Business opportunities, sharing expertise and knowledge... Jec World 2023 closed its doors after three particularly intense days, demonstrating more than ever the composites industry's great capacity for innovation, as well as its contribution to a more sustainable world. With over 40,200 professional visitors from 106 countries, the event brought together the entire composites community, who attended conferences and product and technology presentations by 1,200 exhibitors.
26 national and regional pavilions also showcased companies with export ambitions from some of the most dynamic countries and regions in composites manufacturing.
The essential business platform for the composites industry
In 2023, Jec World regained its vitality, reaffirming its position as the flagship event of the global composites industry. With borders reopened to the four corners of the globe, the event benefited from the strengthened presence of high-level decision-makers from Asia, particularly India, Japan, South Korea and China.
The only international event to bring together the entire composites value chain, Jec World brought together all the key players from 106 countries, from raw materials producers to manufacturers of parts and components for end-users, representing the equivalent of over 105 billion USD by 2022.
In addition to bringing together global companies, and as many SMEs, under one roof, Jec World also featured a selection of start-ups - from among the more than 150 identified each year by the Jec team - creating an environment conducive to networking and opportunities. Thanks to a business appointment platform developed and optimized for the composites industry, the Jec business appointment program resulted in over 7,000 face-to-face meetings during the three days of the show, an increase of 30 % compared to 2022. A further indication of the dynamism currently at work within the industry.
Where innovation meets industry
With more than 600 product launches and announcements during the 2023 edition, Jec World also asserts itself, even more, as "the place to be" for launching new products on the global market. For its 25th anniversary, the Jec Composites Innovation Awards recognized 11 collaborative projects, testifying to the industry's commitment to providing new solutions for all composite application sectors.
Finally, for its 6th edition, the Jec Composites Startup Booster competition rewarded 3 projects demonstrating impressive market potential. The competition is now the largest international competition for start-ups in the advanced materials sector.
The Jec World experience - the only one of its kind - also featured a wide selection of equipment and machines in operation on the exhibition floor, highlighting automated and robotized processes, including large-scale additive manufacturing technologies.
The composites festival
But Jec World is more than just a trade show for the composites industry. Over the last few decades, the show has established itself as a festival of the composites world, a unique meeting point where visitors from other industries and diverse application sectors come together in search of inspiration, and to discover all that composites have to offer.
As ever, the Jec Composites Innovation Planets showcased some of the most innovative and spectacular vehicles, ships, design and industrial objects made from composite materials in recent months. A showcase that enabled numerous companies to exhibit parts and components... flying cars, eVTol or top-of-the-range sports cars.
The show's dedicated villages were not to be outdone, offering a fine overview of the industry's main trends, from natural fibers - reflecting the keen interest in biobased plant raw materials - to 3D printing, whose village highlighted the rise of various additive manufacturing technologies.
Towards a more sustainable world
For its part, the Jec World conference program once again highlighted the subject that has been mobilizing the industry for some years now: sustainability. Covering all aspects of sustainability within the composites value chain, this program highlighted the essential role of composites in reducing CO² emissions and energy consumption - thanks to lightweighting - but also in guaranteeing long-term performance and durability - thanks to the unique properties of composites.
In addition to the conference program, all the innovations and solutions presented by exhibitors testified to the composites industry's strong commitment to sustainable development. At Jec World, all stakeholders continued their efforts in the same direction, towards a more sustainable future. As a global message and a source of motivation for all participants.
a place to celebrate composites
Jec World was not just a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Jec, the non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and adoption of composite materials since 1963. Throughout the three days of the show, many exhibiting companies - some of which have been active in this field for over 50 years - also celebrated their anniversaries. For the composites community, Jec World offers the opportunity to meet up with all its partners, to celebrate together the latest developments and all the successes that have accompanied their adventure.
Among the many participants in this composites celebration were ministers, ambassadors and official representatives from 16 countries, who visited the show as part of official delegations: USA, Turkey, Taiwan, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Egypt and Spain, as well as the Länder of Hessen and Baden Wurttemberg and a delegation from Sampe Japan.