Toray to supply carbon fiber to Airbus

Japanese synthetic fiber maker Toray Industries has reached an agreement to supply European aircraft giant Airbus with materials for wings and fuselages from 2011 for 15 years. A Toray spokesman said the size of the order had not been determined, but the Nikkei business daily reported earlier that the deal could be worth as much as ¥200billion-¥300 billion (US$2.1 billion-US$3.2 billion ). “The long-term basic supply agreement signed this time is expected to strengthen Toray’s relationship with EADS, in particular with Airbus, and to enable it to further increase the supply of high quality, high performance materials for aircraft applications,” Toray said in a statement. “Our product’s strength is that it allows for the jet’s weight reduction, contributing to fuel efficiency and cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” said Company Spokesman Yoshitaka Yamagata. (May 11, 2010)