Dr. Andrew Beehag, Commercialisation Manager, Composites CRC-Australia” Government
Polices a Boon for Composites Industries in Australia”
The Composites CRC brings research providers and composites businesses together
to provide competitive technology for Australian industry. Since its inception in
1991, it has grown to become one of the world's leading composites research organizations.
The partnership includes leading composites businesses, government research laboratories
and Australia's foremost universities in composites research.
In an exclusive interview Dr. Andrew Beehag, Commercialisation
Manager, Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Ltd
shares his experience with Editor, Lucintel, K. Venkateshwar. Rao. Excerpts:
1. What are the key drivers for composites consumption in Australia?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: There are many new markets for composites, which
will not only increase consumption of composites to a certain degree, but also open
new opportunities for related service industries. Notably, a significant number
of these industries are composites users but not directly involved in composites
design or manufacture, leaving a potential gap between in-house knowledge and knowledge
requirements. Successful interaction and value chain assembly involving service
industries, particularly design and engineering analysis, and the materials supply
and manufacturing industries can provide strong impetus for end users to begin specifying
composites, or to increase their usage.
2. What are some of the key challenges faced by Your Company in the composites market?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: We have excellent profile in the international
aerospace industry with a range of technical advances under development, and the
aerospace industry has been highly accepting our composites technology. Many of
these advances are very relevant to other market sectors. Our challenge is to translate
technology into these parallel market sectors, to meet the varied demands of those
different markets, and to build their confidence in applying composites and new
composites technologies. We also have a strong push to develop and implement environmentally
friendly technologies – there is clear demand for increased use of renewable materials,
but further development is required in technology, implementation guidelines and
industry engagement before widespread adoption will be seen.
3. Tell us about the impact of government policies on composites industry?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: There is good broad support for composites industry
development in Australia, at a Federal and State level. At the State level the Queensland
Govt has been most notable, and in the past few years has made significant investment
through the Fibre Composites Action Plan- an specific initiative dedicated to building
the composites industry. The composites industry has received very strong research
support in Australia, with significant Federal Government investment in university
level research over several decades.
The Australian Government has invested significantly in centre’s such as the Cooperative
Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures (CRC-ACS), which has recently
been extended for five years. Recent Australian Govt policy has highlighted the
need for Australia to engage internationally, and is supporting these initiatives.
The future CRC-ACS program engages aerospace and oil & gas multinationals in
Australian R&D, as well as continuing its development of composites for the
defence industry – these initiatives will make Australia an increasingly attractive
place to develop and build next generation composites technology.
4. Key challenges faced by composite end-users in Australia?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: A significant portion of potential users have
barriers to adoption which are by no means unique to Australia, two major barriers
being composites education and regulatory / standards compliance. Composites are
an “engineered material” early education of engineers in the attributes and requirements
of composite materials, across a wider range of engineering disciplines, are key
to industry realizing the benefits of composites adoption. The existence of standards
in key industries (particularly civil construction and building) is a significant
barrier, particularly that standards are frequently written with an underlying assumption
that a material other than composites will be used. Overcoming this barrier through
the drafting of new standards requires high levels of industry support and organization.
5. Government support and policies change that is required to encourage exports
of composite components?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: Much of Australian business in the composites
industry is classed as a Small to Medium Enterprise – while Government policy has
long advocated supporting SMEs, successful initiatives to build exports through
these businesses are difficult to achieve.
6. Emerging applications that you foresee to have a significant bearing on the composites
consumption?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: There is significant future investment likely
in environmental infrastructure, in particular energy generation systems. A return
to high oil prices is also likely to see renewed interest in the general plastics
market. Industries utilizing unreinforced plastics may turn to low cost additives
that increase properties, sometimes marginally, but reduce material costs significantly.
CRC-ACS is developing the use of plant fibers in traditional thermoplastics as an
example of this. The ability to “spend a million, save a billion” is true for examples
such as repairing earthquake-damaged infrastructure, but is equally true for enabling
delayed expenditure on infrastructure replacement. The technology can expand into
a range of industries with ageing infrastructure.
7. How has global slowdown affected the market? How has been your organization’s
growth in the last 2-3 years and how do your foresee the growth forward?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: The global slowdown has been
particularly hard on the Australian marine industry, where the market is highly
dependent on discretionary expenditure. In other market areas, particularly where
manufacturers able to engage in infrastructure supply, ongoing Government expenditure
has provided good stability. CRC-ACS, being primarily engaged in medium-term research,
has not felt the impact of the slowdown to date. We have achieved significant success
in implementing composite technology through major end users around the world, and
this reputation is growing in a number of different market sectors.
8. Do you see high-potential for composites in the market? If yes, what are some
of reasons for the same?
Dr. Andrew Beehag: I see very high potential in the composites
market. There have been a number of industries that have transformed over time,
moving from a low usage to high usage. The most recent example is commercial aircraft,
with composites usage increasing from 15% to 50% by weight. Each industry in turn
has adopted composites as a way of building a competitive edge, and there are several
industries that are likely to make this transformation in future years. The adaptability
of composites to a vast array of applications is likely to see composites well positioned
to address a range of future challenges.