SE Conference 26 Lecce
Location: Grand Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi, Lecce, Italy
Date: 30 September – 1 October 2026
SAMPE brings over 150 oral and poster presentations that focus on Challenging Applications in Advanced Composites; materials, their processes, research and developments for the SAMPE Europe 2026 Conference in Lecce, Italy from 30 September – 01 October 2026. This event will be organised in close co-operation between SAMPE Italy & SAMPE Europe.
Location: Grand Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi, Lecce, Italy
Theme
”The Future of Advanced & Sustainable Composites.”
A challenging Plant Visit Program and the 41th SAMPE Students Seminar are held in conjunction with this SAMPE Europe International Conference. At SAMPE Europe Conferences over 100 authors are on stage. They present high-quality Technical Papers that focus on Challenging Applications in Advanced Composites Materials and their Processes. In the accompanying exhibition over 30 sponsoring companies will present their most recent innovations. Delegates from over 25 countries are expected.
The conference programme also will include:
- 41th International Students Seminar
- Special emphasis on Thermoplastics, Sustainability, Automation and Artificial Intelligence
- Plant Visits
The ticket sale for SE Conference in Lecce – Italy – starts on June 1st, 2026.
The actual program with plant tours, sessions, sponsors, posters and speakers will be announced on the website.
Organizing Committee
Chairs
- Alfonso Maffezzoli – Chairman, SAMPE Italy
- Conchúr Ó Brádaigh – President, SAMPE Europe
- Luigi Torre – Vice Chairman, SAMPE Italy
- Tamara Blanco Varela – Vice President, SAMPE Europe
Committee Members
- Antonio Greco, University of Salento
- Francesca Lionetto, University of Salento
- Rudolf de Ruijter – Conference Manager, SAMPE Europe
- Riana Jongema – Conference Assistant, SAMPE Europe
Scientific Committee
- Alfonso Maffezzoli, University of Salento,
- Luigi Torre, University of Perugia,
- Antonio Greco, University of Salento
- Francesca Lionetto, University of Salento
- Stefano Corvaglia, Leonardo Aeronautics
- Marco Longana, Polytechnic of Milano
- Alessandra Passaro, CETMA
- Flavio Caretto, ENEA
Local Committee
- Andrea Dei Sommi, University of Salento
- Simone Morciano, University of Salento
Scientific Support Team – SE Conference Lecce 26
Chairs of SAMPE Europe Conferences (2014 – 2025)
- Arnt Offringa – GKN Fokker, Netherlands (Paris 2014)
- Jyrki Vuorinen – Tampere University, Finland (Amiens 2015)
- Conchúr Ó Brádaigh – University of Sheffield, UK (Southampton 2018)
- Guy Larnac – Ariane Group, France (Nantes 2019)
- Véronique Michaud – EPFL, Switzerland (Baden/Zürich 2021)
- Henrik Schmutzler – Lufthansa Technik, Germany (Stuttgart 2017 / Hamburg 2022)
- Rafael Avila Dominguez – Airbus Commercial, Spain (Madrid 2023)
- John Summerscales – University of Plymouth, UK (Belfast 2024)
- Aart van Vuure – KU Leuven, Belgium (Liège 2016 / Amsterdam 2020 & 2025)
Jury – 41st SE Students Seminar 26
Chairman
- Christian Weimer, SAMPE Germany
Vice Chairman
- Charlotte Salaun, SAMPE France
Members
- Prof. Josè M. Kenny, SAMPE Italy
- Carwyn Ward, SAMPE UK & Ireland
- Matthias Geistbeck, SAMPE Germany
- Markus Zogg, SAMPE Switzerland
- Adrie Kwakernaak, SAMPE Benelux
- Jim Johnson, SAMPE USA
- Norm Wereley, SAMPE Global
Programme
Pre-Conference
Tuesday 29 September (13.00 – 18.00)
- Plant visits
Main Conference
Wednesday 30 September
- 9.00 Plenary Opening Session & key-note speakers
- First Keynote speaker: “Leonardo Aerostructures’ strategy for a sustainable aviation” by Stefano Corvaglia and Fabrizio Leone, Leonardo Aerospace, Italy.
- Second Keynote speaker: by Magroup Salver
- 9.45 Presentation Winners 41th Students Seminar
- 10.00 Coffee break – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 10.30 Parallel Sessions
- 12.30 Lunch – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 14.00 Parallel Sessions
- 15.30 Coffee break – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 16.00 Parallel Sessions
- 18.30 Cocktail & Network Dinner in the Olivetani convent
Thursday 1 October
- 9.00 Parallel Sessions
- 10.30 Coffee break – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 11.00 Parallel Sessions
- 12.30 Lunch – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 14.00 Parallel Sessions
- 15.30 Coffee break – Poster Presentations & Exhibition
- 16.00 Plenary Slot Session & key-note speakers
- 17.00 Closure
Post Conference
Friday 2 October (08.00 – 13.00)
- Plant Visits
Plant Visits
Transport by Touringcar. Departure and return –Grand Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi – Plant Location v.v. Estimated times depending traffic jams.
