We’ve had a crazy few weeks, and it already seems as though 2012 is busier than last year.  We’re settled into our new space at 2629 Henson Road in Mount Vernon and we have experienced an increase in productivity and precision far beyond our imaginations.  The new saw room is pristine and really allows us to make accurate cuts to our carbon and fiberglass rods and tubes.  Having our total stock in one big room makes it easy to keep track of it, and we are able to better anticipate inventory needs, which, of course, means that we can fulfill orders faster and more completely.

Well, the move wasn’t the only trick we had up our sleeve for bringing you better service in the new year; oh no, we’re about to launch a new website that will allow you to access information and specifications about our American-made carbon and fiberglass!  We’re calling it our “industrial website” because it’s goal is to provide information for engineers and tinkerers to allow them to better build their products with Goodwinds’ rods and tubes.  You can look for more information about this new website here as soon as we are live – within the next two weeks!  Of course, you’ll always be able to access our large line of carbon, fiberglass, line, connectors, tapes, fabric, and other accessories at www.Goodwinds.com.

In short, we think 2012 is going to be a great year!  Drop us a line to find out how we can help you with your composite rod and tube needs.

The first days of the show are specifically for retailers, and we would love to show you how we can save you money and offer you better carbon that your customers want!  We have an easy online-ordering process with deep discounts – who doesn’t want to save money in this economy?  Also, we are willing to ship custom lengths of any of our rods and tubes.  This means that you get what you want without any waste.  Finally, no order is too small to qualify for the wholesale discount.  That’s right, you can order  $50 or $5,000 worth of carbon and fiberglass (at custom lengths, if you like!) and you’ll get the same great prices and the same great service.  We want to be your composites supplier.

The second part of the show is for the public.  And boy, do we love meeting the public!  We’ll have lots of neat wrapped carbon tail booms and sailboat masts, microcarbon rods, and carbon tubes for sale so that you can get started on your project right away!  We’ll also have lots of samples to touch and explore – the possibilities are endless, and we would love to hear what great ideas you have for working with Goodwinds’ composites!

Come visit us at booth #1913 in the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois October 21-24!  We’ll see you there!

Paul is originally from Holland, and he has lived in the United States for the past couple of years with his wife, Delita.  During that time, he formed his own boutique kite company, Focus Kite Designs, with a longtime friend and fellow kiteflyer, Hunter Brown.  The two design and build upscale, high-quality kites for shipment all over the world.

We at Goodwinds lured Paul and Delita away from North Carolina with the promise of hiking Washington’s beautiful mountains, kiteboarding in the fantastic Puget Sound, and participating in kite competitions, such as the Washington State International Kite Festival, in the Pacific Northwest.  Paul is quite the competitor, routinely placing in both indoor and outdoor kite competitions:

 We are so excited to have Paul with us at Goodwinds.com.  He’s young, he’s fun, and he’s extremely knowledgeable.  He will be working with a variety of industries, including hobby and RC stores, to meet their carbon and fiberglass needs.  Drop us a line and say hello to Paul today!

But that’s not what Goodwinds sells.  We provide American-made fiberglass rods and tubes from 0.060 inches in diameter up to over 1 inch in diameter, used in kites, tents, archery, RC hobbies, catamerans, and lots of industrial purposes including snow plow guides, underground gas detection, and inflatable jetliner slides (in case of emergency).

So what are fiberglass rods and tubes?  How are they made?  What is so special about them, anyhow?

Fiberglass Tubes

Well, fiberglass is, essentially, teeny-tiny fibers of glass that are reinforced with a polymer, usually an epoxy or vinylester resin.  The tubes Goodwinds supplies are called Filament Wound Epoxy Tubing (FWET) and are created through a continuous winding process that can create tubes with very thin walls which are then reinforced with impregnated epoxy.  These tubes are strong and somewhat flexible, and are great insulators.

Fiberglass Rods

The fiberglass rods Goodwinds supplies are formed from a pultrusion process – basically, a pulling of the fibers of glass through the polymer to bind them.  These rods are flexible and have a great strength-to-weight ratio.  If you’re interested in learning more about the pultrusion process, our supplier, Glasforms, has a guide with photos on their website here.

We love fiberglass rods and tubes, and we know our customers do, too.  It is heavy and strong, flexible and durable.  Best of all, it’s inexpensive, especially compared to carbon rods and tubes.  If you’re looking to do a project and weight is not an issue, fiberglass is a very cost-effective way to go.  The great flexibility of fiberglass is why it is used for tent poles and backpack stays, LARP swords and kites – fiberglass can accept a lot of shock force, bending without breaking.

What do you use fiberglass rods and tubes for?  Tell us about your projects, we’d love to hear about them!