“The more you know about history, the better prepared you are for the present.”
Theodore Roosevelt

Boron fiber was the first high performance composite reinforcement

Our company policy is simply…Produce the best boron and silicon carbide composites by consistently improving our products, our processes, and our services.

Operations are certified to ISO9001:2008, as well as many OEM product specifications. 

 
boron fiber cross sec.png

Unique Performance

Specialty Materials has produced advanced fibers and materials for the aerospace, defense, energy and industrial segments of the advanced materials composites industry for more than 50 years. Formerly owned and operated by Textron Systems, we are the world's leading supplier of the highest quality boron and silicon carbide fiber products and advanced composite materials. Our fibers and advanced composite materials provide unique solutions to engineers in a variety of areas, including structural integrity and controlled thermal expansion. All our advanced materials and composites are manufactured to aerospace tolerances by tight process control with complete traceability through meticulous record keeping that traces each product from our starting raw materials to our finished products.

Boron Reactors - Copy.jpg

Agility

We are a woman owned small business that is nimble and decisive in the marketplace. The results are a successful business with growth in both sales and number of employees. In addition to high strength fibers, boron fiber based prepreg and Hy-Bor® prepreg from carbon fiber and boron fiber, we have also developed a high purity boron nanopowder that is primarily use in Magnesium diboride superconductors. Magnesium diboride wire made from our boron nanopowder has resulted in the best magnetic properties for high temperature superconducting wire ever demonstrated. 

Boron Prepreg Tape.jpg

Capability

Our manufacturing facility houses several hundred continuous CVD reactors and two production lines for unidirectional prepreg tape manufacturing. The facilities have all the appropriate permits and meet all State & Federal standards for gaseous emissions, wastewater, handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials, and hazardous waste disposal. Mechanical testing capabilities include several computerized Instron instruments. Microstructural characterization capabilities include optical microscopes (including polarizing), and a JEOL 5610 Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with digital image and micro-analysis capability using a Thermo - NORAN System SIX X-ray Microanalysis System. 

History

  • 1960s

    1961, General Schriever Air Force Systems Command Initiates Project Forecast

    1966, NASA LaRC characterizes boron filaments

  • 1970s

    1970, Apollo 13 Boron Filament drill rod

    1972, B-1 Bomber successful load test with boron composites

    1974, Avco commercializes boron filament

    1976, Paris Airshow Features Boron on F14 & F15

  • 1980s

    1980, First Space Shuttle flight with boron/epoxy engine struts

    1984, Textron acquires Avco including boron filament business

  • 1990s

    1991, Callaway Big Bertha with boron golf shaft

    1995, Winston boron fishing rod

    1996, General Atomics uses Hy-BorⓇ in spar cap increasing Predator load capability

  • 2000s

    2001, Textron sells Specialty Materials, a small business is formed

    2007, Google Earth Satellites use Boron/K13C2U in secondary mirror tubes

  • 2010s

    2016, Boron kinematic mounts for James Webb Space Telescope validated at 20K

    2017, Boron/Cyanate Ester fiber placement product developed & demonstrated

    2019, Specialty Materials is acquired by Global Materials a women-owned small business