The 2012 show (above) was busy so similar crowds are expected for 2013.
Ten companies and their partners will receive awards at the second annual JEC Americas Composites Show and Conferences at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, October 2 to 4, 2013. The latest crop of winners will be recognized at an Awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 2 at 3:00 p.m. on the exhibition floor of the JEC Americas exhibition. The Event is open to all visitors, and will be hosted by Gene Lavanchy, one of the Boston’s most recognizable news anchors. JEC launched the Innovation Awards Program in 1998 with the goal of spotting, celebrating, and promoting the best new innovations in composites.
Since then, the Program has involved 1,600 businesses, and rewarded 177 companies and 433 partners for their leading contributions toward advancing composites technology and enhancing value for end-users. JEC President and CEO Mrs. Frédérique Mutel says, “The Americas remain a global center of innovation, and a beacon players who wish to compete and thrive in the largest worldwide composites market, which totals $34 billion in annual revenues on a global worldwide composites market of $98 billion. JEC’s Innovation Awards Program continues to be recognized as a driving force for new and highly competitive composites innovations, both in this important region as well as globally, with submissions from top companies from around the world.”
JEC considered applications from many different international companies for recognition in ten competitive categories, including Safety, Supply Chain, Design, Fibers, Process, Green Solutions, and Multi-sectorial. Also, this year JEC Americas is introducing three new award categories: Innovation Spreading, Electric Vehicle, and Pipes and Water Management, to reflect the expansion of the composites industry into new markets.
Along with these 10 trophies, and as part of JEC dedication to fostering future generations of composites professionals, the first JEC Americas Student Award will also be delivered during the ceremony, rewarding the best student thesis on the composites field. The winner will be announced soon.
Organizers for the show and conference answered these questions posed by Windpower Engineering & Development editors:
- What will wind turbine O&M crews see at the show that might interest them?
As OEMs build larger wind turbines, they will need new materials and manufacturing processes. The exhibition will host the most advanced material producers and machine suppliers from America, Europe, and Asia. The specialty of our group, JEC Americas, is to present the most advanced composites from the different regions of the world. Because of our truly international network, our association gathers global leaders. As for manufacturing, its main companies exhibit at JEC Americas. In one place, blade manufacturers will meet the major players proposing automated manufacturing. These companies will present rapid processing of composite structures with a focus on automated fiber placement and other technologies.
- What portions of JEC composites might be of interest to blade manufacturers?
Regarding materials, even when an application uses fiberglass, carbon fiber is the next solution for larger blades, especially for offshore wind turbines. JEC Americas 2013 will fulfill one of the organization’s key missions of sharing leading-edge innovations within the composites community. Namely, it will provide a stage for a program of strategic and technical conferences and forums with a proven record of delivering high-value industrial intelligence. The Carbon conference will address several markets, wind turbine applications is just one. The program offers several papers on the subject of less-expensive carbon composites either from alternative precursor materials or production processes with low variability. Let me mention just one interesting paper on the lifecycle repair and a topic relevant to North America and Canada: New advances for wind turbine blade repair in northern cold climate.
- What hands on training might be available?
Attendees will have different tools at their disposal. The Demo Zone includes live demonstrations and static displays such as permeability machines. In view of North America’s educational and scientific landscape, the exhibition will include a large Education & Skills Village that will host around 30 universities, composites and advanced materials organizations, academic groups, market associations and scientific centers. Also, the Job Center will provide human resources responding to the shortage of qualified composites engineers and technicians in North America. One of the JEC Awards winners is related to wind turbines. It relates to the program called HyBeam by Hanyang University in partnership with Stanford University and NUS, the National University of Singapore and deals with a specially Developed Beam Element with Composite Cross-Sections. A micromechanics-based fatigue module makes life predictions of composite materials with any fiber-matrix combination, fiber volume fraction, and layup sequence. HyBeam can also serve educational purposes, especially for students majoring in composites and their fatigue life prediction.
JEC Americas
http://www.jeccomposites.com/events/innovation-awards-americas-2013
Filed Under: Events, News
