Zoltek Corporation - Adapting Together With Andrew Whipple
Summary
TLDRIn this podcast episode, Andy from ztech discusses the company's focus on carbon fiber production and its applications in various industries, particularly wind energy. As the Chief Financial Officer, Andy highlights ztech's global operations, the importance of aligning international business practices, and the impact of geopolitical tensions on supply chains and costs. He also touches on the company's growth potential, driven by the increasing demand for alternative energy solutions and the future of air taxis and renewable energy technologies.
Takeaways
- 🎧 The podcast is developed by the Boeing Institute of International Business at St. Louis University's Chaifetz School of Business.
- 🌐 World Trade Center St. Louis is highlighted for empowering organizations to thrive on an international scale.
- 🔢 Andy, the CFO of Ztech, discusses his 16-year tenure and his role overseeing accounting, finance, taxes, IT, and logistics.
- 📈 Ztech is focused on the commercialization of carbon fiber, aiming to be a low-cost provider to promote its use in various applications.
- 🌟 Carbon fiber is portrayed as a strong, lightweight material with applications in wind turbines, automotive parts, and potential future uses like air taxis.
- 🌱 Ztech's founder, Zol roomy, is recognized for his vision in commercializing carbon fiber, which the company continues to pursue.
- 🌍 The company has manufacturing operations in Hungary, Mexico, and the US, strategically located to serve different markets and ensure supply chain resilience.
- 🔄 Ztech is committed to utilizing all its carbon fiber products, minimizing waste through downstream processing like chopping and milling.
- ⚖️ Global tensions and trade barriers, such as those between the US and China, impact Ztech by increasing costs and affecting supply chains.
- 🔑 The future of Ztech is tied to the growth of the wind industry, the development of new applications for carbon fiber, and the company's ability to reduce production costs.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the 'Conversations That Matter' podcast?
-The podcast, developed by the Boeing Institute of International Business at St. Louis University's Chaifetz School of Business, focuses on international business topics, aiming to communicate knowledge to students and the podcast community, helping them with career growth and success.
What is the role of Andy, the interviewee from ztech, in the company?
-Andy is the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of ztech, responsible for accounting, finance, taxes, information technologies, and purchasing and logistics.
How has ztech been preparing for advancements in artificial intelligence?
-ztech has been preparing for artificial intelligence by implementing Microsoft AX across all global operations and introducing business intelligence through PowerBI to align operations worldwide.
What is the significance of the precursor material in ztech's production process?
-The precursor is a white material derived from acrylonitrile and is a key starting point in ztech's carbon fiber production process. It is transformed into carbon fiber, which is then used in various applications, emphasizing ztech's commitment to full use of their products and minimal waste.
How does ztech utilize carbon fiber in different product forms?
-ztech manufactures carbon fiber and creates downstream products such as chopped fibers for use in items like laptops, and pre-preg plates which can be used in more complex applications, demonstrating the versatility of carbon fiber in various industries.
What is the relationship between ztech and Tor, and how do their product focuses differ?
-ztech is a subsidiary of Tor. While ztech focuses on commercializing carbon fiber and being a low-cost provider, Tor is a high-end manufacturer known for precision and quality, with their materials often used in applications like airplane fuselages.
How does ztech's international presence, with operations in Hungary, Mexico, and the US, contribute to its business strategy?
-ztech's international presence allows it to serve different markets effectively. The plants in Hungary and Mexico produce the main carbon fiber products, while the US focuses on downstream production, leveraging lower labor costs in Hungary and Mexico and the ability to serve the Americas and Europe from these locations.
What cultural aspects does Andy highlight in his experience working with ztech's international teams?
-Andy emphasizes the strong work ethic and dedication across all cultures at ztech. He also mentions the importance of shared activities and experiences, like food and local events, in fostering a collaborative working environment.
How is ztech's growth tied to the wind industry, and what are the opportunities for future growth?
