On this episode, Lorenzo Mencattelli of Helicoid Industries joins me to discuss how their company is gaining international recognition as a groundbreaking innovation in the composites market.
Their biomimetic composite technology enhances impact toughness, reduces weight, provides superior structural integrity, safety, reduces raw-material costs, and improves energy efficiency compared to conventional composite laminates.
They're collaborating with world-leading composites parts manufacturers and composites material suppliers to develop innovations in the sporting goods, consumer products, impact protective equipment, ballistic armors, automotive components, wind turbine blades, naval, oil & gas, and aerospace market segments.
You can learn more about their technology by visiting www.helicoidind.com.
On this episode, we share some interviews from CAMX 2023 in Atlanta last week. It was a great show and we had the opportunity to speak with several companies during the event.
We'll be making these "CAMX interviews" a three part segment.
For part one, we feature interviews with Paua, a UK-based material technology company, and CAMX award finalist. This episode also includes interviews with John Kehoe of Boaz Partners, Adam Harms, the founder of Modulus, and John Thoma of Gefran.
This week Ryan Oner of AKPA Chemicals joins me to share some of the latest news from their company. AKPA Chemicals specializes in the production of organic peroxides & initiators.
They'll be featuring at CAMX in Atlanta next week and will be located at booth T44.
You can visit their website at https://akpachemicalus.com.
On this episode, John H Moore of JHM Technologies joins me on the podcast. For over 30 years JHM Technologies, Inc. has provided closed molders worldwide with proven closed molding solutions. Known globally by their passion for the industry and assisting molders to achieve their closed molding goals. JHM Technologies' innovative approach provides molders with custom turn-key packages that are precisely tuned to meet their production needs.
John is the president of the company and he'll be discussing some new technology they've developed to assist open molders. This technology retrofits on to existing spray systems and helps resin & gel coat operators maintain proper catalyst levels during temperature changes inside the plant.
On this episode, Cindy Squires and Rebekah Stacha join me to highlight CAMX 2023 taking place down in Atlanta at the end of October. CAMX is the largest, most comprehensive composites and advanced materials event in North America.
It offers a robust education program with a massive exhibit hall showcasing hundreds of manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers. You can register today by visiting https://www.thecamx.org.
You can check out a list of ACE and CAMX award finalists at: https://camx23.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/#/searchtype/sessionkeyword/search/Award%20Entries/show/all.
This week, Colin Mackinnon of PPSS Group joins me on the podcast. Colin is a specialist consultant in PPE options, workplace violence and staff security.
PPSS Group is an internationally recognized firm specializing in the development and supply of high-performance personal protective equipment, clothing, and workwear, offering protection from edged weapons, blades, hypodermic needles, blunt force trauma, and bites.
Their stab vests body armor is made from an ultra high-performance carbon fiber composite, offering fully certified, operationally sound, and thoroughly field-tested levels of protection from edged weapons.
You can learn more about them, by visiting their website at www.ppss-group.com.
On this episode, ACMA consultant Andrew Pokelwald joins me to discuss how the composites industry is meeting infrastructure challenges. In construction projects, many are seeing the cost-saving advantages of building with highly durable and innovative composite materials.
Composites offer the advantages of corrosion resistance and durability, leading to longer service life for structures.
We'll be looking at some of the biggest opportunities in infrastructure and how composite manufacturers are meeting those challenges.
On this episode Dr. Rigoberto Advincula joins me on the podcast to discuss some of their work research on using image-driven machine learning (ML) to optimize the thermo-mechanical properties of 3D Printed Composites.
Dr. Advincula is a Governor's Chair Professor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee. He is the Group Leader of the Macromolecular Nanomaterials Group at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences(CNMS), ORNL. He was a Full Professor (now Adjunct) at Case Western Reserve University.
You can read more by visiting https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359836823004614?dgcid=coauthor.
On this episode, I share an interview with Nick Santhanam, author of the best-selling book, The Titanium Economy. While silicon valley tech companies tend to dominate today's news headlines, many of the fastest-growing, most profitable companies in the United States are firms you’ve likely never heard of.
These booming companies belong to a burgeoning sector—industrial tech. This sector offers surprising hope to workers, consumers, and investors alike. You'll hear Nick explain why the future of America's industrial economy is bright.
On this episode, we feature an interview with Joannie Harmon at IACMI's annual member meeting discussing workforce education.
IACMI has made workforce education and development a pillar of its mission, along with composites R&D and commercialization.
You can learn more by visiting https://iacmi.org/workforce.
