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Cevotec and KCompositeLab (KCLab) have entered a commercial partnership to bring Robotic Lamination to composite manufacturers in South Korea. KCLab acts as Cevotec’s sales partner in the Korean market and supports customers technically – from the first feasibility assessment through process development to production ramp-up, leveraging their own experienced composite engineering capabilities.

South Korea is one of the fastest-growing markets for advanced composites. The partnership primarily targets two industries: manufacturers of aerospace and defense structures, and producers of composite pressure vessels for hydrogen storage. Sovereign aerospace programs, a rapidly expanding defense export industry and government-backed localization initiatives create sustained demand, while hydrogen mobility drives volume in composite tank production. The type of process automation demand from these industries match well the equipment portfolio of Cevotec.

Extending the automation envelope for aerostructures in South Korea

Cevotec’s Robotic Lamination technology is based on the Fiber Patch Placement (FPP) process, which has been developed in the aerospace industry for close to 20 years. Cevotec has been industrializing the technology during the past 10 years for series production. Robotic Lamination equipment automates composite lay-up on complex 3D geometries. Robots place individual plies or patches of carbon fiber, glass fiber, prepreg or adhesive film onto molds of complex shape; each patch can be individually oriented. This enables process automation for mid-sized, complex aircraft parts that typically fall outside the process window of established technologies that for example build wings and fuselage of aircrafts. As Robotic Lamination is not used in South Korea so far, it represents an opportunity for the industry to extent the automation envelope for high-quality, high-rate composite manufacturing.

Technology for more efficient composite pressure vessels

For composite pressure vessels, the technology enables industrial production of dome reinforcements. These local reinforcements on pressure vessel domes enable additional storage volume by reducing overall weight and material needed. This rare combination of cost and performance benefits is an attractive lever for Korean manufacturers of type IV hydrogen tanks, which continue to serve a continuously growing South Korean H2 market.

From feasibility check to series production

Cevotec, as technology and automation solution provider, delivers SAMBA robotic lamination equipment, configured according to application requirements, programmed via digital twin in the ARTIST STUDIO CAD-CAM software.

KCLab provides its own laboratory, material expertise and a network across the Korean composites industry. Korean manufacturers can therefore evaluate parts locally: feasibility checks, ROI calculations, design studies and process trials, facilitated through KCLab, in collaboration with Cevotec’s engineering team in Munich.

Beyond direct sales, both partners plan joint pilot and demonstration projects with Korean manufacturers and research institutes, technical workshops, and a joint presence at Carbon Korea 2026 in Seoul from 4 to 6 November 2026.

“South Korea combines strong aerospace ambitions and a leading position in hydrogen-powered mobility, both backed by governmental localization initiatives. A great market where our equipment supports manufacturers to scale production rates without compromising quality. With KCLab, we found the perfect partner to bring Robotic Lamination to exactly those customers, supported by KCLab’s own composite engineering capabilities.”

Thorsten Gröne, CEO, Cevotec

“We are excited to partner with Cevotec to bring such an advanced fiber placement technologies like Robotic Lamination to the Korean market. This partnership gives Korean aerospace and industrial customers access to the necessary automation equipment for next-generation composite structures.”
Seungchan Lee, COO, KCompositeLab

About KCompositeLab

KCompositeLab (KCLab) is a Korean engineering and technology company specializing in advanced composite materials and manufacturing solutions. KCLab provides consulting, process development, equipment integration, digital manufacturing and technical support for aerospace, defense, automotive and industrial applications. Through partnerships with global technology providers, KCLab helps customers implement new composite manufacturing technologies and accelerate development from concept to production.