According to the JEC Korea show organisers, it has been a rich three days of content in Seoul this year, demonstrating that the composites industry is back to its full activity after the pandemic and predicting a bright future ahead for composites.

JEC Korea and Carbon Korea 2021 welcomed 80 exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations to 3,200 professional attendees onsite, mainly from Korea and Asia Pacific. Global brands as well as visionary start-ups gathered in one unique place giving life to the three pillars of the show: innovation, knowledge, and networking.

For this 14th edition, JEC Korea, strengthened by its collaboration with Carbon Korea, hosted a significant number of academic researchers, institutions and industrials sharing the same spirit of innovation and ensuring the dynamism of the sector in South Korea, a country that has proven once again its leading position in the composites industry.

JEC Korea 2021 main highlights:

• An exciting first day, back to live events

On the first day of this edition of JEC Korea and Carbon Korea, Eric Pierrejean, JEC Group CEO, Yun Hyuk Bang, President of KCarbon and Chong Soo Park, Chairman of KCANIA gave a welcoming speech and presented the show 2021’s main features during the Opening Ceremony.

Eric Pierrejean mentioned in his speech that despite the pandemic, innovation and research in the composites industry never stopped, and that it was time for a global come back of the composites sector to live events worldwide. He deeply thanked the Korean government officials, local companies and institutes onsite who made the event happened.

Chong Soo Park mentioned that KCANIA and KCARBON will do their best to develop Carbon Korea as the most effective technology market and B2B business market in the carbon material convergence industry.

The success of the show would not have been complete without the presence of Foreign and Korean government representatives: Won Shik Shin, Jeon Buk Provincial Vice Governor, Woo Seok Choi, Director General for Materials Convergence Industries, Sung Joo Kim, Member of the National Assembly of the ROK, Ja keun Ku, Member of the National Assembly of the ROK and, Yeong Dae Shin, Member of the National Assembly of the ROK.

• First successful edition of Carbon Korea

This inaugural expo organised by KCarbon under the auspices of the MOTIE, and Korea Carbon And Nano Industry Association (KCANIA) was a great success with VIPs and special guests. The exhibition consisted of four main thematic areas: firstly, carbon neutrality related products from carbon composites companies, research institutes; secondly, the carbon composite professional workforce training programme display which is, one of the greatest efforts that KCarbon has dedicated since the inception of the agency; thirdly, the KCarbon dedicated area to support start-up companies and newbies in the field of carbon composites industry; lastly, KCarbon presented the 3D Printing zone providing opportunities to college students to learn about the converging technology between carbon and printing technologies during the show.

• Very robust and high level conferences programme

JEC Korea and Carbon Korea 2021, held a rich programme of conferences as well as the 15th International Carbon Festival, with the participation of 25 speakers from and across the world, physically and digitally on JEC Korea Connect. Views were expressed, projects presented and visions shared in the form of keynote presentations on composites applied to various areas of application: e-mobility, aeronautics, carbon-fibre reinforced materials, hydrogen, etc. Experts from global companies such as Airbus, Dieffenbacher, Siemens, Plataine or Cobra International were welcomed on stage.

This year, two applications of composites were clearly highlighted during the conferences but also presented by the exhibitors: the first one was Hydrogen: based on the very ambitious H2Korea roadmap of the country, from cars to public transportation as well as shipbuilding and overseas H2 infrastructures, the development of composites pressure vessels was extremely visible at the show; the second one was Unmanned flying objects development, in particular for logistics but also anticipating also ground and sea transportation.

• Rewarding composites innovation

Sourcing and promoting innovation is JEC group’s first mission. For the fourth time, the Start-up Booster competition was held in Seoul, shinning a light on innovative global composites projects, as well as fruitful collaborations between different players in the value chain. With the collaboration of KITA, the leading business organisation dedicated to assisting SMEs, five finalists were invited to pitch their project in front of a jury of experts. Among them, Dongnam Realize, coming from the dynamic ecosystem of Korea, was designated as the winner, for its involvement into helping eco-conscious companies to lower their carbon footprint and offer high-quality products by providing them tailor-made CXP items.

In 2021, JEC Korea was definitely a strategic place to enhance professionals knowledge, help them to network and be an inspiration for the Composites community attending the event.

www.jec-korea.events