Now a familiar fixture on the trade show circuit, Composites Europe will relocate to Messe Stuttgart for its latest incarnation between 27-29 October. Priding itself on its diversity, organiser Reed claims that the entire technology and product value creation chain for fibre-reinforced materials will be encapsulated with over 350 international exhibitors filling an increased 14,000m2 area, ranging from material suppliers to finished products and service providers. The show will also showcase innovative solutions for major sectors of application, including aerospace, each tailored to fit current demand and requirements placed on material properties, such as lightweight construction, energy efficiency or improved corrosion resistance.
Of course, no modern exhibition is complete without a host of additional features, and in this respect, a key aspect of Composites Europe will be its large product demonstration area. Run in in cooperation with the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) and Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe (AVK), these live showcases will include examples of products, processes and testing of materials and will this year run under the banner of ‘high performance composites'. The definition of this being those that have advanced stability and stiffness properties through the use of reinforcing fibres such as glass, carbon, aramid, boron, aluminium oxide or silicon carbide, which are embedded into the polymer matrix as woven or multi-axial fabrics for over 55% of the volume. Running alongside the exhibition, a composites forum will offer presentations on best practice organised by industry sector over the first two days, with an additional workshop on bonding techniques taking place on the 28th. The final day then moves onto a view of the regional markets in Germany, Italy and China, and a section on composite institutes and networks examining the current challenges and issues and the promotion of technologies. As before, the whole event will be kicked off by the AVK conference on the 26th October when industry and academic experts will present the state-of-the-art in the fields of reinforced plastics and composites. The focal point of this will once again be the AVK Innovation Awards, which fall into three categories. The first is given to a chosen company who is deemed to have provided the best solution to a leading technological issue. The second will highlight the achievements of the composite industry in the field of environmental protection and the third is awarded for pioneering university research. The nova-Institut's Biocomposites Congress now also forms part of the convention.
The development of Composites Europe over its short history has been attributed to the relatively favourable economic environment in which the industry is operating. According to information supplied by AVK, the composite material industry recorded average growth rates of 5.6% last year. Forecasts for natural fibre reinforced plastics are also favourable with ambitious double-digit annual growth rates expected. The location in Germany is a straightforward choice, as the country is comfortably Europe's largest consumer of composite products and geographically lies in a central position to the other big users in the continent. For example figures from last year's event claimed that a third of the visitor demographic were from overseas but perhaps more importantly, 90% of these were decision makers within their fields. With these statistics, the organisers are confident they can continue to become an important focal point for the industry.
www.composites-europe.com
