The 2^nd Symposium Composites, an international professional event of composite industry, was hosted by Messe Augsburg in Augsburg, a southern city of Germany on September 19 and 20, 2018. The Augsburg region is one of the most important places for international science, research and development of lightweight construction and fiber composite materials. Big number of leading enterprises in the aerospace and automotive industry are located here, such as Airbus Helicopters, BMW, Daimler Benz, Audi, Porsche, etc.

As a leading composite engineering and analysis company from UK with over 25 years of expertise, also the new member to HRC group, it was the first time that Engenuity came to the stage of Symposium Composites, sharing its understanding of the composite structural performance and demonstrate the ability to create design solutions utilising the best attributes of the materials, and together with other participants to explore the application of composite materials which plays a key role in promoting the lightweight of automobiles. Mr. Graham Barnes (Business Director of Engenuity), has given a speech of creative composite engineering with in-depth discussions with other participants regarding how to empower the transition to affordable structural composites in volume applications.  while two other representatives of HRC Group- Erich Fries (HRC Global Business Development Director), Mark Farthing (Senior Engineer of Engenuity) also have attended the conference. Engenuity has presented a series of self-developed components such as C-pillar reinforcement panels, which has attracted abundant inquiry from composite professionals.

        Mr. Graham Barnes (Business Director of Engenuity) giving a presentation

      New engineering unit of HRC- Engenuity presenting its self-developed components

Although the German composite market is huge, 50% of purchase is locally sourced, that's why Augsburg has always been seen as one of the most important rendezvous for composite enterprises. Participation of overseas enterprises this year has increased by 16% to reach over 150. The two-day conference has two major programs of application-oriented lectures and practical presentations, exploring topics of main application sectors of composites as well as cross-cutting topics such as engineering design and recycling. About 30 application-oriented lectures and practical presentations have been given, including “Carbon Fiber prepreg ET40 with Superior Formability for Complex Shape” by Dr. Ichiro Taketa from Toray, “How Responsive Thermosets Change FRP Processing and Recycling Concepts” by Dr. Katharina Koschek from Fraunhofer IFAM, “Manufacturing Breakthrough: Series production of endless fiber reinforced thermoplastic parts” by Dr. Mesut Cetin from KraussMaffei, etc.

Symposium Composites enabled the participated companies to better penetrate the entire industry chain. For Engenuity, Symposium Composites has been a comprehensive and rewarding platform.