-ztech's growth is closely linked to the wind industry, as carbon fiber is used in wind turbine blades. The company sees opportunities in the continued growth of the wind industry, the increasing size of wind turbines, and the expansion into offshore wind energy. Future growth may also come from emerging applications like air taxis and tidal turbines.
What challenges has ztech faced due to global events such as the conflict in Ukraine and tensions in the Red Sea?
-ztech has faced increased energy costs and supply chain disruptions due to the conflict in Ukraine, which affected their Hungarian plant. They also had to adjust supply routes due to the Red Sea tensions, leading to higher shipping costs. These events highlight the need for ztech to be adaptable and maintain a global supply strategy.
What is ztech's stance on global trade tensions, and how do they plan to navigate these challenges?
-ztech prefers a calm and free global trade environment with minimal tariffs and barriers. They aim to be a low-cost provider, and any trade tensions that lead to increased costs can affect their business. They plan to navigate these challenges by being experts in their business, ready to adjust to any global shocks.
Outlines
🎙️ Podcast Introduction and Ztech Overview
The podcast, 'Conversations that Matter,' developed by the Boeing Institute of International Business at St. Louis University's Chaifetz School of Business, features an interview with Andy from Ztech, a company specializing in carbon fiber production. Andy discusses his 16-year tenure as CFO, covering responsibilities including accounting, finance, taxes, information technology, and logistics. The conversation highlights Ztech's commitment to utilizing artificial intelligence and business intelligence systems like Microsoft AX and Power BI to align global operations. Andy also touches on Ztech's full utilization of carbon fiber, creating a range of products from precursor materials to complex components for industries like automotive and aviation.
🌐 Global Operations and Cultural Insights
Ztech's global presence is discussed, with manufacturing in Hungary, Mexico, and the US, serving various markets including Europe and Asia. The company's approach to embracing the commercialization of carbon fiber across different cultures is highlighted, showing a unified vision despite diverse backgrounds. Andy shares his experiences working with international teams, emphasizing the importance of understanding and respecting cultural differences, such as food and traditions, to foster a collaborative environment. The company's strategy to serve the wind industry is also mentioned, with a focus on producing carbon fiber for larger wind turbines to meet the growing demand for alternative energy solutions.
🔌 Impact of Global Events on Ztech
The podcast delves into the impact of global events on Ztech's operations. The conflict in Ukraine has led to increased energy costs and supply chain disruptions, particularly affecting the Hungarian plant. The company has had to reconfigure supply routes and support affected employees. Additionally, geopolitical tensions, such as those between the US and China, have resulted in tariffs that increase the cost of doing business. Andy emphasizes the importance of being adaptable and prepared to adjust to such global shocks, ensuring business continuity and customer satisfaction.
🚀 Future Opportunities and Challenges for Ztech
Looking ahead, Ztech sees unlimited potential in the growing demand for carbon fiber in emerging applications like air taxis and tidal energy systems. The company's mission is to continue reducing production costs to make carbon fiber more accessible for a wider range of uses. Andy discusses the opportunities in renewable energy and the need for lightweight materials in new transportation concepts. He also acknowledges the challenges posed by global tensions and the desire for a level playing field in international trade. The conversation concludes with a tribute to Ztech's founder, Zol roomy, who was instrumental in driving the company's vision of commercializing carbon fiber.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ztech
💡Carbon Fiber
💡Precursor
💡Wind Industry
💡Global Shocks
💡Supply Chain
💡CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
💡Artificial Intelligence
💡Downstream Products
💡Commercialization
Highlights
Introduction of the podcast 'Conversations that Matter' by the Boeing Institute of International Business.
Sponsorship acknowledgment by World Trade Center St Louis for empowering global business success.
Andy's 16-year tenure at ztech and his role as CFO covering accounting, finance, taxes, IT, and logistics.
Integration of Microsoft AX and PowerBI for global operations alignment at ztech.
Ztech's commitment to utilizing all carbon fiber products, minimizing waste.
Explanation of the carbon fiber production process from precursor to finished product.
Demonstration of carbon fiber's strength and lightweight properties compared to steel.
