Written by Kerryn Caulfield, Executive Director of Composites Australia Inc.
Lorimer Composites (LC) is wholly owned by the composites design and manufacturing organisation, Advanced Composites Structures Australia (ACS Australia), and operates from its industrial premises in Port Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.
Composite materials have been introduced into almost every industrial sector in some form, creating new markets and adding new dimensions to mature ones. But the breadth of skills, equipment and infrastructure required to bring new composite products to market can stymie the best ideas. For this reason, Lorimer Composites was recently established to enable and advance the commercialisation of great cutting edge ideas. LC circumvents traditional avenues of early-stage investment, in that the company will consider an equity arrangement in exchange for design, engineering, prototype and commercialisation services.
ACS Australia morphed from the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composites Structures (CRCACS) that operated from 1991 to 2015. Over 24 years of industry, university and government laboratory collaboration produced highly practical and valuable technology and capability outcomes that helped Australia’s composites industry to move forward competitively. At its core, the CRC-ACS showed that coordinated teamwork was a productive approach for Australia’s composites industry, helping it to achieve international market share and prominence. In addition to state-of-the- art manufacturing facilities and world-class engineers all under the one roof, Lorimer Composites has the unequalled pedigree of the ACS Australia experts from whom the innovators can draw.
“We know that advanced composites technology is a fertile medium for new products. We are confident that the need for stronger and lighter structures offering low maintenance will continue to inspire the development of new composite products. We believe the market is ready to capitalise on our legacy of tried and tested innovation management processes to bring an idea to commercialisation” says Paul Falzon, General Manager of ACS Australia.
Lorimer Composites is open to pitches from engineers, inventors, designers or anyone with a need to realise a great idea using advanced composites technology – contact them at info@lorimercomposites. com.
Some early examples of innovative composite products that LC participants are exploring include, consumer products, high-end furniture and advanced material technology.
