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This week, we revisit a conversation with Mike Graham, founder and president of Real Carbon, about upcycling carbon fiber prepreg scraps into finished products. They specialize in producing high-quality, custom carbon fiber tubes and UAV parts using cutting-edge technologies and advanced materials.  On this episode, we'll discuss how manufacturing leftovers can become a valuable resource, creating opportunities to reduce waste and put advanced materials to work in new applications. A chemist with decades of composites experience, Mike brings a practical perspective on custom carbon fiber product development. This replay highlights the ingenuity behind finding new uses for composite materials—and turning scrap into opportunity. Learn more at realcarbon.com.

This week, Benjamin Debusschère joins the show. Benjamin supports emerging technologies by driving initiatives such as the Startup Booster competition and the JEC Innovation Awards. These programs provide visibility, networking, and business opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies willing to transform the composites landscape. With 2027 marking the Startup Booster program's 10th anniversary, our conversation looks at its evolution, the challenges facing emerging companies, and the role industry partnerships play in bringing new technologies to market. We'll discuss what makes a startup stand out, how the program helps founders connect with potential customers and investors, and the opportunities emerging across materials, manufacturing, digital tools, and recycling. We also look ahead to the anniversary and what JEC and its partners envision for the program's next chapter. The deadline for entries is October 19th. You can learn more by visiting https://www.jec-world.events/program/startup-booster

Returning guests Steven Floyd and Clark Patterson joined the show to discuss progress on the America Makes–funded Affordable and Agile Composite Additive Manufactured Structures (AACAMS) roadmap effort. As the project approaches completion, we explore the gaps limiting adoption, the requirements of manufacturers, and the priorities that could guide future research and investment. Clark also shares his work with Azista USA to integrate extreme-temperature composite materials into additive manufacturing platforms. We discuss the opportunities for high-temperature polymer composites, carbon/carbon, and ceramic matrix composites—and the challenges of turning promising materials and processes into reliable production capabilities.

On this episode, we feature all of our conversations from day 2 at CAMX 2026 in Atlanta, GA. These include interviews with:  Matthew Hartman of Loop Technology Gil Cooper of Plataine Marcy Offner of WCI  Eimear O'Carroll of Lios  Yves Cordeau of Avient Corporation Tom Sharrock of James Cropper Daniel Neumann of ACMA  Paul Zwicklhuber of ENGEL

On this episode, we'll be featuring all of our conversations from day 1 at CAMX 2026 in Atlanta, GA. These include interviews with:  John Kehoe of Boaz Partners Kevin Wyss of Avadain Graphene Joe Stanish and Donald Paquet of L&L Products Haley Marie Keith of First Graphene Geert Pierloot of Summa Bryan Beimel of Pulflex Technologies David Leach of Composite Material Solutions  Matthew Pech and Tom Cranford of Lindau Chemicals Vipen Kumar of ORNL - Discussing Multiplexing Extrusion System (MExS) Markus Brzeski of A+ Composites Kelvin Fu. Co-Founder of CarbonForm Inc.

Joining the podcast this week is Francesco De Stefano, co-founder and CEO of Caracol, a company using robotics and large-format additive manufacturing to help manufacturers rethink how they build large, complex parts. Founded in Milan in 2017, Caracol is a leading industrial 3D printer manufacturer and large-format additive manufacturing technology provider. Since 2015, their founders have pursued the idea of overcoming the limits of existing manufacturing technologies, combining technological innovation with an industrial vision to respond to their clients' production needs. On this episode, we'll explore where this technology is delivering practical value, what's holding back broader adoption, and how more localized manufacturing could reshape composite production. You can learn more about them by visiting https://www.caracol-am.com.

On this episode, Mike Gromacki revisits the show to discuss some of the latest news at Norplex-Micarta. Now 10 months into his role as CEO there, Mike is helping shape the company's next chapter around a clear focus: "Life Critical. Mission Critical. Composites." We'll discuss what that means for their capabilities, the markets they serve, and growth opportunities and projects that help point the way forward. We'll also look ahead to CAMX, discussing the CEO Forum, featured programming on the show floor, and the General Session.  You can learn more about Norplex-Micarta at https://www.norplex-micarta.com.

On this episode, Rhona Togher, CEO and co-founder of Lios, joins the show. Lios is an Irish company developing advanced materials to tackle unwanted noise and vibration. Its flagship technology, SoundBounce, takes a different approach to acoustic insulation—combining a responsive material with a cellular structure to address difficult low-frequency noise without the weight and bulk of conventional solutions. On this episode, we'll explore the science behind SoundBounce, its potential applications in automotive, aerospace, and construction, and Lios' work with the European Space Agency.  You can learn more at https://lios-group.com/soundbounce.

