The study, entitled ‘UK Composites 2013: Status, Opportunities and Direction’, is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and has been commissioned through the National Composites Centre. The study will cover the current status and indicative future needs of the UK composites industry to support future cross sector strategy development. The Composites Leadership Forum anticipates completion by early summer 2013. “There is real opportunity for growth driven by new uses and applications of Composites,” said Alison Starr, chair of the Composites Leadership Forum. “This study will identify the opportunities and inhibitors to achieving that growth across many Sectors. This analysis can then be used as the basis for further work to model our supply chains, map the technology, manufacturing and skills required to secure growth for UK companies.” Market opportunities and the strategic direction of the UK composites industry will be reviewed in a global context, together with commentary on the nature and uptake of governmental support for composites capability development internationally. The report will update previously reported information from established user sectors and acquire further data from industry sectors with emerging interest in the use of composites. The data and findings will support members of the Composites Leadership Forum in their development of industry action plans and provide access to the information for UK industry now actively engaged in, or investigating the use of composites materials. The timing and context of this work will enable and support subsequent work to be carried out to model composites supply chains and to carry out technology road mapping. The study will be carried out by Shakspeare Services and Avalon Consultancy Services working with the National Composites Centre. www.nccuk.com
