Yachting Art Magazine

With Metstrade 2025, the world's leading trade fair for the nautical industry, approaching on November 18-20 in Amsterdam, ATL Composites and its German partner M.u.H. von der Linden GmbH have announced that they will be exhibiting together under the name vdL Composites GmbH. The event, which this year will occupy all 13 halls of the RAI with more than 1,600 exhibitors, remains an essential meeting place for professionals in the nautical, naval architecture, and advanced materials sectors.

For thirteen years, the two companies have been working closely together and jointly presenting their developments for the European markets. This continuity is the continuation of a cooperation that began well before the creation of their joint structure, based on a shared specialization in high-performance composite materials for the maritime, architectural, and industrial sectors.

A long history in composite solutions

ATL Composites, based in Australia, developed in the 1970s around its own epoxy resin formulations, before becoming a key supplier of sandwich panels for shipbuilding and architecture. In Germany, M.u.H. von der Linden followed a parallel trajectory with marked expertise in technical materials, applied in particular to shipyards, the transport industry, and structural engineering.

The creation of their joint venture, vdL Composites GmbH, formalizes their complementary expertise based on several decades of research and applied composite solutions.

Sandwich panels: a structured offering for lightweight construction

At Metstrade 2025, vdL Composites will showcase three families of panels that are well established in European shipyards: DuFLEX, DuraKore, and Featherlight.

Designed to lighten structures while ensuring rigidity and mechanical stability, these ranges meet the needs of builders of cruising catamarans, workboats, fast units, and architectural projects. The panels are available pre-laminated, with reinforcements adapted to high-stress areas, and can be transformed into CNC-machined kits according to shipyard requirements. This process limits material waste and significantly reduces assembly time, a key factor for series or semi-custom construction programs.

COOSA: a technical alternative to plywood

One of the main new products highlighted this year is the COOSA range, a composite panel consisting of polyurethane foam reinforced with fiberglass. Designed as a structural substitute for plywood, it is intended for classic marine construction applications: decks, bulkheads, cockpit floors, engine mounts, transoms, and structures with repeated drilling.

Unlike wood, COOSA does not rot, does not crush under localized loads, and can be machined with the same tools as plywood. Through fasteners can be used without risk of delamination, while the reduced weight facilitates handling and improves the weight/rigidity ratio of structures.

Another special feature is that, depending on their location in the boat, the panels do not necessarily need to be laminated on both sides and can simply be assembled by gluing or taping, which reduces the number of finishing steps.

Integration into the DuFLEX range

With a view to expanding the range, ATL Composites and vdL Composites have incorporated a COOSA core into certain DuFLEX panels. This solution is intended for specific uses where high mechanical strength is required, particularly for stringers, stringers, and technical floors in boat building, or for structural modules in road transport and mobile equipment.

These hybrid panels can also be delivered in the form of CNC kits, with the aim of simplifying the production line and offering better reproducibility of assemblies.

A strategic trade show for advanced materials

For the managers of both companies, Metstrade remains a privileged space to present their innovations and exchange ideas with shipyards.

While they applaud the ingenuity and diversity of the solutions on display each year, their presence is primarily part of a technical approach: to meet the specific needs of manufacturers faced with constraints in terms of weight, durability, and ease of assembly.

The products and solutions of vdL Composites GmbH will be presented in Hall 11 – Stand 11.410 at Metstrade 2025.

The event will be an opportunity to detail the developments in panels and to exchange ideas with professionals interested in lightweight composite applications in nautical, industrial, and architectural construction.