On this episode, Nathan Silvernail joins the show. He is the co-founder and CEO of Plantd—a company reimagining how structural building materials are manufactured. Before launching Plantd, Nathan spent nearly a decade at SpaceX, where he helped develop advanced manufacturing systems for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. He is now applying that same engineering mindset to one of the world's oldest and most resource-intensive industries: construction. Plantd has developed a process that transforms fast-growing perennial grass into high-performance structural panels designed to compete directly with conventional wood-based products such as OSB. Using an automated, modular, all-electric manufacturing system, the company aims to produce building materials that are stronger, more moisture-resistant, and better for the environment. We'll talk with Nathan about the technology behind these grass-based panels and Plantd's vision for creating a new generation of sustainable composite materials. You can learn more by visiting https://www.plantdmaterials.com.

With CAMX just a few weeks away, it's a perfect time to revisit one of our previous conversations with Daniel Murphy of Alcove Media on a topic that every exhibitor should be thinking about: how do you actually generate business from a trade show? Many companies invest tens of thousands of dollars exhibiting at events, but simply showing up with a great-looking booth doesn't guarantee a return. On this episode, we'll discuss how companies can be much more strategic about their trade show investment.

Joining the podcast this week is Yannick Willemin. Yannick is the founder of Catalysium, a deep-tech consultancy supporting startups, SMEs, and investors across the composites and advanced materials ecosystem. He brings nearly two decades of experience spanning materials engineering, manufacturing, business development, corporate strategy, startups, and investment. His work touches nearly every part of the composites value chain—from materials and manufacturing technologies to recycling and end-use markets including aerospace, automotive, sports, luxury, and energy. Through Catalysium, Yannick helps technology companies identify markets, build strategic partnerships, acquire customers, and turn promising innovations into sustainable businesses. On the investment side, he works with business angels, venture capital, private equity, and other investors, conducting due diligence, helping them better understand the opportunities—and risks—behind deep-tech companies. You can learn more about Catalysium by visiting https://catalysium.ch and check out their videos at https://www.youtube.com/@CompositesCatalyst.

Graphene has been called one of the most extraordinary materials ever discovered. It's exceptionally strong, lightweight, electrically conductive, and thermally conductive. But more than a decade after capturing the world's attention, one major question remains: why hasn't it transformed manufacturing the way so many people predicted? On this episode, Brad Larschan and Kevin Wyss of Avadain join the show to discuss the past bottleneck with graphene production and what their company is doing to change this. Avadain is an advanced-materials company commercializing patented technology for producing what it calls Large, Thin, Defect-Free, or LTDF, graphene flakes. Avadain's process is designed to produce flakes that preserve the properties that make graphene so remarkable while also being scalable enough for industrial applications. The company has received a $3.77 million NIST-supported federal grant for scale-up, and recently announced that its full-scale graphene reactor is operational. On this episode, we'll talk about why all graphene isn't created equal, what Avadain believes it has solved on the manufacturing side, and—especially for our audience—what large-scale availability of high-quality graphene could mean for composites and advanced materials.

On this episode, Dr. Yasmeen S. Alfaraj discusses the next generation of thermoset composites. She is the founder and CEO of NextSet Materials, a company developing a new generation of reprocessable thermoset materials. Yasmeen earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, before completing her Ph.D. in chemistry at MIT, specializing in polymers and soft matter. She is also an Activate and Department of Energy Cyclotron Road Fellow and was named to the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing and Industry category. Through NextSet Materials, Yasmeen is addressing one of the composites industry's most persistent challenges: how to recover valuable fibers and other materials from durable thermoset structures that were never designed to be taken apart. The company's technology incorporates cleavable additives into existing resin formulations, creating a controlled pathway for deconstructing the cured polymer and recovering materials for reuse—without requiring manufacturers to completely replace their established processes. We'll be discussing the chemistry behind this technology, its potential applications in aerospace, wind energy, automotive manufacturing and electronics, and what it could mean for the future of truly circular composite materials. You can learn more about the company at https://nextset.net.

On this episode, Martin McLaughlin joins the show to discuss his 39-year career at Northrop Grumman during the development of the B-2 bomber, the F-20 and F/A-18 fighters, and the YF-23 fighter. Martin also managed the DARPA experimental spaceplane XS-1 program and numerous internal Northrop Grumman studies for air-launched to orbit rocketplanes. He continues his work in the growing space economy at McLaughlin Aerospace LLC.

On this episode, Lucas Dillingham of Brighton Science joins the podcast to discuss the science behind surface readiness. Brighton Science helps manufacturers understand and control one of the most important, and often overlooked parts of composite production: the surface. Lucas works at the intersection of surface science, manufacturing, and quality control, helping companies replace subjective tests and operator guesswork with measurable data that can improve bonding, coating, cleaning, and mold-release performance. In our conversation, Lucas will explain how technologies such as water contact-angle measurement allow manufacturers to evaluate surface conditions at the molecular level. We'll also discuss how surface intelligence can help reduce scrap, prevent adhesion and mold-release failures, standardize processes across operators and facilities, and turn surface preparation from what has traditionally been considered an art into a repeatable and controlled science.  You can learn more about Brighton Science at https://www.brighton-science.com.