#202 Metstrade Manufacturing Innovation in Marine & Composites: Tahira Ahmed on Morphing Technologies

BREAKING | Manufacturing Innovation in Marine &
Composites
At Metstrade Amsterdam, on the
JEC Group booth, a quiet but important
announcement was made.

During an on‑site interview for Composites
Lounge, Dr. Tahira Ahmed revealed the
upcoming launch of Morphing Technologies — a new
machine‑building company set to debut at JEC World 2026 (Paris,
10–12 March).

This is not about morphing products.

This is about morphing the manufacturing process itself.

From one‑off tooling to shape‑programmable production

Morphing Technologies is introducing a fully automated adaptive
mould system that changes shape directly from a 3D CAD
file.

Instead of machining a new mould for every curved composite part,
one reconfigurable mould can generate an unlimited number of
geometries.

For engineers, this directly addresses:

One‑off and low‑volume composite production
Curved and organic geometries (marine superstructures, yacht
interiors, façade panels)

Tooling waste, storage, lead time and embodied CO₂

At launch, the system will be demonstrated with a 1.2 × 1.2 m
mould at JEC World 2026, showing extreme singly and doubly curved
shapes live on the booth.

Engineering fundamentals (no buzzwords)

The morphing mould system is based on:

A digitally actuated pin‑bed architecture with a continuous
interpolation surface
Direct CAD‑to‑mould translation (minutes, not weeks)
Tolerances suited for structural and semi‑structural applications
(±1–2 mm, geometry‑dependent)
Compatibility with thermosets and low‑ to mid‑temperature
thermoplastics
Applicability beyond polymers: GRC, concrete, curved glass
In short: manufacturing flexibility without retooling.

Marine engineering lives at the intersection of:

Curvature‑driven structural efficiency
Low production volumes
Late design changes
High tooling cost per part
Morphing Technologies targets exactly this gap — replacing
CNC‑milled, single‑use moulds with reusable, programmable
tooling.

The sustainability impact is process‑driven:
no disposable moulds
no tooling storage
dramatically reduced waste upstream of the part

Leadership that understands production reality Morphing
Technologies is led by Dr. Tahira Ahmed:

Aeronautical engineer (Imperial College London)

PhD in composites (TU Delft)

~25 years across thermosets, thermoplastics, automation and
hands‑on manufacturing and Chair of
CompositesNL

This is not conceptual R&D.

This is production‑grade manufacturing engineering.

Event: JEC World 2026
Date: 10–12 March 2026
Location: Paris Nord Villepinte
Exhibitor: Morphing Technologies
Booth number: to follow soon

At Composites Lounge, we look for innovations that change how
composites are made, not just how they are marketed.

YouTube Episode: https://youtu.be/DKeABHdbEYE