The UK is currently experiencing the longest prolonged hot spell since 2006 and some people have been asking what happens to our raw materials in this unusually hot weather.
Here at Attwater, we’ve had cold storage facilities for our pre-pregs for a number of years as some of our raw materials are temperature sensitive. This way, they are kept at a constant 12°C in order to improve their shelf-life. Lowering the temperature even more would improve the shelf life further still, but it is a bit of a balancing act between pre-preg shelf life and plant running costs.
It is mainly epoxy resin-based pre-pregs that are most liable to be affected due to the chemistry of the resin, but our cold storage room keeps everything at an optimum temperature.
Of course, once the laminate is completely cured it is not affected by the heat. We sell all around the world, and ambient temperature doesn’t affect the end product – our products are used in environments ranging from subzero temperatures to deserts where temperatures reach up to 60°C.