News

For 2025 edition of the Advanced Engineering Show, PRF Composite Materials (Stand X170) is proud to return as headline sponsors, continuing its support for innovation and progress in the UK Composites Industry. As part of this sponsorship, PRF will once again be sponsoring the Composites Networking Lounge, a key feature of the show this year that promises to be a lively and vibrant zone, filled with cutting-edge content, valuable networking opportunities and industry insight. The Lounge will feature PRF’s press moulding demonstrations, an engaging industry networking series, and Meet the Speaker sessions. 

At the forefront of innovation in the UK Composites Industry, the team at PRF are excited to be bringing new prepreg developments to the show this year, including Q.tool recycled, for which PRF is shortlisted for a Composites UK 2025 Industry Award in Innovation in Composite Materials.

Using its patented Q.tool prepreg tooling technology, PRF has developed Q.tool recycled, which retains all the benefits of PRF’s original Q.tool, and now includes recycled carbon replacing 40% of the original virgin fibre content. Q.tool offers typically more than 50% time saving over standard 1:8:1 carbon tool manufacture, reduced use of plastic consumables, and only 1 debulk required. The system provides exceptional drapeability and surface finish. Moulds produced by PRF have been tested by Green Tech Automotive AC Cars and the results are fantastic! After several cycles, the tools show excellent dimensional stability. They have also been tested for several cycles under pressure to ensure good surface finish and longevity, with no degradation found in the tool surface. And at end of life, carbon tools can be recycled – thereby improving circularity and reducing landfill waste. The team at PRF are very pleased to announce that Q.tool recycled is now in manufacture. 

At the Composites Networking Lounge, PRF will be holding live demonstrations of press moulding using its innovative eXpress cure prepreg materials, including RP570 FR REEPREG – its class-leading prepreg material that combines recycled carbon fibre nonwoven mat with ultra-fast snap-cure epoxy prepreg technology to create a fire-retardant, eXpress cure prepreg suited for high-volume manufacturing applications, with a complete cure cycle of just 5-6 minutes at 160°C and an out life of 60 days at 20°C. Developed through significant R&D investment in-house at PRF, RP570 FR REEPREG has superior handling qualities, and is easily pressed from a flat sheet into a 3D shape. The use of recycled carbon fibre in this product enables reduction in landfill waste and significantly improves circularity. This material has also been shortlisted for a Composites UK 2025 Industry Award in the category of Sustainability: Circularity.

Both of these products have also been selected to feature in the Advanced Engineering Innovations Gallery at the show, highlighting their leading positions in the market. Alongside these award-shortlisted materials, PRF will be launching new products at the show, with more details to come! 

Also on the Composites Networking Lounge, PRF will be also be hosting the Industry Networking series. These targeted networking sessions are designed to bring together professionals from across the sector, including visitors working in aerospace, automotive, motorsport, marine, and medical component manufacture. The sessions will also include a dedicating networking event for the Composites UK Early Careers Group, fostering dialogue between emerging and established professionals within the field. 

Working together with Composites UK, PRF will also be hosting Meet the Speaker events, welcoming some of the leading speakers from the Composites Forum programme – including PRF’s Sales Director Vincent Fawcett – to the Composites Networking Lounge. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for visitors to engage directly, further discussions and explore opportunities for collaboration, growth and innovation in the industry.

For more info on PRF's Composite Networking Lounge events, visit: https://www.advancedengineeringuk.com/composites-engineering/

Register as PRF's guest here: https://register.visitcloud.com/survey/2ehz86mul5ggl?actioncode=NTWO000…