Lucintel Analyzes Global Boating Industry Outlook for 2010 and Beyond: Market to Bottom Out in 2010

Economic recovery holds the key to global boating industry regaining a positive growth trajectory. There were dramatic changes in the boat market during 2009 and 2010 with prominent regions such as North America suffering double-digit decline in 2009 due to economic downturn and credit crunch. The European boat market started feeling the brunt of the economic downturn towards the end of 2008 and dropped significantly in 2009. The year 2010 is projected to remain almost flat on a global basis as economy is recovering from the recessionary trends. Lucintel expects the global boat market to see a positive growth during forecast years as market recovers from the slump of 2008 and 2009.

Lucintel, a leading global management consulting and market research firm with over 1000 clients worldwide has analyzed the global recreational boating industry to develop a comprehensive report entitled "Global Recreational Boating Industry Analysis and Forecast 2010-2015".

According to Lucintel, the global demand for recreational boat is projected to reach $27.8 billion in annual sales by 2015. On a global basis, North America represents the largest region in terms of unit shipments. Lucintel’s research reveals that Europe saw the highest relative growth during last 5 years (2004-2009) as European-based boat makers gained market share in large sized boats.

This 263 - page report provides a detailed assessment of the demand for the production of recreational boats including inboard boats, outboard boats, stern drive boats, personal watercrafts, sail boats, as well as other types on a global and regional basis. In terms of specific boat building industry trends, there is an ongoing shift in product mix toward larger and more expensive boats. According to Lucintel, Azimut-Benetti ranked number 1 in the global recreational boat market, followed by Groupe Beneteau, Ferreti, and Brunswick. This market intelligence report provides the ranking of the top 10 global leaders with their respective market shares.

This detailed research report includes demand trends and forecasts, market size estimates by boat types, regional analysis, and profile of leading companies, competitive analysis and much additional critical business information.

For a detailed table of contents and pricing information on this timely and insightful report, please contact Helpdesk at +1-972-636-5056 or via email at helpdesk@lucintel.com. Lucintel provides cutting edge support to help you make critical decisions with greater speed, insight and cost-efficiency. To find out more, visit www.lucintel.com


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Boeing Attributes Dreamliner ZA002 Fire to Failure in the P100 Panel

Boeing continues to investigate ZA002 incident. According to Boeing release we have determined that a failure in the P100 panel led to a fire involving an insulation blanket. The insulation self-extinguished once the fault in the P100 panel cleared. The P100 panel on ZA002 has been removed and a replacement unit is being shipped to Laredo. The insulation material near the unit also has been removed.

Damage to the ZA002 P100 panel is significant. Initial inspections, however, do not show extensive damage to the surrounding structure or other systems. We have not completed our inspections of that area of the airplane.

The P100 panel is one of several power panels in the aft electronics bay. It receives power from the left engine and distributes it to an array of systems. In the event of a failure of the P100 panel, backup power sources – including power from the right engine, the Ram Air Turbine, the auxiliary power unit or the battery – are designed to automatically engage to ensure that those systems needed for continued safe operation of the airplane are powered. The backup systems engaged during the incident and the crew retained positive control of the airplane at all times and had the information it needed to perform a safe landing.

Molten metal has been observed near the P100 panel, which is not unexpected in the presence of high heat. The presence of this material does not reveal anything meaningful to the investigation.

Inspection of the surrounding area will take several days and is ongoing. It is too early to determine if there is significant damage to any structure or adjacent systems.

As part of our investigation, we will conduct a detailed inspection of the panel and insulation material to determine if they enhance our understanding of the incident. We continue to evaluate data to understand this incident. At the same time, we are working through a repair plan. In addition, we are determining the appropriate steps required to return the rest of the flight test fleet to flying status.

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REG Wind Farm Proposal Secures Resolution to Grant Permission

Renewable Energy Generation Limited, the UK renewable energy group, apprised that East Riding of Yorkshire Council's planning committee voted to support the construction of a five turbine wind farm at Sancton Hill. The vote, 12 votes to 1 in favour of the scheme, provides planning officers with a mandate to grant planning permission following the completion of Section 106 agreement in respect of a number of planning obligations.

