Three years ago, the composites industry joined the trend of setting aside special days to celebrate people and events. National Composites Week was established during the last week in August to highlight how fiber reinforced polymer composites have improved our world and our lives. This year, each day of the event has been assigned a special theme. The list below incudes some of the applications where composites have made significant contributions:
- Monday: Composites Make Life Longer — Medical, Health
- Tuesday: Composites Make Life Fun — Marine, Sporting goods, Recreational Vehicles
- Wednesday: Composites Make Lifelong Careers — Workforce Development
- Thursday: Composites Make Life Take Flight — Aerospace, Advanced Air Mobility, Space
- Friday: Composites Make Life Better — Infrastructure, Construction, Future Endeavors
Creative Composites Group will celebrate National Composites Week on Friday August 27, 2021. Over the past 25 years, the companies that make up the Group have striven to be leaders in implementing FRP composites in new applications for the infrastructure and construction markets. In many cases, this has meant developing products that had never been done before. There is great satisfaction in creating something new that will have long lasting impact on the world. These include longer lasting, maintenance-free bridges, rail platforms, docks, piers, ferry terminal walls, waterfront protection systems, access walkways, and building components.
For the theme ‘Make Life Better’, I will highlight a product that supports the growing trend of walking, riding and bicycling for both recreation and commuting. As pedestrians and bicyclists travel longer distances, they need to be able to cross over water, roads and rail. Lightweight cantilever sidewalks, added to vehicle bridges. safely separate pedestrians from vehicles and allow wider pathways for all types of users to share the path. Our FRP sidewalks provide a wide range of design options which reflect the infinite possibilities of engineered materials. Creative Composites Group has many case studies demonstrating the benefits of FRP composites for sidewalks. One of our best examples is a cantilever sidewalk on the San Lorenzo River Parkway in California. The parkway leads to an amusement park on the coastline. But part of the trail was made of a deteriorating wood walkway along an active railroad line. A wide FRP composite sidewalk replacement eliminates the dangers associated with pedestrians walking on a rail bridge. Safe and enjoyable recreational walks to a beach side amusement park is a nice example of "Make Life Better"
