High-volume composite applications coming to market

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I'm writing this from Amsterdam on March 27, having just attended the European Pultrusion Technology Assn.'s (EPTA) bi-annual pultrusion conference. The conference was well attended this year, with papers presented by pultruders from many countries in Europe and from India and the United States., as well. As India becomes increasingly friendly toward international business, composites applications there are really booming.

I'm heading to Paris today to attend the JEC/SAMPE Europe trade show and conference. We're looking forward to seeing many European friends and uncovering some unique new applications, which we will feature in CT in the near future. Look to our next issue for our in-depth post-show coverage.

Everyone I speak to agrees that the long-awaited, high-volume applications we've been carefully bringing along for years are quickly coming to fruition. Many of the materials and processing issues of the past have been addressed. The near-term outlook for composites is better than it has been for years. This fact is well demonstrated by the applications featured in this issue's editorial lineup: Curing technologies continue to evolve, including the area of UV curing of composite laminates, which gets an update in "Shining a Light on UV Cure," our "Inside Manufacturing" feature (p. 34). We have an update as well on hybrid composite designs that are enabling cost savings as wind turbine blades grow ever larger and longer (see "Changes in the Wind," p. 26). In the expanding world of composites for transportation, applications now include composite replacements for metal wheels on freight trailers (see "Engineering Insights," p. 44).

Hopefully the world economy will continue to stabilize, and we can all enjoy the fruits of our long composite labors. Until next issue...