Published 3/4/2014

SAMPE Europe 2014/JEC Europe 2014 Preview

The annual conclave of SAMPE’s European segment and the JEC Europe show return to Paris this spring, promising to be bigger than ever before, reflecting the industry’s post-recession resurgence.

The 35^th International Conference of SAMPE Europe, SEICO 14, will be presented, as in recent years, at the Hotel MERCURE Paris Porte de Versailles EXPO, Vanves, located a short walking distance (10 minutes) from the Paris EXPO halls where this year’s JEC Europe show will be held. This time, the advanced materials and processes conference will cover two days and feature two keynote addresses, one for the aerospace sector, and the other focused on the promising automotive market. For those two industry segments, special sessions have been reserved to provide attendees of SEICO 14 the latest results from R&D and testing as well as reports of recent applications in each arena. In addition to the keynotes, SEICO organizers have scheduled a Plenary Session on Aerospace together with 10 parallel sessions. In all, 50 papers will be presented on state-of-the-art aerospace technologies, which SEICO officials say have been selected with attention to highly attractive subject matter and quality of research. All papers presented at SEICO 14 will be documented in the SEICO 14 Proceedings, which will be provided, via CD, to each registered conference attendee.

JEC Europe 2014

In anticipation of its annual Paris composite industry event, the JEC Group says it is preparing its biggest show floor yet for the expected influx of exhibitors and attendees to its 2014 edition of the JEC Europe trade show.

Set for its traditional location in Porte de Versailles, in southwestern Paris, JEC has opted for an 8 percent larger space at the Paris Expo — organizers expect more than 1,180 exhibitors to occupy stands, 26 percent from inside France and 74 percent from abroad.

To accommodate the added exhibit space, the show floor will be housed this year — a first! — in two exhibition halls, located in Pavilion 7. Thus, for 2014, the show will cover 54,400m² (585,556 ft²).

Claiming 32,256 visitors in 2012 (this figure includes exhibitor personnel), JEC reports that attendance at the Paris event will continue to be international in scope: 20 percent of visitors will come from inside France, but the balance will hail from beyond its borders. Including those from France, fully 77 percent will arrive from European locales. Asia will be the point of origin for 10 percent. And 8 percent will come across the Atlantic from the U.S. The remaining 5 percent represent the rest of the world.

An unusual statistic is the expected breakdown between composites industry companies and those that are end-users of composites. JEC claims that 33.6 percent of its visitors are in the industry: 38.7 percent of those are composites processors, 22.3 percent produce raw materials for composites, and the remainder represent service providers, distributors and equipment/machine manufacturers. That means the overwhelmingly greatest group of visitors (65.7 percent) reportedly attends on behalf of those who incorporate molded composite components in products sold into end-markets. Notably, JEC claims the largest percentage (24.3 percent) come from the auto industry, followed by aerospace (20 percent), building and construction (16.9 percent), boatbuilding and marine (9.2 percent), with the rest divided between software and services, sporting goods, leisure and consumer goods, rail transport, medical and other.

Conference emphases

In 2014, the focus of the show’s Innovative Composites Summit (I.C.S.) conference and forums will be on what JEC sees as two hot industry end-markets:

Offshore Energies: Wind energy, oil & gas and hydropower will be examined as promising new-growth drivers for composites.

Hybrid Structures: Because weight reduction is now crucial in transportation, hybrid structures are expected to enable end-market OEMs to take best advantage of a variety of materials in what some are now calling the “multimaterial” vehicle.

I.C.S., at this writing, had assembled 42 speakers hailing from 13 countries. Presenters will treat six areas of focus in three general categories over three days:

Tuesday, March 11: Process

10:30 a.m Simulation/Design

2:30 p.m. Mass Production &
Robotization

Wednesday, March 12: Application Sectors

10:30 a.m. Innovative Composite Automotive Applications

2:30 p.m. Aeronautics: Efficient Lightweight Structural Parts

Thursday, March 13: Materials

10:30 a.m. High-performance Thermoplastics

2:30 p.m. Market and Technology for Carbon Producers

JEC’s Country of Honor

In 2014, the JEC Europe Show and Conference also will focus on the development of the composites industries in The Netherlands. Dutch companies and knowledge institutes in the high-tech sector of JEC’s featured neighbor are renowned for their technological excellence. The JEC Country of Honor spotlight will be especially bright on the Dutch aerospace industry and its strategically located cluster of more than 100 companies. JEC will celebrate The Netherland’s high-tech systems and materials sector, which bolsters innovations in the areas of high-tech equipment, components and materials.

For more information about and/or to acquire a conference schedule and register for SEICO 2014, contact SAMPE Europe, E-mail:
sebo@sampe-europe.org; Web site: www.sampe-europe.org.

Prospective attendees can register for the JEC Europe 2014 show
online at the JEC Web site: www.mybadgeonline.com/JEC-Europe/home.aspx. For additional information, interested parties also may contact show organizers directly via the JEC Hotline, E-mail:
jec@badgeonline.net or Tel.: +33 (0)1 43 84 86 83.