Asia’s largest composites exhibition JEC Asia returns to Seoul

JEC Asia
JEC Asia

After moving from Singapore to Seoul last year and producing record-breaking results, JEC Asia, the largest international composite materials exhibition in Asia, is returning to the Korean capital for its 11th edition.

JEC Asia 2018 will be held at Coex Convention & Exhibition Center (Coex) in Seoul from November 14 to 16. The JEC Group, which has the world’s largest network of composite materials professionals, holds the exhibition annually. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization succeeded in bidding the three-day event, which was previously held in Singapore, for 2017 and 2018.

This year’s exhibition will be three times larger than it was last year. At the 2017 edition of the event in Seoul, a total of 174 companies installed 119 booths; 6,271 experts from 42 countries visited, and about 400 B2B meetings were held. This year’s JEC ASIA is expected to become an international composite materials platform that garners attention not only in Korea but across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization provided support for the exhibition, including an overseas exhibition grant, Discover Seoul Passes, the operation of a Seoul promotional booth, Seoul welcome kits for participants, Seoul MICE Supporters, airport greeting messages, and the production of an advertisement image for the JEC Visitor Guidebook.

JEC Group’s events director Christian Strassburger commented: “We are very grateful for the support of the industry, government bodies, and academics regarding the evolution of JEC Asia that has led to the success of the platform.”

The composites exhibition focuses on end-user markets in a variety of sectors including the automotive, aerospace, renewable energy, architecture/construction, electrical and electronic equipment, sports leisure, and transport sectors. This year’s exhibition will look closely at automobile applications, in particular.

JEC Group’s new CEO Eric Pierrejean noted the suitability of the host destination for the composites event: “All the steps in the value chain for automobiles – from R&D to raw materials and OEMs – are in the Korean market,” which, he added, “has very great growth opportunities.”

Major composite material companies such as CHOMARAT, ARKEMA, M Torres, SAERTEX, Solvay, CGTECH, Hyosung, Toray Group, Hanhwa Advanced Materials, Hankuk Carbon, and KOLON will be participating in the exhibition. Major composite materials research centers from KCTECH, DYETEC, Gyeongbuk Hybrid Technology Institute, Hanyang University, KAIST, SNU, and UNIST will also participate. On November 14 – the opening day of the exhibition – the 13th International Carbon Festival (ICF), which is organized by KCTECH and the Jeonju region, will be held simultaneously.

At JEC Asia, the JEC Group will hold a three-day conference for the Asian composite materials market in addition to the exhibition, highlighting the latest applications of composite materials in the automotive and aerospace sectors. The conference, which will start with a keynote speech by the Hyundai Motor Group, will be attended by domestic and overseas experts from Hanhwa Advanced Materials, Hanyang University, CIKON, DIAB, Arkema, and CETIM. In addition, a business opportunity conference program is being organized separately to contribute to the creation of business opportunities between companies.

The Leadership Composites Circle will be held under the theme of „The Automotive Industry and Composites“ and will focus on the future of mobility and the automotive sector. A variety of programs related to the automotive sector will be offered, such as Auto Planet and a program where parts will be showcased. This year’s exhibition will feature a networking and knowledge creation program where you can get the latest information regarding innovative composite automobiles from Korea and abroad.

With more than twice as many participants – including those from the automotive, transport, aerospace, construction, sports, leisure, and consumer products sectors – taking part in this year’s JEC Innovation Awards, anticipation is high for the innovative products and services to be showcased.

Various events will also be held during the exhibition period, such as a tour of composites materials facilities and a student workshop program. A top buyer program will also be held with the aim of encouraging meetings between top buyers and exhibitors, and to support business collaboration.

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