On this episode, Scott Lewitt of Structural Composites Inc. joins me to discuss a newly installed composite bridge in Tennessee that they've developed, and how this structure is being used to showcase sustainable solutions for aging infrastructure.
This FRP bridge replaces a decades-old concrete crossing which, like many rural bridges across the nation, was rated structurally deficient and outdated.
The University of Tennessee and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) partnered with Morgan County, TN, and Morgan County Highway Superintendent Joe Miller to create an affordable bridge that can be installed quickly and will safely meet transportation needs
You can see this bridge by visiting https://compositebridge.org.
On this episode, Tobi Ferguson, CEO of Magnum Venus Products, joins me at the IACMI Member Meeting to discuss their new $20 million expansion.
Magnum Venus Products (MVP), a global manufacturer of fluid movement and production solutions for industrial applications, is expanding its footprint and capabilities with the purchase of this new facility and land in East Tennessee.
This expansion will enable MVP to increase its manufacturing velocity and meet customer demand.
Tobi will be sharing the details of this new facility as well as MVP's mission moving forward as a solutions provider for the composites industry.
You can learn more about MVP by visiting https://www.mvpind.com.
On this episode, Haley Marie Keith, the CEO of Mito Materials joins me during IACMI's annual member meeting. MITO’s technology is the “first and only” process to functionalize substances like graphene oxide and biomaterials—creating hybrid additives that give fiber-reinforced composites and thermoplastics lab-verified improvements in strength, durability, flexibility, and sustainability.
Their technology can be integrated into a variety of production processes, including:
You can learn more by visiting https://mitomaterials.com.
On this episode, regular guest Andrew Pokelwaldt joins me to discuss the topic of industry consolidation. We explore the impact of mergers & acquisitions on the future of composites.
Over the past year, we have seen monumental shifts and transformations, with particular emphasis on the flurry of mergers and acquisitions that have created a seismic shift in our industry's landscape.
The composites industry has been, for decades, a critical player in driving technological advancements and sustainable solutions across multiple sectors, from aerospace to automotive, construction to wind energy. It has been the unsung hero behind numerous innovations, providing the raw materials that enable us to push the boundaries of what's possible.
But, like any sector in the global market, the composites industry isn't immune to the forces of change. In an era defined by digital disruption, geopolitical tensions, and environmental challenges, businesses have had to adapt and reinvent themselves. The rapid rate of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions is a testament to these forces at play.
But what does this mean for the future of our industry?
Today we’ll try and dissect the nuances of these mergers and acquisitions, and assess their potential impact on our industry's future.
Some sources we'll refer to are below:
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insightsnew/chemicals/changing-face-ma
https://compositesmanufacturingmagazine.com/2022/02/84417/
On this episode, Brian Fitzgerald, the CRO at Augury joins me to discuss how A.I. is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry with its ability to predict machine and equipment failure, enhancing efficiency and reducing downtime costs.
Augury is a Billion manufacturing tech company that is unlocking production capacity, predictability, and sustainability while transforming how manufacturing teams work.
You can learn more about Augury by visiting https://www.augury.com.
This week, Jesus Zozaya and James Pickard of Voltera join me on the show to discuss the future of additive electronics and how it is revolutionizing so many industries - including composites.
Votera, is a company that makes rapid prototyping platforms for printed electronics — from traditional circuit boards to the flexible, stretchable, conformable, and biocompatible electronics of tomorrow. The best and brightest minds are using Voltera's NOVA platform to push the boundaries of innovation - boundaries that are only limited by your imagination.
On this episode, they’ll be sharing some of the applications their printing technology is being used for – from simple solutions like an induction coffee mug heater to self-heating carbon fiber composites for UAV Wings.
You can learn more about their technology, as well as connect with their experts for questions by visiting https://voltera.io/cw.
On this episode, Alex Corrêa, CEO of Gerdau Graphene joins me to discuss some of the exciting work their company is doing with graphene to revolutionize industries such as coatings, concrete, elastomers, polymers, and lubricants to name a few.
This Brazilian nanotechnology company Gerdau Graphene, specializes in advanced graphene-enhanced materials for industrial applications.
They have recently announced the commercial availability of two new additives specifically formulated for waterborne paints and coatings. The two new additives also deliver excellent coverage, durability, and washability while also minimizing the overall environmental impact, reducing or eliminating the need for some traditional manufacturing inputs, additives, and processes, thus also lowering production costs.
We'll be discussing these latest developments and some of their applications.
You can learn more by visiting https://www.gerdaugraphene.com/en.html.