Following the grant of planning permission, expected later in 2010, REG expects to be able to commence construction of this project in its next financial year.

Andrew Whalley, Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Energy Generation, said:
"The strong support of the planning committee to grant permission for the 10MW Sancton Hill is welcome news. The site is a good one, able to accommodate five 100 metre tip height wind turbines. We will be moving forward our discussions with the council to complete the Section 106 agreement as speedily as possible in order to allow construction in REG's next financial year.”

REG Wind Farm Proposal Secures Resolution to Grant Permission

Renewable Energy Generation Limited, the UK renewable energy group, apprised that East Riding of Yorkshire Council's planning committee voted to support the construction of a five turbine wind farm at Sancton Hill. The vote, 12 votes to 1 in favour of the scheme, provides planning officers with a mandate to grant planning permission following the completion of Section 106 agreement in respect of a number of planning obligations.

Following the grant of planning permission, expected later in 2010, REG expects to be able to commence construction of this project in its next financial year.

Andrew Whalley, Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Energy Generation, said:
"The strong support of the planning committee to grant permission for the 10MW Sancton Hill is welcome news. The site is a good one, able to accommodate five 100 metre tip height wind turbines. We will be moving forward our discussions with the council to complete the Section 106 agreement as speedily as possible in order to allow construction in REG's next financial year.”

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Automated Dynamics Develops Carbon Fiber Composite Component for Deep-Sea Use

Automated Dynamics apprised that it has developed a high-performance carbon fiber composite hydraulic pump with Cameron, a leading provider of flow equipment products, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries. The new machine component was displayed at the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas.

The large capacity hydraulic pump has several components composed of a proprietary PEEK carbon composite and is designed to operate in ultra-deep water applications. The use of advanced composite materials was driven by the desire to minimize the deflections of the inner and outer barrel under service loading conditions to insure the annular piston seal performance was maximized. Other features of the design included optimization of the composite/metal interface, inclusion of a washout port and the introduction of a metallic liner.

“The use of advanced composite materials has allowed us to redesign a machine component to operate at depths that challenge conventional materials designs,” said Ronald B. Bucinell, Ph.d., P.E., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Union College. Bucinell conducted the finite element analysis of the component. “It also meets all design objectives while maintaining industry accepted factors of safety and compatibility with mating components.”

“This is an exciting product that we’re proud to be developing with Cameron,” said, James Harty, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Automated Dynamics. “By using a high-performance carbon fiber and PEEK matrix composite in conjunction with precise fiber placement technologies, we minimize water absorption, marine biofouling and weight while optimizing the material construction to meet the demanding functional and form-fit requirements.”

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Von Roll Launches the New PARA-LITE PHT20 Armoring Material Based on HiPer-tex High Performance Fibreglass from 3B

To stay ahead of latest threats, police, military and paramilitary organizations can now benefit from lightweight, cost competitive, advanced composite materials. Due to the development of HiPer-tex high performance glass fibre from 3B, Von Roll extended its armoring products range and unveiled new PARA-LITE PHT20 phenolic prepreg for hard armoring applications. Optimal protection needs could be achieved by the combination of 3B’s HiPer-tex fibre with Von Roll composites long lasting know-how in impregnation and lamination technologies.

Von Roll was keen to state: “HiPer-tex made PARA-LITE PHT20 phenolic prepreg solves both challenges of weight reductions and affordability for today and tomorrow hard armor systems. This makes lighter weight and economical our newly developed certified composites stand-alone and hybrid STANAG 4569 ballistics solutions that defeat a range of ammunitions from small arms to high calibers such as Amor Piercing bullets. This enables Von Roll to propose to our customers an even wider range of ballistics solutions they are interested in”.

Eric Debondue, Specialties Business Development Leader of 3B added: “Our unique HiPer-tex glass formulation, delivers a high level of performance in composite parts while ensuring sustainable economics. In parallel to our latest developments in wind energy and high pressure vessels we are very pleased at 3B to partner with VonRoll to develop a ballistics solution that has a high level of protection and extremely long term durability thanks to the high mechanical and high impact resistance properties of HiPer-tex fibre.”

