Mass Production of Fibreglass was an Accident.
Fibreglass has a long history – people have been using glass fibers for centuries, yet the mass production of these strands was established back in 1932.
As with most epic discoveries…fire…milk…navel fluff…it was found by accident.
Games Slayter (a man whose name sounds like he’s a character from Game of Thrones rather than the father of modern fibreglass…) accidentally pointed a stream of compressed air at a river of liquefied glass and presto! He produced fibers or what they called, ‘glass wool’.
Originally the glass wool had insulating properties for its ability to retain gas and therefore could be used as an insulator for both extreme cold and heat. Only through the application of resin, did it take on the form we know of today.
How We Know It Today.
The fibreglass we know today was developed around 1936. Because of its absorption ability, a resin is applied to the fibreglass and they bond together to create a material with increased strength and versatility, which is used widely throughout the construction and production industries.
It promised to be a composite material to take on the giants like steel and iron but be a fraction of the weight. Unfortunately, the technology of the day didn’t allow for the dreams of its designers and many prototype ships, planes and cars like the 1946 Stout Scarab (which sounds more like a beer-battered seafood dish than a ‘car of the future’) didn’t make into production.
However, with advancements in technology over the past 75 years, fibreglass and the world of composites has developed into a material with a high tensile strength to weight ratio. It’s ability to be molded and painted, allows fibreglass to blend with existing structures or surfaces. Making whatever form the fibreglass is turned into, in our case, incredibly durable, strong and lightweight canopies.
What Makes Our Fibreglass the Best?
- Strong yet light: Our canopies are strong and more flexible than similar brands and canopies made from heavier carbon materials.
- Cost effective: Our composite canopies are less expensive than carbon composites.
- Insulates: Our canopies resist electric charges. Fibreglass is a non-conductive material, an insulator and therefore doesn’t conduct electricity.
- Resists Corrosion: In cases where the environment is chemically rich, such as chemical plant environments or where your vehicle is exposed to acids etc. Our canopies won’t corrode easily because of fibreglass’ unique properties.
That’s why our canopies are all hand-crafted in Cape Town by our passionate and professional technicians, with only the highest-grade fibreglass. Our paint technicians can even colour-match your canopy to your preferred paint colour, meaning you can blend your canopy perfectly with your vehicle or make it a statement piece.
We’ve taken over 70 years of expertise and knowledge, channelled it into each canopy we manufacture, to create a canopy that is moulded to fit your vehicle and can be easily customised with our wide range of canopy accessories, to suit your lifestyle.
Don’t just get a canopy – get an Andy Cab Canopy. Enquire today!