We’re happy to announce that Carbon Fiber Gear is a media partner for Go Carbon Fiber 2011!  (We’ve got a special discount code for anybody interested, keep reading for details).  Go Carbon Fiber is a conference that will be held in Seattle this year that is focused 100% on carbon fiber.  There’s a number of exciting discussions and speakers that make this a must-attend for those in the industry or looking to be.

Aside from the various networking opportunities, the conference is split up over the course of 2 days (October 4th-6th), as well as an exciting pre-conference if you can make it on the 3rd.  The pre-conference is actually a site visit the ACSL (Advanced Composites Structures Laboratory) at the University of Washington.  The lab works closely with Lamborghini’s Advanced Composite Research Center, of which the likes of Forged Composite has been developed.

On day one of the conference, the first half is dedicated to carbon fiber in the automotive industry.  This is where we’ll hear from folks representing Lamborghini, BMW/SGL, Ford, GM and Lotus about their current and future uses of carbon fiber.  Over the last 1-2 years there have been some major announcements and initiatives/research dollars to advance carbon fiber automotive manufacturing and these are the people at the forefront of the movement.

The afternoon is dedicated mostly to the life cycle of carbon fiber and some of the consumer possibilities.  Since we specialize mainly in consumer products, this is especially of interest to us.  There is a panel about seeing where consumer demand is heading, and we’ll even hear from Poggenpol and Porsche Design about their new high-end kitchen that utilizes carbon fiber.  We’ll get more in depth about how consumers initially react and if they will accept carbon fiber.  We work extremely hard to help ensure that carbon fiber becomes a more mainstream and desirable material, and our slogan, Carbon Fiber is the New Black, represents just that.  That evening attendees are invited to the Museum of Flight, one of the largest air and space museums in the world, for a few drinks and networking.

Day two begins with end use applications such as wind, sports and oil & gas.  We’ll hear from one of the leading composites users, Boeing, about where they are today in recycling carbon fiber.  Some of our own partners have been working on significant developments in the carbon fiber sporting sector and we’re excited to see what’s to come.  The conference ends with talks on manufacturing and production efficiency/innovation.  One of the discussions that piqued our interest is that of CFRP monocoque production on an automated basis.  While the technology is only seen right now in ultra-exclusive supercars such as the Aston Martin One-77 and Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, the idea is to eventually bring this technology to the everyday vehicle.

Washington state is a perfect location for a conference like this as it is the home to Boeing and ACSL, bringing those directly involved in the future of carbon fiber together.  If the above sounds enticing to you, you still have time to register for the conference!  Use discount code CFGEAR100 during registration, and take $100 off.  For those in the academic world, your academic rate is just $349…we would love to hear about what you’re learning and experimenting with.

Most importantly, we’re super excited to meet and speak with anybody attending.  Both myself and Ali will be there, make sure to come up and introduce yourselves.  Anything interesting you may be working on, let us know.  We’re also on the lookout for manufacturing partners for future products, if you believe your company meets the criteria, definitely say hello.

For those unable to attend, we’ll be covering the event so be on the lookout for our posts.

See you in Seattle!