French automotive supplier Plastic Omnium (Levallois; www.plasticomnium.com) has started production of its first all-thermoplastic rear-opening module for the new model of the "Peugeot 308" five-door family hatch back. Designed in the “S-Sigmatech” research and development centre in Lyon / France and produced in two plants in France – Langres (Haute-Marne) and Fontaine (Territoire de Belfort) – the tailgate weighs 12 kg, 3 kg less than the same product made of steel.

The load-bearing structure of PP-LGF is produced at the Fontaine plant near Basel, and the outer skin of unreinforced PP in Longres, 100 km to the west, explained a company spokesman talking to Plasteurope.com. Both parts are then also bonded, assembled and coated in Longres.

The all-thermoplastic tailgate is an extension to the company’s range of rear-opening modules, which includes thermoset composite tailgates and hybrid tailgates made with thermosetting resins and thermoplastics. Plastic Omnium said that it expects to produce over one million tailgates worldwide in 2013 and plans to double the revenue generated by these products over the next five years.