The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will assist the South African composites industry in organising and funding a South African composites pavilion at the 2015 JEC Composites, in France, and the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX), in the US, says Biocomposites Centre of Competence (BCC) composites expert Dr Kjelt van Rijswijk.
The DTI’s Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme will provide funding for South African companies that want to exhibit at the 2015 JEC Composites, explains Van Rijswijk.
The JEC is the largest composites trade show and is traditionally held in Paris. The next JEC will run from March 10 to 12, 2015.
“It is a typical trade fair where one would find materials suppliers, equipment suppliers and composites manufacturers showcasing their products and capabilities. “This is the ideal place to market the South African composites industry, meet new customers and explore the latest composites technology,” says Van Rijswijk.
“To make the South African pavilion a reality, it is important that the South African composites industry grasps this opportunity with both hands and expresses its intent to participate as an exhibitor by contacting the DTI’s composites liaison officer, Simphiwe Fikizolo,” he adds.
There were about 1 200 exhibitors and about 32 000 visitors from 88 countries at this year’s event, highlights events organiser JEC group marketing director Thierry-Alain Truong.
Meanwhile, the CAMX is organised by the American Composites Manufacturing Associ-ation and the US Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, explains Van Rijswijk.
Similar to the JEC, the CAMX is linked to a scientific conference, he adds, noting that the JEC is more of a commercial and science-orientated conference, whereas the CAMX can be characterised as a technical and application-orientated conference.
“The CAMX is characterised as the ideal platform to learn more about composites manufacturing in such a way that one can implement it the next day in one’s own work-shop,” highlights Van Rijswijk.
Both CAMX events for 2014 and 2015 will take place in the US, with this year’s event running from October 13 to 16 in Orlando, Florida, and the 2015 CAMX taking place in Dallas, Texas, from October 26 to 29.