Composites One LLC, the Closed Mold Alliance and Magnum Venus Products Inc. will collaborate with the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation on a series of four educational workshops in 2017.
As announced at CAMX on Sept. 28, the 2017 workshops will occur Feb. 23-24 in Nashville, Tenn.; April 18-19 in Boulder, Colo.; May 16-17 in Detroit’s historic Corktown district; and Nov. 7-8 in West Lafayette, Ind.
“The workshops focusing on advanced processes and materials that we led with IACMI and Magnum Venus Products this year attracted hundreds of composites professionals,” said Leon Garoufalis, president and chief operating officer of composite materials distributor Composites One of Arlington Heights, Ill.
Garoufalis said more than 300 people have attended IACMI workshops in 2016.
IACMI has commitments of more than $180 million from its partners and $70 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s advanced manufacturing office.
Members of the Closed Mold Alliance include Composites One, equipment supplier Magnum Venus Products of Knoxville, Tenn., and closed mold composite tooling maker RTM Solutions Inc. of Vanastra, Ontario.
In a separate development, Composites One and Davis Applied Technology College of Kaysville, Utah, announced a partnership to enhance DATC’s current polymer composites program. The initiative is Composites One’s first of its kind with a single school.
“Where education and industry can come together with a common cause is always a productive partnership,” said Michael Bouwhuis, DATC president.
In remarks, Ben Hart with the Utah governor’s office of economic development said the state is considered to be a national leader in the composites industry.
Composites One will provide product and process expertise to DATC students and gain access to a venue for employee, customer and supplier training programs.