I.C.S. Asia 2011

The gathering of composite experts community

Composites: gearing up to series production

In 2010, global composites production expanded by nearly 5% to reach 8 mln metric tons with the Asia Pacific region accounting for 38% of the total production volume and Asian production is projected to make up 43% of the global composites manufacturing output by 2015.

Asia is driving both production and consumption; China’s fast growth - a 30 percent increase in overall vehicle sales to more than 18 million units in 2010 - combined with rising interest in composites, means the Chinese market for composites and plastics could be in four to five years the same size as the U.S. market. And in 2015, almost 1 in every 2 cars will be produced in Asia.

China and India will also remain the greatest forces, accounting for 31 percent of the total world demand for aircraft. And in 10-20 years from now, we are going to see more countries making new jets, not just USA, France (Europe), Canada or Brazil but also China, Japan and India.

For the third year in a row, Asia is the world’s largest regional market for wind energy, with capacity additions amounting to more than 19 GW, driven largely by burgeoning wind power demand in China and India.
Regarding wind turbine producers, the industry’s centre of gravity is shifting eastward as China becomes the biggest investor in green energy.

Composite challenges to meet these growing industry needs. And the only way to achieve this is to automate.
While only 30% of Asian manufacturing processes were automated in 2001, the market penetration for automated manufacturing solutions in the region has grown to 64% in 2010.

Demand for automation is increasing in all industries. In Automotive, the questions are accelerating the speed of composite materials manufacturing compatible with large series while reducing materials cost. Coming are the days when customers expect high quality, reliably supplied, competitively priced carbon fi ber and carbon fiber composites.

Aerospace industry composites use moves from secondary structure to primary structure. To achieve optimal composite solutions in this environment a development approach that combines design, materials and manufacturing automation is needed.

In the wind energy segment, wind turbine manufacturers around the world are increasingly using robotics to potentially reduce the cost of composite blades by 40%, which would ultimately make wind energy more cost competitive in comparison with hydroelectric power.

The third I.C.S. 2011 edition will provide the platform for Asian visitors to be exposed to the latest means of integrating automation into composites production to gear up to series production.

We look forward to meeting you.

  Your contact

Mr Nicolas Cambon
Conferences / Awards Project Manager
cambon@jeccomposites.com

JEC Asia 2011 Program

JEC Asia 2011 Program