Strall's new post focuses on growth in composites with Fiber Dynamics

Wichita, Kan.-based composites manufacturer Fiber Dynamics Inc. is scaling up business with a new chief strategic officer and an international partnership.

Company officials hired Nolan Strall, former president of machine builder KraussMaffei Corp. (KMC), as the first CSO.

They also entered into a partnership with Gurten, Austria-based Fill GmbH, a family-owned machine and plant engineering company they are working closely with on a number of projects.

Strall also is business development director for Fill. He said the company offers automation and solutions for composites, aluminum die cast, CNC machining and more.

"Fill is the premier technology provider to scale difficult processes, which are traditionally done by hand, or thought to be too difficult to automate," Strall said in a phone interview.

The new partner's automation solutions will support the growth of Fiber Dynamics and its customers across many industries, including automotive, aerospace, commercial/sporting goods, foundry processing and others, Strall said.

"If you are seeking your best possible solution for a complex manufacturing application, you will find it at Fill," he added.

As CSO, Strall also promotes capabilities of Fiber Dynamics' branded Thermocore Lost Core Tooling System, which is used in the resin transfer molding (RTM) process.

The proprietary system uses Thermocore material as mandrels to form the cavities of complex hollow composite parts such as propellers, wings, landing gear, flight control surfaces and airframes. The mandrel material is then removed from the part during the required curing process.

Founded in 1991, Fiber Dynamics specializes in RTM, vacuum-assisted RTM (VARTM), compression molding and thermoplastics for traditional aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), along with other applications for the automotive and commercial industries.

The Thermocore system gives Fiber Dynamics a competitive edge, Strall said.

"It allows us to create some very intricate internal designs and take legacy designs that were multiple parts and integrate them into a 'single shot' structure, which provides a huge value for our customers and a differentiator for us," he said. "We have the materials, processes, and most importantly, the people, to better serve aircraft makers who require complex hollow-cavity, single shot components. The tooling system itself is completely reusable, so it supports the industry's efforts around circular economy, and we are constantly looking at further ways to innovate our processes and provide more value to our customers."

Thermocore lends itself well to some industries that will be growing over the next five years, Strall said. He pointed to UAVs, collaborative combat aircraft, unmanned drone applications for the military and advanced air mobility (AAM).

AAM uses electrical vertical takeoff and landing that Strall said could move passengers and goods or provide emergency services.

The federal infrastructure bill also has driven investment in lightweighting vehicles. Strall said he will look at the higher-end electric vehicle space, which would follow some F1 racing projects.

In addition, manufacturers of commercial goods are showing more interest.

"Some companies want to move from traditional glass fiber or heavier solutions to more novel solutions and composites," Strall said.

Fiber Dynamics also plans to expand into thermoplastic composite overmolding and injection molding of structural aerospace components in early 2025 with its 1,400-ton KraussMaffei injection molding machine.

Domestic demand could be met by domestic manufacturers.

"This is not only important from the standpoint that we need to be able to produce a lot more composite parts in a lot shorter amount of time to support where these industries are headed. We also need to bring high technology jobs and manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and that's more of a national level initiative right now," Strall said.

Fiber Dynamics started out as a composites manufacturer of bicycle and commercial sporting good components, primarily using the lost core process.

The process was developed by company founder Darrin Teeter and his team, who continued to refine it over the last 30 years.

The system molds cores to net shapes, which eliminates time-consuming machining.

"When you cast a block and CNC machine it, it can take two weeks compared to a matter of minutes for injection molding," Strall said.

The business expanded into the aerospace arena starting off with interiors and then got more into the defense side with control surfaces and landing gear for unmanned aircraft.

The move from pedal power to aerospace wasn't too big of a leap to Teeter.

"The Wright Brothers did it," he said. "It seems natural progression in some sense and it's hard to be in Wichita, the air capital of the world, and not be drawn into aerospace."

Fiber Dynamics produced kit plane parts first then aircraft interior components. The company developed a long-term relationship with Cessna aircraft, which is now Textron Aviation.

Next, Fiber Dynamics started working with General Atomics, producing parts for unmanned vehicle platforms, landing gear, and tail and wing type assemblies.

"We're progressing more into the design and engineering side and being more of a holistic solution provider for our customers," Teeter said. "It was really a matter of taking time to get the recipe right and making sure that we're serving our existing customers well. Now we're in a position to where we can really scale."