Composites are a powerful symbol of American manufacturing — lightweight, durable, and essential to innovation across transportation, infrastructure, defense, and more. Through specialized training, advocacy, and collaboration, ACMA is helping the composites workforce stay ahead and drive manufacturing forward.
The future of U.S. manufacturing is being shaped not only by groundbreaking technologies but also by powerful partnerships between industry and educational leaders. As new materials and processes, from carbon fiber recycling and nanocomposites to additive manufacturing and automated fiber placement, transform what’s possible, the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is playing a pivotal role in ensuring companies and professionals can stay ahead of the curve.
ACMA serves as a central hub for knowledge-sharing in the composites industry, facilitating access to cutting-edge insights and workforce training. Through its nationally recognized Certified Composites Technician (CCT) Program, ACMA provides comprehensive, hands-on training that strengthens safety, productivity, and technical expertise. These training sessions are customizable, industry-driven, and focus on mastering the technologies that are transforming manufacturing.
Making industry impact
ACMA’s collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is just one example of how these efforts are making an impact. Together, they are delivering specialized training and workshops on the use of composites in infrastructure and defense applications. These efforts are not only introducing decision-makers to the lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant benefits of composites but also demonstrating how to implement them effectively in real-world projects to ensure that the U.S. workforce is at the cutting edge of innovation and implementation.
This kind of education is essential for an industry that remains unfamiliar to many outside of its core sectors. ACMA advocates tirelessly to elevate awareness of composites and their role in solving today’s toughest engineering challenges, from reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency to enabling sustainable construction and resilient infrastructure.
By building bridges between manufacturers, innovators, educators, and government agencies, ACMA is helping to create a well-informed, highly skilled workforce ready to harness the full potential of composites. Through proactive education, hands-on training, and a strong focus on emerging technologies, ACMA ensures that both the current and next generation of professionals are equipped to lead the industry forward.
Composites embody the ingenuity, adaptability, and technical leadership that define manufacturing in America. As materials and methods continue to evolve, it is partnerships like these — between education and industry, knowledge and innovation — that will ensure that the United States remains a global leader in advanced materials and technologies for generations to come.