This week Shannon Schutt, the marketing director at Research Casting International joins me on the podcast to discuss how 3D printing is being used to recreate missing pieces of prehistoric dinosaurs.
Founded back in 1987, RCI is one of the world's largest providers of Museum Technical Services, which include specimen restoration, casting, mounting, exhibit fabrication, and transportation.
They are capable of creating museum exhibit projects and commissions of any size and complexity.
With the addition of their 3D printing lab, they can now recreate incomplete or missing pieces of specimens and most recently have been expanding their foundry to reproduce dinosaurs, and other specimens, first in a castable 3d printed resin and then in bronze.
On this episode, Shannon will discuss some of the interesting projects they've been involved with. You can learn more about their work by visiting https://rescast.com.
This week Andrew Polkewaldt joins me again along with Dustin Troutman, the corporate director of marketing and product development at Creative Pultrusions, Inc.
Creative Pultrusions, Inc. (CPI) is the worldwide leader in pultrusion manufacturing with a commitment to continuous process improvement. They specialize in pultruding large custom pultrusion profiles, while utilizing high-performance resins in combination with our proprietary high-pressure injection process.
We'll be highlighting the Creative Composites Group of companies as well as some of the work the team at CPI has been involved with.
Dustin will also be presenting at this year's North American Pultrusion Conference in Chicago, IL May 16-18. This conference will bring together 200+ industry leaders, customers, OEMs, and suppliers from around the world for an unparalleled, three-day education and networking event in the heart of downtown Chicago.
You can learn more about the conference and register by visiting https://acma-org.my.site.com/pultrusion2023.
This week Cary Martin, VP of research & technology with Hexcel for global fibers joins me to discuss Hexcel's new Center of Research & Technology Excellence in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The 100,000-square-foot building is home to a state-of-the-art laboratory where company scientists and researchers collaborate with customers on the latest composite technology developments for aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications.
This new center is the company’s largest center for innovation and product development in North America. It showcases the company’s advanced composites technology, providing space for future growth and expansion in the years ahead.
On this episode, Cary will be highlighting some of the capabilities of this new facility that include a general lab, a prepreg lab, a chemical lab, an analytical lab, and a microscopy Lab.
You can more at https://www.hexcel.com.
On this episode, Scott Stephenson joins me to discuss SAMPE 2023 taking place next week in Seattle, WA. Scott is the director of strategic initiatives and events at CompositesWorld, and also president & acting CEO of SAMPE North America.
This show is where the advanced materials community comes together for face-to-face meetings, top-level education sessions, and panels led by the industry’s leaders and innovators. Scott will be sharing some of the events happening at this year's event.
It's never too late to register. You can do so by visiting https://www.sampeamerica.org.
This week I welcome Johanna Reiland on the show. Johanna is an engineer, innovation consultant, and circular economy expert based out of Barcelona, where she works for Bax & Company, a leading European sustainable innovation agency.
On this episode, we'll be discussing the topic of employee retention in the composites industry.
Industry expert and technical trainer Andrew Pokelwaldt joins me for the 1st part of the show to discuss how some companies are incentivizing employees.
On the 2nd part of the show I interview Lisa Ryan, author of the book Thank You Very Much: Gratitude Strategies to Create a Workplace That ROCKS!
On this episode, Ben Gibbons of Circular11 joins me to share how their startup company is turning plastic waste into low-carbon building products that outlast and outperform traditional building materials.
In the UK, 75% of plastic goes to waste, and a significant reason for this is the cross-polymer contamination that is an inseparable part of the recycling system.
The mixture of plastics, and the range of chemicals in them, means that manufacturers can't achieve consistent product characteristics, and therefore don't buy the waste streams.
The team at Circular 11 has developed a process control system that dynamically adjusts our own sets of composite formulations to achieve a consistent, high quality output from low-grade variable inputs.
They currently manufacture and sell products to validate the technology, and will then license the process control system to other manufacturers, enabling the wider polymer processing sector to use low-grade plastic as a functional feedstock.
You can learn more about their company by visiting https://circular11.com.
On this episode, I welcome Lucas Grimes and Arthur Kaplan on the show. Their company Imperium was born out of the desire to optimize the way energy is purchased. Using the power of AI and automation, they help manufacturing companies cut out the hidden fees and tell you the best time to buy.
The energy that fuels the composites industry and mfg operations throughout the US is a significant cost. Their new predictive artificial intelligence (AI) platform helps manufacturers lock in the lowest energy rates at just the right time.
On this episode, we'll be discussing how their technology is helping companies in our industry.
You can learn more by visiting https://thisisimperium.com.