And the winners of the JEC Innovation Awards are . . .

Composites industry organization JEC Group has announced the winners of its 2016 JEC Americas Innovation Awards. The companies represent a broad cross section of expertise in the design, testing and materials categories as well as in the automotive, aerospace and sports and leisure end markets. The awards will be presented during the fifth annual JEC Americas Composites Show and Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 3 to 5, 2016. In advance of the event, the winners are featured in this slide show. The descriptions of the innovations are their own. JEC Innovation Award for transportation: Omni Tanker Pty Ltd. (Randwick, Australia)The Omni Tanker A and AB tanks are composite tanks that combine lightweight qualities with high chemical resistance at an attractive price point. The tanks are particularly light and strong, with a mass of approximately half that of a steel tanker with equivalent volume. The benefits of a lightweight tank include fuel savings and reduced emissions, and more importantly, an increased payload that can be shipped in a single transport run.Compared to tanks with standard liners, Omni Tanker A and AB tanks are more durable (longer service life) with lower maintenance costs, and ensure higher chemical purity. The tanks can be effectively washed out, meaning that they can be back loaded with different chemicals, and that the chemical being transported can be changed based on seasonal demand. The composite tanks have captured the Class 8 corrosive dangerous goods transport market in Australia, and reportedly are in high demand from transport operators in the European market.