#Composites

2025-05-28

Launch of the first JEC Forum Middle East

JEC is proud to announce the signature of a strategic collaboration agreement with the OSP and IFC Promosalons, the representative of JEC in the region. The major agreement aims to organize a series of events dedicated to Composite Materials held in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the Middle East starting in June 2025. The events will facilitate the creation of opportunities for local and international companies and accelerate the adoption of sustainable materials across multiple industries in the region.

This three-year agreement formalizes the long-term cooperation with OSP, and aims to:

+ Enhance and increase awareness of the sustainability and efficiency of polymer-based applications

+ Promote non-metallic materials as enablers of industrial diversification

+ Facilitate innovative technologies being transferred and increasing industrial partnerships between local and international stakeholders

With the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap and large-scale investments in advanced materials, Saudi Arabia is actively diversifying its economy through innovation. Fiber-reinforced composites are central to this transformation, with applications in mobility, building & construction, renewable energy, oil & gas, infrastructure, and many more.

JEC is honored to be part of this momentum and looks forward to creating strong business opportunities, driving innovation, and supporting industrial development in the region.

“This agreement is a significant milestone for JEC. It reflects our shared ambition to accelerate innovation and collaboration in the Middle East, and to supply our communities with networking opportunities in all geographical areas. Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in general is a fast-growing market for Composite Materials and we are looking forward to working with the OSP to build bridges between companies in the region and potential suppliers and customers abroad”, says Thomas Lepretre – VP Sales, Events and Operations, JEC Group.

"Our partnership with JEC marks a new era for the composites industry in Saudi Arabia. This collaboration not only aligns with our commitment to sustainable development but also enhances our drive to diversify the economy through innovative materials. Together, we are paving the way for significant advancements in environmentally efficient solutions and industrial partnerships, ensuring that the Kingdom remains at the forefront of the composites market", states Mohammad Al Tayyar – Program Director of the OSP (ADD Environmental/Sustainability angle).

This partnership paves the way for the launch of two major new events in the Kingdom:

JEC COMPOSITES TALKS - June 24, 2025 - Dammam Saudi Arabia

- June 24, 2025

+ Grand Hyatt Al Khobar, Dammam,

Saudi Arabia

The JEC Talks Middle East will take place for the first time in Saudi Arabia, in the City of Dammam. This exclusive event, on invitation only, is offering a high-level insight day to explore Saudi Arabia’s and the Region’s composites ecosystem, and will be followed by exclusive site visits to leading companies in Dammam.

JEC FORUM MIDDLE EAST 2016

- June 23–24, 2026

+ Riyadh – Saudi Arabia

The first edition of a Business Meetings-based event gathering the entire regional and international composites value chain.

JEC World 2026 reveals the list of finalists for the Innovation Awards

Each year, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards recognize collaborative, innovative, and ambitious projects that illustrate the potential of composite materials. Created in 1998, this benchmark program aims to identify, promote, and reward the most innovative composite solutions worldwide. In 28 years, the JEC Composites Innovation Awards have attracted more than 2,200 participating companies from around the world. A total of 269 companies and 811 associated partners have been recognized for the excellence of their innovations.

JEC World 2025: a record-breaking 60th edition driven by innovation and circularity

After 3 dynamic days of intense business interactions, expertise sharing, and knowledge exchange, the 60th edition of JEC World 2025 has reaffirmed the pivotal role of the composites industry in building a more sustainable future. Under the unifying theme “Pushing the Limits,” the event showcased the extraordinary versatility and innovation of composite materials that continue to redefine lightweighting, performance, and design possibilities for an increasing number of applications.

JEC Composites Startup Booster 2025 winners

In just eight years, JEC Composites Startup Booster has established itself as a global reference for entrepreneurship in the composites industry in 2025. Over a hundred entrepreneurs, startups, and university spin-offs submitted their applications, with 20 selected as finalists. From March 4 to 6, these finalists have the opportunity to present their projects before an expert jury on the JEC World stage.

KARL MAYER at JEC: Multiaxial reinforced CFRP pultrusion profiles are picking up speed in the mobility sector

KARL MAYER Technical Textiles will be showcasing exciting new application potentials for multiaxial non-crimp fabrics in combination with the pultrusion process at the upcoming JEC in Hall 5, Booth C 46. The advancement of the tried-and-tested pultrusion process enables the cost-efficient production of complex CFRP multi-chamber profiles, which are used in the CETROVO high-speed metro. The world's first carbon-intensive lightweight rail vehicle of this type is designed for speeds of up to 140 km/h.

Engineering depth and diversity for composites

Airbond is the latest member of the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) to receive recognition for contributions to the composites industry. The engineering firm based in Pontypool, South Wales, has just received the Make UK Energy and Sustainability Award for its Lattice 3D Printing project.

Fabolose: Fabricating vegan and circular leather alternatives from bio-tech-derived cellulose

Fabulose is an EU funded project coordinated by the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF). Its consortium consists of leading research institutes, biotech innovators, and industry stakeholders who aim to create high-performance, biobased and recyclable leather-like fabrics, using efficient biotech production routes for bacterial cellulose, cyanophycin and bacterial pigments

Connecting the ASEAN textile sector: sustainability, trends, and technology take centre stage at this week’s VIATT 2026

Opening this week Thursday, the Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles, and Textile Technologies (VIATT) is set to welcome visitors from ASEAN’s dynamic textile market and beyond. From 26 to 28 February, VIATT 2026 – the fair’s third editions – will reinforce its strategic proposition with an integrated showcase of the three core sectors of the entire textile value chain. Beyond new sourcing opportunities in Apparel Fabrics & Fashion, Home & Contract Textiles, and Technical Textiles & Technologies, the fair will present an expanded fringe programme.

Measure and control the fiber – optimize yarn quality

Producing consistent yarn quality is an everyday challenge – and a very difficult one. Detailed knowledge and understanding of the fiber raw material is absolutely critical to achieving the best possible quality in the yarn. To help spinners, Uster experts have put together guidelines for avoiding yarn irregularity claims, in a special edition of the Uster News Bulletin.

Coats Digital appoints Himanshu Mehrotra as Managing Director to lead next phase of cloud and AI-driven innovation

Coats Digital is delighted to announce the appointment of Himanshu Mehrotra as Managing Director to lead the company’s strategic direction, innovation agenda, and global growth as it accelerates the development of its cloud-native, AI-powered software solutions for the global apparel and footwear supply chain.