Supporting an emerging industry

Following on from the success of last year’s first Aero Engineering exhibition, event organiser Leading Edge is expanding its market reach with the all-new co-located Composites Engineering show, providing a source of information and opportunities for everyone across the sector.
Taking place on the 29-30th September at Birmingham’s NEC, Composites Engineering 2010 follows the format set by its slightly older brother, marrying the traditional trade exhibition format with a series of wide ranging and in-depth presentations and seminars designed to educate and inform an existing and prospective market. Describing its remit as ‘to unify the value chain for two days of knowledge transfer, intensive networking, partnership, and business development’, Leading Edge is using the integrated show approach to make the most of the overlap between the two industries, promising a whole variety of process and products on display from over 150 exhibitors producing components, structures, electronics and systems, engineering services and supporting technology groups. Free access is available for both the exhibition halls and the Open Technology Forums for pre-registered visitors. Taking place over both days and focusing on specific technical subjects, the forums, sponsored by NetComposites, will cover a diverse range of practical subjects including CNC simulation for the composites industry, composites manufacturing productivity improvement, non-destructive testing, defect detection in composite or metal bonded structures, abrasive solutions for composites engineering, skills for the future UK composites industry, composites for the construction sector and technical training for composites maintenance. The main technology forums will also be supplemented by a focused Composites Industry Sector Briefing hosted by Composites UK, on the first day. Content includes a presentation on the UK Government’s composite strategy from the National Composites Centre; an industry forecast from the National Composites Certification and Evaluation Facility; the role of automation in cost reduction by ThyssenKrupp Systems Engineering; and the emergence of sustainable and natural fibres from the National Non-Food Crops Centre. Tasked with drawing together the key personnel for the event’s seminar and presentation schedule, technical consultant Dr Neil Calder, says: “The overall intention of the composites business briefing is to present a high level but practical picture of the business conditions affecting the whole of the composites value chain for both existing companies and new entrants. There are technological elements to this, but the focus will be on what this means in true business terms. We are delighted to have some of the most informative and influential speakers confirmed for the event.” On the management side, a programme of Supply Chain Business Briefings will also be taking place for paying delegates. Hosted by the Aerospace & Defence KTN and UK Trade & Industry (UKTI), this is a high-level UK aerospace engineering industry programme providing fresh business intelligence that will allow aerospace engineering businesses to best position their forward technical, skills and programme activity strategies and includes presentations from influential industry leaders such as BAE Systems, Airbus, GKN, Goodrich, Rolls-Royce, UKTI, the National Composites Centre, and others. B2B meetings held over both days complete the added value content using an Integrated Appointment Programme. Set to go live two weeks prior to the show, this online meeting portal will facilitate hundreds of on-site meetings up and down the supply chain. Show director Ian Stone concludes: “We know that the unified composites value chain is a partnership rich environment, and the show has been devised to provide an opportunity for companies to establish themselves within this arena. As a key part of the event the Composites Industry Sector Briefing and Open Technology Forums will provide access to a knowledge pool that allows the rapidly developing and expanding composites design and production engineering community in the UK to make fully informed business decisions. It supports the concept of the show, to bring together product and process applications from a wide spectrum of industry sectors, including aerospace, motorsport, transportation, marine, medical, construction, oil & gas, telecom and consumer products.” www.compositesexhibition.com