#136 The comparative advantage of the UK composites industry with Alan Banks - Composites UK during JEC World 2024
05.08.2024 11 min Staffel 5 Episode 93
Zusammenfassung & Show Notes
Listen to our podcast with Prof. Alan Banks, Chair of Board of Directors of Composites UK - Trade Association during the recent JEC World 2024.
Listen as to why Alan believes the UK is THE one stop shop when it comes to composites and were he thinks the heritage lies. Did you know that all UK motorsport firms are in a radius of 10 miles near Birmingham?
We'd like to take the opportunity to alert you of the upcoming Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction (FPCC 2024) Event that is organised by the Composites UK in parallel to the International Composites Summit (ICS) on September 5, 2024 at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, UK.
"The FPCC 2024 event brings together leading academic and industry researchers and innovators in the construction and infrastructure industry to share and discuss recent developments and future perspectives in the application of fibre-reinforced polymer composites across the sector." (Composites UK, 2024)
Looking forward meeting some Composites Lounge members and partners in September again.
Happy networking!
Ilkay Özkisaoglu
DER Social CEO
Listen as to why Alan believes the UK is THE one stop shop when it comes to composites and were he thinks the heritage lies. Did you know that all UK motorsport firms are in a radius of 10 miles near Birmingham?
We'd like to take the opportunity to alert you of the upcoming Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction (FPCC 2024) Event that is organised by the Composites UK in parallel to the International Composites Summit (ICS) on September 5, 2024 at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, UK.
"The FPCC 2024 event brings together leading academic and industry researchers and innovators in the construction and infrastructure industry to share and discuss recent developments and future perspectives in the application of fibre-reinforced polymer composites across the sector." (Composites UK, 2024)
Looking forward meeting some Composites Lounge members and partners in September again.
Happy networking!
Ilkay Özkisaoglu
DER Social CEO
Transkript
So wonderful good afternoon,
dear LinkedIn community
and Composites Lounge members.
This is day two of JEC World 2024,
and I have the honor to speak today
to the Chairman of the Board of Directors Composites UK.
Alan, thanks for being on my show.
-Thank you very much
for giving me the opportunity, Ilkay.
It's really nice to be here.
So how has it been so far?
-This has been, without doubt,
the most popular JEC world
show I think I've been to.
I've been to about 4 or 5 now,
and every year it just gets bigger
and bigger and better and better.
I mean, the amount of people
that were here for day one yesterday
was just incredible.
And day two, I was telling a colleague
earlier on, I came in at Hall five,
and it's taken me an hour and a half
to get from Hall five to here
just so I could get for the interview.
There's so many people want to talk to us
for Composites UK and obviously myself.
I've been meeting a lot of old friends
and it's just fantastic to be here.
-Because people know you obviously
and everyone wants a big chat with you.
Tell us about the Composites
UK Trade Association, Alan.
So, the Composites UK trade association,
we are an association
that looks after about 375 members
in the UK within the composites industry.
So that's glass and carbon fiber,
where we try to promote
the composites industry throughout the UK
to remind our government that,
if we're moving towards a net zero future,
then a composite industry
is absolutely essential to that.
It's just impossible
to commit to a net zero future
without the composite,
the materials and the industry
and everyone who works in the industry
within the UK.
And it's just such an important industry
for us because the passion
and the knowledge
that we have in the UK
on composites industry,
in materials is just like second to none,
sort of globally
we are really passionate
about it and I hope you can feel that
in my voice. I'm just very, very,
sort of passionate about the show
and how we fit in globally.
It's just such a great organization.
I feel the same. And of course,
because there are so many people
here today, the second day
will be a much higher frequency.
Second day is always the higher frequency.
So now we got this nice UK pavilion
here which you have organized
with your members together.
What is your main message this year?
-So our main message is to show people
the diversity
and the range of sort of products
and processes
that are available to help industry grow.
I mean, when we think about,
where do you use the sort
of composite materials you use them
for lightweighting products
for durability improvements.
You use them in defence,
you use them in sport,
you're using in automotive,
in aerospace and everything in between.
So our key message is, you know,
don't close your mind off,
when you're looking at new materials
and new processes, think about composites
because they are a real option
for industry these days.
And it's important that we realize,
as I said in my previous answer,
there is no such thing
as a net zero future
without the composites industry.
And it's we are
it's kind of in our own interests
to promote the material,
all of the processes
and all
of the fantastic companies
that are working globally to make sure
that all governments
and all industries are totally aware
of what's going on and really can promote
the material,
because they've got so many advantages
over traditional processes.
-The passion is clear that I get from you.
I guess like any association in the world,
you have some working groups.
What are the focus of your working groups?
What are you working on right now?
Well, I mean, there are three main things.
They are sustainability,
sustainability and sustainability.
I mean, we are living in a world now where
there are still deniers all over the world
about climate change and everything else.
But, you know, I think
the evidence is clear.
