Composites One (Arlington Heights, IL), a leading distributor of composite materials, and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI; Knoxville, TN), one of eight organizations that make up the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation, announced their new partnership during CAMX 2015 in Dallas.

Through the new partnership, Composites One, along with the Closed Mold Alliance and Magnum Venus Products (MVP), will instruct four schools in advanced processes and products at key IACMI locations starting in Spring 2016.

“Composites One, like IACMI, is dedicated to the advancement of our industry,” said Composites One President and COO Leon Garoufalis during the announcement. “With this new partnership, we can help prepare the next generation of composites professionals, as well as ensure that our industry’s existing workforce is up to speed on the latest technologies.” Also speaking at the event were IACMI CEO Dr. Craig Blue and MVP President & CFO Peter Hedger.

“We are proud to partner with Composites One, along with the Closed Mold Alliance and Magnum Venus Products. Cross-organization collaboration reinforces our mission to accelerate the development and adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies for low-cost, energy-efficient manufacturing of advanced composites. This partnership will positively impact innovation in manufacturing and advance the existing workforce composites ecosystem,” said IACMI-The Composites Institute CEO Craig Blue.

The upcoming schools, dates and locations include:

Schools are intended to help participants become more proficient in advanced and closed mold processing, out-of-autoclave production, additive manufacturing (3D printing) light-weighting of products, prototyping, selecting systems and equipment, advancements in composites and high performance materials, data acquisition, modeling and simulation.

To help achieve this goal, sessions will be conducted by experienced process experts from Composites One and the Closed Mold Alliance, a resource dedicated to helping manufacturers make a successful conversion to closed mold and other advanced processes. Along with Composites One, the Alliance founding members include Magnum Venus Products and RTM North Ltd.