Formula One arrived at Interlagos this weekend and Brazilian GP fans can gaze upon the re-generative hybrid power-trains mated to
ultra-expensive carbon-fibre tubs and panels designed for mass, aero
and impact.
Fifty-two years ago the
circuit witnessed a landmark event when a DKW-Malzoni GT was rebodied
in what was then the first local example of a new and revolutionary material...Glass Reinforced
Plastic.
GRP went on to provide the foundations of the small but
truly indigenous Brazilian auto-sector for the next thirty years.
In today's global
political climate of increasing national protectionism (as already
witnessed in Brazil with new 'back-door tariffs' against inferior
Chinese and Asian goods) it is useful to review the events of the
past, to mould policy that obtains the best from both globalisation
and self-reliance.
Given its contribution
to the Brazilian economy as regards national employment and export
earnings, the automotive sector deserves special governmental
attention.
Economics/Ecology
Within a National/Global Construct -
As explained at the
beginning of this long, topic dedicated weblog, since the country's
formation during the various bygone eras when Brazilian export trade
contracted, and national economic fortunes likewise constrained, many
believed Brazil must become both more self-sufficient and vitally
raise the inherent value-added of its export base beyond high volume
low earning general commodities.
This long held attitude
amongst 19th century industrialists was further prompted
by the UN's ECLA (Economic Commission for Latin America) after WW1,
and as seen over the last century and well recognised since WW2.
Brazil quite obviously did indeed sprout a multitude of new economic
tentacles to climb the added-value ladder, both at home and abroad,
which now span an array of topics: from consulting services to other
EM nations about its highly successful Sugar Cain derived Ethanol
policy, to the use of the Rio de Janeiro template for likewise
instigating web-enabled 'intelligent cities' again at home and
abroad, to the its protection of the Amazon Rain Forest and a so a
persona of guardian of Giai (Mother Earth).
In latter decades, and
ahead of others, Brazil's considered use of its natural resources and
as sympathetic as possible industrial consciousness led to
eco-orientated projects, these arguably led by the enormous Itaipu
hydro-electric dam which when created in 1984 providing power via
twenty sub-stations for Brazil's new era of cleaner
industrialisation.
As shown, that dam was
the inspiration for much in the auto-industry, from the creation of a
radical all- electric city-buggy, to the ability to deliver reliable
and variable power to a new cohort of incoming global auto-makers,
themselves beacons of Brazil's successful FDI initiatives.
Self-sufficiency became
a popularist perspective, especially after the trade deprivations of
WW1, WW2 and the impact of the 1973 Oil Crisis. But beyond the desire
for independently produced transport fuel, by the mid 1960s Brazil
also sought to create its own, necessarily alternative, passenger car
and light truck solutions.
Unlike the strong
rational for partial (ie blended) self-supply of transportation fuel
(to absorb oil supply and price shocks) the rational behind Brazil's
own wholly indigenous automotive industry has proven to be, if not
faulty, then perhaps over idealistic. Though without doubt, for a
period between the late 1960s and early 1990s it was a commercial
goldmine thanks to propagation of the national interest.
However, although for a
period there was impetus and success, the technical and scale
short-comings of that necessarily alternative route would eventually
become self- evident, and ultimately even what was a niche corner of
the vehicle market would shrink to becoming today almost invisible.
That necessary route
was of course based upon a requisite “low cost” mentality and
mantra. Yet it also led to industrial learning and application which
provided, for a time, national pride.
Such efforts toward new
competencies should be re-ignited today as Brazil seeks to bolster
its role as vanguard of EM progress and a participant in AM
commercial and consumer demand.
Low Cost Vehicle
Construction :
GRP (Glass Re-Inforced
Plastic) and 'Plasteel'
As seen previously, the
story of state-owned FNM as Brazil's 'national champion' was
primarily regards heavy goods trucks and much subsidised support for
likewise licensed manufacture of a premium passenger car. FNM
products were essentially advanced European vehicles that had been
born from the fruits of Italy's own rapid post-WW2 reconstruction
era.
