SPE announces details for 13th Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition

The organizing committee for the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) announced the dates, theme, and location for this year’s show and issued its annual Call for Papers.  Now in its thirteenth year, the SPE ACCE is the world’s leading forum for automotive composites and draws exhibitors, speakers, and attendees from 15 countries on five continents.  This year’s show, whose theme is Composites:  Lightweighting the Cars of Tomorrow, returns September 11-13, 2013 but to a new venue.

Creig Bowland, senior research associate at PPG Industries, 2013 SPE ACCE conference co-chair explains, “Our conference has been fortunate enough to enjoy excellent growth the past few years ? so much so that we have literally outgrown our home of 12 years.  We and management at our previous venue tried everything we could to make the most of the space we had, but it became clear during last year's ACCE that we needed to make a change. We've moved our 2013 conference to The Diamond Center, which is part of the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich., U.S.A.  We believe it will give us the best of both worlds ? the friendly, intimate feel of our old facility and the flexibility to grow and spread out that we so badly needed.

Adds conference co-chair, Antony Dodworth, managing director, Dodworth Design, "It'll be great to have all our exhibitors together in a single room for the first time since 2007, and this facility is still convenient to major highways in the Detroit area.  In fact, a brand-new hotel is being built adjacent to the Diamond Center and that will make the show even more convenient for out-of-town guests."

Those interested in speaking at this year’s event should submit abstracts by March 29, 2013 and full papers or presentations are due May 31, 2013 to the review committee via ACCEpapers@speautomotive.com.  Authors who submit papers (not presentations) in the proper format will be considered for the conference’s Best Paper Awards, which will be presented during the event’s opening ceremony.

Held annually in suburban Detroit, the ACCE draws over 650 speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees and provides an environment dedicated solely to discussion and networking about advances in the transportation composites.  Its global appeal is evident in the diversity of exhibitors, speakers, and attendees who come to the conference from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia / Pacific as well as North America.  Fully one-third of attendees indicate they work for automotive and light truck, agriculture, truck & bus, heavy truck, or aviation OEM, and another 25% representing tier suppliers.  Attendees also represent composite materials, procesAdidas Crazy 1 ADV