Eco-friendly composites for sustainable growth

JEC Show Asia, the leading composites platform in the Asia Pacific, successfully held its 3rd annual conference and exhibit from 12-14 October at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore. The growing composites industry in the region was reflected by the 10% increase in exhibition space with 346 companies from all over the world showcasing their latest products and innovations. There were 10 sectoral or national pavilions this year and registered visitors reached over 7,000 reflecting the event's growing importance in the composites industry. "The JEC Show Asia 2010 aims to build on the enormous growth potential of the composite industry across the region by introducing innovative, market-ready solutions enabled by composite materials," according to JEC Composites Group President and CEO Frederique Mutel. As such, the focus of this year's event was mostly on the urban solutions in key application markets such as mass transportation, aeronautics, water solutions, and environmentally-ready technologies. JEC also gave recognition to companies who excelled in these various platforms through its annual Innovation Awards. Nine companies and their 17 partners were awarded for their ground-breaking contributions in their specific categories related to the composites industry. The Innovative International Composites Summit (IICS) was also introduced for the first time. With theme "Composites for a Sustainable Growth in Asia", the summit served as venue where industry experts and professionals discussed the latest developments and innovations in the use of composites. The threeday conference consisted of eight economic and technical seminars and featured key note speakers from research centres, companies, universities, as well as industry associations. The conference also tackled the growing trends in the composite industry in the next few years, one of which is the increased demand for automated process. "Composites production methods are always evolving, and the demand for advanced technologies, particularly automated processes, in the Asian composites field is growing. As the manufacturing base in Asia continues to grow, companies can be expected to increasingly leverage automated processes to achieve cost reduction, improved productivity and higher product quality," adds Mutel. In 2001, only 30% percent of manufacturing in Asia was automated. In 2010, this has expanded to 64% and is expected to 84% in the short to medium term. Another visible trend in the industry is the companies' awareness on the need to the environment. Through innovations in composites, most industry key players hope to be more earth-friendly by coming up with innovations that would help, instead of destroy, the environment. With the Asian market making up $26 billion, it is estimated that the Asian production of composites will not only double but will reach 10 million metric tonnes by 2015. It is a very promising future for the composites industry and so there is a need for this kind of event to serve as a composite platform in Asia.

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EXHIBITORS' FEEDBACK The events showcased a range of composite materials and products made from composites. Exhibitors are optimistic that the market in Asia is on the rise. Chonqing Polycomp International Corp. (CPIC) has been involved in the fibre glass industry in China since the 1970s and has become one of the leading manufacturers of this product being the first company to produce E-glass fibre through the direct-melt process. This year, the company is introducing its latest innovation -- TM Glass. Mr. Huiwi Sun, CPIC Vice Director, said that this product has higher properties than its other regular product, E-Glass fibre. Being in the composites industry for over four decades, Huntsman Advanced Materials offers products fosneakers