Hard Armor ballistics protections are known to protect against bullets, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devises) and EFP (Explosively Former Projectiles) while bringing structure in naval ships, planes and vehicles.

HiPer-tex high performance fibers are ideally suited to hard armor applications, as well as many other industry segments, due to an increasing demand for weight reduction combined with higher performance that is economically viable for high capacity.

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Lamborghini Teams with Callaway Golf on Composites

The two signed an agreement to work together on new, sophisticated carbon fiber materials that will transform golf clubs and car bodies. The new stuff is being called Forged Composite, which is a third less dense than titanium.

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann and Callaway CEO George Fellows met at the show today to discuss their joint development effort. "We see power-to-weight ratio and weight reduction as the keys for future super-sports cars and carbon fiber as the material to achieve these goals. Callaway's expertise in specific technologies is strategic for our research projects," Winkelmann said.

The two companies say they discovered both were working in similar areas in developing advanced composites. They are lighter and stronger than steel. Lambo uses them extensively in the Sesto Elemento concept car that it introduced at the show.



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Growth Opportunities in Global Automotive Composite CNG Tank Market 2010-2015

CNG is natural gas that has been compressed into a high-pressure container for transportation or storage. Initially the high-pressure cylinders used to store the natural gas were manufactured and tested in accordance with the industrial cylinder standards.

High pressure composite vessels were introduced more than 70 years before and were especially developed for space and military applications. The experimentation of composite vessels started in the 50s but the first high pressure vessels used for space and military applications started actually in the 60s in the US. In the late 1980’s, experimental applications of composite reinforced plastic liners in CNG service occurred in Sweden, Russia and France. Following the development of natural gas vehicle cylinder standards in North America, fully-wrapped designs with relatively thin aluminum liners or plastic liners reinforced with a full wrapping of glass fiber and/or carbon fiber reinforcement were introduced into CNG service commencing in 1992.

According to Lucintel’s report "Growth Opportunities in Global Automotive Composite CNG Tank Market 2010-2015: Trends, Forecast and Market Analysis " Composites in CNG tank market is expected to grow at double digit rate in coming five years with focus on weight reduction, fuel efficiency and better vehicle performance. Over the next 5 years, total composites consumption in CNG Tank market is expected to continue strong a growth momentum of 10% CAGR i.e. by 2015, and CNG composites tank market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15%. The end product market is expected to reach above $120 M by 2015.

Composites CNG tank market holds promising present and future for light weight tanks with an increased focus on environmental performance and fuel efficiency. Traditional tank manufacturers are repositioning their companies by customizing and widening their product offering. Heavy Duty Vehicles are the most significant application of composites tanks but Light Duty Vehicles are gaining popularity and expected to grow with double digit growth rate. Significant regional shift is taking place in the overall CNG tank market; this new dimension is likely to provide tremendous growth to regional players and existing companies are expected to face fierce competition in the coming time.

This unique report from Lucintel will provide you with valuable information, insights and tools needed to identify new growth opportunities and operate your business successfully in CNG tank market. This report will save your hundreds of hour’s personal research time and will significantly benefit you in expanding your business in this market. In today’s stringent economy, you need every advantage that you can find.

To make business, investment, or strategic decisions, you need timely and adequate information. This market report fulfills this core need and is an indispensable reference guide for multi-national material suppliers, product manufacturers, investors, executives, distributors and many more, who are dealing with the composites market. Some of the features of this market report are:

* Market size of Composites CNG tank market by value & volume shipment.
* Composite shipment volumes across various types of tanks ,i.e. type-II,III & IV
* Different high potential application areas of composites in LDV’s, HDV’s & other vehicles.
* Major growth drivers for each of different type of tanks
* Trend (2004-2009) and forecast (2010-2015) for composites market in CNG tank with the material of choice for the tank manufacturers, growing segment for CNG tanks.
* Strength and Weakness of each of the composites market.
* Regional breakdown has been provided in the report.

For details visit us at: http://www.lucintel.com/marke_CNG_Tank.asp