Strict car laws benefit hi-tech plastics
FOR THE automotive industry to help maintain a sustainable environment, vehicle manufacturers will have to change the way they make cars by replacing heavy steel with hi-tech plastic components in order to make cars lighter, safer and more fuel efficient.
This is according to leading speciality chemical company Lanxess, which has four plants in South Africa and a chrome mine in North West.
The group supplies leather tanning chemicals to the furniture, clothing and shoe industries and it provides synthetic rubber chemicals to tyre manufacturers in Durban and the surrounding areas.
As more governments, especially in North America and the EU, push for new regulations that will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by vehicles, the making of cars is also expected to change.
Responding to the demands of sustainable living and green economies, the Germanbased chemical company has introduced green mobility chemical products to automotive industry customers, including plastic brake pedals, roof frames and valve and engine covers.
During its Mobility Day in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Lanxess showcased its AA-rated concept tyre, which uses the latest generation of neodymium-based performance rubber technology, as well as other high performance ingredients for both rolling resistance and wet grip.
According to Lanxess this concept green tyre will conform with current EU and US tyre-labelling regulations.
The EU mandatory tyre labelling will be launched in November. Meanwhile, the US tyre labelling regulations are expected to come into effect by 2014. Under these regulations, tyres will be rated from A to G according to their fuel efficiency and wet grip properties.
Although the new tyres are expected to be more expensive than regular tyres, Lanxess said car owners would achieve fuel cost savings as the tyres would reduce fuel consumption by 5 percent to 7 percent.
In the first half of 2012, Lanxess’s sales of green mobility products increased by about 20 percent year on year to 878 million (R9 billion). The products, which are manufactured at 25 of the 49 Lanxess production sites, accounted for about 17 percent of the company’s total sales, or
1.5bn, last year. Lanxess aims to increase this number to 2.7bn by 2015.
The hi-tech plastic materials, such as the polymides sold under the Durethan brand, were used to make plastic chairs for the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.
According to Lanxess, lightweight plastic parts now make up 20 percent of car components, a percentage which will continue to grow in the future.
The group’s chief executive, Axel Heitmann, said that Lanxess’s goal was to assist the automotive industry to embrace greener components as this was the future.
He said governments all over the world were introducing stricter rules when it came to vehicle weight, which he believed was one of the major contributors to high fuel consumption in cars.
Heitmann said rules such as the new corporate average fuel economy, or Cafe, implemented by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require the automotive industry to produce cars and trucks that consumed less fuel, presenting Lanxess with opportunities.
“This also means that vehicles would have to shed some weight without compromising safety and durability.”
He said the hi-tech plastic materials also enabled automotive manufacturers and suppliers to achieve simpler assembly processes and considerable savings.
Lanxess also opened its first plant for hi-tech plastics in Gastonia in North Carolina. The plant will produce Durethan and Pocan brands to help meet the needs of the majority of car manufacturers.
According to Lanxess’s data, 8.7 million cars and 175 million tyres were produced in the US in 2011, which made the country the second-largest car producer in the world, having been surpassed by China.
Last year 18.5 million cars and 420 million tyres were produced in China.
Nompumelelo Magwaza is visiting the US on a trip sponsored by Lanxess.