But the end of FNM by
the early 1970s, sold to Alfa-Romeo to encourage (and succeed) in
further Italian FDI, meant that (like VW, Ford and GM) truly advanced
engineering would remain in the hands of the major auto-players who
earned their major income elsewhere and were able to re-invest to
maintain business propulsion worldwide.
Advanced Materials to
Mirror Advanced Countries
Consequentially, it
meant that any idea of a Brazilian-own vehicle or brand would have to
be predicated upon a very different business case and associative
technologies, domestic affordability right through the value-chain,
from raw materials to recommended retail price, vital to commercial
success at home, and possibly abroad.
Given the explicit and
implicit promises made by Brasilia to incoming foreign producers, the
rejuvinated homeland effort would need to target the remaining
available 'white space' within the national market. In practice this
meant effectively those areas which the government procurement
process could plausibly favour (in the nation's interest) and a small
self-created sliver of the commercial and private arenas in which
the big players had no or little interest.
This inevitably reduced
the home-grown to a quite specialist 'niche vehicle' sphere, and the
idioms of simplicity to aid cost reduction meant the deployment of
very contained capital expenditure offset and supplemented by the
considerable use of cost-attuned manpower.
The business model was
to be a practical adoption of the examplar 'case studies' as proven
in both America and Europe, and would be based upon the extensive use
of 'fibre-glass', or glass re-enforced plastics' (GRP).
Yesteryear Background -
The science behind GRP
had been essentially re-born in the early 1930s in the industrial
laboratories of American glass-makers, having been previously
discovered in Germany, but not developed, during the 1910s. When
blown with a powerful air flow, molten glass could be formed into
tiny globules which themselves could be set into long strands, which
in turn could be rolled-up (like the silk-making process) and/or
could be set into a matted form.
[NB Both the
rolled-strand and cross-overlaid mat would later inspire the creation
of carbon fibre].
This mat would be laid
into a mould. This could be either a single part 'female only' type,
or a double part mould with both 'female' and 'male' parts brought
together. After a release-agent was brush-painted into the mould the
matting would (in the case of a female-only mould) be brush-painted
with a cellulose based liquid so as to soak into the matting and
harden in the respective new shape. For more tolerance critical
objects a male-female mould would be closed and securely clamped with
the matting obviously enclosed. Into this, via a small input hole,
the cellulose liquid would be gravity fed or pumped, so filling up
the internal chamber and fully soaking the fibre-glass matting.
The new object would be
released and trimmed of excess material and typically painted to
provide a better harder and coloured ('A-surface') finish.
The method was
productionised within a limited scope in WW2 when applied to sections
of aircraft fuselage and internal fittings, alongside a far greater
use of transparent acrylic 'Plexiglass'. However, because of the long
mould curing time, and so slow productivity rate, and the limited
number of recognised applications, the GRP process had little
real-world impact for US military and civilian organisations during
WW2.
This would change
dramatically in the post-war era, when in a new climate of
advancement, cost-consciousness and experimentation, a raft of new
applications were identified within firstly American and thereafter
European industries – primarily across the 'hi-performance' realms
of private light aircraft, private marine and performance orientated
automotive.
But as seen in Brazil
it was also deemed the appropriate answer to the first modern
attempts of low cost transportation and zero or low emissions
eco-mobility.
However, the beginnings
of automotive GRP was not in the lowest social quarters, but the
highest.
In the automotive
realm, even though Henry Ford has experimented with soya based
plastic skin panels (hoods and trunks) in the 1940s, the first
prominent product was General Motors 1953 Corvette. GM's engineers
and designers well recognised the popularity, attributes and
relatively high price tags of the small lightweight European
sports-cars that had been imported by the US military officers after
WW2. Recognising that such personal cars had become badges of 'taste'
amongst the 'social set' that trend could be replayed GM set about
creating an all-American car in size and style but with the key
attribute of European ethos regards good power to weight ratio. To be
built in smaller volumes and with high sticker price, the perfect
technical solution was GRP, providing relative 'feather-light' build,
a rigid enough structure and critically low investment spend on
moulds and jigs. When added to the standard union rates for greater
man-power content, break-even would be early and thereafter
profitability greater than a standard steel-bodied vehicle.
