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Piero Consorti, how did HP
Compositi start? What is its
mission and its market
sector?
«The heart of HP is in a group
of extremely professional
technicians that have been
active in the field of high‐
performance composites for
more than 30 years. The core business of the
company is strongly tied ‐ for history, know‐
how and passion reasons ‐ to the road and
racing automotive panorama. It has an
integrated offer that includes prototyping,
production, engineering and industrial
development. However, there are a lot of
potential market openings for carbon fiber,
basically everywhere both performance and
ligthness are needed. It's a typical problem of
vehicle engineering, especially with fast
vehicles! HP is the acronym of High
Performances, and it's pretty much Nomen
Omen, there is not really much to add on our
mission. Our goal is to be the benchmark
company in the composites business by
delivering increasingly light and high‐
performance components».
How does the current structure of your
company look like? How many
departments and employees? What kind of
technology do you employ?
«The company's staff features more then 110,
thoroughly selected people, all of them with a
long‐standing experience in the most
prestigious car manufacturing programs of the
motorsports and supercar panorama. On the
other hand though, it's surprising to see that
our average employee is just 35 years old! We
have a vertical structure meaning that we can
carry‐on the whole production process in‐
house, so we can provide a complete offer
ranging from engineering to the production of
models, molds, components and to
dimensional check and quality control. This
kind of organization enables us to be very
reactive to the market's demands and also
establish new production processes in record
times. Regarding our technology, although the
autoclave is still the benchmark for racing
components, there are also little gems like
high‐performance RTM».
Is there a way to quickly explain to a racing
fan what composites are and what is their
role in motorsports?
«Technically speaking, a composite material
descends from simpler and diverse materials
that, once put together, create a new material
with an own character. There's composite
materials all around of us:
wood, cement, paper, bones...
they're all made of a
reinforcement (in racing we use
carbon fiber texture which has
great mechanical properties)
and a matrix that enables the
forces to travel between one
fiber and the other. In our case,
we use epoxy resin. It's easy to realize why the
use of composites has almost become the only
possible alternative in motorsports. From the
first F1 monocoques at the start of the 80's to the
current racing cars of any category, the
motivation never
changes: given the
same power, a light
weight leads to
better acceleration
and vehicle
dynamics. Shaving
one kilo can count
as an additional
horsepower! Also, if
we consider how
composites have a
particular vocation
for absorbing and
dissipating impacts
our picture is
complete on why
they became the
first option in
racing!».
How important is
racing for HP?
«Racing is our
inspiration and
provides us with a continuative push towards
innovation, improvement and excellence in an
effort to go beyond limits. That works for men
as well as for the products they produce!
Soichiro Honda, who founded Honda Motor
Company, once said ’If Honda does not race
there is no Honda’’. We definitely share that
view because without that magnificent proving
ground that is motorsport, we would have
never reached and surpassed some limits and
we also have to consider the technical fall‐out
that end up and consolidates in road‐related
projects».
How did your relationship with Tatuus start?
«We have a solid relationship with them which
dates back to more than 15 year ago when our
best technicians were part of another company,
ATR, which at the time was a benchmark in
composites development. At the time, they
produced the first Formula Renault 2.0 car, an
historical landmark that needs no introduction.
When Tatuus decided to have HP on their side
for their new Renault 2.0 project for 2013, we
shared the vision of delivering an absolutely
excellent chassis, even if it was for a
developmental championship. An incredible
deal of commitment was put in the project in
order to create a small jewel in terms of
performance and construction efficiency. It
would have never been possible without the
trust and the close cooperation that Tatuus
provided. The final result proved really
rewarding for both parties».
Can you tell us
something more
about your newest
challenge, the
prototype racer
developed with
Tatuus?
«The PY012
prototype has been
a revolution indeed,
both for its
unconventional
design and
philosophy and on
our side, for the
technology used for
its production. This
project is actually a
proving ground for
many of the
innovative technical
solutions that we
eventually
incorporated in the
FR 2.0. On the
other hand, we stayed truthful to an unstoppable
pursuit of efficiency and detail optimization. As
we say in racing, even the greatest machines are
made of many little parts».
What are the key requirements for a
motorsports company in order to be
successful?
«The ability to keep innovating is one of the
key drivers towards success, especially in a
sector like ours where there are basically no
standard solutions. The production process of
composites for motorsports is an extremely
high‐tech craft and you need to mix the know‐
how, the manual skills and the expertise while
sticking to rigorous mechanics. The other thing
is to be quick in reacting to the demands of the
market. Today everything moves so fast but the
projects are growing more and more complex.
Only who can keep it up with the quick pace of
motorsports can survive».
Piero
Consorti
