The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) is the European platform for the composites industry and has announced the further expansion of its membership to increase the UK Composites Industry Association UK Composites as a member of the country.
Headquartered in Brussels, EuCIA represents the European National Composites Association and industry-specific industry groups at the EU level. EuCIA members benefit from a stronger voice at the European level and are more capable of influencing legislative measures.
EuCIA and British Composites Chairman Chris Taylor (CT) talked about the challenges and opportunities facing the UK composites industry and the association's decision to join EuCIA.
As an industry association in the UK composites industry, Composites UK's mission is to encourage industry growth and development and promote the best practices of composite materials. The goal is to enable companies across the supply chain to build partnerships and create a unified voice to drive the industry forward.
Founded in 1989, the association has grown rapidly in recent years and now supports nearly 350 members. Taylor believes this success is due to a number of factors.
“The association is co-developing with the composites industry in the UK. It was originally a small event supported by another company. It is now a fully staffed, independent business with 346 members. We cover a wide range of composites. From material suppliers to small manufacturers that we are eager to continue to support, to large organizations. As legislation becomes more complex, the industry needs to influence the legislation, and the value of the association increases year by year. We have organized many activities in the region and sector. To disseminate information as much as possible, we have several working groups in specific areas. We have also been working to add value to a wider range of potential members."
In addition to legislation, Taylor believes that labor development is a major challenge for UK composites companies. A recent workshop was organized on behalf of the Composite Leadership Forum [the organization responsible for implementing the UK's 2016 UK Composites Strategy] to discuss projected skill gaps and available training options.
“We have dedicated board members to guide, influence and disseminate skills requirements,” he said. “Based on the UK government's composites strategy, the UK has the opportunity to grow its current £2.3 billion composites market to 12 billion by 2030. The pound and the need to support this growth are becoming more and more important. We must create this talent pool."
British Composites also believes that sustainable development is the key to the future development of the industry. The association launched the Sustainability Group in 2017 to overcome the challenges of composite recycling, incorporating more bio-based composites into components during the specification phase and encouraging environmental impacts and understanding of product life impacts during the design phase. .
“Whether as a business owner or a member of the UK Board of Directors for Composites, I must say that sustainability is critical and we need to pay more attention to this topic,” Taylor said. “This is the area that composites need to solve for competition. One is more effective with other materials of manufacture."
Despite the uncertainty of Brexit, Taylor is optimistic about the prospects of the UK composites industry in the global market.
“We worked closely with the Integrated Leadership Forum and we saw a lot of opportunities for UK companies. Many of our members reported strong performance, and we expect the UK composites business to grow substantially, and Asia will become an increasingly interesting market. ”
As for the composite UK when decided to join EuCIA?
“In answering that you can't really ignore the Brexit. We need to express our opinions outside the UK. It is now more important and relevant to be part of a European organization. Europe is a big market in the UK and Being part of it and being able to influence it is crucial."
Chris Taylor was elected Chairman of the British Composites Company in April 2018. He is the Managing Director of Axon Automotive, a developer of Axontex's patented beam technology, designed for structural components in automotive applications.
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