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| Al-Saad and Richards shake hands as ambassador Hawkins, Scrivener and Sorour look on |
Announcing the MoU yesterday at the Qatar Motor Show, Qatar Ag chairman Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad said both companies have identified a significant opportunity to meet the expanding demand for lightweight, cost-effective carbon composite-based products in numerous markets around the world.
Prodrive chairman and CEO David Richards, who recalled his first visit to Qatar over 35 years ago to organise one of the very first motorsport events in the region, welcomed the opportunity to combine “our joint skills and resources to create one of the world’s leading automotive composite businesses here.”
Al-Saad pointed out that Qatar Ag was launched to establish an advanced industrial zone to host some of the most promising sectors of the automotive industry value chain by 2020, so that it becomes the main hub for the production of some of the main automotive components and parts.
Prodrive is a leading manufacturer of carbon fibre automotive components used by high-end brands including Jaguar, Bentley and McLaren.
“Carbon fibre composites have been an important part of Prodrive’s motor sport business for the last two decades where we have been at the forefront of developing and refining this lightweight alternative to steel and aluminium for our own race and rally cars,” Richards said.
Carbon fibre composites combine carbon fibre with a range of composite materials such as Kevlar and glass fibres which are increasingly being utilised in numerous applications across a wide range of sectors such as aerospace, marine and automotive.
These materials are earmarked with low weight, flexibility and very high tolerance of temperatures and corrosion, making them into a strong alternative and a complement to aluminium and steel with a weight advantage of 40% and 60%, respectively.
“The global trade volume of advanced materials and composites was estimated at $18bn in 2010, that of manufactured products set for final usage reached more than $50bn and the annual growth rate is expected to increase during this decade to around 10% of the total volume of the sector,” al-Saad observed.
Chief executive officer Ahmed Sorour described lightweight material technology - illustrated perfectly by carbon composites - as a perfect fit for Qatar Ag’s mission of building an automotive cluster in the country by 2020, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Prodrive’s chief operating officer Clive Scrivener stated that Qatar Ag has demonstrated a deep understanding and long-term commitment to build a leading position in the market for high technology lightweight materials. British ambassador John Hawkins was present at the event.
