Plastics processor Plastivaloire (Langeais / France; www.groupe-plastivaloire.com) is collaborating with technology and manufacturing specialist Roctool (Le Bourget du Lac / France; www.roctool.com) to produce thermoplastic composite parts for the automotive and aeronautical industries. “Our aim is to turn to technologies that allow us to significantly reduce the cycle times in the production of composite parts while mastering the quality and the production costs,” says Dominique Manceau, director of Innovation at the Plastivaloire group.

For the past five years, Plastivaloire has been using Roctool technology to produce plastic injected, decorative interior parts for several major car manufacturers, such as the “high gloss” bezels that are found in the Peugeot 208 model. The company has more than a dozen Roctool systems in production, including "3iTech" technology, where the mould is heated by induction (see Plasteurope.com of 17.06.2010), and a recently acquired system that heats many zones in the mould. Plastivaloire also produces parts for the consumer goods and electronics markets.