PE show to focus on composites
Groundbreaking event to highlight applications of futuristic materials
WIDELY regarded as materials of the future, composites will take centre stage at the inaugural African Advanced Manufacturing and Composites Show in Port Elizabeth in November.
The three-day event will be the first for the country and Port Elizabeth, where the industry’s national development body, the Mandela Bay Composites Cluster, is based.
The ground-breaking event will be held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and North End Lake from November 7.
Composites have been widely credited with the potential to create jobs, boost technological development and skills, and attract investment.
Lauded for their useful properties such as being lightweight, durable and strong, composites are materials that are made by combining plastics or resins with reinforcing fibres such as glass fibres, carbon fibres or natural fibres.
They have a plethora of applications and are commonly used in the manufacture of aircraft, boats and vehicles, among other goods and components.
Examples will be exhibited at the show, where visitors will also be able to see Denel Dynamic’s Seeker Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone.
Speaking from the Composites Cluster offices at the Propella Business Incubator, managing director Andy Radford sketched a picture of an increasingly important and growing national composites industry in South Africa, as well as a cluster which has grown from 14 to 40 member companies.
“The cluster, which is funded predominantly by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), along with funding from members of the composites industry, is ideally based in Port Elizabeth.
“It is a national initiative and with the general aim of representing, growing and advancing the composites industry nationally,” he said.
Acting as a resource to the industry, facilitating research and innovation, best practice and benchmarking are also among the cluster’s core activities.
This is along with uniting the sector and instilling world-class manufacturing mindsets, as well as ensuring the government can develop appropriate policies to meet the needs of the sector.
“While the event will encompass advanced manufacturing as a whole – including robotics, 3D printing and lasers, composites will be an important component of the show,” Radford said.
“One of the cluster’s main objectives is to establish Port Elizabeth as composites’ gateway to Africa.
“An important step towards this will be the show, where major companies such as Aerosud, and organisations such as the CSIR, will have a strong presence.”