IFC and Ackermann are also part! Have a look at the programme: http://bit.ly/veJXrf
Good luck and see you at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 in Düsseldorf!

Maximilian Hacker is 25 years old and the owner of BRComposites. He absolved his training as procedural mechanics of plastic and rubber technology, specialized in fibre composites.

 Activities previous to his self-employment:

1. Fischer & Entwicklung Landshut
2. Pilatus Aircraft Schweiz
3. Company with Formel 1 experience   (company name is not mentioned because of legal reasons)

CE: COMPOSITES EUROPE Team

MH: Maximilian Hacker

CE: Please introduce yourself. Who are you and what is your responsibility at BRComposites?

MH: BRComposites has exists for two years now. We are a young and very innovative company with a continuous strong growth. Furthermore, we think that  well-trained employees and to the original rules of craftsmanship are very important.

I am proud to say that we are already training employees. In my opinion there is still a lack of skilled workers in the composites industry.

We develop and offer individual production to our customers. Productions up to 10,000 standard parts are easily possible. In this way the volume of production is growing. Our production is done without autoclaves and everything is hand-made.

BRComposites

CE: So how did you experience the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011 show? What are your impressions?

MH: This is the first time for BRComposites as an exhibitor at the COMPOSITES EUROPE. Actually we have been planning the first exhibition in 2016. At least that has been the conclusion of a family dinner. However, by coincidental, I got a phone call from the COMPOSITES EUROPE team the next day. During this conversation I received information about a funding possibility through BMWi. Because of the funding possibility and the sponsoring by Jost Chemicals, which is a close partner, we decided to book a booth for the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011.

Mr. Hacker was reacting spontaneously when we asked him about his feelings as participant of the CE 2011. He was euphorically describing the exhibition as gigantic. The company had a huge success, a great number of good meetings and contacts. The booth was constantly busy because so many visitors were interested in their products. In his opinion, the exhibition service and the whole organisation was very commendable.

We closed the interview by talking about the presentation of innovations brought by BRC.

BRComposites presented flexible carbon protectors which is already used e.g. by the v. The jacket (have a look at the picture) in the background is specially made for extreme mountainbikers and is equipped with flexible carbon protectors. All visitors have been wondering what kind of material this is. However, we could not get any detailed information.

Thank you so much for the interesting and open conversation with Mr. Hacker.

Q: Question

MS: Answer of Michael Scharmer

Michael Scharmer (man on the right side on the picture) www.msc-polymer.com/

Q: Please introduce yourself and MSC Polymer AG.

MS: MSC Polymer AG is a capital markets company LC. I am in the bord of directors as a director of technology and the Chief Executive Officer. 1988 the company was founded as a technical consulting company. Later on it had been developed towards a distributor of materials. Glass fibre reinforced epoxy laminates are the backbone of the classical PCB. Our customers already expected that we supply materials for premanufactured and pretooled. So we had to invest in suitable machinery and step by step we became a manufacturer of glass fibre reinforced parts for broad applications (despite PCB, our core business). We are at at the COMPOSITES EUROPE show because we had more and more inquieries asking for new materials as they are being shown here.We knew nobody in this industry, now we know a lot! Exhibitions are not only to attract new customers, but also to come in touch with the industry. We wanted to find new suitable suppliers and tool makers. In addition, we have a lot of contacts, for example to science institutions. It is really worth to come here. The next time in Düsseldorf we will bring more examples with us made of carbon fibre. In a few years we want to become an important European player in the manufacture of 3D-parts for many application industries, especially for the machinery industry.

Q: So how did you come to the COMPOSITES EUROPE show?

MS: We observed the development within the composites industry and the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show. I asked myself where is this industry going? Looks like it is getting really important. I would have come as a visitor anyway. So why not taking a booth? The stand is also a meeting point. It can not be replaced by google or other social platforms. In the evening you also meet your visitors in the same hotel at the bar. This trade show is very well organized, not bureaucratic at all and our administration efforts to manage our participation were markable low compared to other major German exhibitions.

