Summary of the 12th KOMPOZYT-EXPO®

- Trade fairs are an opportunity to really get to know the man behind the product. The KOMPOZYT-EXPO® International Trade Fair for Composite Materials, Technologies and Products, a unique event in Central and Eastern Europe, is behind us. The 12th edition of the event, held October 4-5, 2023 at EXPO Krakow, brought together 110 exhibitors and 1,815 visitors. The trade fair was visited by the most important representatives of companies, universities, institutions and clusters, visitors listened to more than 30 expert speeches, and for the first time there was a pavilion of companies from South Korea and Iran.

The KOMPOZYT-EXPO® trade fair is the only meeting in Poland dedicated exclusively to the composite materials and technologies industry. Concentrating the event in one area is particularly valuable for exhibitors, who come to the trade fair with specific goals and offers. The character of the trade fair allows them to reach a very specific audience. As Lukasz Kordon of Evonik said - I see this trade fair as a typical industry trade fair. There are people here who are interested in the particular topics and ask very specific questions. Indeed, these are interesting meetings that I hope will open the way for us to cooperate with new customers.

Andrzej Parchyta, a representative of ebalta Poland stated - People come with specific questions. We sit down at a table and talk. Even just now, on the spot, I prepared an offer to a customer for materials, which, by the way, we present at the stand.

Inspiration and innovations

The show zone turned out to be a real hit. A lot of attention was attracted by the shows carried out by students from the scientific circle "PRzeTwórcy" of Rzeszow University of Technology, who, in cooperation with Rymatex, demonstrated the use of biodegradable fibers in the infusion process. Lukasz Kordon of Evonik talked about additives and base materials for composite production, and Jaroslaw Knapek of EC Test Systems allowed the audience to see live inspection of objects made of carbon and glass composites using the C-CheckIR mobile active thermography system.

As usual, the KOMPOZYT-EXPO® trade fair proved to be a great venue for new product launches and provided an opportunity to confront new ideas with customer expectations.

Michal Sobolewski, CEO of FIBRATECH Sp. z o.o., emphasized that the goals of the trade fair are not only to meet and make contacts, but also to present unique solutions - The KOMPOZYT-EXPO® is definitely a good place to talk to people and businesses from other countries. Our goal in exhibiting here was primarily to establish cooperation and present ourselves to companies from abroad. That's because we are targeting niche market. For us, being here is an opportunity for faster and broader development. Our goal in coming here to the KOMPOZYT-EXPO® was to present a completely new technology, , something that is for sure unique not only in Poland, but also in Europe.

Jan Podgórski from Shim-Pol also pointed out that the trade fair allows exceptional products to reach people who can develop their business through them. - Visibility is very important for us, because many people can find out what unique solutions we have. This type of trade fair is a very good forum to present ourselves. What I will remember from KOMPOZYT-EXPO® are the people who are interested in our products that allow them to develop their research.

During the workshop, experts and industry representatives shared their knowledge, highlighting the importance of composites in the reconstruction of Ukraine and a sustainable circular economy, among other things. Huge interest was aroused by a panel discussion on hydrogen as a fuel of the future in the era of energy transition. The panel was moderated by Katarzyna Stec (Łukasiewicz - Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials), and participants in the debate included representatives of companies, institutions, universities and clusters: Miroslaw Skibski (Industrial Development Agency), Wojciech Blazejewski, Ph.D. (Wroclaw University of Technology), Andrzej Czulak, Ph.D. (PKTK), Jerzy Kopeć (Innovative Malopolska), Krzysztof Gogola (Protium), Ph. Eng. Paweł Pichniarczyk (Łukasiewicz - Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials), Dr. Magdalena Dudek (AGH), Wojciech Mucha ("wodorowe.info") and Szczepan Gorbacz (Amargo).

For the first time, representatives of companies from South Korea presented at KOMPOZYT-EXPO® together with the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency (KCARBON). Henry Shin, general director of KCARBON, introduced the participants to the carbon composite industry and the latest technological trends of hydrogen tanks in Korea, and officially signed a cooperation agreement with the Polish Cluster of Composite Technologies.

Who is shaping the future of the industry?

An important part of the trade fair is the possibility of technology transfer between scientific units and manufacturing companies. In the Science for Industry zone, universities from Poland and abroad had the opportunity to present R&D offerings, which aroused great interest. Another example of great cooperation was the joint space of the Polish Cluster of Composite Technologies and Innovative Malopolska.

- We are exhibiting at KOMPOZYT-EXPO® for probably the sixth or seventh time, and we are always very satisfied with it - both with the number of visitors and with the service from the trade fair, which is very helpful. What keeps us coming back? The atmosphere and the fact that our customers are here, so we have someone to talk to. It happens that we acquire new contacts here. We are expanding our business into new industries. - Magda Przydział from Krahn Chemie said.

The KOMPOZYT-EXPO® trade fair has become a must-attend event on the industry calendar. It is not only a place to exchange business cards, but above all a source of inspiration and an opportunity to meet the people who are creating the future of innovative composite materials and technologies.

This is recognized by Jl-Young HWANG from the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency - It is very important to be here, to meet with Polish companies and institutes. We, the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, want to be a bridge between technology and industry.

The essence of the trade fair is accurately summed up by the representative of Krahn Chemie - Even in the future, 10 years from now, when e-commerce has become widespread, the trade fair will still be needed, in my opinion. It will be an opportunity to actually meet a real person, to see who is behind the product, who is behind the technology.

Thank you all for your participation, and we already invite you to the next edition, which is scheduled for October 16 and 17, 2024!

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