3rd July 2024 (9.30am – 1.30pm) | Harrison Spinks, Hornington Manor, York

Composites UK is teaming up with member company, Elsoms Seeds to bring you an exciting new event showcasing the growing, processing and by-product reuse of natural fibres at one of their customer’s sites, Harrisons Spinks.

Elsoms are at the forefront of seed technology with over 180 years’ experience supplying and treating high quality agricultural seed throughout the UK, using the latest in plant breeding research and seed technology.

Why Harrison Spinks?

One of the companies Elsoms supply is mattress manufacturers, Harrison Spinks, growers of hemp and flax at its farm near Hornington Manor between April – September.

Once grown, the hemp and flax are put through a decortification line where the fibres are separated before being blended with other natural fibres into mattress fillings.

The dust from their manufacturing process is then compacted into ‘bricks’, which are used in the biomass boiler that fuels the farm, coming full circle.

What will you see on the tours?

  • Field trials of different Flax and some Hemp varieties.
  • Decortication plant tour.

Agenda

09:30 Registration
10:00 Presentations from:

• Elsoms Seeds: Introduction to Elsoms Natural Fibres project; enabling a sustainable supply chain (Heather Oldfield)
• SHD Composite Materials: Ben Andrews
• National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB): Dr Lydia Smith, Centre for High Carbon Capture Cropping Project
• Harrison Spinks
• Q&A session

11.00 Group tours of the Harrison Spinks site where you will see the decortification process, refiberising line and flax fields.

12.45 Lunch

1.30 Close (The Composites UK Sustainability Sub-Group (SSG) will hold their latest meeting from 1.30pm – 3.30pm)

Note that the Composites UK SSG meeting is a closed event open to members of group only. Learn more about the SSG, here.

Who should attend?

Anyone wishing to learn more about natural fibres, how they are grown, how they can be processed for manufacturing and how they can contribute to a net-zero production line.

Registration

Registration for the morning’s event is open to both members and non-members of Composites UK.

You can book via Eventbrite, here.

  • Composites UK members: £75 + VAT*
  • Non-members: £155 + VAT

*Please ensure that your company is a current member of Composites UK by checking here before booking. Non-members registering for this event will have their booking cancelled and refunded minus booking fees.

Event dates & times