Agenda for JEC Automotive Forums Published

Oct 10, 2017 | Source: NetComposites

JEC Group is returning to Knoxville, Tennessee, US, for the second year in a row for JEC Automotive Forums, an international conference focusing on the use of composite materials in the automotive industry.

Taking place on 15-16 November, the event combines technical presentations and a tabletop exhibition. More than 25 speakers from the US, UK, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland and Germany will discuss the latest developments in the industry.

“According to JEC studies, composites in the transportation Industry accounted for $20.5 billion in 2016 worldwide, 34% of which were used in North America ($6.97 billion),” states Frédérique Mutel, JEC Group President and CEO. “The three main trends are the penetration of thermoplastics, the automation of production to build large series and the growth of carbon composites.”

After a keynote speech by Sanjay Mazumbar, CEO at Lucintel, on the major lightweighting trends shaping the automotive industry, the first session will focus on manufacturing challenges. Speakers will tackle the issues of affordable, scalable and reproducible composites manufacturing, competitive composites solutions compared to metal alternatives, and reduced manufacturing and assembly times. The second session will focus on the wide scale use of thermoplastics in the automotive industry and will develop topics such as meeting lightweight targets towards high volume production, reducing process steps, and sustainability and recycling solutions.

On the second day, an expert panel and attendees will discuss lowering cycle times, developing fast curing resins, design and efficiency, as well as repeatability requirements. Finally, the last session will address reducing costs without sacrificing performance, glass/carbon hybrid materials, and thermoplastic materials in highly-loaded, structural applications.

“Returning to Knoxville, Tennessee was an easy choice for us,” notes adds Nicolas Baudry, America’s Events Director at JEC Group. “Indeed, the region is very dynamic when it comes to the automotive industry. So much so that we would like to thank the support of our local partners such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IACMI, Knoxville Chamber, TVA and the Tennessee State Government for their warm welcome of American and international delegates.”