Hi Eska,
I understand that you are seeing many articles in many publications talking about the wonders of Spiber.
This is quite expected because the greatest wonder of Spiber is their drive to publicize themselves in as many ways and as many places as possible.
I believe that you are repeatedly being mislead by Spiber's forward looking statements which they try to present as accomplishments.
One example of this is their "factory" which they represent as having a capacity of variously 100 Kg / month to 1000 Kg /month.
If you read very carefully and read a bit between the lines you will find that although they talk about this factory being completed and about it having a capacity to produce X per month, what is actually there is an almost empty building that they purchased / constructed which they state has a capacity of X at full production, but which actually has one small tank in one corner of the empty building (I saw an inside pic a while back)
and no date is given,or a meaningless future date is given for when full production will be achieved.
You are not the only one being mislead.
Spiber has an amazing record of getting a JV agreement with company A,
using that to get some funding from company B, using those 2 to get a grant or award or recommendation from some other group and so on and so on.
In each case the integrity of the previous "partner" is used to avoid too close an inspection by the next mark, just as you have been seduced into belief by the names of various "backers".
Spiber has an incredible list of successes behind it, but they are all Funding successes and publicity successes, not technical successes.
How is this Possible?
I believe it would NOT be possible in the US or most places other than Japan.
Being somewhat familiar with the language I suspect that you are also somewhat familiar with the Japanese government / industrial ethos and culture.
In the US everyone is suspicious of everyone, government is often an adversary of industry, and all businesses compete with each other.
In Japan things have long been quite different.
Government actively advises and helps industry.
Large industrial empires often cooperate with each other.
Businesses traditionally do not compete over territories but rather concede exclusive domains to each other.
And the individual ethic is one of self deprecation and brutal honesty and self-abuse over one's failings.
In Japan,even a young boy would never call the emperor naked!
Imagine if you will that into this atmosphere of politeness and self deprecation comes an individual and a small group who break these rules and are actively self aggrandizing and self promoting and willing to use untruths and half truths to advance their own position.
One of Japans Own, from a major and respected university, and therefore not suspect but rather wearing the Aegis of knowledge and intelligence.
Imagine further an industry that has traditionally been one of Japan's strengths and sources of pride (silks and fabrics and textiles) but which has suffered humiliation recently by US and German companies who are changing the rules by innovation (a traditional weakness of the Japanese).
Then comes the Person/group that proclaims that they have bested the foreigners at their own game and have created a great triumphant breakthrough for Japan, by which Japan will once again rise to their position of Pride and Preeminence!
In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is King!
In the kingdom of the self deprecating truth sayers, the self aggrandizing liar is King! (for a while at least)
I know that I am unlikely to convince you of any of this, so let us just lay the argument aside for a while and agree to disagree.
Time will tell.
Mike L.
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