JEC WORLD 2018 Gathered the Whole Composites Industry in Paris

JEC World 2018 closed its doors on March 8 with a record increase in attendance. The event confirms its leading position of JEC Group as number one organization for the promotion and development of the composites industry. Indeed the show welcomed more than 1,300 exhibitors from every continent and counted 42,445 professional visits from 115 countries. Ms. Frederique Mutel, JEC Group President & CEO said, “This year we initiated new programs, for instance the Composite Challenge allowing 10 PhD students to pitch their thesis in front of the industry, thus facilitating connections between students and industrialists. In the same spirit, we increased in power our Start Up Booster and Innovation Award Programs to accelerate relations between young or innovative companies with investors or established enterprises. We also introduced one new planet called “Make it Real” along with the Aero, Auto and Construction planets. In this planet, we could discover astonishing futuristic products for example the Aeromobil, a flying car that would revolutionize urban transportation in the near future,” she adds. “We launched our new Book on Natural Fibers: Flax and Hemp. We had strong communications on Composites Environmental Input and Recycling.” The event was the first event to promote and host the new “French Fab”, a French government initiative to internationally promote the French Industry and Manufacture. A first at the show this year was the introduction of the public votes to elect their favorite projects among two JEC programs promoting innovation. Public Choice Award for Startup Booster: Inca-Fiber (Germany) with 62.36% of the 2,221 votes Public Choice Award for JEC Innovation Awards: Infusion technology for an aircraft wing by AeroComposit JSC (Russia) gaining 20.96% of the 4,126 votes.