SAMPE Benelux started as a club at the beginning of the 80 ies, just after the creation of SAMPE Europe. Louis Van Arkel, Hexcel Composites, was the first Benelux National delegate. With the help of members from other local composites companies, they formed the Benelux board with the aim to initiate Benelux activities.
Because of the multi lingual aspects of the 3 countries involved, the official language within the SAMPE Benelux has always been English.
Thanks to the historically strong aerospace activity in the Benelux, the main interest of the group is still on composite materials for demanding applications. These applications extend from aerospace to industries such as transport, infrastructure, energy generation and storage, ….
There has been a strong influence from leading companies, research institutes and universities such as GKN Fokker, SONACA, Hexcel, Ten Cate Advanced Composites, TPRC, KU Leuven, TU Delft, …Also SME companies actively support our chapter, e.g. Coexpair, KVE Composites Group, Airborne, …
Today, the membership is diversified, and the discussion topics range from the sandwich solar panels for satellites to the advanced production process for cardboard sandwich materials used in the low cost packaging industry.
SAMPE Benelux counts about 180 members now, as well professionals from industry and academia as a generation of young student members. In 2007 the SAMPE Benelux received the SAMPE chapter status. This chapter status confirms the importance and the unique identity of the SAMPE Benelux organization within SAMPE International and SAMPE Europe. Currently SAMPE Benelux is the 2nd largest SAMPE Europe chapter.
SAMPE Benelux organizes 5 events per year. Two professional one-day seminars, the SAMPE Benelux student event the SAMPE Benelux bridge building event and the SAMPE Benelux additive manufacturing contest. The Spring seminar is traditionally held in the Netherlands and a Fall seminar in Belgium or Luxemburg. In these seminars, we combine an extensive visit to the factory floor or laboratories in a leading Benelux company or R&D institute with a number of invited technical presentations including a technical presentation by the host.
The SAMPE Benelux student event and since recently a SAMPE Benelux bridge building event and additive manufacturing contest target engineering students. The costs to participate to the SAMPE Benelux student activities is minimal thanks to the generous support of our sponsors.
The SAMPE Benelux chapter actively supports the government of SAMPE Europe and organized recently 3 successful SAMPE Europe Conferences: in Leiden (NL) in 2011, in Liege (B) in 2016 and in Amsterdam (NL) in 2020.