Lanxess showcases lightweight solutions for auto at PlastIndia

PlastIndia 2015, the national exhibition for plastics, highly engineered performance plastics and other products has opened today in Gandhinagar, Gujarat and will go on till February 10.

Lanxess, the global specialty chemicals company, is presenting its range of modern and lightweight solutions with high-performance plastics for the automotive and two-wheeler industry along with select applications of high-performance plastics in the electronics and electrical industry.

Polyamides and polybutylene terephthalates, reinforced with a glass fibre content of up to 60 percent, are ideal for applications in lightweight construction, which can be attributed to their strength and stiffness. They form a lightweight and economical alternative to sheet moulding compounds (SMC) and other reinforced thermosets, as well as to metals like steel, aluminum and die cast zinc.

At PlastIndia 2015, Lanxess is exhibiting lightweight solutions for automobiles such as front end module structure, air intake hose, engine cover, brake pedal, spare wheel recess, oil module and other parts frequently used by automobile manufacturers.

The company is one of the largest suppliers of high performance materials in the field of engineering plastics (Durethan, Pocan)  both in India and globally. A breakthrough this year is the application of these materials in both injection moulded and blow moulded designs in different parts of two-wheelers, for example – blow moulded, single-layer polyamide fuel tank. This is the first-of-its-kind application, in which specifically developed Durethan BC550Z is being used to manufacture the fuel tank of two-wheelers matching the stringent norms laid down by Environmental Protection Agency, USA.

“India is emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing passenger car markets and second largest two- wheeler market in the world. This makes us optimistic about the prospects of our high performance plastics in India and a large platform like PlastIndia will only validate the potential. Various new applications are being continuously tested and tried by all large auto manufacturers and this year, the two- wheeler industry holds promise too. The compounding facility for Durethan and Pocan in Jhagadia in Gujarat is able to address the needs of not just the Indian market but also customers overseas,” said Milan Vijnevic, director – sales and marketing, Asia Pacific, Business Unit High Performance Materials, Lanxess.

 “Our product portfolio is very comprehensive and robust, including not only a wide range of injection molding engineering plastics, but also blow moldable polyamide materials and extrusion grades, namely, Durethan and Pocan, which offer immense design flexibility and weight reduction to automobiles. We have achieved another product innovation in the production of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites (Tepex). Lanxess subsidiary Bond-Laminates, which manufactures these composites, is now able to continuously series-produce large semi-finished composite products in which the continuous fibre layers can be oriented at almost any conceivable angle, thus allowing customization according to the application needs. These products, together with our excellent technical support can offer next-generation solutions to many of our customers’ design and performance challenges,” added Thomas Babl, Head of Technical Marketing and Engineering Services, Business Unit High Performance Materials, Asia Pacific, Lanxess.

Lanxess has a compounding facility at its site in Jhagadia, Gujarat with a capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes. This facility manufactures polyamide and polyester composites reinforced with glass fibres and other fillers, namely products from the Durethan and Pocan product range, which enable applications in the automobile, electrical and electronics industries. Interestingly, this facility also has capability to develop and manufacture colored compounds, which helps meet the newer customer requirements in automobile as well as electronics and electrical industries.

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