The Corvette led the
way in the “GRP revolution” (akin to the carbon-fibre revolution
of today) and thus as an affordable (almost by-product) material it
provided the perfect solution for a plethora of other new and updated
automotive names; so as to markedly bolster the European and American
supply of purist dedicated motorsport vehicles and as associated
'race-bred' lineage of 'personal- performance' cars during the
economic boom times of the late 1950s and 1960s.
The first to properly
broadly experiment with GRP elsewhere was France's 'DB' (previously
Deutsch-Bonnet, and later absorbed by MATRA),who most interestingly
had impetus to understand its uses not just in motor-sport but also
in popular micro-cars; even though none were ultimately manufactured.
'DB' however has the
(oft overlooked) accomplishment in retailing the world's first
mid-engined sportscar – the Djet - in 1962/3 using a steel backbone
chassis, GRP body and Renault components. Its inherent logic of
“balanced low-mass” thus set the construction formula for the De
Tomaso Vallelunga a year later and the Lotus Europa 3 years later.
(Similar construction materials however had been used on the 1962
Lotus Elan).
GRP thus became the de
facto body solution for lower cost, lower risk business templates. It
was viewed by many, from informed engineers to shady 'get rich quick'
entrepreneurs, as the perfect answer in transforming the automotive
arena. The product formula of far lower production costs (vs metals)
and much reduced 'sprung weight' meant it could theoretically be
applied across a very wide price spectrum given thanks to the created
'product attributes'. From the rarefied delights of high performance
in the higher price brackets, through to the stylistically unique for
middling prices, through to more affordable (often alternatively
propelled) mass-mobility.
Interestingly however,
the route to GRP in theoretical mass-mobility did not for the most
part come directly from sportscars ('DB' the experimental
exception). Instead the material underwent technology transfer from
the boating industry in which it was quickly initially adopted for
small rowing boats, powered dinghys, small sail-craft and thereafter
motorboats, launches to speed-boats. GRP suited the basic 'tub'
design of boats (requiring only a large female mould) and so was
quickly taken-up.
Motorcycle side-car
producers recognised this as a very suitable technical route for
themselves, and thus (as with caravans) allowed for a new sub-segment
of lower priced products to be made for both motorcycles and even
scooters. This trend was thought to be the natural solution for
micro-car producers and so the likes of Britain's 'Peel Engineering
Co' amalgamated GRP and motorcycle power to create what it though
would be a new generation of popular micro-cars.
However, it was perhaps
only the UK's Reliant Motor Company in the 1960s onwards and later
France's MicroCar Company in the 1980s onward who would gain success
with GRP enabled affordable mobility. Primarily thanks to the PESTEL
peculiarities of their respective home nations.
[NB Indeed MicroCar was
formed because of the boat-making core competance of its parent, the
Beneteau Group].
The Perfect Economic
Fit -
With the high start-up
costs of major auto manufacturing undertaken by, and thus dominated
by, VW, GM, Ford and FIAT and the undoubted planned transfer of state
ownership of FNM into the wholly private hands of Alfa Romeo, a new
route for truly 'domestic automotive' was required.
The combined adequate
rigidity of GRP structures in specific land, air and marine use,
together with the innate flexibility of (theoretically very
adaptable) associated business models thanks to low start-up costs
and the adaptable nature of production provided the ideal basis for
what was assumed a myriad of opportunities and spectrum of business
approaches.
This would range from
periodic and piece-meal manufacture for higher priced rarefied
vehicles in sports and luxury segments, to the nigh on continuous
relatively high output of utility type products.
Moreover, critically
GRP niche production was well recognised as being the polar opposite
of conventional big production. And with that came locational and
re-locational advantages, with the ability – as circumstances
require – to either: a) follow the low cost curve on a town by
town or region by region basis (akin to globalisation), or b) take
advantage of local state and municipality subsidies to attract light
industry into development focused areas.
Thus it was wholly
unlike a permanently fixed location of an 'in-situ' mass-manufacture
vehicle plant, with required geographic proximity to high electrical
power generation / feed, the closeness of its prime supply Tier 1
supplier-base and the requirement of good infrastructure to aid
speedy and reliable logistics.
