At this year´s JEC composites show in Paris, the French Group Sora (F-53170 Meslay du Maine; www.sora-composites.fr) demonstrated its know-how on the use of composites for cars and utility vehicles. The group has a 1,500-t press with a 3,600 x 2,100 x 2,500 mm platen which it uses to produce ready-to-paint, large-area SMC parts with a low pressure, giving a Class-A surface. This includes bodywork for agricultural vehicles produced by John Deere. The company´s proprietary RTM ICS (Injection Compression System) is now used in the industrial production of all-composite bodywork components for the Lotus Elise (front bonnet, window surround, bottom section of the body, front and rear bumpers, outer door) and also the spoilers. A further example is the spoiler on the Opel Roadster, which has a polyurethane core covered in glass fibre. The use of carbon was demonstrated by the complete cab of the Unimog Mercedes lorry, produced in epoxy resin/carbon by the RTM process. Finally, the Sora Group has installed the F3P process (Ford Programmable Preform Process) at its Sotira 35 site in Saint-Meloir, France. Developed by Ford, this high-volume production process for complex, net-shaped preforms based on glass fibre rovings, is fully automated. A robot chops the fibre and deposits it in a mould together with a binder. The material yield is virtually 100% with no peripheral loss, making it possible to optimise parts that incorporate large holes. The system includes facilities for varying the length and quantity of fibre (glass or carbon) according to the characteristics of the part. The absence of a surface veil additionally ensures high-quality visible parts.

The Sora composites group, which has a payroll of almost 600, includes Sotira (a company engaged in the industrial conversion of reinforced resins) and SPPP (which paints plastic parts). Sotira has three production sites in France and a joint venture, Sotira-Tiller, in the Czech Republic.