Return of JEC World Hailed a Success

JEC World successfully returned as a face-to-face event from 3 – 5 May 2022 at Paris’ Parc des Expositions.

Composites UK hosted the 154sqm UK Pavilion at the event which housed 23 companies from across the composites supply chain, including its supporting partners, UK Government, Welsh Government, the National Composites Centre and Invest Bristol and Bath. The stand was specifically organised to help UK SMEs have a presence at this leading composite show where they may not have been able to otherwise.

On Tuesday 3rd May, Composites UK was invited to an Ambassador’s Reception at the British Embassy Paris by the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, Theo Rycroft. The Association’s Sustainability Manager, Malcolm Forsyth, spoke about sustainability and decarbonisation in the UK composites industry. Malcolm joined fellow presenters Craig Carr (Chairman of the Composites Leadership Forum), Enrique Garcia (CTO at the National Composites Centre), Cristina Garcia-Duffy (Technical Director at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult) and HM Trade Commissioner for Europe, Chris Barton. The evening was compared by Deputy Trade Commissioner and Director of DIT France Ilaria Regondi with 100 people in attendance.

Wednesday 4th May saw the Association attend the Gathering of Global Trade Association where Composites UK’s CEO, Dr. David Bailey, presented the Association’s sustainability activities with a view to encourage collaborative working to solve common issues in this area.

HM Trade Commissioner for Europe, Chris Barton also spent some time on the UK Pavilion, getting to know the companies participating, before officially opening the networking reception on Wednesday afternoon with an encouraging speech highlighting the innovative composites industry in the UK to guests in attendance.

Claire Whysall, Marketing and Communications Manager for Composites UK said: “It was inspiring to return to JEC World after a three-year break to see how far the UK composites industry has advanced, even through the pandemic. There were a number of people who walked up to the reception desk on the UK Pavilion who said they’d heard that the UK is the place to be for composite innovations, and asked to be signposted to relevant exhibitors and member companies to start conversations.”

JEC World returns on 25 – 28 April 2023 at which Composites UK will be organising the UK pavilion. Those interested in participating can contact the Association via info@compositesuk.co.uk.