Bally Ribbon Mills and University of Delaware Form an Alliance to Develop Composite Materials.

Business Editors

BALLY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2001

Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM) announced today that it has formed a strategic alliance with the University of Delaware - Center for Composite Materials (UD-CCM) and its Industrial Affiliates Program.

This strategic

Bally Ribbon Mills recently received a contract from the Department of the Army entitled "Novel Forming Techniques of Complex Shapes in Personnel Armor." BRM will utilize the University of Delaware - Center for Composite Materials' expertise in composites manufacturing as a subcontractor for this contract.

Currently, Bally Ribbon Mills supplies woven armor structures for UD-CCM's Materials Center of Excellence on Microstructural Design of Lightweight Multifunctional Composite Armor established by the Army Research Laboratory.

In the past, UD-CCM performed testing on fabricated 3D composite structures for the Air Force as a subcontractor to Bally Ribbon Mills. This successful program led to a current program for the commercialization of these structures.

Bally Ribbon Mills sees opportunities stemming from the formed strategic alliance with the University of Delaware - Center for Composite Materials and its Industrial Affiliates program.

"We're hoping that our expertise in the manufacturing of woven and braided composite structures, together with assistance from the scientists at the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials will help us grow. We see growth not only in composite structures for aerospace and defense components, but also for medical, mass transit, infrastructure, sports and recreation and other commercial applications," said Ray Harries, Bally Ribbon Mills' President.

Since its origin in 1923, the Bally Ribbon Mills has been involved in the design, development and manufacture of highly engineered woven products. The company is a specialist in developing woven 2D and 3D tapes, fabrics, preforms, near net shapes, polar structures, and braided products for use in aerospace, defense, bio-medical and industrial applications. For information, visit www.ballyribbon.com.