SOUTH HILL, Wash. - Ludwig Heimrath used to drive race cars. Then he started a company to make race car bodies out of carbon reinforced plastics. Now, in addition to his business, he's the instructor of a new class to teach students skills in the rapidly expanding world of composite materials. That class is now in its second quarter at Clover Park Technical College's South Hill campus near Puyallup.
"Metals are a discipline, composites are a brand-new discipline." said Heimrath. "And there's a lot of features about composites that don't transfer from one to the other."
Composites are a category of materials that include the high-strength plastics Boeing is using in the new 787 Dreamliner. In factories around the world, composite pieces of the 787 from wings, to the body, to the tail, are made by building up layers of high-strength carbon fibers embedded in a plastic resin. It's made like plywood, with the grain of different layers heading in different directions providing strength. Once it's built up, the composite part is then heated and cured under pressure in giant ovens called autoclaves. Composite materials are said to be stronger than steel, but much lighter in weight.
About a dozen students are now in the second quarter of the Clover Park's class, and the work is hands-on. Students include a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, an administrative assistant, a former steel worker and a laid-off Boeing contractor. All are hoping skills gained through the class will lead to a job, or a better job with a bright future.
One of them is John Alexander. He's the former Army Warrant officer who flew helicopters and has a college degree, but was recently laid off from his civilian job as an education development counselor for a military contractor.
"I love working with my hands, I always loved aviation and aerospace, and I'm trying to break my way back into it." said Alexander.
Another student is Janet Burton, who's found herself working temporary jobs in this economy. She wants something more permanent.
"I hope since this is a Boeing partnership, I hope that I'm going to Boeing or another company that's working with composites because the industry is ready to blow wide open." she said.
She may be right. Airbus is working on its first mostly composite plane, and the Boeing Dreamliner is currently in flight test. Analysts fully expect Boeing's next jets, including a possible rework of the popular 737, to be made from composites like the 787.
But most of the Dreamliner's parts are made by suppliers around the world. The wings and other big parts are made in Nagoya, Japan; and big body sections in Italy. Last year, Boeing bought out another supplier near Charleston, South Carolina that makes big fuselage sections, and in a few years will begin building some 787s in that state.
Boeing's moves have made many in Western Washington fret about the future. But Boeing says it is a big believer in the future of composites right here in Western Washington, and is providing materials and experts to help Clover Park's composites program grow.
"We want to make sure we have local talent in our community," said Steve Brewer, a senior manager in Boeing's Composite Manufacturing Center in Frederickson.
The Pierce County community became home to Boeing's first big push in composites 16 years ago as it ramped up to build the tail of the 777 out of composite material.
"We could end up building a lot of products in the Puget Sound area that are going to be composite. And I think there's a career opportunity to be able to get on board."