Ztech's role as a low-cost provider of carbon fiber, aiming for widespread commercial use.
Comparison of ztech and Tor, highlighting their market positions and product precision.
Cultural experiences and work ethics across ztech's international operations.
Strategic setup of ztech's manufacturing plants in Hungary and Mexico for cost-effective production.
Ztech's growth potential tied to the expanding wind industry and increasing turbine sizes.
Impact of global conflicts on ztech's energy costs, supply chains, and employee base.
Ztech's adaptability to geopolitical tensions and trade barriers, emphasizing the need for a level playing field.
Future opportunities for ztech in emerging markets like air taxis and renewable energy technologies.
Tribute to Zol roomy, ztech's founder, for his vision and contributions to carbon fiber commercialization.
Closing thoughts on ztech's future, emphasizing the importance of innovation and cost reduction.
Transcripts
slooh international business now
conversations that matter is a podcast
developed by the Boeing Institute of
international business in St Louis
University's chaitz School of Business
special thanks to founder Dr Sun Kim for
his Grant to support the launch of this
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Andy thanks for joining me today on the
St Louis University international
business Now podcast it's great to be
here thank you so Andy you you've been
with ztech for 16 years tell me about
your background and your history with
ztech yeah Jeff first off on behalf of
zolte and the team at Tory Industries
really appreciate the opportunity to
participate in this podcast I believe
the efforts that you're making to
communicate international business to
the students and to those in the podcast
Community I think it's wonderful it's
great and I'd like to think today we we
have some great stories to tell we have
a good time talking about our industry I
think the materials that we cover here
will be help ful for their career growth
and for their success with regards to me
personally yeah I've been here for 16
years wow seems like a minute it's it's
just flown by and I am the CFO or Chief
Financial Officer I've been responsible
for accounting Finance taxes the normal
CFO kind of stuff but I've also been
responsible for information Technologies
and for purchasing and Logistics as an
example in the area of it wow it's been
crazy right with the world of artificial
intelligence and what's coming
fortunately zte's been working hard in
that area to get ready for that and so
back in 2017 we put in place Microsoft
ax as an example and we put that across
all the world uh operations so Hungary
Mexico the US and then we put in
business intelligence so powerbi is the
intelligence system and those are are
geared towards getting everybody on the
same page right we we need all of these
operations across the world to be
aligned with each other so we've thought
about that and we're getting ready we
just lifted our ax system up into the
cloud and we're getting ready for
artificial intelligence in that
introduction but we need to make sure
that the data is harmonized across all
all the world so that's the type of
thing that I've been involved with as
well as the purchasing and Logistics and
making sure that all of these plants are
are working and operating well
together that's fascinating and ztech is
a is an interesting company for sure
tell our audience a little about zolte
and what is carbon fiber I think think
that you know talking about carbon fiber
is really starts with a story about
product we make called precursor so this
is the precursor it's a it's a white
material and it comes from acry nitrol
so acry nitrol you can feel that if
you'd like but we bring that in by rail
car to the plant and acry nital would
look like a liquid and it's made of
polypropylene and ammonia and that
material would go into this precursor
and then that precursor process ends up
in a big spool of this white material
precursor and then we put that on the
front of our carbon fiber lines and then
the goal is to take that precursor and
turn it into this this would be our
carbon fiber and ztech believes in full
use of our product so we don't like to
waste anything at ztech it's really
important for us so we not only make the
carbon fiber and the oxidized fiber we
also make Downstream products so this is
an example of a of a chopped product so
you can see these there you go just a
little bit of that there and that would
go into something like let's say a
laptop right so there's a really good
product form they put it into a let's
say a mold and add some resin to it and
you could make a laptop out the area of
carbon fiber we also make a p Tred plate
so this these toes run into to a d and
then we can make a ped
plate okay and then those ped plates and
those types of products can get more
complicated this is an example of a more
complicated part light is a feather yeah
light is a feather light is a feather
yeah exactly right will you be willing
to demonstrate something for me okay
okay so I'm going to give you a piece of
Steel oh goodness can you hold that up
