More than 75 interested parties found their way to the DCMC innovation centre at Aviolanda Aerospace on Thursday 28 September 2023. On the agenda is a review of the EFRO OPZuid project that started in 2017 and which now comes to an end. To demonstrate the results of the project, the project partners presented the outcome of the various Work Packages through presentations and demonstrations to the audience. New innovations on composite inspection and repair were shown. In addition to looking back, there was also room for a preview of the future of DCMC. Martin Knegt, director of DCMC, welcomed the visitors. "Today is a special day and all parties that made DCMC possible are here to witness the results of the project." Partners of the project are the European Union, Ministry of Defence, Province of Noord-Brabant, Fokker Services Group, Royal NLR, TU Delft, SPECTO Aerospace, Rewin, BOM, Dutch Terahertz Inpsection Services, Damen Naval and Tiat Europe. "We started the OPZuid project in 2017 with ten partners and seven work packages. With the main goal: innovation in composite maintenance. This has brought us to where we are today: DCMC is a consortium for developing knowledge and expertise in the field of inspection, production, repair and maintenance of composites. Located in a beautiful physical innovation center at Aviolanda Aerospace nearby the Woensdrecht Airforce Base." After the introduction, Mr. Ivo van der Vlis, Managing Director of Aviolanda Aerospace, briefly introduced himself to the audience and emphasized the importance of innovations in MRO as well as his views on the position of Aviolanda to be a center where innovation takes place. RESULTS OF THE OPZUID PROJECTOf course, there is great interest in the question whether project OPZuid has achieved its intended goal. The event has been organized specifically to demonstrate the achievements of the project. Six work packages for inspection and repair have now been realized. To achieve this, NLR and TU Delft have grasped various innovations, of which demonstrations were given during the event. The seventh work package focused on the development of DCMC as a center of knowledge and expertise, in which both regional business development centers REWIN and BOM played an important networking role. In collaboration with ACRATS Training Services, a physical innovation center has been realized. In addition, there is a focus for network development and international collaborations. Of course, we aim to attract more partners in the future."…