In my conversations at the show, the three following topics were top of the agenda.
1. When will the recovery start? Not surprisingly, everyone was talking about the global economy and asking when business would pick up. Although the outlook for the future growth of the composites industry is good, it seems like it will be several years before we are back to pre-recession volumes.
2. Sustainability. There was a noticeable focus on all things ‘green’ at this year’s event. Several companies launched ‘green’ product variants, and the word 'sustainability' appeared on most company’s literature.
3. Wind energy. In talk of which markets hold the prospects for future growth of composites, wind energy was top of most people’s list. If not already involved in this market, most companies were developing products or services for it.