As one of the largest trade show in the composites industry, JEC World brings together professionals from application sectors, experts from the scientific and academic world, associations and media from more than 112 countries.

Back in March, the company announced plans to postpone the 2020 show until May as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to spread rapidly through Europe causing travel widespread travel restrictions and containment measures.

The next JEC World trade show is scheduled to take place on March 9-11, 2021 after the company organised a survey to poll its exhibitors. The company said that all participants and partners will be contacted very soon in order to best manage the consequences of this decision.

The post JEC Group Cancels 2020 Composites Show appeared first on Composites Today.

The company will be using a pilot line at its Rhône Alpes Research Center (CRRA), near Lyon, which will be dedicated to the manufacture of an alcohol-based solution in order to help out healthcare professionals now under considerable strain.

The solution will be supplied to the French health authorities and will be earmarked in particular for the mass restocking of public hospitals.

The post Arkema to create Alcohol-based Solutions for Hospitals appeared first on Composites Today.

Continuous Fiber 3D Printing technology or CF3D combines composite materials with a snap-curing 3D printing process to create a mouldless, out-of-autoclave manufacturing technology. The result is a scalable technology that is said to decreases lead times and reduces manual labour while removing the need for expensive capital equipment.

The partnership will enable Continuous Composites to use Arkema’s range of resins and laboratory testing facilities to further develop and certify CF3D with a range of advanced material solutions to be established and commercialised down the line.

As an industry leader in materials, our strategic partnership with Arkema opens the door for us to merge CF3D with their cutting-edge UV curable materials and apply Arkema’s long history in the composites field. This partnership will expedite the development and deployment of CF3D across a broad spectrum of industries and applications. Tyler Alvarado, CEO of Continuous Composites

Continuous Composites was established back in 2013 and is located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The company was one of the first to be granted patents on printing with continuous fibres. Upon commercialisation, Continuous Composites’ product offering will comprise software, hardware, materials, and motion platforms to harness the power of composites without the constraints of traditional manufacturing. CF3D is the one solution for all applications and is going to democratise composites into virtually every industry.

The post Continuous Composites teams up with Arkema to advance Continuous Fibre 3D Printing appeared first on Composites Today.

The new carbon fibre facility will cover a 37-acre site at the Osiris Chemicals Industry Platform in Roussillon and will be composed of both polymerisation and carbonisation lines. The plant is part of Hexcel’s ongoing worldwide investment to create a supply chain to support the aerospace sectors growing demand for carbon fibre composites.

Nick Stanage, Hexcel Chairman, CEO and President, said,

Together with our capacity expansions in the U.S., this new facility in France will strengthen our global supply chain by adding precursor and additional carbon fibre capacity in Europe.

Carbon Fibre from the new plant will go to customers including Airbus for the A350 XWB and Safran for the CFM LEAP engine. Construction of the new plant will begin by September 2015 and is expected to employ 120 people when fully operational in early 2018.

The Roussillon facility is located close to Hexcel’s weaving and prepreg manufacturing facilities near Lyon. The company announced further investments totalling $22 million at these existing facilities to include capacity expansions at Hexcel’s carbon fibre weaving plant at Les Avenières, and an additional resin impregnation line in Dagneux, Montluel. These additional investments are expected to create 100 more jobs by 2018.

The post Hexcel Announces New Carbon Fibre Plant in France appeared first on Composites Today.

Under terms of the five-year agreement, Velocity Composites based in Burnley will provide engineered structural and consumable material kits, enabling Aircelle to achieve savings on material costs and improve productivity for the nacelle components it builds.

Stéphane Cueille, the Managing Director of Aircelle Ltd commented;

Velocity has worked with Aircelle since its formation, and this deal demonstrates both how far the company has progressed, as well as our confidence in their processes.

The partnership with Aircelle is a significant milestone in the growth of Velocity Composites. Founded with Aircelle’s support as a three-person business in 2007, Velocity now employs 85 people at a 32,000 sq. ft. site and expects its regional workforce to exceed 100 early in 2015, along with a second site in the south of England.

The post Aircelle Signs Supply Deal with Velocity Composites appeared first on Composites Today.

The new venture will begin operations on the 1st of January 2015 and will work on a new family of state of the art space launchers to nurture the growth of Europe’s role in the space industry. The new company will bring together the expertise of both Airbus Group and Safran in space launchers at key Franco-German industrial sites. The Joint Venture’s headquarters will be located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris.

This first step follows the announcement in June 2014 by Airbus Group and Safran regarding their intention to pool their respective space launcher activities to boost competitiveness and ensure the profitability of the European space launcher business in the face of growing international competition.

Both companies have welcomed the recent approval by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ministerial Conference for the development and production of a new Ariane 6 space launcher. Both companies have made a far-reaching industrial proposal for Ariane 6 and its endorsement was critical for the Joint Venture’s creation. The industry proposal naturally assumes an in-principle agreement for the transfer to the JV of shares in Arianespace held by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France’s space agency.

Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Group said;

The creation of Airbus Safran Launchers immediately after the Ministerial Conference is much more than a symbol, it is a sign of our strong engagement and our ability to deploy our resources and meet our commitments. This is precisely what we will continue to do to ensure that all stakeholders – industry and European States – are able to pursue the remarkable success of the Ariane programme and continue to guarantee independent, reliable and competitive access to space for Europe.

Closing is expected on 31 December 2014 after completion of final formalities. This agreement launches the first, initial phase of the transaction. In a second phase, all activities of Airbus Group and Safran dealing with space launchers will be integrated in the Joint Venture.

The post Airbus and Safran Launch Joint Venture appeared first on Composites Today.

In recent years the company has increased its precursor and carbon fibre capacities through expansions at existing facilities. The new facility in France will allow Hexcel to better support its European customer base and will also speed up the the supply chain by adding precursor and additional carbon fibre capacity.

Hexcel’s Chairman, CEO and President, Nick Stanage said;

I am delighted to announce Hexcel’s investment in our first precursor plant in Europe and our first carbon fibre capacity in France. The state of the art manufacturing facilities that we will build demonstrate our commitment to technology expansion around the world to provide an efficient global supply chain in support of customer programs.

The new French plant will occupy a 37 acre site at the Osiris Chemicals Industry Platform in Roussillon, which is close to Hexcel’s weaving and prepreg manufacturing facilities near Lyon. Carbon fibre from the new plant will be supplied to Hexcel customers including Airbus for the A350 XWB and Safran for the CFM LEAP engine. Construction of the new plant will begin by mid–2015 and it is expected to employ 120 people when fully operational in early 2018.

The post Hexcel to Invest in New European Carbon Fibre Facility appeared first on Composites Today.

The ceremony was attended by about 230 guests led by Japanese Ambassador to France Yoichi Suzuki and officials from French government agencies and municipalities as well as those representing the carbon fibre industry.

The completed precursor plant is part of Toray Group’s investment plan announced back in March 2012 to expand carbon fibre production capacity at its four global production sites in Japan, U.S., France and South Korea. The new CFE plant is the third precursor production base at the Group following Japan and the U.S. It enables CFE to move on to an integrated production, switching to precursor produced at its own plant from the material imported from Japan, which will boost its cost competitiveness.

The worldwide demand for PAN-based carbon fibre expanded to exceed about 40,000 ton in 2013 and is expected to continue to grow at a rate exceeding 15% a year. In addition to the high performance regular tow carbon fibre, Toray in February 2014 acquired Zoltek and made a full entry into the large tow carbon fibre business, enabling it to respond to growing demand by supplying products that meet various market needs.

The group aims to further expand its carbon fibre composite material business through active investment of management resources as one of the businesses supporting the growth strategy under the medium-term management program.

The post Toray Completes New Carbon Fibre Raw Material Plant appeared first on Composites Today.

The Rochester operations of Safran and Albany International are located at a new complex, about 300,000 sq. ft. large, located in the Granite State Business Park. The plant, which opened in 2013, was built to produce 3D woven composite parts using RTM technology for aircraft engine parts. The first application will be fan cases and fan blades for CFM International’s LEAP engine. A total of 130 people currently are employed at the joint operation, with a total of 400-500 envisioned when full-rate production is attained.

The foundation of the LEAP engine is deeply rooted in advanced aerodynamics, environmental and materials technologies. Particularly strong and lightweight, the 3D woven RTM composite parts produced by Safran and Albany will contribute strongly to provide 15 percent better fuel efficiency compared to today’s best CFM engine. Selected to power new and improved narrow-body commercial aircraft including the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo, the LEAP engine has achieved broad-based market acceptance with more than 6,000 engines ordered to date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtOBJkx-W6M#t=30

Joseph Morone, President and CEO of Albany International Corp., said

Today’s event is an important milestone in a collaboration between Safran and Albany that began in 2000 as joint research and development and that has blossomed into the unique partnership epitomised by this plant. The strong relationships our two companies have formed with the State of New Hampshire and City of Rochester and their support of our joint effort have contributed immeasurably to the success we celebrate today.

Both companies have made significant investments in the Rochester plant, which features a state-of-the-art industrial design, and the two companies are also building a similar plant in France that will produce the same advanced composites parts for the LEAP engine.

The post Safran & Albany Inaugurate new Composites Plant appeared first on Composites Today.

Running alongside the JEC show, SAMPE Europe will create a one or one-and-a-half day executive advanced materials summit. This summit will feature presenters by-invitation-only addressing key issues affecting the composites and advanced materials community in Europe. This exciting new event will be held on the day prior to the opening of the JEC Paris exhibition.

The SAMPE France chapter will be the first host chapter for this new event, which will be held in Amiens, France, a one hour train ride from Charles De Gaulle airport. The region is home to the Airbus 350 fuselage.

The organisation intends to develop the combined SEICO and SETEC conferences, which will have a new name and branding. This event will travel to major industrial centers in Europe and will be a multi-track multi-disciplinary conference event.

The post SAMPE to Create Stand Alone Trade Show in France appeared first on Composites Today.