CompositesWorld
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FEBRUARY 2018 30 CompositesWorld JEC World 2018 Preview » e JEC World trade show and conference, the largest compos- ites event in the world, will be held at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, near Charles de Gaulle airport, outside Paris, France. Taking place this year March 6-8, the event's exhibitors — JEC predicts as many as 1,300 — will showcase many new tech- nologies in the composites world, which continues to be one of the most technologically creative and innovative sectors within the wider world of manufacturing. JEC will offer its three-day conference program, including 30 expert presentations that provide competitive intelligence, tech- nical innovations and benchmarking for the composites industry. Also on the bill will be the JEC Innovation Awards, held each year to recognize the latest trends in R&D; (a wide range of categories will include the likes of Biomaterials, Raw Materials, Processes, Trans- portation, etc.). Unique to the Paris event, however, are several other features in JEC's show repertoire: • B2B Meetings: JEC offers an online service designed to help attendees organize targeted meetings while in Paris. The JEC team claims that, this year, more than 2,000 B2B meetings will take place in junction with the JEC proceedings. • Startup Booster: This program is designed to support entrepreneurship by offering a forum for startups to present themselves and their technologies to the industry. Supported by aircraft OEM Airbus (Toulose, France) and automaker Daimler (Stuttgart, Germany) in 2017 as well as other industrial partners, the program reportedly high- lights the industry's latest significant innovations. • Leadership Circle: This is JEC's networking event for composites industy management personnel. JEC also has taken to advertising its Parisian event as "end- user oriented." Contending that the composites sector is "young, complex and heterogeneous," JEC explains, "the sector's customers and potential customers can find it difficult to understand what is or can be done with composites for their own market, so they might not be aware of the valuable benefits of their usage." Since 2016, JEC's Innovation Planets — specialized showcase areas — have served to offer the end-users among JEC attendees an opportunity to view already successful composites applications in automotive and land transportation, aerospace, construction and "better living" sectors (sports and leisure, energy and sustainability, medical and other markets). e Planets each focus in on specific markets, giving the end-user a clearer view of how composites can impact product development and manufacturing in each. For more about JEC World 2018, visit www.jec-world.events EXHIBITOR PREVIEW International reach Although 52% of show attendees live and work in Europe, show organizers expect visitors this year from as many as 113 countries. Of total expected attendance, 18% will come from the Asia-Pacific region, 15% from North and South America, 10% from the Middle East and 5% from Africa. Source | CW / Photo | Jeff Sloan Previews of the latest technology RIBA Composites (Faenza, Italy) featured this highly engineered carbon fiber composite motorcycle structure at its stand during JEC World 2017. Source | CW / Photo | Jeff Sloan