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This decade administers annual doses of major economic and supply chain challenges. With no way through but forward, US participants at JEC World 2026 focused on business fundamentals: efficiency, performance and speed to market.

The different faces of war

The Iran War raged during JEC World, affecting business dealings and personal lives. With its global attendance, oil dependence and defence industry applications, the show was a microcosm of the complex state of the world. Participants called colleagues, friends and family in the Middle East, concerned for their safety. TV broadcasts showed looping reels of missile detonation fireballs and destruction.

Still, multiple exhibitors referred to a positive energy at the show. Yet it was impossible to ignore skyrocketing prices and supply bottlenecks for composites' fundamental ingredient: oil. As of this writing, the Strait of Hormuz was still blocked, and several Middle Eastern oil and natural gas processing facilities were destroyed or disabled. Though the situation could change at any moment, there will be ongoing effects. John Madej, CEO, materials formatter Web Industries Inc., said the primary questions are: where are oil-based feedstocks in the supply chain? Will there be supply limitations?

"We are now hearing short-term alarm bells; a lot of people are asking these questions across the sectors we serve. This includes aerospace, energy, medical, wire and cable, commercial and consumer products," he said. Another exhibitor compared the current situation to the 2021 Texas freeze that created a choke point for one-third of US refining capacity and natural gas supplies. Now one-fifth of the world's oil supply is blocked. Once again, composites industry suppliers must calculate how much of their higher costs they can pass on to customers. Also, this fossil fuel crisis comes at a time when AI centres are consuming record levels of electricity. Keeping them powered is crucial for business, communications and national security. Composites go into energy storage and transportation, from tanks to pipelines. Thermoplastic and rapid-cure thermoset materials, processing equipment and components were sought-after solutions at JEC World. They lend themselves to high-rate, scalable, lower-cost production. These traits are desirable across many composites sectors, but they are a necessity for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), including defence applications such as drones. "As aerospace projects evolve into ever- higher volumes, the industry needs faster manufacturing cycle times to make hundreds or thousands of components for drones and other eVTOL aircraft. A project may require 20-30 autoclaves to keep up," said Jim Ostrowski, Engineering Program Director, composites, Globe Machine Manufacturing Co. The business is behind the patented RapidClave® out-of-autoclave curing and consolidation system, which can replace several autoclaves while requiring less floor space and energy.

Read the full article on pages 50 to 52 of issue 168 of JEC Composites Magazine.

Cover photo: IACMI SuRF facility, Detroit, Michigan