FOR ALL PLANT VISITS: Bus location at Departure > opposite Grand Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi
Warning for all locations: don’t forget to take your passport when attending the excursion. Without a passport, no access!
1. VESTAS Blades Italia – Taranto (Friday 2 October | 7.00 – 13.00)
Vestas Blades is a division of Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a global leader in the manufacturing, sales, installation, and maintenance of wind turbines. Specializing in the production of high-performance wind blades, Vestas Blades plays a key role in the global energy transition, focusing on innovation, sustainability, and reliability.
2. Leonardo Aerostructures – Grottaglie/Taranto (Tuesday 29 September | 13.30 – 18.30 Hrs.)
Leonardo is an international industrial group that delivers multi-domain technological capabilities for global security. A key player in the leading strategic Aerospace, Defence and Security programmes, it employes over 62,000 people worldwide. The company has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the UK, Poland and the US, and it also operates in 150 countries through subsidiaries, joint ventures and investments. Leonardo is a technological and industrial partner of governments, defence administrations, institutions and companies.
The Monteiasi-Grottaglie (Taranto) site is one of Leonardo’s Aeronautic facilities. Established in 2006, it employs approximately1,500 people. The innovative production process – which is largely automated – utilises exclusive patented processes and equipment that is unique in the world. For the first time, the fuselage structure of a commercial aircraft is manufactured from carbon fibre using One Piece Barrel technology. Specifically, the plant manufactures the rear centre section (in the various versions for the 787-8 and 787-9/-10, ranging from 10 to over 13 metres in length) and the centre section (in the two configurations for the 787-8 and 787-9, measuring 8.5 metres). The two central sections of the Boeing 787 are manufactured to extremely high quality standards using around 25 automated systems, distributed across the two clean rooms for manufacturing and assembly. The automated lamination machines in Grottaglie are among the highest-performing in the world in this sector, and the two autoclaves are the largest in Europe.
3. Leonardo Helicopters – Brindisi (Tuesday 29 September | 13.30 – 18.30 Hrs.)
The Leonardo plant in Brindisi is one of the Company’s Helicopters facilities. It has been in operation since 1934, employs approximately 570 people and manufactures helicopter airframes, including fuselages — comprising the cabin and tail boom — stabilizers, and the other structural components made of both composite and metal materials, such as the winch, used in helicopter rescue operations.
The site also develops and manufactures the airframes for all prototypes within the Leonardo Helicopters portfolio, covering the entire lifecycle from development to the introduction of new products and their configurations. Among the most recent programs, the industrialization of the fuselage for the new AW09 single-engine helicopter has been underway since 2024.
In 2025 the plant inaugurated Leonardo Helicopter’s first Maintenance Center in Southern Italy, aimed at supporting the maintenance needs of approximately 150 aircraft in the Italian government fleet.
4. Avio Aero – Brindisi – (Friday 2 October | 8.00 – 13.00 Hrs.)
Avio Aero is part of GE Aerospace and operates in the design, manufacture and maintenance of propulsion components and systems for civil and military aviation. Today, the company provides its customers with innovative technological solutions for a fast answer to the constant changes required by the market, such as: additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, as well as technologies dedicated to the production of gearboxes, turbines and combustion chambers. The company’s headquarters are in Rivalta di Torino, where its largest production facility is also located, with other major plants in Brindisi and Pomigliano d’Arco (Naples), employing a total of around 4,900 people in Italy.
Abroad, it has a plant and a test centre in Poland and a production facility and engine test cells in the Czech Republic, employing a total of around 1,100 people. Through continuous investment in research and development and thanks to a well-established network of relationships with leading international universities and research centres, Avio Aero has developed technological and manufacturing excellence recognised globally: a milestone evidenced by the partnerships signed with the world’s leading players in the aeronautical sector.
The Brindisi plant is one of the company’s three main production sites and serves as a global centre of excellence for engine maintenance, repair, overhaul, assembly and testing services for military customers (the main products are the EJ200, the CT7/T700 and the LM2500). It is also a key centre for the production, maintenance and overhaul of components for the main commercial engines: the LEAP, the GEnx and the GE9X. Furthermore, this facility houses an area dedicated entirely to additive manufacturing, where some components of the Catalyst, the first turboprop engine developed entirely from scratch and manufactured in Europe in the last 50 years, are produced.
It is also a key centre for the production, maintenance and overhaul of components for the main commercial engines: the LEAP, the GEnx and the GE9X.