Moreover, it takes place in one of Germany’s most beautiful exhibition centres!

Kegelmann Technik presents it’s product range here. The company offers prototyping and small-series production for complex prefabricated parts made of metal and plastic.

Kegelmann Technik at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011, Mr. Weber, http://www.ktechnik.de/

80 employees work at the location of Rodgau-Jügesheim. In this way Kegelmann Technik unifies 100% in-house production depth in one company, from the design, construction, rapid-prototyping technology, model making, tool making to injection moulding.

We asked Mr. Weber (on the picture) if Kegelmann Technik alsways worked in the field of composites.  He answered “Yes, we have worked in the field of composites technology for many years now. At the COMPOSITES EUROPE show we present the RTM-production technology in the prototyping phase.”

So how was their impression of our show? Kegelmann Technik is a new exhibitor this year! The answer is “Positiv. COMPOSITES EUROPE is a specialised exhibition. Here you can find the market place for the area of composites manufacturing.”

Come to the show and meet Kegelmann Technik in hall 4/booth E65! http://www.ktechnik.de/

Q: Question

SK:  Stephan Knappe

Q: Please introduce yourself – who are you, what are your responsibilities at NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH?

SK: Chemical engineer, International Sales and Applications Manager, dedicated to polymer and composite applications. Currently also responsible for sales in Southern Europe.

Q: Could you give us a quick overview of NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH?

SK: NETZSCH group with now approx. 2500 employees is coming from high-temperature field such as ceramics. Selb is a porcelain town. The business unit Analyzing & Testing with approx. 360 employees (NETZSCH-Gerätebau is the head company here, established in 1962) is also focusing polymer and composite applications for thermal characterization since approx. 1990. Rolf Preuß from our marketing department can send you our press release regarding our company itself.

Q: Has your company always worked in the field of composites?

SK: see above point 2.

Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer

Q: What kind of projects have you undertaken for clients? Do you have a current project?

SK: We have customers from the automotive, aircraft, electronic industry who use our instrumentation for composites. We have key customers and projects with the target of the substitution of metals with polymer-based composites.  Further on we have customers for renewable industry, e.g. rotor blades for wind power plants who use our instruments.

Implantable Dielectric Sensors of NETZSCH

Q: Looking to the future, where do you think the composites industry is headed? What are you looking forward to seeing?

SK: As soon as the resin manufacturers develop fast-curing resins (curing time of approx. 1 min) it makes sense for the production of large numbers of parts, e.g. covers and spoilers for automotive industry. Currently the curing times are still too long and therefore dedicated to bigger parts with lower amounts per day (as e.g. aircraft industry). We as NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing do not only manufacture instrument hardware but also software. With our Thermokinetics software package we can simulate and optimize curing process with the target to receive the best degree of curing in a certain limited time at a defined temperature.

Q: What other companies do you think are doing really good work in the composites industry?

SK: Since the use of composites is increasing there are many companies – also small developing companies – who have a very nice potential for this market. Nowadays it is important that already during development everybody is sitting in the same boat: resin manufacturers, fiber manufacturers, polymer processors, mold makers, engineering companies for automatic handling devices and – last but not least – companies like NETZSCH for advanced analysing and testing the material and the final products.

Q: Finally, are you looking forward to the COMPOSITES EUROPE show?

SK: Yes I will be there: 27-28 of Sep.

Q: Question
A: Answer

UHU Indutry adhesives - new exhibitor at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011 in Stuttgart - http://uhu-profi.de/

Q: Please introduce yourself – who are you, what are your responsibilities at UHU?

A: The Company of UHU is divided into several business sectors. I am the divisional director, in charge of the division “Industry and Handcraft”. We are a young team of seven colleagues. Our ambition is to make UHU Industrieklebstoffe (UHU Industry adhesives) more known and famous and to offer the best solutions for our customers.

Q: Could you give us a quick overview of UHU GmbH & Co. KG?

