The conference structure will be significantly revised and the former separation between trade fair and lecture events will end. This has been announced by trade fair organiser Reed Exhibitions and Composites Germany.
So far, the ICC - organised by AVK (Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe eV), the industry association for Reinforced Plastics - doubled as a kick-off event for Composites Europe. Starting this year, the trade fair and conference will be held concurrently in Stuttgart from 10-12 September and will move closer thanks to an integrative overall concept. With this move the conference themes will be mirrored more strongly in the trade fair by themed islands, relevant guided tours of the trade fair and hands-on demonstrations in the exhibition halls.
The conference programme will centre on the focal themes Smart Composites (Bio-Composites and Processing Technologies), Applications (Thermoplastics, Thermosets), Markets (New Mobility, Building & Construction), Future Challenges (Regulations and New Applications) and Composites Science (R+D Updates, Young Innovators Solutions). Kicking off the conference programme will be an Open Session featuring market reports, keynote speeches on market outlooks and trends - free for all visitors.
For the first time, there will be a separate call for papers specifically addressing young scientists; eligible are students and staff members at universities and institutions. The selected Young Innovators can introduce themselves to the trade fair and congress visitors in keynote papers and poster presentations.
This new trade fair and conference structure will be complemented by meetings of national and international industry associations, the presentation of the AVK Innovation Prize on 10 September as well as the joint evening event ‘Composites Night’ on 11 September.
"With this reorganisation we wish to gear the conference even better to the current challenges faced by fibre reinforced plastics processors and user industries," says Dr Michael Effing, Chairman of the Board at both Composites Germany and AVK. The ICC hereby pools the efforts of the AVK network partners from industry, science and research even better thereby supporting the trade fair as a "theme scout" to develop new formats and content.
"With the new concept we will ideally leverage the synergies of Composites Europe and the ICC. In future, the trade fair and conference will give participants the opportunity to find both theoretical and practical information for their specific areas in one and the same place," said Olaf Freier, event director of Composites Europe at organiser Reed Exhibitions.
The forthcoming Composites Europe and the International Composites Conference (ICC) will be held in Stuttgart from 10-12 September 2019. The complete programme will be finalised at the end of May.