okay that's a piece of Steel and now oh
you can see how heavy that is maybe 25
pounds 25 pounds this is that same bar
in carbon fiber three
pounds isn't that great yeah so yeah
really important that that um weight
characteristic versus the strength
characteristic really really important
and you can substitute obviously any
sort of weight application the choosing
steel hopefully with a carbon fiber
application as an example and ztech is
is a manufacturer of the materials so
where're the materials manufacturer and
then we'll go again we'll go Downstream
in that material manufacturing for the
different types of product that we have
but the idea is to utilize all our
carbon fiber no waste if at all possible
so we'll start with the toe then we'll
chop it and then we'll Mill it but no
Carbon Fiber goes to waste at ZTE great
well thanks yeah yeah thanks Andy you
mentioned té the owner and shareholder
of of ztech tell me about the
relationship between ztech and Tor yeah
so it's you know it's been an
interesting Journey as you talk about
that relationship ztech was founded by
Zol roomy and Z was a visionary and he
had this idea of the commercialization
of carbon fiber and so in that Vision we
ztech are like the Walmart of carbon
fiber right we commercialize it we're
the lowcost provider of that and that's
intended we work every day relentlessly
to try to reduce that cost of
manufacturing so we can commercialize it
well why commercialize it well because
it's a substitute product if we can make
the carbon fiber less expensive then
that makes it more acceptable to an
application right so they could use
steel or they could use fiberglass but
if we can get the cost down then we can
compete with those materials and get the
carbon fiber introduced into that
particular application so wind has a
been been a big application for ztech
and again we talked about that large toe
that 50,000 filaments that's really
important because when you need mass of
material for an application then zte's
the good answer to that now that in
contrast to somebody like Tor Tor is the
high-end manufacturer like the Tiffany
right they they make the gold standard
of the high-end product now instead of
50,000 filaments they'll do 3,000
filaments or 6,000 filaments now why do
they do that because then they can have
more precise characteristics right the
Precision of their manufacturing
processes is far superior to that of Zex
but that's all good that serve they
serve their markets and we serve our
markets so we we complement each other
but their material will go into things
like an airplane right so the fuselage
of the airplane this the Dreamliner the
787 is the perfect application for
something uh of Tes now of course
there's cost more but if you can afford
it or you need it for that particular
application then tor's product is the
right product for that and if it's more
commercial if it's you know more
standard like an auto uh example and
we've got some examples around here
here's the the hood of a car I won't
lift this up but the hood of a car or
the the roof of a car are then Zex
material might be more appropriate for
that type of application Tor is a is a
Japanese company and we're at an
international business podcast here so
and you have operations in Mexico and
Hungary and so tell me about the
cultures of ztech I'm assume those
multiculture or true inter International
culture I've always been an
international traveler I'm I'm a
military brat but coming to zolte was of
course at a business level very exciting
and the opportunity to deal with Hungary
and Mexico and Japan as I I've done is
wonderful now Tori acquired zuk in about
2014 so originally we were a publicly
traded company and then when Tori
acquired us we went through that process
in around 2014 then we started to work
with Japanese culture too so what I
found is that across these cultures
everyone can embraced the idea of
commercialization of carbon fiber all
the different cultures can get excited
about working with that so when we deal
with the management teams whether they
be in Hungary Mexico the US Japan
everybody can understand that vision and
culturally can get around that like this
is exciting let's work on this let's
together Drive the this um alternative
energy this these Solutions and we know
we're enablers we we're helping to
create a better culture We Believe here
at ztech a culture that believes in a
future with the commercialization of
carbon fiber helping these alternative
energies helping with wind turbines that
so when we think about working with
these different cultures of course all
of our interactions are in English so
somebody might wonder well how do you
how do you talk to each other so all the
business meetings have to be held in
English most of our contracts are
written in English so thank goodness
because I know the one language I'm not
so good at the others but all of our
meetings do happen in that format and we
can work together in that format now
when you talk about the operational
lines that's a bit of a different story
right when we ztech have these big
carbon fiber lines right and they might
be almost the length of a football field
