The voice of UK industry

Our members are very involved with association activities, which is fantastic and constantly provide ideas for the future activities of Composites UK. Member input is critical as it ensures that we continue to provide a valuable service and help them tackle the challenges they face in an increasingly competitive market. Some of these ideas have fed into the development of our new strategy for the coming years, as outlined at our AGM on 11th May. New areas of focus are standards and representation/lobbying – two areas where our members said they needed added support. With standards work we are addressing a range of areas including training, skills, health and safety, environment and technical. Activity is already active in some of these areas so we will be looking at what we’re doing well and where we can improve. For example, in the technical standards arena we are now working closely with BSI and the Composites Leadership Forum (CLF) codes, standards and regulations working group to ensure good representation on product standards committees and keeping abreast of updates that are relevant to our membership. Representation/lobbying is a critical, if Composites UK is to remain the voice of the UK industry. We are actively working with the CLF and through them UK government departments. Our involvement in the CLF working groups as they work to deliver the UK Composites strategy is increasing to ensure our members are aware of the opportunities as they arise – getting our members in front of the OEMs and Tier ones is a priority. In addition, we are building relationships with other trade and professional bodies to broaden and strengthen the network – a good example is the rail event we ran jointly with the Rail Alliance, an event that provided new peer groups to engage with for both sides. There’s lots more going on within the Association and some exciting times lie ahead – keep an eye on our website and member bulletins for updates on activities, opportunities and critical industry information. www.compositesuk.co.uk Captions/images: Andrew Dugmore, Chairman of Composites UK