SAMPE Boston Winter Meeting at AvCarb Material Solutions

The SAMPE Boston Chapter would like to thank AvCarb Material Solutions for an enjoyable and informative winter meeting and event.  AvCarb hosted over 50 SAMPE members, friends, & students at their Lowell, MA headquarters, where they taught our local members that textile manufacturing is not just surviving in New England, but with the advent of high-performance carbon fibers, it’s thriving!

After an initial networking reception where the attendees had time to meet and catch up with old friends, colleagues, and industry leaders; Michael Novak, the Chair of the SAMPE Boston Chapter, gave a brief review of the status and plans of the Boston chapter over the next few months, including our upcoming Materials & Innovation Night and Student Career Fair scheduled for March.  He also promoted the advantages of joining SAMPE as professional and student members and a gave special shout-out to our corporate sponsors.

Michael then introduced Chris Holmes, CEO, and Chris Robertson, Director of Business development, at AvCarb who presented information on AvCarb’s textile & composite materials, its markets for electrochemical applications, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and advanced batteries, and for high-performance friction applications in automotive and sports/recreation. 

The group then broke for dinner, which was sponsored by AvCarb, where additional networking, technical, and business discussions ensued. 

After dinner, AvCarb employees generously gave tours of the AvCarb plant so that the attendees could learn more about AvCarb’s advanced materials and processes, including their stretch breaking and yarn spinning, continuous and batch carbonization & graphitization capabilities, as well as their state-of-the-art weaving and coating capabilities.  AvCarb supplies world class carbon based materials (fabrics, felts, papers, and laminates) into the electrochemical, automotive, chemical processing, and sports/recreation industries.  Additionally, AvCarb owns a sister facility in Wadsworth, OH, that includes 28 induction coil furnaces, capable of achieving ultra-high temperatures up to 3000° C.

In all, it was a great night of camaraderie and learning.  We are looking forward to our Materials & Innovation Night and Student Career Fair next month.  Please keep on the lookout for the official announcement coming out soon!