EXATEC
Joint venture in PC automotive aims to hit the market by 2003 / Weight saving of 40%
The new 50:50 joint venture for polycarbonate automotive glazing between Bayer (HQ: D-51368 Leverkusen) and General Electric Plastics (GEP, European HQ: PO Box 117, NL-AC Bergen op Zoom) hopes to have its first product ready for market by 2003. At a press briefing held by the European development company, Exatec GmbH & Co KG (Friedrich-Ebert-Str., D-51429 Bergisch-Gladbach), the two world market leaders pointed to PC windows as an important step towards building cars with fuel consumption of only three litres per 100 kilometres. Along with a weight saving of around 40%, PC windows also could help prevent theft and improve passenger safety, the company said. Results of safety tests in the US have been "encouraging."
Despite its success in headlamps, PC has been unable to penetrate the automotive glazing market. However, the joint effort will cut development time and "minimise entrepreneurial risks," said Doug Nutter, a former GEP executive, who heads Exatec LLC (31220 Oak Creek Dr., Wixom, MI 48393 / USA), the jv's US arm based close to the automobile industry in Detroit.
Exatec plans to spend around USD 40m on the PC window project, conceived to proceed in three stages. First product is likely to be a small fixed side window. The use of PC in larger windows with integrated functions such as mounting mechanisms, believed to offer considerable cost advantages over glass, will follow. A third phase will focus on integrated modules such as door and roof elements, as well as side panels and coating technology aimed at making PC more weatherproof and abrasion resistant. Front windscreens at present are regarded as too tough a challenge.
Technical development will take place for the most part in a pilot plant at Wixom, slated to start up late this year or early next year; pilot capacity is projected to rise to 1.5m windows. Demand is estimated "conservatively" at around 200,000 t/y by 2008, said Fritz Stein, vice president for technology in Bergisch-Gladbach.
According to Exatec, the moulding process still needs "significant" work. While glazing for the test vehicles was made from extruded sheets by thermoforming, this "comparatively complex" process is regarded as unsuitable for largevolume production lines. Converters will be included in the process when the windows are ready for series production, but Exatec will work in advance with machinery manufacturers to perfect the moulding technology. The question of recycling also has been solved, the company said.
READER SERVICE: Press conference texts (English):PIE-No. 42504.
Despite its success in headlamps, PC has been unable to penetrate the automotive glazing market. However, the joint effort will cut development time and "minimise entrepreneurial risks," said Doug Nutter, a former GEP executive, who heads Exatec LLC (31220 Oak Creek Dr., Wixom, MI 48393 / USA), the jv's US arm based close to the automobile industry in Detroit.
Exatec plans to spend around USD 40m on the PC window project, conceived to proceed in three stages. First product is likely to be a small fixed side window. The use of PC in larger windows with integrated functions such as mounting mechanisms, believed to offer considerable cost advantages over glass, will follow. A third phase will focus on integrated modules such as door and roof elements, as well as side panels and coating technology aimed at making PC more weatherproof and abrasion resistant. Front windscreens at present are regarded as too tough a challenge.
Technical development will take place for the most part in a pilot plant at Wixom, slated to start up late this year or early next year; pilot capacity is projected to rise to 1.5m windows. Demand is estimated "conservatively" at around 200,000 t/y by 2008, said Fritz Stein, vice president for technology in Bergisch-Gladbach.
According to Exatec, the moulding process still needs "significant" work. While glazing for the test vehicles was made from extruded sheets by thermoforming, this "comparatively complex" process is regarded as unsuitable for largevolume production lines. Converters will be included in the process when the windows are ready for series production, but Exatec will work in advance with machinery manufacturers to perfect the moulding technology. The question of recycling also has been solved, the company said.
READER SERVICE: Press conference texts (English):PIE-No. 42504.
15.04.1998 Plasteurope.com [18742]
Published on 15.04.1998