Composites manufacturing companies move to Dayton

But CTI owns two manufacturers that work with composites — Vector Composites Inc. and Utility Composite Solutions Inc.

CTI recently acquired and moved the companies to Dayton from Pennsylvania.

Lyle Dunbar, CTI chief executive and managing member, is based in California. His partner, Bob Stratton, is in Georgia.

But their companies are close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the University of Dayton Research Institute and the National Composite Center, among others.

“It gives us a certain uniqueness (compared) to our competitors,” Stratton said.

Other CTI principals include Dennis Rediker, former Standard Register CEO, and Lou Luedtke, former CEO of the National Composite Center.

A 45-foot Utility Composite prototype utility pole used by DP&L can be found at the corner of Bigger and East Alex Bell roads. Dubbed “Intelli-pole,” the hollow poles are comprised of polymers and glass fibers that make them lighter yet stronger than wood.

Each section of the modular pole weighs 170 to 240 pounds. That offers plenty of portability for what Dunbar calls the “difficult to install” markets — close quarters or areas that require cranes to maneuver heavy wood poles around or above buildings.

Dunbar declined to give a price for the poles, and admitted that some utility executives shrug on hearing that the poles last twice as long as wood. When wood poles can last 40 or more years — longer than many careers — some executives simply don’t care, he said.

“The fact that this is so easy to install is really where it’s at,” Dunbar said.

Other prototypes are found in Baltimore and Tampa, Fla.

“We’re not selling cool,” said Tim Brocklehurst, Utility Composite vice president of production operations. “We’re selling technologically advanced.”

A composites producer for aerospace applications, Vector Composites has a two-year, $4 million contract with the Air Force, Dunbar said.

The company’s principals aren’t necessarily worried about cuts in defense spending. Ending wars may encourage forward-thinking research, Stratton believes.

“The fewer bullets they have to buy, the more research and development they can budget,” he said.