300 international companies, ranging from suppliers of raw materials to manufacturers through to fibre-reinforced plastics processors, have announced their participation in the fifth edition of the trade fair, whilst a large number of universities and institutions also presenting innovations.
The full range of technologies and products around the entire value chain of the materials will be on display, with the spotlight on sustainable solutions for industries such as aerospace as well as vehicles, building and construction.
In Halls 5, 10, 11 and 12 of the exhibition centre, 300 exhibitors from 25 countries will present themselves, among them big industry players such as 3A Composites, Huntsman, Zoltek, 3B Fibreglass, Dassault, Pultrex, KraussMaffei, SGL, Carbon Composites eV and Weiss Chemie.
Toho Tenax, Europe's largest producer of carbon fibres, will make its debut this year, and with Lanxess, BASF, Johns Manville, and the Advanced Composites Group (ACG), Composites Europe says it has succeeded in attracting other international key players to Essen.
The Netherlands will present themselves as Composites Europe's first partner country with a large number of Dutch exhibitors on show in its country pavilion. The representative of the Netherlands composites industry will be the Netherlands association for plastics composites (Vereniging Kunststof Composieten Nederland – VKCN).
For the first time, the SME Forum will cater for the needs of small and medium-sized plastic processors. Just like every year, the presentation of the AVK Innovation Awards during the Composites Night (the AVK industry meeting point) will be a special highlight on the evening of the first conference day.
At the Composites lecture forum, product lifecycle management (PLM), adhesive technology, lightweight construction and biomaterials experts will speak on the fundamentals and trends in the processing and machining of composite materials. The three-day programme features lectures and presentations by exhibitors in English and in German.
First will be Dassault Systèmes, CADFEM, Airex and Esi on 14 September, presenting PLM and simulation solutions under the heading ‘Composites Design, Engineering & Simulation'. A panel discussion will deal with the question of how digital tools and IT solutions can help to meet the challenges in the composites environment.
After last year's success, Composites Europe will once again devote a workshop of its own to the topic of adhesive technologies for fibre-reinforced plastics. The focus is on different bonding methods, the requirements to be met by adhesives and material properties. Host and specialist advisor to the workshop will be Professor Dr Andreas Gross of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM).
The Composites Forum is located in Hall 12 and designed as an open lecture area. Attendance at all lectures is free for all trade fair visitors.
Under the heading ‘Lightweight Construction in NRW' companies and universities from North-Rhine Westphalia will present at Composites Europe. On a joint stand, the Ministry of Economy, Energy, Building, Housing and Transport of North-Rhine Westphalia, Cluster Kunststoff.NRW, NanoMikro+Werkstoffe NRW and the action group of aerospace companies in Germany, ALROUND eV, will showcase for the first time what North-Rhine Westphalia has to offer.
Finally, Benteler SGL GmbH, Bond-Laminates GmbH, Composite Impulse GmbH & Co., Lanxess Deutschland GmbH and ThyssenKrupp AG will also be present. Regarding universities in North-Rhine Westphalia, the whole range of expertise from Aachen to Paderborn will be represented.
www.composites-europe.com
