The voice of UK industry

Through our work with the Composites Leadership Forum (CLF) and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres, we are able to ensure that our members stay abreast of the latest developments and funding opportunities to enable them to plan for growth.

Supported by the UK government and the CLF, Composites UK is working with key stakeholders to now map and define the UK composites capability and future growth potential – all of which will help to ensure that the UK remains globally competitive in the sector. The launch and subsequent development of The Hub database was a critical step in achieving this. The Hub database is an online search tool, holding details of over 1,400 companies involved in the sector, and accessible through the Composites UK website it gives easy access to the UK composites sector. Alongside this, Composites UK is working to collect industry statistics through the database which will be used to produce critical industry reports and influence high-level government strategy.

The UK composite supply chain needs to grow from its world-class, but low-volume production capability as an emergent technology, to become an extensive supply chain with high productivity manufacturing delivering higher volume composite parts across multiple sectors in the UK and export markets, as other countries are already doing. Composites UK and the CLF are working closely with UK government to ensure they understand and support this opportunity through, for example, potential development of a Composites Sector Deal.

These opportunities will be the focus of our forum sessions at the Composites Engineering Show, 1-2 November 2017, Birmingham NEC, where major players, OEMs and tier ones will be talking about the challenges they face and where composites can fit into their future plans - make sure you’re there to hear what they have to say. Alongside the show is the annual Industry Awards Dinner – an opportunity to showcase and celebrate what’s great here in the UK in style, sharing stories of success across the sector. Details on this are available via the Composites UK website.

There is a lot more going on within the association with health and safety workshops, collaboration building events on sustainability, regional events and sector showcases coming up. And now that Article 50 has been invoked following the Brexit vote in 2016, Composites UK is working with its members to identify current and future issues posed by Brexit and feed those back to government to assist with the negotiations. There are some interesting and exciting times ahead – keep an eye on our website and member bulletins for updates on activities, opportunities and critical industry information.

Your views or thoughts on the support offered by Composites UK help us to evolve and deliver appropriately. Come talk to us on our stand at Composites Engineering (J140), email us at info@compositesuk.co.uk or give us a call on +44(0)1442 275365.