Furthermore, this facility houses an area dedicated entirely to additive manufacturing, where some components of the Catalyst, the first turboprop engine developed entirely from scratch and manufactured in Europe in the last 50 years, are produced.
5. Magroup Salver – Brindisi – (Friday 2 October | 8.00 – 13.00 Hrs.)
MAGROUP is an established Tier-1 aerospace leader with over 80 years of industry heritage, specializing in the engineering, manufacturing, and full lifecycle management of critical flight systems, hydraulic actuation, and complete landing gear assemblies worldwide.
Acquired in 1999, Salver (established 1970) operates as MAGROUP’s specialized unit for the design, fabrication, and structural assembly of high-precision mechanical components, hydraulic systems, and advanced composite primary aerostructures for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
Headquartered in Brindisi across three specialized sites totaling 20,000 square meters, the company’s capabilities include advanced manual carbon-fiber lamination, autoclave curing, physical-chemical testing, laser-tracked metrology, Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI), and an integrated Final Assembly Line (FAL).
As a strategic partner to global OEMs such as Airbus, Leonardo, and Collins Aerospace, Salver utilizes patented technologies to manufacture highly-stressed wing components—specifically flaps and spoilers featuring pre-preg carbon fibers and honeycomb sandwich structures—primarily for the Airbus A220 program.
Beyond commercial production, the facility acts as a key technology partner for next-generation aerospace demonstrators, developing aerodynamic surfaces and primary structural components for advanced platforms including the Airbus Helicopters RACER and the Leonardo Next-Generation Civil Tiltrotor (NGCTR).
6. CETMA & ENEA Research Centers – Brindisi – (Tuesday 29 September | 14.00 – 18.00 Hrs.)
CETMA is a Research and Technology organization . This means that its activities are aimed both at generating new knowledge (Research) and at finding concrete applications of that new knowledge (Technology) for companies and institutions. It was founded in 1994 following a specific agreement between ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) and MURST (Ministry of University, Scientific and Technological Research) with the aim of promoting business innovation, with particular reference to Southern Italy.
CETMA has developed expertise in materials engineering, computer engineering, and industrial design . By leveraging these skills in an integrated manner, it is a multidisciplinary entity for the innovation of products, processes, and services, capable of promoting and supporting the growth and development of the national production system and effectively addressing technological development activities. Research and innovation services are provided to all types of companies and institutions.
ENEA – National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, a public body aimed at research and technological innovation in the sectors of energy, the environment and sustainable economic development.
ENEA has advanced laboratories, experimental facilities and excellent instruments. Its focus sectors are energy technologies (renewable sources, energy storage, smart grids), for which the Agency is also the coordinator of the Energy National Technology Cluster, nuclear fusion and nuclear safety (the Agency is the reference national research coordinator), energy efficiency (with the National Agency for Energy Efficiency), technologies for cultural heritage, seismic protection, food safety, pollution, life sciences, strategic raw materials, climate change.
Tickets
Regular tickets
- Professional Members – € 875,00
- Professional Non-members – € 975,00 *Free Trial Membership Incl.
- Master / PhD Student Members – € 525,00
- Master / PhD Students Non-members – € 550,00 *Free Trial Membership Incl.
Authors
- Professional Authors and Co-Authors Member – € 775,00
- Professional Authors and Co-Authors Non-members – € 875,00 *Free Trial Membership Included
- Master / PhD Student – Authors and Co-Authors – Members € 475,00
- Master / PhD Students – Authors and Co-Authors – Non-members – € 525,00 *Free Trial Membership Incl.
Options marked with ‘*FREE Trial Membership’ include one year free SAMPE Membership starting 1st of October 2026.
The ticket sale for SE Conference in Lecce – Italy – starts on June 1st, 2026.
When booking there will be a choice to add:
- Plant Visits yes/no which one
- Network dinner yes for free / no at discount 75 Euro (like Adam25 and Belfast 24)
>>> From 1/6/26 – 30/6/26 > Early Bird Discount for Regular Tickets ONLY
Professionals 100,- Euro / Students 50,- Euro
Platinum Partner
Silver Partners
Excursion Partner
Annual Partners
Table Tops
Network Partners
Location
How to get there
- By car: Motorway A14 direction Sud/Bari, then direction Lecce; Tiziano appears on the right at the city entrance (car’s GPS address “Piazza del Bastione”).
- By plane: Brindisi Papola Casale International Airport, then Shuttle Bus to Lecce with stop at the Air Terminal (50 meters from Tiziano) or AIR Shuttle
-
By AIR Shuttle: private taxi between Brindisi Airport – Lecce (book here)
- By train: Lecce FS Railway Station, then 10 minutes by taxi to Tiziano
Hotels
Follow a manual added link
Mercure Hotel President Lecce
Via Antonio Salandra, 6
73100 Lecce LE, Italy
#SAMPELecce26
