The 839 international visitors participating in this year´s JEC Composites Show in Paris – up from 760 a year earlier – were pleased with business at the world´s largest trade fair for composites. This is one of the most dynamic segments of the plastics industry, with annual growth of 4-5% expected over the next several years.

During the fair, the “JEC Composites Awards 2002” were presented. Prizewinner in the Industry category was Germany´s Fraunhofer Institute für Chemische Technologie with partners J.Dieffenbacher, Dow, WFS, Polymer-Tec, Menzolit-Fibron, Forschung Zentrum Jülich, Leistritz and BMW for its compounding and continuous production process for mass-produced long fibre-reinforced thermoplastic parts.

Winner of the Transport category for an electrically insulating railway track coupling system that includes fishplates in composite materials was Russia´s Apatech and partners PA Steklovolokno, Hexcel Composites and the Russian Railway Ministry.In the Infrastructure category an award was presented to Advanced Glassfiber Yarns and partner Owens Corning for rods for fibre optic cable core.

In the Sports and Leisure category the winner was the US-Japanese nominee VyaTek Sports and partners Fujikura Composites, A&P Technology, Newport Adhesives and Composites and Latex Technology for the “Isogrid” tube manufacturing process that combines a reinforcing structure and an outer skin assembled in a mould for production of bicycles, golf clubs and arrows, to mention a few designated applications.

Reader Service: “Composite Awards 2002” brochure (English/French), with comprehensive description of all prize-winning products and processes, along with numerous illustrations: PIE-No. 45672.