The New Quality Mandate in Composites

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…