Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
June 14, 1999 02:00 AM

PLASTIC OMNIUM PLANS COMPOSITE BUMPER

Joseph Pryweller PLASTICS NEWS STAFF
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    Cie. Plastic Omnium SA plans to produce one of the automotive industry's first energy-absorbing bumper beams made entirely of composites.

    The beam's design will allow the company to eliminate foam, a material often used as an impact-resistant buffer between a bumper's inner beam and outer fascia.

    At the same time, the new beams will help Plastic Omnium convert some existing bumper substrates from metal to plastics. Today, more than 90 percent of bumper beams worldwide are made from steel or aluminum, according to industry estimates.

    The new beams are strong enough to rival metal products and still avoid the use of foam, helping to cut production costs and weight, said Pascal Bardet, engineering director at Plastic Omnium's North American headquarters in Rochester Hills, Mich.

    The company plans to introduce the beams on an unspecified North American car model in production next year, Bardet said. Plastic Omnium, based in Levallois, France, has similar plans for a European vehicle due out by 2001.

    ``Our target is not really to produce a plastic system, but to develop a complete portfolio of technologies,'' Bardet said. ``Our customers can choose which ones make the most sense for their vehicles. The more we have to offer them, the more flexible we are.''

    The composite bumper beam project took four years and involved two French-based material suppliers: resin maker Appryl, an affiliate of Elf Atochem SA of Puteaux; and Vetrotex France SA, a producer of glass fibers based in Chambery.

    The hybrid material, called Twintex, blends polypropylene with continuous-woven glass fibers reinforced with long or chopped fibers. The material is stronger than Shelby, N.C.-based Azdel Inc.'s chopped-fiber polypropylene, a competing bumper-beam composite resin, Bardet said.

    Besides being as much as 20 percent lighter than metal beams, the Twintex material also allows Plastic Omnium to integrate other bumper-beam parts with the finished product. The supplier molds spoiler supports and flanges and ribs into the injection molded beam, instead of making each piece separately.

    The beams recently won the Composites Solution Award in the transportation category at the European Composites Show, held in Paris in April.

    The material also can be used for other structural parts, such as dashboards and body exterior parts, Bardet said.

    In Europe, Plastic Omnium already is using similar materials to make composite beams, which are used on the new Xantia car, sold only in Europe by PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA. The beams, mixing PP with long-glass fibers, are made by the compression extrusion process at a Plastic Omnium plant in Guichen, France.

    The supplier still must decide which North American plant will make the new bumper parts, Bardet said. The decision will be based on upcoming customer programs.

    Currently, the company molds bumper fascias at plants in Anderson, S.C., and Puebla, Mexico.

    The company plans to open two new plants in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, by the end of the year, Bardet said. One plant will make exterior systems, including bumpers, while the other will concentrate on coextruded plastic fuel tanks.

    A third Ramos Arizpe plant will make car tailgate parts from sheet molding compound in a joint venture with Inoplast SA of St. Desirat, France. The Inoplast Omnium plant is scheduled to open by the middle of 2000.

    The three plants initially will serve General Motors Corp., which has a nearby assembly facility. The Puebla plant makes bumper fascias for Volkswagen AG.

    Plastic Omnium recorded $1.49 billion in 1998 sales. In May, the company agreed to sell its worldwide interiors business to Dearborn, Mich.-based Visteon Automotive Systems for $492 million.

    After the sale was announced, Plastic Omnium officials said they wanted to focus future operations on growing core exterior and fuel-tank business. The new bumper beams spur growth in that direction with new technology, Bardet said.

    The company also is developing blow molded bumpers, along with competitors such as Visteon and Carlisle Engineered Products Inc.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    New owners plan growth across US for medical molder Seaway
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Rhode Island kills chemical recycling bill, ACC cites 'misinformation'
    2
    Invista upgrading nylon 6/6 production in South Carolina
    3
    Canada moves to ban single-use plastics, limit chasing arrows symbol
    4
    Rotomolder Centro invests $6M in new Iowa facility
    5
    Peek behind the data shows how top injection molders grew in 2021
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified