Abstract
The use of plastic system solutions has taken on an increasingly significant
role in the automotive industry in the last few years. Used increasingly in
the body & exterior, interior & trim, glazing and even under the hood,
plastics offer forming and processing advantages, weight saving opportunities,
economies as well as many other benefits.
Background to this study
This report provides you with an overview of the technical development
highlights and trends, the ever-evolving characteristics of the various types
of plastics, their applications and their increasing prevalence over other
materials in car manufacture. It benefits from a thorough and extensive
original research exercise, which included the author interviewing and
documenting the opinions of a number of senior executives in the sector. Also
covered are company profiles of the leading suppliers of plastics to the
automotive industry such as BASF AG, Bayer Material Science AG, Borealis AG,
B&W Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH, Akro-Plastic GmbH, Germann Kunststofftechnik GmbH
and others.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1. History
- 1.1. Weight and Price Development of Steel, Aluminium and Plastic, taking
the Volkswagen Golf as an example
- 1.2. The Plastics Pyramid - the Ascendancy of Standard Plastics
- 1.3. Significance of the Automobile Sector as Plastics Consumer in
Relationship to the Market as a Whole
2. Standards
- 2.1. Principal Plastics Materials and their Applications
- 2.2. Predatory Competition and the Consequences
- 2.3. Innovation - But How?
3. Trends
- 3.1. PA -> PET
- 3.2. Long Glass Fibre Materials: Chiefly PP and PA
- 3.3. Polyamides - the Response
- 3.4. Ray Cross-Linked Polyamides
- 3.5. Substitution of Metal by Plastics
- 3.6. PC Glazing
- 3.7. Recent Developments of Plastics and Product Characteristics
- 3.8. PP - New Developments
- 3.9. Injection-Moulded Materials for Online Painting
- 3.10. New Blends for Vehicle Interiors: Competition for PC/ABS?
- 3.11. Fillers: Magnetite
- 3.12. Influence of a Modern Development Service Provider on the Use of
Plastics in the Automobile
- 3.13. Inspections for Their Own Sake - Is Every Inspection Really
Necessary?
Conclusion and Future Prospects
Glossary
Company Profiles
- AKRO - PLASTIC
- BASF
- Bayer MaterialScience
- Borealis
- Dow Chemical
- DuPont
- INEOS
- Lanxess
- SABIC Innovative Plastics
- TechnoCompound
Interviews and Opinions
- Leander Bergmann Marketing Manager, AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH
- Dr. Frank Eisentrager Application Product Development, INEOS ABS (Spain), S.L.
- Uwe Ruster Organic Materials Polymers, Adam Opel GmbH
- Volkhard Krause Vice President Automotive Glazing, Bayer MaterialScience AG
- Bernhard Scheuermann Managing Director, German Kunststofftechnik GmbH
- Joerg Schnorr Applications Engineering Automotive Interior/Exterior, BASF AG
- Dieter Voss Managing Director, TechnoCompound GmbH
- Dr. Eckhard Wenz Head of Bus. Dev. and Bus. Support, Bayer MaterialScience AG
- Jurgen Wiemann Marketing Manager, B&W Fahrzeugentwicklung GmbH
- Dr. Anton Wolf Head of Predevelopment, WOCO Company Group
- Franz Zangerl Manager of Marketing & Development, Borealis AG
- Ralf Zimnol Head of Application Development SCP, LANXESS Deutschland GmbH
TABLES
- Table 1: Weight and Price Development of Steel, Aluminium and Plastic,
taking the Volkswagen Golf as an example
- Table 2: Glossary
FIGURES
- Figure 1: Projection of breakdown of plastics use in the nineties
- Figure 2: Actual Breakdown of Plastics Use
- Figure 3: Worldwide consumption of Plastics Materials, 2007
- Figure 4: Plastics consumption, by sector in Western Europe and Central
Europe
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