The SOURCEBOOK is in its 17th year, and like all teenagers, continues to mature and change. As it was last year, SOURCEBOOK 2012's print version is more compact than in years past, relying on its Web-based resources (www.compositesworld.com/suppliers) to deliver the full complement of reader services that we believe will make it worthy of a place on your book shelf: More than 1,500 suppliers of products and services for composites manufacturing are listed in more than 500 product, material, equipment and service categories in print. As in each of the previous 16 years, every company’s listing has been updated for the new print edition, making SOURCEBOOK 2012 the most authoritative and reliable directory in the composites industry.
SOURCEBOOK 2012 is divided into two sections: The first is our comprehensive Industry Overview. Part I, “Composites 2012: The Materials & Processes,” appears only on the CompositesWorld.com Web site. As always, it surveys the broad basics of composites manufacturing, with emphasis on the new and innovative materials and processes introduced this past year. It also reviews design considerations, tooling options and a wealth of other data that, throughout its life, have made the Industry Overview required reading for new employees at many of the industry’s composites manufacturing facilities.
Part II, “Composites 2012: A Multitude of Markets,” appears in the SB print version in abbreviated form. But the unabridged Part II, is available in its entirety online at here at CompositesWorld.com. It examines the current state and future possibilities of the many diverse markets served by composites manufacturers — aerospace, automotive, energy, marine, infrastructure, etc.
Also online only are our Glossary of Terms, which provides definitions for many technical terms and acronyms (particularly those unique to the composites industry), and our updated list of Industry Organizations, which offers the most complete information available on pertinent trade and technical associations that serve the global composites industry.
As always, the second section, our Index to Products and Services listings in the print SOURCEBOOK are duplicated here online. lists suppliers by company name and phone number. Section three in the print version, our Alphabetical Listing of Suppliers, includes company name, location, and Web URL. But an abundacne of addtional data are available here in the online version, including sales and engineering contacts, additional locations and product/service descriptions in each company’s online SOURCEBOOK Showroom.
In the SOURCEBOOK Web edition, you’ll also be able to search a wider database (more than 1,850 suppliers), hyperlink directly to a supplier’s Web site, and e-mail suppliers directly with your requests for additional information about products or services. Additionally, the online SOURCEBOOK provides a supplemental list of subcategories in the Fabricating Services section, and an enhanced set of specific subcategories in the Materials section under four headings: Adhesives; Prepregs, thermoset; Reinforcements, unimpregnated; and Fabrics unimpregnated. These additional data are displayed in supplier Showrooms and in the searchable category sections.
We hope the SOURCEBOOK — what you hold in your hands backed by our expansive online version at our CompositesWorld.com Web site — will contribute to your firm’s continued recovery and success in 2012.
Looking for a particular company? Just below the Product/Service Index, Showrooms may be accessed directly from our Alphabetical Listing of supplier companies on the SOURCEBOOK Home Page. Or you may key all or part of the company name into the "search" function at the top right corner of the SOURCEBOOK Home Page.
We hope the SOURCEBOOK will contribute to your renewed success in 2012. To ensure that our print and online editions continue to serve you well in the future, we need your feedback. Send your SOURCEBOOK suggestions to me at jeff@compositesworld.com.
