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Brussels – September 16th, 2016 ---Solvay, a global leader in lightweighting solutions for automotive, is proud to have received the prestigious 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Process Innovation Award for the Most Innovative Composite Part. The award is for the BMW M4 GTS Hood manufactured from Solvay’s materials and processes, in collaboration with C-Con and Läpple.
This hood was pressed using Solvay’s new rapid cure thermoset resin system MTRTM 760 which offered 40% weight reduction over traditional materials. This significant weight reduction combined with successful head impact crash tests and functional tests, Class-A finish and the ability to use existing metal stamping assets for composite production made MTRTM 760 the ideal material for the application.
The material properties enabled a manufacturing process that can produce complex 3D shapes in a cost efficient way.
C-Con (development, tooling and system leading supplier) and Läpple (pressing and bonding) worked closely with Solvay and reached automated serial production only 9 months after the start of the project, which is a testament to the great collaboration between the project partners.
“We are honored to receive this innovation awards from SPE for an application we are very proud of” said Gerald Perrin, Solvay Composite Materials Global Automotive Director. “At Solvay we are committed to working with the OEMs and their composites part manufacturers to develop materials and processes to enable the volume manufacture of composite structures for serial automotive”.
Solvay Composite Materials- Solvay’s new Global Business Unit Composite Materials is a global provider of technologically advanced lightweighting material solutions that enable our customers in the aerospace, automotive and other demanding industries to design, develop and efficiently manufacture high-quality, high-performance and complex composite structures. Composite Materials has the most extensive product portfolio, including prepregs, resin systems, adhesives and surfacing films, carbon fiber, textiles, tooling and vacuum bagging consumables, thanks to its leadership in advanced materials science, chemistry and application engineering. Solvay Composite Materials combines the former Cytec Aerospace Materials and Industrial Materials businesses
An international chemical and advanced materials company, Solvay assists its customers in innovating, developing and delivering high-value, sustainable products and solutions which consume less energy and reduce CO2 emissions, optimize the use of resources and improve the quality of life. Solvay serves diversified global end markets, including automotive and aerospace, consumer goods and healthcare, energy and environment, electricity and electronics, building and construction as well as industrial applications. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 30,900 employees spread across 53 countries. It generated pro forma net sales of € 12.4 bn in 2015, with 90% made from activities where it ranks among the world’s top 3 players. Solvay SA (SOLB.BE) is listed on Euronext in Brussels and Paris (Bloomberg: SOLB:BB - Reuters: SOLB.BR).
