets with coupled PVC, whilefor the lower side (road side), a roughersheet is used, without aesthetic value, butresistant to water and impact (stones anddebris raised by the wheels). The fibreglassis supplied in 60-metre rolls, so floor panelscan be made in one piece, without joins asin the case of plywood panels.Fibreglass sheets of lower cost have beenpresented recently, for use on the passenger

compartment side of panels: starting fromthe premise that they don’t need towithstand the sun’s rays or the elements,they can be produced without gelcoat butmaintain excellent mechanical resistance.They are available in various types of finishand colour. Vetroresina S.p.A. is also perfec-ting lighter sheets, in order to contribute tothe general reduction in weight that is nowessential for many European manufacturers:a weight reduction of 100–200 g/m² cantranslate into a saving of some kilos on theentire vehicle. So it’s a particularly positiveperiod for the Ferrara-based company,which has now been working for two yearsto full production capacity. This is why aprogramme to extend the factory has beenarranged: a new building will be inaugura-ted in the first months of 2018, which willhouse four new production lines. This willpermit a 20% increase in production capa-city, to pass from 5 to 6 million m²/year. Butthe new production lines will also providean advantage that’s far from insignificant:

they’ll allow the production of longer rolls;from the current 60-metre rolls there will bethe potential for as many as 120 metres.This will certainly be appreciated by themanufacturers, who will have less wastageand will require less storage space for therolls, not to mention the potential reductionin processing times to unpack the rollsthemselves and insert them on the proces-sing lines. The investment equates to 5 mil-lion euros and a staff increase of approxi-mately 15% is anticipated.The new 120-metre roll will certainly be loo-ked upon favourably by American manufac-turers: this is why the new technology willalso be brought to Vetroresina S.p.A.’s USfactory in the near future, opened in 2008precisely to guarantee supplies for the localmarket in the most effective way possible.This factory too is operating at full capacityand an extension has been planned in thiscase as well: the land has already been pur-chased and new, modern production lineswill be installed in the new building.

Company ProfileFounded in 1968, Vetroresina S.p.A. produces glass fibre-reinforced polyester resin laminates. The company’s great ope-

rating capacity results from thorough research in the composite materials sector linked to the study and continuousimprovement of processing techniques. To maintain and increase the level of production, Vetroresina S.p.A. has plannedsubstantial investments and thanks to the contribution of advanced technologies, as well as close collaboration with uni-versities and experts in the sector, it has been able to apprehend the changes in and new requirements of the market.A high level of technology together with particular attention to aesthetics and materials have given rise to product diver-sification, extending their range and fields of application. Vetroresina S.p.A. has a production capacity of 129 items perday and extends over an area of 46,000 m². In June 2000, Vetroresina S.p.A. opened a factory in Brazil, in the municipali-ty of São Paulo, from which it can meet the needs of the South American market, and since May 2008 the company hasboasted a new production site in the USA from which it can dedicate itself to managing the North American market.

Contacts:CEO: Simone Colombarini - simone.colombarini@vetroresinaspa.it