HST Technologies is a private company which has taken over as the number one US golf shaft manufacturer (beat out Aldila). I think they are headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. Calloway Golf is their number one customer.
By the way, Aldila's last 10Q said that they are going to start their own carbon fiber manufacturing (rumor is heavy tow like ZOLT and Akzo).
A "prepregger" is a company who takes carbon (or glass or aramid) fiber and adds resin (preimpregnation process) and then sells "prepreg" to a part manufacturer (be it golf clubs or aircraft parts). The largest prepregger in the world is Hexcel (name sound familiar - also number three in carbon fiber), second is Fiberite (private company now owned by DLJ and will be public someday soon) and third is Toray (another familiar name - number one in carbon fiber). Fourth is Newport Composites of Huntington Beach (owned by Mitsubishi - ALSO in carbon fiber). There are a few others (very small), but Fiberite and Hexcel are very large and diversified between aerospace and recreational/industrial products while Toray is mostly non-aerospace with the exception of the material for the 777 tail and Mitsubishi is all non-aerospace.
As you can tell from above the other carbon fiber guys are also integrated downstream. Growth in the current markets which use prepreg will be hard for Zoltek to penetrate, they have to open new markets. Like I've posted previously, the new markets will come just not nearly as fast or as big as the hype that is out there. And, these other companies are much better positioned with one exception.
ZOLT's one advantage is applications where strength is not important AND you don't need a fabric. I have posted before on some of those applications. However, ZOLT is not alone here, Akzo is the competition and if the market truly grew the other carbon fiber companies could enter very easily.
Hope this helps.
Flyguy. |
