Max
Crawford, along with his wife Jan, created Crawford
& Crawford Composites, Inc. in 1988 to fill a need for engineered
high-quality parts for sports car racing. Crawford
& Crawford Composites, Inc. now services, engineers and manufactures newly
designed and replacement parts for motor sports clients. The products, including
chassis, carbon fiber wings and ducts and wind tunnel models are designed and
developed in the company’s Denver, N.C. facility.
“In the early 1980’s there was a definite need for
lighter and more durable parts in sports car racing,” said Max. “We began
experimenting with composites for a Porsche 962 at John Fitzpatrick Racing”.
As a result of those first entrepreneurial efforts Crawford
Composites was the first American privately owned, non-aerospace company to
build a complete carbon fiber composite car in 1990, the Mazda RX7-92P that
competed in the IMSA series.
Since 1990 Crawford Composites has become a major producer
of structural laminates such as wings and chassis. The company has remained on the cutting edge of technology
through work with aerodynamics and the development of a wind tunnel program.
Crawford Composites produces a full range of products, ranging from
carbon fiber brake ducts and cold air boxes to custom designed products that are
manufactured to suit the customer’s individual needs.
Most recently Crawford Composites completed the in house design and
production of a prototype Sportscar, the Crawford SSC2K.
All of the pieces comprising the new
Crawford Race Cars’ SSC2K chassis, except
for the brake rotors and calipers and engine, are designed and engineered
by Crawford Race Cars while all of the composite components are
manufactured by Crawford & Crawford Composites, Inc.
“The composite business is the backbone of this
organization,” said Jan. “Going
from concept to reality is our specialty. We still employ the traditional
methods required to manufacture hand made prototypes when necessary and also
maximize technology available today. Thanks to surface scan technology, solid
modeling software and CNC machines the evolution and development of components
seems limitless.”
Crawford & Crawford Composites also manufactures
components for historic race cars. Other
customers include teams from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Busch Series –
Grand National Division, CART FedEx Championship Series, Indy Racing Northern
Light Series, Sports Car Club of America, Pennzoil World of Outlaws and United
States Auto Club.
“Our job is to take on a project from start to finish at
a realistic cost,” said Max. “Crawford
Composites and Crawford Race Cars are technologically advanced and automated.
Automation saves time, money and is more accurate.
Moreover, it is not the customer’s job to sort out every detail of
production. We handle everything so
the customer can concentrate on the function of the end product.
“It’s the pursuit of excellence and
quality in technology that drives us.”
