Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I have over a decade of experience in carbon fibre and advanced composites manufacturing, currently leading the Quality function at a composites components manufacturer supplying high-performance structural parts. My background covers the full lifecycle of composite production—process qualification, lay-up and curing control, dimensional validation, supplier development, and regulatory compliance.
I am a certified AS9100D internal auditor and have led multiple initiatives around process capability improvement, root-cause analysis, risk-based thinking, and customer audits for demanding sectors such as automotive performance applications and aerospace-grade programs. Alongside my operational role, I am pursuing an MBA, which allows me to combine technical excellence with strategic and commercial thinking—especially around customer acquisition, scalability, and long-term competitiveness.

Q2. What market shifts are most visibly changing how composites manufacturers need to think about quality today?

Three major shifts stand out:
1.    Higher reliability expectations – Customers now expect aerospace-style traceability, documentation, and statistical control even for non-aerospace applications.
2.    Faster development cycles – OEMs want rapid prototyping and accelerated qualification, which forces manufacturers to build robust quality systems early rather than relying on inspection at the end.
3.    Global supply chains – With raw materials and sub-suppliers spread worldwide, incoming quality assurance, supplier audits, and digital traceability have become critical.
Quality today is no longer just defect prevention—it is about predictability, responsiveness, and confidence in scale-up.

Q3. Which end-use industries are driving the biggest changes in quality expectations right now, and what’s behind that shift?

Aerospace and defense remain the benchmark setters, but we are seeing automotive electrification, high-performance mobility, renewable energy, and sporting goods sharply raising quality expectations.
Electric vehicles and hydrogen systems demand lightweight structures with zero tolerance for variability. Wind energy blades and pressure vessels require long-term durability validation. These industries are behind the shift because composites are no longer niche materials—they are mission-critical structural elements, and failures carry high safety, reputational, and financial consequences.

Q4. How is digitization changing the way quality is monitored and controlled in composites manufacturing?

Digitalization is transforming quality from reactive to predictive.
We now see growing adoption of:
•    Digital work instructions and traveler systems
•    Real-time curing and environmental monitoring
•    MES and SPC dashboards
•    Digital non-conformance management and CAPA systems
•    Data-driven root-cause analysis
In composites, where variability can come from humidity, resin chemistry, lay-up technique, or cure cycles, data transparency is extremely powerful. Digital twins and historical process databases are helping companies anticipate defects before parts are scrapped, a major competitive advantage.

Q5. How are sustainability pressures influencing material choices and quality benchmarks in composites?

Sustainability is now directly linked to quality.
Customers are evaluating recycled carbon fibre, bio-resins, and lower-energy curing systems—but they still expect mechanical performance, durability, and consistency. This forces manufacturers to create new qualification protocols, aging studies, and tighter process windows.
In addition, waste reduction, right-first-time manufacturing, and energy efficiency are becoming formal quality metrics. Environmental performance is increasingly audited alongside traditional dimensional and mechanical compliance.

Q6. Where do you see the biggest gap between what the market is demanding and what most suppliers can consistently deliver?

The largest gap lies in scalable consistency.
Many suppliers can make excellent prototype parts, but struggle when volumes increase—especially in maintaining process stability, documentation discipline, and trained manpower across shifts.
Another gap is supplier maturity: OEMs demand transparent risk management, rapid corrective actions, and statistical evidence of control, while many mid-tier suppliers still rely heavily on final inspection instead of robust process capability.
Closing this gap requires investment in people, systems, automation, and leadership commitment to quality as a strategic asset rather than a cost center.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

I would ask:
“How confident are you that your processes—not just your best engineers—can consistently deliver aerospace-level quality at double today’s production volume?”
This question reveals whether quality is embedded in systems, data, training, and culture—or whether performance depends on a few individuals. Investors should also probe supplier qualification strategies, digital maturity, and the extent to which early quality is integrated into new product development, as these factors determine scalability and long-term profitability in composites manufacturing.