The innate GRP process
allowed for what seemed an infinite possibility of regional
development possibilities. It was then no surprise, that having seen
the futuristic product advances in the US and Europe and the impact
of such a business model on local areas that the Brazilian government
sought to prompt commercial uptake of GRP production – it was an
absolute 'wonder' as regards:
1. the myriad of
shapes and sizes the material could be moulded into.
2. the differing forms
that associated business models could take.
3. the positive impact
upon the local economy.
In the mid 1960s
Brasilia had undoubtedly, from afar and perhaps close at hand, looked
at the local development impact of various examples.
These included:
USA: GM's Corvette in
Bowling Green, Kentucky...Studebaker's Avanti in South Bend, Indiana.
UK: Reliant Motors'
Regal production in Tamworth, Staffordshire....TVR's Grantura/Vixen
production in Blackpool, Lancashire....Lotus' Elite/Elan/Europa production
in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
France: Matra's M530
production in Romoratin-Latheny, Simca's non-productionised
exploration of GRP rear panels and whole body for the 1200 coupe
(which could have altered its demise) in Poissy.
And perhaps most
interestingly another much changed and developing country had
deployed GRP as the foundations for its own second attempt at a
national car.
Turkey: Otosan Anadol's
production of the A1 saloon, coupe, the P2 'ute', (and later STC-16
sports) in Istanbul (using Rootes and Ford mechanicals).
By the mid 1960s then
it had become well understood that GRP dedicated manufacturing
companies (ranging from cars to boats, planes to caravans, utility
furniture to container silos) could have a major economic impact upon
out of town areas which had been fundamentally economically altered
by the mechanisation of agriculture, and had been too far
geographically remote to gain from the ongoing growth of conventional
town-centric and city-centric industrialisation.
Here was an industry
suited to the provinces and could help soak-up the surplus of
untapped labour therein, and help revitalise more rural areas.
In Europe the impetus
for such innovation would consist of a typical mix of both private
and state funding / subsidies, the level of the latter dependent upon
the political 'big picture'.
Thus for the post
Kubitschek governments in Brasilia seeking new economic platforms for
the more overlooked suburbs and regions, the idea of “Plastic Cars”
became a very tempting policy route.
The Past Examples -
As depicted previously,
even though small in ultimate numerical output, Brazil's niche
vehicle production ultimately spanned a period of just about 30
years. It was effectively opened and closed by the sporadic
activities of the Puma Motor Company between 1966 and 1995; with a
heyday during the 1960s and 1970s.
To recap the prime
examples of GRP founded business models were:
1. Brasinca Veiculos
SVT S/A – located in Sao Paulo City (1964 to 1967)
2. Puma Motores S/A –
located in Matao of Sao Paulo State (1966 to 1995)
3. Gurgel Motores S/A -
located in Rio Claro, Sao Paulo State (1969 to 1993)
4. Miura Motores S/A –
located in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (1977 to 1993)
5. Lafer Motores S/A -
located in Sao Paulo State (1974 to 1990)
6. Santa Matilda
Industriel S/A – located in Rio de Janeiro State (1978 to 1995)
7. Farus Motores S/A –
located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (1979 to 1990)
8. Dacon Industriel S/A
– located in Sao Paulo State (1983 to 1994)
9. JPX do Brasil S/A
[EBX-Auverland-Panhard] – located in Rio de Janeiro (1992 to 2002)
Each of these
enterprises sought to exploit what were considered untapped potential
for a majority or complete 'home-grown' Brazilian vehicle in
specialist arenas.
These depict initial
exploration of GRP's use on major panels with the Brasinca SVT 4200GT
(a very good evocation of a truly luxurious personal car in the
manner and style of its inspiration, the all-GRP Studebaker Avanti of
the period), through to very speedy broad technical and commercial
acceptance of the basic material for complete body structures, as per
the Puma et al in sporting guise, and the early offerings from
Gurgel.
Gurgel's Reactionary
Pragmatism -
As shown previously,
the most prolific exponent of GRP design, manufacture and in-use
redesign was Gurgel Motores in Rio Claro of Sao Paulo state.
