JEC World 2019 Preview

The JEC World trade show and conference, the largest composites event in the world, will be held at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, March 12-14, 2019. More than 1,300 exhibitors are expected this year and they feature many of the established and new materials, machinery, software and services that are shaping the global composites industry.

JEC World 2019 includes a three-day technical conference, sponsored by Altair Engineering Inc. (Troy, MI, US) and featuring six sessions, each with a different market focus. This year, JEC is focusing on what it considers the hottest topics in the industry: additive manufacturing, aerospace, architecture and construction, automotive, simulation/design, and sports and leisure. As in past years, the JEC Innovation Awards will identify, promote and reward the most innovative composites projects worldwide, in a range of market sections that include automotive and road transportation, aerospace, defense, security and ballistics, renewable energy, building and construction, infrastructure and civil engineering, oil and gas, medical and prosthetics, electronics, industrial equipment, furniture and appliances, sports and leisure, and marine. A panel of 10 technical, research and market experts will decide the award winners, to be announced on Wednesday, March 13.The Innovation Awards are supported by industry sponsor Kordsa (Istanbul, Turkey).

Four “Innovation Planets” will again be set up on the show floor. These are highly focused display areas featuring aerospace, auto and transport, construction and energy, and sports and life style (which includes energy, sustainability, medical and other markets). The Planets allow companies or R&D centers to present novel and innovative parts or finished products to OEMs and suppliers visiting the show and will reportedly reflect the latest trends in each industry area. The Planets are supported by industry partners Hexion (Columbus, OH, US), Huntsman Advanced Materials (The Woodlands, TX, US) and Saint Gobain (Courbevoie, France).

For the third year, the Startup Booster competition, designed to foster entrepreneurship, will offer a forum for young companies to present themselves and their technologies to the industry. With the support of aircraft OEM Airbus (Toulouse, France) and automaker Daimler (Stuttgart, Germany), as well as a number of other industrial partners, the program highlights innovations that offer the potential to have a substantial impact. Attendees can listen to the pitches of the 10 finalists, which have been selected by a prestigious jury, on March 12 on the Agora Stage located in Hall 5.

In addition to the startups, more speakers have been engaged for the Agora Stage, including Bertrand Piccard, founder and chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation; Enrico Palermo, president of The Spaceship Co.; Luciano De Oto, head of Advanced Composites Research Center & Body Structures Engineering for Lamborghini; and Carlo Ratti, architect and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Launched in 2018, the Composites Challenge will again give show visitors a chance to enjoy a competition for Ph.D. students, who have been selected based on the quality of their research work in the field of composites. The selected candidates will each have five minutes to pitch their theses using just one graphic. The Composites Challenge is supported by industry partner Zoltek Corp. (Bridgeton, MO, US), part of the Toray Group.

For more about JEC World, or to register, visit www.jeccomposites.com.