Telair loading system gets carbon-fibre update

Telair, is a 30-person cargo-systems manufacturer, boasting international customers like Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier. The systems they build are used in planes all over the world, helping airlines save costs with every flight and improving working conditions for loading personell. The sliding carpet system is the one we will talk about and it leads to 20% shorter loading time per flight.

In 2011, Telair was looking to introduce a carbon-fibre version of it’s sliding carpet system and slowly phase out the fibre-glass version. This would further reduce the weight of the system while still meeting strength and safety requirements.

The company was looking for a supplier that would consistently deliver high quality and delivery performance. At the time however, carbon-fibre was not being used in this way. Telair needed to search for an innovative partner that had worked with carbon-fibre production.

When Telair finally got in touch with Ljungby Komposit they were met by a “positive and forward thinking company”, according to Kristian Hermansson (Supply Chain Manager, Telair International AB). The pre-production stage was very cooperative and many important decisions were made. The two companies worked together in evaluating different carbon-fibre suppliers, testing the strengths and weaknesses of different quality grades and fibre-thicknesses and how they would affect the final product. 

According to Thommy Rosberg, “Everything we do at Ljungby Komposit is focussed on creating consistently high quality at the lowest total cost for our customers, this includes our suppliers and the improvements we have made to the industry’s standard production processes.” Ljungby Komposit has now been producing the panel for close to a decade. The carbon-fibre version of the sliding carpet system has now overtaken the fibre-glass version and resulted in a 30% decrease in the weight of the overall system.

Telair Sweden currently has a small portion of the market. However, fuel costs are expected to stay high leading to increased demand for lighter parts in the industry. Increased pressure for fuel-efficiency due to environmental concerns and the demand for improved working conditions for loading personell, means that the sliding carpet system and Telair have enormous growth potential moving forward.

“Working with Ljungby Komposit has improved our competitive position, partly because of the logistical efficiency between us but also because of the total cost and quality stability LK has delivered.” – Kristian Hermansson, Supply Chain Manager, Telair International AB.