ARRIS Unveils Structural Flax Fiber Composites

ARRIS, a manufacturer enabling high-performance thermoplastic composites at scale for mass-market products and industrial applications, has a new sustainable fiber material offering.

Sustainability is at the core of everything ARRIS does as the team scales additive molding for a production capacity in the millions to meet demand, the company reports. Additionally, ARRIS has doubled its in-house material production capacity as of February 2023 to support customer programs.

The ARRIS R&D team has been developing natural-fiber composites with performance capabilities to complement its bio-nylon resin material being used with carbon and glass fiber for products.

“Since we started, our R&D team has been researching and investigating recycled, recovered, and natural fibers, as well as recycled, bio-based, and bio-synthesized polymers that help brands achieve necessary sustainability initiatives without sacrificing the best-in-class performance their customers have come to expect,” says Bert Mannhalter, ARRIS vice president of Research and Development. “I’m excited to reach this breakthrough in processing flax fibers. Though it’s been used for cosmetic parts such as veneers and paneling, we now see a way to use these fibers for true structural applications.”

Since flax fiber is <5% of the CO2e footprint compared to carbon fiber, these advanced composites can impact  further reducing CO2 emissions.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.