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Soft top material - an interesting tour
Last evening our local Early Ford V8 club (1932 to 1953 Fords) toured the HAARTZ Corporation, in Acton, MA. For those who may not know, they are the manufacture of the fabric for our Thunderbird soft tops. They are the world's #1 manufacturer of convertible topping. and other than Acton, MA there is also Haartz GmbH, Mannheim, German.
They are a major supplier to the automotive manufacturers. They manufacture Vinyl used in autos and on auto tops, various types of convertible top materials, and also the fabrics/vinyl used for door panels, on many cars.
This is a very large operation with huge, computer controlled, machines. One of the buildings we were in was 240,000 sq ft. We saw convertible top material being processed and vinyl as well. I didn’t realize that the vinyl started out as a vinyl granular material first, then through a heating/cooling process, rolling onto a backing and ultimately another roller that imprinted the grain on the material.
There are many different types of material for the various customers. And the massive rolls are stored on end so the fabric does not get flat spots/imperfections from being stored and shipped horizontally.
They even have a storage section for material that may not be run again, so they can supply the aftermarket shops with original materials for replacement tops. So I guess we’ll be safe getting our tops replaced in the future.
It was really fascinating to see all this activity and I thought I would share this with you.
Check this out: http://www.haartz.com/en/
They are a major supplier to the automotive manufacturers. They manufacture Vinyl used in autos and on auto tops, various types of convertible top materials, and also the fabrics/vinyl used for door panels, on many cars.
This is a very large operation with huge, computer controlled, machines. One of the buildings we were in was 240,000 sq ft. We saw convertible top material being processed and vinyl as well. I didn’t realize that the vinyl started out as a vinyl granular material first, then through a heating/cooling process, rolling onto a backing and ultimately another roller that imprinted the grain on the material.
There are many different types of material for the various customers. And the massive rolls are stored on end so the fabric does not get flat spots/imperfections from being stored and shipped horizontally.
They even have a storage section for material that may not be run again, so they can supply the aftermarket shops with original materials for replacement tops. So I guess we’ll be safe getting our tops replaced in the future.
It was really fascinating to see all this activity and I thought I would share this with you.
Check this out: http://www.haartz.com/en/
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