Whilst other companies
were keen to direct sports-car and luxury-car efforts toward the
private realm of status orientated wealthy consumers who typically
themselves ran large enterprises (in industry and agriculture),
Gurgel soon recognised the inherent risk of such a relatively
'high-stakes' venture dependent upon the strength of the economy and
associated spending prowess.
Instead of entering
such a theoretically high margin yet very competitive field, the
founder (Joao Augusto Gurgel) preferred business stability to grow
his vision of very functional vehicles for Brazil's self-betterment.
And so pointed his firm toward the more cost conscious yet more
stable and larger volume procurement needs for basic utility
vehicles. These would include the Brazilian military, which would in
turn give confidence to large federal organisations and regional
state owned enterprises.
It seems highly likely
that Gurgel was recommended this business direction by auto-sector
bureaucrats, and given generous subsidies and incentives as part of
the Brazilian self-sufficiency ideal, and thus had a ready-made
customer base and so predetermined business case.
There is little point
in recapping the previously mentioned series of vehicles that were
ultimately produced, instead focus herein upon indigenous innovation
the early creation of patented 'Plasteel' is highlighted.
“Plasteel” -
In itself it was hardly
revolutionary, since it was long recognised by Americans and
Europeans that basic GRP had strength limitations dependent upon
dimensions and shape, which would typically be 'engineered around' in
standard form via use of: curved corners, 'U' section channels,
shallow or deep corrugation and internal 'webs'.
When such solutions
were unsuited early builders could and would utilise small quantities
of metal (aluminium preferable over steel) if deemed necessary to
strengthen a specific portion of the moulded item. Thus 'Plasteel'
was hardly new, even if marketed as such to possibly naรฏve Brazilian
customers. Nonetheless 'Plasteel' allowed Gurgel to uprate his
company's USP of light fuel efficient and relatively durable
vehicles.
This came into be after
the strength limitations of the basic unstrengthened material became
apparent with structure failures on the second Gurgel model, the
Xavante. As is the normal case with the military and many government
and private users in EM countries regards pick-up trucks etc; the
vehicles would be consistently overloaded to maximise their use.
[NB This would be well
recognised by the Japanese (Landcruiser and Hi-Lux) and Germans
(Unimog and G-Wagen) who effectively over-engineered their vehicles
to absorb additionally high expections. Joao Gurgel would learn
through experience].
Historically GRP has
had very limited applications for military vehicle use, effectively
restricted to only necessarily lightweight and highly mobile
reconnaissance vehicles and as half-tonne load carriers. Given this
limitation the vast majority of the world's military fleet would be
for decades conventionally engineered in steel and aluminium for
performance, durability and in-the-field and motor-pool repair
reasons. That metal construction typical for a plethora of vehicle
types across medium and heavy load bearing logistics vehicles (from
single unique loads to freight containers), those general transport
vehicles which would need to be 'up-armoured' (ie the addition of
heavy armour plating) for combat zones and of course those vehicles
dedicated to combat environment operations, from personnel carriers
to tanks to mine-sweepers, etc.
Thus inevitably
international armed forces recognised that GRP had a very useful, but
very limited, role to perform regards the body structures of
cross-country 'recon' buggies and as a sacrificial skin for very
light, non ballistic, attacks (eg urban rioters' use of Molotov
cocktails).
[NB this engrained
convention only now slightly shifting with the introduction of
increased carbon-fibre on task-dedicated vehicles].
However, with a
keenness to appear modern and advanced, so as to grow a military
export base, it is likely that 'Plasteel' was born as much from the
behest of the Brazilian government and Joao Gurgel's own 'vision'.
Together Brasilia and
Gurgel sought to fundamentally alter the status quo of all-metal
vehicles within the 0.5 to 2 tonne 'light load' sector. And doing so
because it recognised the massive international demand for basic
light and efficient multi-task utility vehicles, themselves typically
required in high production order numbers; 'plentiful, adaptable and
cheap' the customer's mantra.
Recognising the mutual
advantages and disadvantages of both GRP and steel Gurgel quite
logically combined the two materials, putting steel bar, steel sheet,
steel angle and steel channel as specifically placed substrates in
the high stress areas of the vehicle's GRP 'tub'.
