News

Composite Innovation for Confined Spaces

Superyacht garages are often extremely limited in space. Solico designed this tender using lightweight carbon fibre composites to meet demanding spatial and lifting requirements. Every structural component was optimised through advanced FEA analysis, achieving high strength without excess weight.

In a strategic collaboration between three industry leaders in naval architecture, composite engineering, and Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) construction, a new generation of RIB has been developed that sets a fresh benchmark for performance, structural integrity, and endurance. By integrating Finite Element Analysis (FEA), advanced composite materials, and precision engineering, this project represents a significant advancement from legacy RIB designs developed just 15 years ago.

Over the past two years, Solico has collaborated with Plasticon on the Tata Steel DeNOx installation at the Pelletfabriek in IJmuiden. Our team was responsible for the structural engineering and design of the scrubber, the chimney and the stack components.

Solico is excited to announce its role in the development of Greenpower Boats’ innovative 33 ft catamaran, designed to set new benchmarks in the leisure and charter markets. With space for up to 12 guests, this sleek, modern catamaran combines comfort, efficiency, and sustainability, offering a unique experience on the water.

Designed with the needs of the leisure market in mind, the catamaran provides generous living space, featuring a large queen-size double bed and plenty of room for relaxation and entertainment. It’s more than just comfortable—it’s smartly engineered to be exceptionally light and efficient, thanks to its advanced materials and hydrofoil system.

The Nikola Tesla project, located in Belgrade, Serbia, stands as a key part of an EU-driven initiative aimed at modernising existing coal plants to significantly reduce emissions. Launched in 2019, this ambitious endeavor has united a consortium of industry experts, including Platicon Projects, Solico, Hebetec Engineering, and Deco Engineering. Together, we have combined our collective strengths to achieve remarkable results in this critical effort.

Solico played a crucial role in optimizing a canopy structure for Curve Works, using advanced Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to ensure both durability and aesthetic appeal. The canopy had to comply with the Eurocode standards including national annexes for wind and snow loads, and the Dutch guidelines for composite materials in construction. Balancing these technical requirements while maintaining the aesthetic quality of the structure was a critical aspect of Solico's contribution.

Solico’s most recent project, an impressive bicycle bridge over the N207 and the Aarkanaal in Alphen aan den Rijn is currently being built. This bridge, stretching over 150 meters in length, is set to become a vital link for cyclists in the region.

Solico is thrilled to announce that its latest collaboration with partners Armacell and Holland Composites has been selected as a finalist in the JEC Innovation Awards. Solico has been nominated in the Building & Civil Engineering category for work on the 14,000 m2 Duplicor façade for The Pulse building in Amsterdam.

We are finalists for the JEC Innovation awards 2024!

We are pleased to share that Solico, in collaboration with partners Armacell and Holland Composites, has been selected as a finalist for the JEC Innovation Awards 2024!

Solico is thrilled to announce its participation in the upcoming METSTRADE 2023 event in Amsterdam. The highly anticipated exhibition, set to take place from November 15 to 17, is the world's largest marine trade show and is poised to be an extraordinary event for boating enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.

Solico is proud to announce that it is now working on 1 work package for the NXTGEN Hightech project. This work will study and optimise composite material drapability and design inputs for the zero-defect manufacturing process of a future digital e-mobility factory that Solico will also define for the project.

Solico’s latest collaboration with long-term client Holland Composites represents a new milestone in the application of sustainable engineered composite structures in the architectural sector. Solico has engineered the new 14,000m² Duplicor® façade for the Pulse of Amsterdam – a high-end mixed use project containing work, living and leisure spaces in the heart of the city’s Zuidas business district – that has been built by Holland Composites for façade contractor De Groot & Visser.

Solico has designed and engineered a 77 litre machined aluminium emergency supply POD for the Royal Dutch Navy and will showcase the new design at Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) in Rostock from May 9-11th. When a submarine is downed or distressed, known as a DISSUB scenario, time is of the essence to deliver additional supplies that can supplement the submarine’s on-board life support systems until a rescue operation can reach the vessel. The POD allows crucial supplies such as oxygen candles, food, and essential medical equipment to be quickly delivered to the submarine in distress.

Solico, the leading marine composite engineering specialist, will present its latest developments in lightweight composite structures for the Marine sector at METS 2022.

Solico, the leading composite engineering specialist for the Industrial, Marine and Defence sectors, is delighted to announce its recent collaboration with innovative prosthetics specialists Axiles Bionics.  The Axiles Bionics’ Lunaris is a revolutionary ankle-foot prosthesis which features bespoke composite components engineered and optimised by Solico.

De Sluis (The Lock) was completed in late 2021 and comprises 27 apartments for a protective custody institute in Utrecht, Netherlands. Solico Engineering provided the detail design and structural verification for the cladding panels that were built using ACT's lightweight, fire resistant composite material Acrylic One (A1).

On February 1, Hans Muller will retire from Solico, taking time to focus on family, friends, and his own personal engineering projects. Hans leaves the company he founded more than 33 years ago in excellent shape, a thriving composite engineering practice with a growing team and a strong order book going forwards.

Solico is pleased to announce its latest marine collaboration with Aeolos Composites, having engineered the new Aeolos Performance 30, a striking new all carbon 30-foot sailing yacht built in the Middle East.

Sara Krekel, one of Solico’s lead engineers, knows that for engineers to do their best work, they must have all of their tools! However, she noticed that occasionally it was hard to find the tool she needed when she needed it. Sometimes the tools would vanish onto the desk of another colleague. Like a good engineer, Sara saw a problem and started thinking of a solution. In this moment, Sara created the original proposal for the Solico Toolkit! 

Solico Engineering has partnered with Advantage Composite B.V. to work on a 3-phase, ongoing N34 reconstruction project. This includes the reconstruction of multiple viaducts and underpasses on the N34 provincial road. The aesthetic design elements in this reconstruction were partly inspired by the natural landscapes that surround these structures. 

Customer: Advantage Composite B.V.

Solico is proud to announce our latest collaboration, providing composite engineering support to Structor Engineering B.V. for the development of a unique 25m2 outdoor cinema screen. 

The past few years, Solico has proudly been a silver sponsor of Eco-Runner team Delft; especially as the team gives future engineers the chance to put their studies into action. This was one of the reasons why Dante, lead engineer at Solico, helped to found the Eco-Runner Team Delft back in 2005.

Solico is proud to announce the launch of its Amphora software for the design, calculation and optimisation of composite storage tanks and silos. Composite materials are extensively used in the industrial and agricultural sectors to produce large, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, easy to install, and low maintenance silos and tanks for stored powders and liquids. In Europe, the design and workmanship of such above-ground storage tanks and vessels are typically defined by the EN 13121-3:2016 standard.

At 12:30 A.M. on 2 November, a runaway Dutch metro was saved by a whale tail sculpture. The metro had burst through the buffer stop while approaching the end of the line in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands. Solico engineered the sculpture which caught the runaway train, preventing a total catastrophe.