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New Composite Materials Centre's Doors Open
01 Mar 2005
The demand and use of composites is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years and is expected to replace metal across a wide variety of industries. The first phase of a new £12 million hi-tech research centre that will lead the way for greater use of 'composite materials' was opened by Industry Minister Jacqui Smith last month.
Over the next five years the centre will undertake more than £100 million worth of research and development into composites and will employ around 100 engineers.
The composite centre, based at Airbus UK Filton, will form part of the National Composites Network which is a new and unique £30m Knowledge Transfer Network jointly funded by government and industry that will embrace the entire composites processing and using industry sectors in the UK. It is the first of several regional centres to open and will concentrate on composites for the aerospace and marine sectors.
The centre will also see collaborative work with other industry sectors such as automotive and healthcare and will act as the 'hub' of a regional alliance of companies, universities and colleges that will offer a world-class capability in the field of composite technology.
www.dti.gov.uk