so we need a lot of employees working on
those lines and that's a lot of hard
work and what we found is in each of
these cultures there's a great work
ethic I mean these people are dedicated
to making sure that we produce the kind
of products that we need to make and you
can see that I walk these lines I I
shake the hands of these employees
they're great people and I love working
with them each and every day we we call
that working at the gmba so in in
Japanese talk the gmba is the the plant
and that's where we go and that's where
we get to work with these guys so I love
that aspect of their cultures and I love
their dedication their work ethics now
where do we see some differences
actually in some of the funner areas
which is like food oh my goodness it's
it's a little bit it's a little bit
maybe unintuitive but when you travel
the world you have to be ready for the
culture of of different foods when I go
to Hungry For example I've learned to
eat sheep fish that's a pretty heavy
fish but i' I've learned to enjoy that
and of course I've learned to drink
pinka what is what is pinka well in in
Hungary no fruit is safe right so pinka
is derived from whether that be oranges
or or peaches any sort of fruit is going
to be turned into alcohol and you're GNA
have a chance to drink some pinka when
you're sharing times with those teams
and obviously goulash so you you need to
get that that sense of the variety but
breaking bread and being with those um
Partners is really important so I need
to be flexible as an international guy
but those types of cultural differences
help us to bridge by by having this time
to break bread by being together create
a tighter culture and a better working
environment for us so I have to be
adaptable as I move into these different
cultures in Mexico for example they like
to do wrestling I think it's mucho Libre
and so we'll go to a wrestling match for
example so but that interaction and
being with people those are what makes
us all collaboratively work together and
I love the opportunity to be a part of
these different cultures and work but
the dedication that ability to be a part
and work with these people is is
absolutely wonderful ztech has
Manufacturing in three countries and
tell me why is it set up this way how
does that work tell me about the the
setup yeah that's a great question
actually Z roomy gets credit for this Z
actually set up the plants in and
purchased the plants in Hungary and in
Mexico both of those were they were
acrylic plants so zol's vision of
commercialization was we needed to get a
lowcost manufacturing location so in
Hungary was an opportunity to buy an
acry plant and we converted it so we got
it at a low cost and then we started to
upgrade we we converted the Machinery
that was there into the precursor
components that we needed so in both
Hungary and Mexico we had these big big
acrylic plants that we converted into
the precursor production that white
material I showed you earlier then once
we' done the conversion on those we
added the carbon fiber lines which
didn't exist at the plants at all but
Z's vision of commercialization was
let's convert these acrylic plants into
the uh precursor we need and then let's
add the carbon fiber components and so
having that manufacturing plant in
Hungary to service the Europe in in
Mexico to service the Americas was his
vision as to how we wanted to get the
company initially started and we
executed on that Vision now the ability
to sell into Asia we can then use either
one of those plants depending on the
best economics in order to serve the
Asian markets but those plants produce
our main product the carbon fiber I
showed you earlier
and then the downstream production
there's some Downstream production like
the milling and chopping in either
Hungary or Mexico but then in the US we
do pretty much just Downstream pusan as
an example and then we ship worldwide
with that obviously the labor costs are
lower in hungry in Mexico and so that
that's a great place when you have a lot
of employees in the US Labor is a little
bit more expensive so then the
downstream is a little bit more
appropriate for this particular Market
Andy is is ztech growing and what what
are the opportunities for ztech yeah
zolte is highly tied to the wind
industry so first off you have to ask
yourself is the wind industry growing
because we're just we're tied at the hip
together and ztech is an Ena of that
wind industry so let me explain that a
little bit more so first off the wind
industry itself the wind industry is an
alternative energy has been something
that the governments have embraced and
people have embraced in the wind turbine
industry has been growing very well and
I'd say it's been growing at a at a rate
and you can see this in some of the uh
uh statistics that are published
worldwide that the growth rate has been
about 14 15% of thereabouts and that
growth rate is expected to continue so
we at ztech are going to benefit just
from the fact that the industry is
growing and that there's a demand for
alternative energy so that's a a key
area of that growth now so again we've
benefited from that that just growth in
