2014 Composites Conference held in Newcastle

The Composites Australia and CRC-ACS 2014 Conference was held last week for composites manufacturers, suppliers, engineers, designers and researchers. The conference was held in Newcastle from 8-9 April, with workshops and a welcome reception on 7 April.

The theme of the conference was ‘Materials for a lighter and smarter world’. Topics included new technology and processes to improve manufacturing efficiency; structural design, analysis and testing; sustainable manufacturing; ‘standards’ to expand composite applications; new and emerging markets for  composites in infrastructure, aerospace, defence, resource industries; developments in polymers, biocomposites and advanced composites; plus opportunities to leverage intellectual property in composites.

Manufacturer RPC Technologies hosted the welcome reception, providing a tour of its Broadmeadow facilities. The company specialises in the use of composite materials such as fibre-reinforced plastics, glass-reinforced plastics and carbon fibre.

RPC staff who helped coordinate, guide and present on the evening. (L to R) - Dominic Smart, Pierre Gouhier, Virginie Dorbais, Scott van Epen, Spencer Watts, Jack Laffan, Astrid Gouriten, Elena Zaballero and Grant Griffin.

RPC Managing Director Tony Caristo pointed to the remarkable strength, corrosion resistance, lightness and energy efficiency of modern composite materials, claiming these characteristics “are the reasons why we are seeing composites being applied to a growing array of different manufacturing, infrastructure and environmental applications”.

Pierre Gouhier, Manager - Engineering for RPC Technologies, was a speaker at the conference, where he joined well-known members of the Australian and international composites industry, research and technical community.

Caristo said RPC is “delighted to be able to showcase our capabilities and the role of composite materials for a lighter and smarter world”