Possible new supplier of fiberglass composite panels to North America

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Hi there,

Our Joint Venture business is playing with the idea of selling high end, made to order fiberglass composite panels in North America. At this point we are trying to find out if it would be worth our time and effort setting up an office on the west coast of Canada.

About the product: The panels are the same you see being used in Expedition trucks like Unicat, Ormocar and many others. Sizes and thickness are custom.
The factory is located in China, managed by my (German) dad. He has more than 30 years of expertise as an engineer in composite and heavy truck manufacturing. I'm a fine furniture maker by trade with several years at Unicat and former owner of a cabinet shop. In other words, both of us are more than capable in creating an excellent product.

We believe that especially the "home build" expedition truck/trailer/camper do it yourselfer may be benefiting the most. As those panels can be easily cut and glued together with little effort (I like to use the Festool tracksaw for that task). Shipping could be done to any port on the west coast of your choice.


Once we have an idea what the market is asking for, we will figure out pricing ....

Please don't hesitate in contacting me if you have any questions!


Cheers,
Andreas

p.s. the product website went life today but needs a bit more tweeking... ;-)
 
Last edited:

Buckstopper

Adventurer
Andreas - any idea of a cost per square foot delivered to west coast US port? Also, what is the maximum panel size?

I am assuming that the real cost issue is going to be filling a container. One expedition campers worth of panels is not going to fill a container so you will need to either consolidate orders until you have a container full or get someone to warehouse container lots for distribution.

Interesting idea and it could open some opportunities for a home built camper.

Buckstopper
 

bobaloo

New member
Depending on cost per panel, I for one would be interested. Would be great to see costs and lead times vs. glassing my own panels from foam core, as this would save a lot of time to focus on the guts of the camper.
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
The maximum sizes for the panels would be 2.80meter in width and 12 meter in length, dictated by the container size. Although we could produce up to 16 meters....
 

stomperxj

Explorer
All depends on price and thicknesses available. If it were comparable to making my own plus labor costs then I would jump on them.
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
I'd be interested with the same questions as others have posted.
West Coast is great for me as I am in the Pacific North West.
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Many of us know your reputation, and if you think these would be good panels for an expedition truck, I'll want some.

However, I saw on the website that there are also dry cargo van boxes on offer, and wonder if that means that you will, or at least could, manufacture a complete box from the panels. (Perhaps shipping costs might be doable if the box could go into the container first and then everyone else's panels stack inside it.)

Regardless, please keep up informed.
 

Victorian

Approved Vendor : Total Composites
Hi Mike,

In theory we could offer assembled boxes. But logistics and shipping cost is putting a damper on it...

For everyone else: Thank you very much for your interest! We are still very early in our research stage.... please stay tight as we are figuring out details.
 

Maninga

Adventurer
Think it'd be worth offering the service. Would compare it to what Cure Composites and Styromax (and a few others) are doing here in Aus. I doubt I'd have been able to do my build to near the end result in the timeframe without someone else building the shell.

Things I'd be looking for in a manufacturer
- Able to incorporate curves into the panel, giving either a tapered effect at top/bottom, or slight round at an end
- Conduit installed for wiring
- Window/door/access panel cutouts
- Strengthened mounting points
- Available as either flatpacks or being able to drop a vehicle off and pick it up with everything stuck together
- Optional subframe/chassis building
- Optional 3D design work, either taking someones started plans or from scratch based on paper drawings/napkin sketches

I'd certainly use the service if I was back in the US and building a camper if the price was reasonable. Have some interesting plans based on an LMTV and Freightliner M2, but that's not in our future any time soon
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
I would guess that most of 'us' looking for panels (as opposed to having a 'box' built) are doing that for two reasons.
Control (minimize) costs
Custom built by the owner

It would seem to me that just offering some standard sizes would be the most cost efficient way to sell and ship these panels as opposed to getting custom orders and waiting until you have enough to fill a container. With custom sized panels the lead time could be huge not only waiting for enough orders, but then the shipping time to get them here from China.
With a few standard size panels, you could have those already over on the west coast and 'we' could just come and pick them up (guessing if most of us have a truck we are going to build on, we therefore have trucks to pick-up panels), or have them shipped via truck from the west coast.

I would think two thicknesses 25mm & 50mm and it seems that a 8 foot by 16 foot would cover a lot of builds.
In my case that panel would be larger then I need, but bottom line is a 'standard' 8'x16' that I cut down and have some "waste"* would be cheaper then a 'custom 6'6" x 14" panel that has to be custom made (and probably waste at the factory) and not waiting for the custom job.
[* probably not much waste as excess could be used to built frame boxes, used in interior construction, etc]

It would be informative to get more information as to cutting (special blades, considerations, etc) and joining methods (custom extrusions, glues/adhesives, etc).
A real plus would be to get some panels over here and have someone self-build their box and document the build. Not only could future customers see a step by step build with all the details, but also would have an 'average-Joe' who has done a build and would be available to answer questions and give insight.

I sure hope to see these available soon. Best wishes for this endeavor.
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
In theory we could offer assembled boxes. But logistics and shipping cost is putting a damper on it...
I totally understand. But along with Maninga, and contrary to Mog's preference, I'd most like the option of having someone with appropriate facilities and labor put the raw box together for me, and if that could happen, I'd certainly be ready to accept:

-- a box sized to fit into a container with other people's panels, even if the roof had to be left off the box to permit this, and

-- a choice of two or three standardized lengths (10, 12, 14 feet?), a standardized width (7 feet?), and a standardized height (7 feet?).

I'm not trying to talk you into anything that wouldn't prove profitable. (And certainly when Terracross sold their empty boxes a while back, their prices ended up so high that I certainly didn't seriously consider them.) But given my lack of a dedicated building space and--a big-time problem for me--no helpers to wrangle big panels during building, being able to buy a mostly-assembled box would be more attractive, for sure.

I'm still a good candidate for buying panels, but I'd have to use them to build something a good deal smaller than the full-on expedition cabin I might buy were it available.

Regardless, sincere best wishes for successfully bringing your products, whatever they might be, to market.
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
Perhaps if there is a big demand for 'boxes' in addition to your panels a 2 part marketing plan.
Ship the 'standard' size panels from China to the west coast
Panel customers could purchase those panels, as-is.
Set up a shop on the west coast to build 'custom' or standard size boxes for those that want the extra services.
Perhaps you already have a shop building boxes here, since your website list truck bodies, etc?
There are already a few truck box builders here that will build some-what custom truck boxes, but none that I have found are willing (or at an affordable price) to sell 'panels'
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
I'd most like the option of having someone with appropriate facilities and labor put the raw box together for me

Another issue, as reported by Shachagra, is that "home built" may have insurance issues. A box built by a duly-recognized manufacturer might not have the same issues.
 

highdesertranger

Adventurer
so I am sure you and your dad are great guys and know your stuff. but china really, is this to maximize profits or to skirt environmental regulations. why not manufacture these in good ole California? highdesertranger
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,582
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top