the industry now in addition to that
growth in the industry is the growth in
the size of the wind turbines right if
you want to produce more energy the idea
is to make those wind turbines bigger
and bigger well the bigger they get the
more carbon fiber so as the designers
have designed bigger and bigger wind
turbine energies in order to produce
more energy for us the public and all
those electric cars that people are are
driving around well are carbon fiber
going into those blades as they get
bigger and bigger as an important
contribution again we get the growth
from that now there's another category
of growth in wind turbines which is
important which is onshore versus
offshore so an onshore wind turbine
tends to be a little bit smaller than
the offshore wind turbines now why is
that well because planes are flying
around and helicopters are flying around
so they tend to keep them a little bit
shorter so they don't get run into
offshore doesn't tend to have those
limitations so we have the growth in the
offshore offshore tends to be closer to
the cities right so the city is where
you need the electricity so if you can
build wind turbines of large size right
off the coast of a city then you're
ideally situated so those are also
growth trends that zolte believes that
it will be participating in so we're
very excited about that opportunity and
we think it's going to be a great
opportunity for us to continue to grow
our business so next time I drive by a
wind farm I should think of zolte that's
right you should think of ztech
absolutely okay we've been talking a lot
about opportunity and growth let's talk
on the impact of the global shocks the
attacks in the in the Red Sea things
like that you know as I noted I am the
CFO that's also in charge of like
purchasing and Logistics so I get front
and center on some of these things as it
relates to Ukraine it's such a sad
situation you know to have that conflict
going on and it has impacted ztech
tremendously the initial Invasion caused
Energy prices to spike in Europe and
that was consequential right we suddenly
had our energy costs going up now we had
some contract to protect us a little bit
but uh those contracts expire over time
and the conflict just kept going and
going so yeah the energy costs are
disruptive and of course the supply
chains we actually had some business
supply of materials coming in from
Russia or bellarus and those Supply
chains had to be reconfigured right we
had to be able to get our materials now
from whether it be Western Europe or
from Asia or the Americas shipped into
our plant in Hungary so obviously the
plant in Hungary is the most impacted
not such a big deal in this case with
regards to Mexico now another impact was
the employees now as I noted ztech of
course employs hungarians but we also
employ slovakians and ukrainians so we
had a number of Ukrainian workers
working for us and those ukrainians
unfortunately a lot of them were called
back to their country to deal with the
conflict and you know we can do our best
to try to support the families there uh
eventually as they go back we have to
replace those jobs with H slovakians or
hungarians but we do look forward to
that conflict ending and getting those
employees back into our family now when
we look at something like the Red Sea
that's a little bit different for us in
the sense that that's a little bit more
Regional it's is disruptive right we
would like the low cost of shipping
through those Lanes but we can adjust
right now it's going to be a little bit
more costly it's not going to shut down
our production but it is going to
increase our cost of production so we
prefer obviously not to have those
conflicts but those are are actually a
little bit easier to overcome you know
it's it's interesting you think well
it's just those types of things that get
you right I think the point about any
disruption that occurs in the world is
we're supposed to be experts at our
business and we're supposed to be
experts at anything that can actually
transpire anywhere in the world our
business doesn't stop so we have to be
prepared to adjust you are not going to
know everything that's ever going to
happen but what you have to do is know
your business well enough and how you
can be able to adjust that business for
any of these shocks that do occur and
that's as a as a person that
participates on the global stage that's
the way I think right every day is we'll
see what happens today does everything
stay the same or did something change
and if something changes we need to
adjust and that's what we did and I
guess having Manufacturing in two
continents helps to uh cushion some of
those chocks that's exactly right so our
customers need to be kind of dual
sourced right so if we have for example
a flood that might occur on the danu
river well then we need to be able to
source for Mexico or conversely if
there's a hurricane that would occur in
Mexico then we need to Source from
Hungary and our customers need that
level of comfort so by having the two
different manufacturing plants that is a
guarantee of supply for them we try to
do our best to make sure that we can
