Company Supports Solar Car, Solo Yacht Racing Events

ZEELAND – Plascore, world leader in honeycomb cores and solutions, continues its support of global performance and technology events, including sponsorship of around-the-world yacht racers and solar car challenges, such as the five-time champion University of Michigan Solar Car Team.

Last year, the University of Michigan Solar Car Team, built using Plascore honeycomb core, won the 2008 North American Solar Challenge after traveling nearly 2400 miles from Plano, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. The team finished ten hours ahead of its nearest competitors to bring back Michigan’s fifth National Championship in nine races.

Placing fourth in the event was another Plascore sponsored car, the Midnight Sun from Waterloo University, Ontario. The Midnight Sun Solar Race Team is the largest student-run project at the University of Waterloo. Every two years, students design and build a solar-powered car to race in the North American Solar Challenge and the World Solar Challenge.

In addition to continued financial assistance, Plascore provides technical support and donates high-performance grade honeycomb core material. Plascore works closely with designers to provide the specific honeycomb solution for these exceptionally demanding applications. Plascore solutions include Nomex^® aramid fiber honeycomb, an extremely lightweight, high strength, non-metallic honeycomb manufactured with aramid fiber paper treated with a heat resistant phenolic resin. This core material exhibits high performance characteristics in the areas of weight, strength, stiffness and fatigue.

Plascore honeycomb core performs on sea as on land. The Spirit of Canada, a 60-foot racing yacht, was engineered using Plascore honeycomb core in the vessel’s hull. Skipper Derek Hatfield of Nova Scotia designed the fast, light craft for solo, around-the-world, non-stop racing, such as the Vendee Globe, now being held. The hull of The Spirit of Canada uses composite sandwich construction, cored with Plascore Nomex^® fiber honeycomb.