A: UHU Industrieklebstoffe offers innovative glues for a wide variety of applications. We are a full-range supplier in the segment of technical glues and glue technologies. Alongside to epoxy- and acrylate adhesives, silane modified polymers and silicone-based products, our range also contains cyanoacrylate – and solvent adhesives. According to the customer’s preference, the application can be done manually, semi-automatically or automatically by using robots. During the COMPOSITES EUROPE this year we are looking forward to developing and working on individual complete solutions for the visitors. For that we are working together with selected machine experts like Hilger & Kern, Nordson EFD Deutschland, ViscoTec Pumpen- und Dosiertechnik and Vieweg GmbH. Our main focus is of course on glues but we also recommend machine experts for both small and large applications to our customers.

Q: Has your company always worked in the field of composites?

A: We have always worked in the sector of new materials because we see a huge potential in it. This year will be the first time for us as an exhibitor at COMPOSITES EUROPE after having visited it in the last few years. Through our presentation on COMPOSITES EUROPE, we want to enlarge the publicity of the business division for industry and handcraft solutions.

Q: To whic industries do you deliver your glues?

A: Our main target groups are electrical engineering, automotive industry, metal processing, woodworking, plastics engineering and building materials. We are intentionally serving niches in which customers are thankful for new solutions. Especially the fields of fibre composite and lightweight are interesting for us. Our goal is to bring innovations to the market.

Q: Looking to the future, where do you think the composites industry is headed?

A: My impression is very positive and full of expectations. The industry is greedy for fibre-reinforced plastics because it implicates massive economic advantages. We believe that the composites market is a future market. That is why we are continuously working on new product developments. The composites market is very attractive because of it’s big economical potential.

Q: Do you have current projects?

A: We are always working on projects and product developments and try to present them as fast as possible. I would like to point out our project with the university of applied sciences in Landshut and Prof. Reiling. If a constructing engineer, for example in the automotive industry is making a load test nowadays, he can use clear characteristic values for a steel bolt with metric head which are listed in a register for strength classes. Goal of our project and of the measurements carried out by the UAS Landshut was to identify characteristic values for our different adhesives, so that engineers have the necessary parameters for their numerical calculations. Our project is leading in this area worldwide. Moreover, it is independent and neutral because it has been carried out by a university.

Q: How did you get to COMPOSITES EUROPE?

A: My tasks are the market monitoring and research. It is important to discover new potential markets for us and to keep observing them. Through my research I have noticed the COMPOSITES EUROPE exhibition and I have already been there as a visitor. This year we finally decided on exhibiting at the fair.

Q: Finally, are you looking forward to the COMPOSITES EUROPE show?

A: The whole team is looking forward to it. I always look forward to trade fairs. You can meet outgoing people, take suggestions with you and learn a lot from the visitors. Furthermore, you always find out about new innovations on the market.

The energy policy of the German government includes giving greater support to offshore wind farms. The remuneration for this power is to be raised to 15 cents per kilowatt hour. Operators of onshore wind turbines will continue to receive up to 10.2 cents per kilowatt hour. 0.5 cents are paid for power from new wind parks if the old equipment went online before 2002. The new turbine should also deliver twice the amount of power than the old one.

Example of how the crystal structure could be used in the rotor blade of a wind turbine. (Photo: Wüstefeld)

These factors therefore represent healthy prospects for the future of the wind power sector. The manufacturers of fibre-reinforced composites are also expecting to benefit from this development – because modern wind turbines are inconceivable without glass and carbon fibre-reinforced plastics. The organisers of the international Composites Europe (CE) exhibition, to be held from 27 to 29 September 2011 in Stuttgart, recognised this early on and are giving the industry the platform it deserves. Well-known producers and processors of fibre composites for the wind energy sector and the relevant machine producers and suppliers get together each year at the event.

