Engineering, innovation and where the industry is headed
A standout group of speakers tackled the engineering and entrepreneurial challenges of building, scaling and reshaping composites businesses. Phillip Crothers (Boeing Aerospace Australia) took delegates from research to production on future aircraft programs. Dr Ashley Denmead (Carbon Revolution) unpacked the engineering challenges of automating composite manufacturing at scale.
Paul Falzon (Advanced Composite Structures Australia) addressed the investment and capability required to scale advanced manufacturing. James Whatmough (Innovative Composites) shared how strategic acquisition repositioned his business. Tony Stanton (Gurit) walked through parametric engineering from design to production. And Mark Nothnagel (Sykes Advanced Manufacturing) spoke to the realities of diversifying a composites business. Together, these sessions traced where these companies have come from, and where composites technology is taking them next.
Dangerous goods and the regulatory landscape ahead
A dedicated session curated around dangerous goods handling and upcoming legislative change brought together Halil Ahmet (WorkSafe Victoria), Paul Harris (PRP Corp) and Leigh Spencer (RPC Technologies) — covering exposure limits, ignition protection and the regulatory shifts manufacturers need to prepare for.
AI: challenges and opportunities on the factory floor
Duncan Cameron (Capgemini Invent) and Associate Professor Scott Barnett (Deakin University) examined AI’s practical promise and its governance challenges — moving the conversation beyond hype and into what AI adoption actually looks like on the manufacturing floor.
Education, training and business development
A panel featuring Brett Ambrosio (Australian Institute of Engineering), Dr Stephen van Duin (Australian Composites Manufacturing CRC) and Kerryn Caulfield (Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance) addressed pathways into higher education and the training pipeline feeding the industry’s future workforce, while David Buchanan (Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong) spoke to expanding access to advanced manufacturing capability through machine and capability sharing.
The 2026 Composites Australia Awards
The 2026 Conference Dinner also saw the presentation of the Composites Australia Annual Industry Awards, with Association President Lynden Vikingur welcoming Luke Preston, CEO of ACMCRC — this year’s Awards sponsor — to present on the night. Full details on this year’s recipients can be found on our Industry Awards page.
The conference was capped off with a tour of Carbon Revolution’s Waurn Ponds facility, giving delegates a firsthand look at the automated production line behind the company’s one-piece carbon fibre wheels — a fitting finish to two days spent exploring where composites manufacturing is headed.