handle that either through the
inventories of materials or the plants
themselves good question so another uh
unanticipated thing the the tensions
between us and China switching our view
to Asia tell me about what if any uh
impacts that has on on ZTE sure you know
worldwide tensions whether they be with
China or with anyone else are never
helpful we would obviously prefer a very
calm work environment business
environment but of course when these
tensions arise usually with the tensions
comes tariffs so probably the most
impactful part is that tariff or that
cost of doing business and in the case
of Chinese tariffs for example that's
going to increase the cost of our
material going into China now some of
our customers might be willing to pay
that because again they want to be dual
sources we mentioned before so they
might be willing to pay that cost of
that tariff to go into that environment
fine but conversely that means maybe
there's tariffs in Europe or the
Americas right and those tariffs can
affect them it might benefit us but you
know we prefer to just have a Level
Playing Field so we prefer that the
tensions go down we prefer that there
just be free trade and we we again we're
a commercial manufacturer we want to be
the lowcost provider it's in our
interest to have as few costs as
possible as few barriers as possible so
that we can sell our product into these
foreign markets looking forward what are
the opportunities for ztech when you
think about the potential for ztech into
that future the potential really is
unlimited why is it unlimited well
because our job is to continue to reduce
that cost and if we can reduce that cost
then we can substitute into more and
more applications so we feel every day
that we wake up that our job is to
continue to drive that cost so that we
can create more and more acceptance into
this world around us now that said there
are applications that are coming into
existence that are really well situated
for what we are and what we can provide
so for example vetto or air taxis W that
sounds pretty cool right we could all be
flying around soon I'm pretty excited
about that but obviously you want to
keep your vehicle low weight so that you
can carry more people or packages or
whatever it might be so that tradeoff is
natural so as things as electric motors
become more powerful as the idea of air
taxis and these other Concepts come into
existence and I am convinced they're
going to come into existence then we
think there's going to be opportunities
for carbon fiber into that type of
application now when we talk about
renewable energy while wind turbines
have been a great segment for us there's
all also things like tidal turbines
right so those those waves that are
shifting on and off on the shore well
those could be generating power too so
carbon fiber could be good for that
because there's a lot of corrosion that
occurs out in the ocean right all that
salt well carbon fiber isn't affected by
that so carbon fiber would be a good
solution for that possibility so our job
every day is to continue to unlock that
value that exists into whatever those
applications are we want to empower
those Engineers to be able to use our
material to substitute it in in order to
create more value for the world around
us and that's what the employees
dedicated towards sounds like té had a
lot of vision to the Future when they
acquired ztech absolutely we we think so
so finishing up what other comments do
you have for our audience I'd also like
to take this as an opportunity to
celebrate Z roomy Z roomy our founder he
passed away this year but he has been
and was an inspiration and a driver of
this concept of commercialization he was
the initial believer in these Concepts
and we inited those Concepts we're there
to continue to drive that Vision into
the future and Tor as our partner is
helping us do that so we believe we're
still at the Forefront of that I
remember sitting with Z on many
occasions and talking about the concepts
of driving down cost and unlocking these
opportunities he had that vision and I
shared that Vision with him so now we've
inherited that Vision that's a vision we
take forward and I'd ask your viewers
your podcasters watch us we think
there's exciting times to head we think
the world's an exciting place to be a
part of and we're looking forward to
seeing what we can accomplish and I'm
certainly looking forward to seeing what
comes from the future students at jur
University as well as the the people
that are participating today because
those will be the people that take on
the roles like mine and create that
future which I think is a very exciting
place so thank you very much for this
opportunity to be here today thanks Andy
we look forward to hearing more from
ztech all right thank you very much
thank you for tuning in to the slooh
international business now conversations
that matter podcast we invite you to
subscribe to this podcast Series so you
don't miss any future episodes to learn
more about the executive master of
international business program please
visit biib B.S slu.edu again that's biib
B.S slu.edu
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