Thus whilst 'Plasteel'
was hardly a true innovation, it did provide a sizeable increase in
the durability of Gurgel's plastic-bodied vehicles so adding to their
capabilities, lifespan and so ultimately general reputation.
'Plasteel' would
thereafter feature in Gurgel's multi-passenger and load-lugging VW
powered light trucks, vans and 'maxi-taxis'.
The End of the
Indigenous 'GRP' Era -
Joao Gurgel's company
had been the prime beneficiary of Brazil's protectionist stance from
the late 1960s through to the early 1990s. Throughout this time,
under the 'closed door' ethos to major foreign influence, Brazil had
led Latin America in terms of its self-sufficiency political
thinking.
The likes of its
'Pro-Alcool' Ethanol Fuel programme informed other suitably apt
countries in South American and elsewhere to adopt or explore a
similar strong domestic stance (including early introduction in the
USA). And Gurgel did indeed gain export success to neighbouring
countries – often with a heavy Socialist bent - who likewise had
been reliant upon cheap low quality imported petroleum and thus, for
greater independence, likewise sought fuel efficient utility service
vehicles made in in South America.
But whilst Gurgel
Motores had been thriving, by the late 1980s the winds of PESTEL
change were to alter the Brazilian and LatAm environment. The erosion
and eventual fall of Soviet Communism whose trade deals and finances
had helped prop-up portions of Latin America had an enormous economic
ripples.
Via cinema, TV and
radio the peoples of Brazil and much of LatAm had seen much of The
West and The East enjoy standards of living far in advance of
themselves. And simultaneously inevitably viewed their own
Communist-Socialist leaders as being in reality part of a collusive
elitist set who themselves enjoyed the fruits of commercial monopoly
in various sectors. Thus to this day Joao Gurgel himself (as with
many other middle-men, merchants and industrialists) is deemed to
have gained far too much government largess for too little real
socio-economic return.
Instead, into the 1990s
that 'closed world' diminished and Brazil substantially altered its
ISI policy to allow the importation of usually better designed and
manufactured world-class goods; vehicles the leading examples which
illustrated how Brazil had in effect been stuck in its own time-warp
for at least a decade and a half if not longer.
Into that vacuum that
was Soviet collapse - and the resultant re-orientation away from an
insular relationship with LatAm and Central American cohort countries
– came the rest of the world: the Americans, Europeans, Japanese,
South Koreans and the Chinese. Each came offering either better
technologies or cheaper goods, often supported by strong stable and
cheaper external financing to lubricate the Re-Globalistion process
for Brazil.
The Ongoing Economic Re-Balancing Act -
Donald Trump's
Presidential win has political and economic commentators on
tenter-hooks about the real outcomes of his apparent very
protectionist mindset. That in turn has created a domino effect
amongst other nations regards a sizeable sway toward economic
self-interest and self-reliance.
But let us remember
that even in the midst of Brazil's 1950s Import Substitution
Industrial policy it sought to retain the likes of already invested
Ford and GM, and extended an invitation to the most apt foreign
providers of suitable vehicles VW and later FIAT.The world itself,
and the auto-industry specifically, is far too globalised to consider
fundamental protectionist change. It was the case seventy years ago
and it remains more so today.
However that should not
halt Brazil from undertaking its own indigenous research, development
and even low level production of 'advanced vehicles' in its own
image. Perfecting such a vision to offer the world something new.
An ecologically sound
recyclable lightweight material that performs far better than GRP but
costs far less than carbon-fibre to produce would be perfect. Brazil
extolled the virtues of ethanol for self-sufficiency and
affordability and it gave that to the EM world.
It might be able to
do the same with vehicles themselves.
...........................................................................................................................
In the 1980s-excess zeitgeist revealing book and film 'American Pyscho' the main character asks “is that Donald Trump's
car?” Decades later the mass populace will echo those very words as Trump rides within the armour protected leviathan that is the Presidential 'Beast'.
How refreshing it would
be to have a future Brazilian President riding in a very different
animal, one of Brazil's own creation which offers revolutionary eco-technology to the world.
