#Composites

2019-04-23

North American composites community meets at JEC Forum Chicago

JEC Group presents JEC Forum Chicago 2019, its new format combining business meetings and conference sessions. This unique forum will include partners showcase presenting how and why composites offer benefits and opportunities through innovation markets such as Automotive, Transportation, Construction, Aerospace, Energy, Sport etc.

JEC Forum Chicago, June 19-20, 2019 – Navy Pier Chicago

JEC FORUM CHICAGO 2019 KEY FIGURES

+150 participating companies
600 professional visits
35 countries represented
+25 Speakers
10 Startups
Innovation awards

Pre-arranged Business Meetings to meet with industry buyers from the all the composites value-chain; Conference sessions about the use of composite materials in Ground Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction; as well as the first edition of Startup Booster in North America. A unique networking approach to engage business exchanges and create the framework for collaborative research and development to target critical impediments that are currently limiting composite uptake (fire, cost, material supply, codes, etc.).

JEC Forum Chicago 2019 Programs:

JEC Conferences, an exclusive program of technical & expert conferences focusing on latest developments in high-performance composite technologies and applications:

Construction and Infrastructure with Mark Goulthorpe, Associate Professor at MIT, as the chairman and various experts from McKinsey, Stanford University, MIT Department of Architecture, Persico Architecture and Shell, to name a few.
Ground Transportation with Dale Brosius, Chief Commercialization Officer at IACMI, as the chairman and various experts from Bloomberg, Hennecke, Lanxess, Chomarat, Siemens.

The program will also include the results of the global composite market observatory, The JEC Observer, providing 2018 market data and a growth forecast to 2023, by region and application markets.

After a third edition of Startup Booster during JEC World 2019, the leading startup competition in the world of composites, JEC Group will organize the first North American session. It will enable local companies to find and assess innovations with a potential impact on their industry. Discover the pitches of the 10 finalists selected by a prestigious jury, on June 19, 2019.

JEC Innovation Awards will identify, promote and reward the most innovative composite projects worldwide. They celebrate the fruitful cooperation between players of the composite community. Over the past 15 years, the JEC Innovation Awards have brought in 1,800 companies worldwide. 177 companies and 433 partners have been rewarded for the excellence of their composite innovations. Awarded companies will be officialized on June 19th at 5pm. The ceremony will start with an inspiring keynote speech of Dirk AHLBORN - Co-Founder & CEO, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies – who will present “Transforming Transportation at the Speed of Sound”.

They will be there:

Arkema, Berndorf Belt Technology, Bossard AG, Chomarat North America LLC, Composite Fabrics Of America, Composites Coalition, ELG Carbon Fibre Limited, Impossible Objects, Janicki Industries Inc., Johns Manville, Lanxess Deutschland Gmbh., Luna Innovations Incor- porated, Magnum Venus Products Inc., McCoy, Michelman, Noritake Co. Limited, Norplex- Micarta, Schuler Inc., Scott Bader Company Limited, Techmer Engineered Solutions LLC, TFP Technology Gmbh and more.

Launch of the first JEC Forum Middle East

JEC is proud to announce the signature of a strategic collaboration agreement with the OSP and IFC Promosalons, the representative of JEC in the region. The major agreement aims to organize a series of events dedicated to Composite Materials held in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the Middle East starting in June 2025. The events will facilitate the creation of opportunities for local and international companies and accelerate the adoption of sustainable materials across multiple industries in the region.

JEC World 2025: a record-breaking 60th edition driven by innovation and circularity

After 3 dynamic days of intense business interactions, expertise sharing, and knowledge exchange, the 60th edition of JEC World 2025 has reaffirmed the pivotal role of the composites industry in building a more sustainable future. Under the unifying theme “Pushing the Limits,” the event showcased the extraordinary versatility and innovation of composite materials that continue to redefine lightweighting, performance, and design possibilities for an increasing number of applications.

JEC Composites Startup Booster 2025 winners

In just eight years, JEC Composites Startup Booster has established itself as a global reference for entrepreneurship in the composites industry in 2025. Over a hundred entrepreneurs, startups, and university spin-offs submitted their applications, with 20 selected as finalists. From March 4 to 6, these finalists have the opportunity to present their projects before an expert jury on the JEC World stage.

MEL Composites and Carrocerías Ayats collaborate on lightweight composite window frames

MEL Composites is proud to announce its ongoing collaboration with Spanish bus and coach manufacturer Carrocerías Ayats, showcasing the benefits of advanced composite technologies and scalable manufacturing processes originally developed for the sporting goods sector. The joint development of lightweight composite window frame covers demonstrates how MEL’s process innovation can be successfully transferred to the transportation industry to meet new regulatory and performance goals.

Nike unites innovation, design and product teams to accelerate athlete-centered innovation

Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse are joining forces under a new, athlete-focused creation structure aimed at accelerating innovation and driving growth across NIKE, Inc. The new setup unites the Innovation, Design and Product teams from all three brands into a single “creation engine” that will enable greater sharing of insights, technology and manufacturing methods throughout the innovation process. This integration is part of Nike’s new Sport Offense strategy and is designed to enhance the creation of products that help athletes perform at their best.

DORNIER celebrates its anniversary at ITMA Asia + CITME

To mark its 75th anniversary, machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER will be presenting the latest developments in its rapier and air-jet weaving machines at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (Hall 2, Stand B401) from 28 to 31 October 2025. The focus will be on energy-efficient weaving technologies, new IoT solutions for networked textile production and systems for the series production of modern fibre composite components.

BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

The approval of the European Commission’s Omnibus I proposal by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, accepting controversial changes to key sustainability directives is of great concern. These changes, namely to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), threaten to significantly dilute business reporting and due diligence obligations.

Pioneering open-source framework shows how early innovation drives a just and net-zero fashion future

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, has unveiled From Signals to Systems Change, an insight report calling on the fashion industry to rethink its role in transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, a pioneering open-source framework that visualises how early-stage innovation could drive a just and net-zero textile future.