But it is not only the presence of the big names which makes a visit to the exhibition so worthwhile. Jens-Hagen Wüstefeld from Starnberg, for instance, has developed a crystalline structure as a lightweight construction element. It yields an 85 percent reduction in weight, lower manufacturing costs, outstanding rigidity and design flexibility in comparison to a solid material. Starting out with a geometric concept, he made a three dimensional lattice from triangles, similar to a crystal structure. Any forces applied to such a symmetrical grid are distributed optimally to adjacent surfaces and edges.

These lightweight elements can be manufactured to any scale, from any materials and in any form – including those appropriate for wind turbines. The resulting reduced weight of the tower would allow the foundation to be simplified. And the lower weight of the rotor would result in lower bearing loads and therefore reduced wear and greater efficiency in the entire turbine. The reduced amounts of materials required would also reduce production costs. Individual segments can easily be joined together, simplifying both transportation and erection.

Q: Please introduce yourself – who are you, what are your responsibilities at Scheurer Design & Eng.?

A: I worked as F1-Composite Engineer during the past 10 years. My career started at Sauber. 2005 I moved to  Toyota F1 based in Cologne. 2009 I launched my own company Scheurer Design & Eng. My current role is CEO and CAD-Designer.

Q:  Could you give us a quick overview of Scheurer Design & Eng.?

A: We do mainly CAD-Service, Composite Design, Production Support. Our main business is motorsport. We’re currently involved in two F1 Teams and different LeMans Teams. Next to them we do interesting projects in the marine sector. We work very close with our production partner “Germa Composite”. In this way we’re able to deliver high quality composite products to our customer.

Q: What kind of projects have you undertaken for clients?

A: Mecca Clock Tower (Carbon Clock Hands & Crescent)
     Lotus F1 car design
     …the ongoing projects are confidential

 Q: How did you come to be involved in the Mecca clock project and what challenges have your experienced with this project?

A: The German CEO Hannes Waimer of Premier Composite Technologies based in   Dubai  contracted us. We started with designing the up to 23m long carbon fiber clock hands. This project included mould design, composite engineering, ply flattening and we provided ply books for the shop floor. 2010 Premier called us to support them doing the biggest Crescent ever been built. The size of the mould was similar to a big yacht mould. The most challenging thing on this project was simply the size of the parts. It was a great experience for us to see what’s possible with using composite materials.

Q: Looking to the future, where do you think the composites industry is headed? What are you looking forward to seeing?

A: It would be great to see more composite material in the architecture sector. Light and  strong is what we need if we like to  have buildings up to one  kilometer high in the future.

Q:  Please, name some of your favourite composite  components?

A: Oxeon’s TexTreme carbon fabric! Great material and it looks good.

Q: Finally, are you looking forward to the Composites  Show in Stuttgart?

A: It’s a great show. Good solution to meet interesting people.

The International AVK Conference in the ICS International Congress Center Stuttgart has a brand new concept.

In two series of lectures, prominent experts offer their insights into the many and diverse applications for fibre reinforced plastics. In order to reflect the needs of the different interest groups even more closely at the conference, the two series are divided into thematic blocks presented by executives and technology specialists respectively.

The speakers will focus on current developments and innovations in technologies, materials and new processes as well as on the general condition of the GRP and CRP market.
Some of the fascinating lectures include:

• “Structural lightweight applications made from thermoplastic composites” by Joachim Graefe, Quadrant Plastic Composites AG
• “Thermoplastic composites for the A350 XWB” by Dr. Klaus Edelmann, Airbus Operations GmbH.
• Dr. Walter Aichholzer of Mercedes-Benz talks about the SMC decklid used in the premium automotive segment.

AVK represents the interests of all companies and institutions in the value chain involving components made of fibre-reinforced plastics and engineering thermosets

In a special lecture block “Research for practical application” professors from renowned universities and institutes report on trends, comparative studies of materials, series manufacturing applications and the wide range of design possibilities offered by fibre reinforced plastics.
The conference closes with a panel discussion titled “The future of fiber composites and plastics in the automotive sector” in which well-known participants from the automotive industry and its suppliers consider the current state of technology.

Have a look at the AVK conference programme now here.

You can register online here.