We have to be working
towards a net zero environment,
whether that's sort of manufacturing
materials, whether
it's manufacturing goods or using goods.
But of course,
the last thing we want to be doing
is creating a problem
for ourselves at end of life.
We know that it's a fact of the material
that it has high embedded carbon in it.
We know that.
But because we have longevity
in the components
that can be offset in the use phase.
But once we get to the use phase,
what do we do then? The composite material
is inherently difficult to recover from.
Glassfiber in particular
is something I'm really passionate about,
because I think
everyone is working on carbon fiber
and how we can recover those fibers.
But the environmental problem
is the glass.
Because glass fiber is relatively
inexpensive to manufacture,
certainly compared to carbon fiber,
there's no real impetus to fix that.
Now I'm working on a project
with a couple of members
from Composites UK,
that actually won the JEC award
for sustainability this year,
which is all about upcycling glassfiber.
For me, sustainability
is definitely going to be
the most important thing going forward,
there is no doubt about it.
So and of course,
we can't discount the fact that skills in,
in the whole of the industry,
everybody needs
to upskill their workforce.
And in the composites industry,
that's really important,
because it's still
a relatively new industry
compared to the metallics,
although, JEC is been going
a long time now, obviously,
but it's still relatively
new compared to sort of traditional
processes. And it's important
that we upskill our staff
to make sure we're ready for the future,
because we don't want to be in a position
whereby the industry is ready,
but the people aren't.
We need to make sure
that we're all ready at the same time,
so we can seamlessly take off
when the world realizes
that they're missing out on us
and they need us, we need to be there.
-That reminds me the steel story
of the railway.
Is it now 100 years ago?
Steel is available 100 years ago.
And our industry, I mean
JEC is now in its 60th year.
It started already in the 60s,
but with totally different things
in the mind and things
have changed towards technology,
innovation, e-mobility,
eFlying wouldn't be possible
without composites.
Hydrogen wouldn't be possible
without composites.
So it's a great way. It's a young,
but already nicely established market
and proven materials,
proven concepts that users can use.
They were critics on recyclability
gone, solved.
There were critics on crash
resistance, solved.
So many, many things have been solved.
So your members, Alan, of Composites UK,
they pay a fee, I guess, every year.
So there has to be some sort of a return.
And the return comes with business.
So how do you help as Composites UK
for your members
to solve their business needs?
Well, I mean we work really closely
with our government colleagues,
so we understand that when it comes to
composite materials,
as we've said,
they are inherently more expensive,
but they're better in the workplace.
So we really work
with our government colleagues,
like whether it's the current government
or any incumbent government,
that may be coming along this year.
You never know.
We're in an election year,
after all, in the UK.
Absolutely. We're going to
we're the likelihood
is we're going to be
in an election year in the UK.
And I think that's pretty much the same
everywhere around the world
is like 80% of the countries
I heard are going to have an election.
We try and promote our industry
as much as we can.
It's really important.
I mean, you've seen the great stands here
from the UK, from Turkey and from the US.
And it's just to really help
our members to grow.
It's because without growth
you're going backwards.
There's no such thing
as stability in this area.
You're either moving forward
or you're moving backwards.
And so it's in our interest
to help our members
to promote their own business,
to promote their technology and make sure
that when people come knocking
for the products, we're ready.
And that's where we fit in
with our members.
-And now if we take this,
this is my last question,
to the higher, to the meta level,
what does the UK offer
the composites industry
as a national entity?
-Well, I mean, in the UK
we're a small nation obviously
compared to like places
like the US
and even Turkey and things like that.
But what we offer is the skills,
the capability
and the knowhow and all of the processes,
whether that's from sort of making
the fiber to making the woven materials
to making the products
and how to recycle them.
We're a one stop shop.
We really, really are.
And it's really maybe it's
because we've got a rich heritage
in top-end motorsport in the UK.
Silverstone.
-Silverstone. Exactly.
And you know,
seven of the ten Formula One teams
are based within, like sort of ten miles
of each other in the Midlands, in the UK.
I say this all the time,
we are the coolest kids in town.
I mean, when it comes to sort of materials
and manufacturing processes,
there's nothing cooler than composites.
Composites are the cutting edge.
We are at the very top.
We are apex, predators
when it comes
to the manufacturing industry,
the most important thing
is that we're open for business.
We have a solution
for any problem you've got.
And it's what I'm very keen on saying is,
you know, we are composite UK.
We have your solution.
Just come and tell us your problem.
The thing I want to add is composites
is always textiles.
And UK has been the founder of textiles.
I've been to many museums,
textile museums,
because I'm a textile guy from background.
So UK is very in the front. And of course
you have forgotten one thing.
It's your language.
-Yes, global language that helps, too.
It's a big advantage.
-Thank you so much Alan
for being part
of our #composites360onTour.
It was really great to talk to you again
and I wish you a great success here
and rest good show here at JEC world.
-And have a
great show.
Thank
you!