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JEC Group unveiled the 2020 JEC Composites Innovation Awards at an online ceremony on Wednesday, May 13. This virtual prize-throwing was a first in the history of the competition with more than 600 participants. Thirteen winners were nominated in 11 categories representing the different composite industries as well as two special categories.
A highlight for the composites industry
Launched in 1996, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards have featured 1,900 companies over the past 24 years. 198 companies and 475 partners were rewarded for their innovation in composites. The JEC Composites Innovation Awards are based on the following criteria to reward composite professionals: involvement in the value chain, technicality and commercial potential.
After a pre-selection of 33 finalists, the jury selected one winner per category.
"Beyond being a simple awards ceremony, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards are an inspiration to the industry and a vehicle for excellence for all the winners. This is an unavoidable and highly anticipated moment in the year for the composites industry that we could not miss," says Franck Glowacz, Innovation Content Leader at JEC Group.
And the winners are...
Some 13 companies, ranging from the large recognized group to the talented nugget, were rewarded for their innovations.
In the "Additive Manufacturing" category, it is the Spanish company Eurecat for its innovation CFIP Technology, a new post-processing technology that uses continuous fibers to strengthen a variety of parts, regardless of the material or the manufacturing technology.
For the "Aeronautics" it is the French of the Institute of Welding Group - Arkema who are winners for their "Innovation solutions for welding of TP composites", a new solution developed and patented allowing a very high performance welding for thermoplastic composites.
As far as the Automotive industry is concerned, the German manufacturer Volkswagen has been awarded for its "Lightweight FRP center tunnel (LehoMit-Hybrid): an innovative and cost-effective thermoplastic structural hybrid body component, suitable for large-scale production, which can be introduced before cathode immersion treatment with the corresponding assembly technology.
In the "Construction, Infrastructure - Civil Engineering" category, it is the Swiss Carbo-Link that is highlighted with the CL Restrap, thin strips of pre-imposed and hardened CFRP, coiled continuously in a loop to form a flexible carbon band. All in order to strengthen concrete beams of any size in any infrastructure, for an unlimited life.
For the "Design and Furniture" sector, Finnish company Mecelec Composites was awarded for its "Mass-produced flax fiber roofs", the first application of the BMC of flax fibre for mass production.
A Finnish company is also awarded, but this time in the "Maritime Transportation - Shipbuilding" category. This is Norsepower Oy Ltd. for its "Norsepower Rotor Sail Lightweight Solution",an assistance for freight and passenger vessels to reduce their fuel costs by 5-30%, by improving a ship's propulsion system through the use of wind as an auxiliary propulsion measure.
In the "Process" category, the Austrian company Engel Austria was awarded for its "Line for tailored Thermoplastic Composite Blanks", an innovative component consisting of a pick-and-place stacking cell and a heating and cooling consolidation unit capable of producing a custom thermoplastic draft in a cycle of one to three minutes.
For the "Railway Vehicles - Infrastructure" sector, the British company Far-UK Ltd was awarded for its "Project Brainstorm": an even lighter frame, composed of very light composite tubes, a new design for tram structures, reducing investment and manufacturing costs, as well as carbon emissions.
In the "Recycling" field, Thai company Cobra International is awarded for its "Closed Loop Recycling of Epoxy Composites", a sustainable solution for closed loop recycling of infused epoxy molding tools and RTM thermal epoxy thermodurci water sports fins for Starboard and MFC.
For the Space category, the Korean company Hankuk Carbon is the winner for its "Lightweight - Liner-less Carbon Subscale Cryotank", which reduces the weight of the space launcher by 30% by replacing the current fuel tank with a cryotank of carbon composites without coating.
In the Sports and Healthcare industry, the Japanese Asics Corporation are awarded for their "Future of Sprints: Spike-Less CFRTP Sprinting Shoe," a revolutionary formatting methodology using preformed, randomly oriented ultra-thin CFRTP bands.
Cookson Precious Metals has been awarded the SPECIAL prize by JEC Composites Magazine for its "3D-Printed Bushings for Glass Fibre Production" that makes it easy to make innovative geometry fiberglass.
Finally, the public vote rewarded the French company Stratiforme Industries for its project "Destiny Thermoplastic resin Train Front end" which aims to launch a new range of components for the interior design of commercial aircraft and rail applications based on thermoplastic composites.
"Thus, the entire international composite community was rewarded at this ceremony, proving that it retains all its innovation dynamics and creative capacity despite the circumstances. See you for the upcoming JEC Composites Innovation Awards during JEC Korea 2020 and JEC World 2021,"organizers say.
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www.jeccomposites.com
