Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • 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
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • 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
  • 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
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • 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
December 06, 2013 01:00 AM

Continental Structural Plastics targets China for acquisitions

Rhoda Miel
Managing Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Continental Structural Plastics
    Chairman and CEO Frank Macher

    AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — Continental Structural Plastics is closing in on a deal that will take it to China as well as expand in the United States to make carbon fiber auto parts.

    Chairman and CEO Frank Macher said the auto supplier has two memorandums of understanding with potential acquisition targets in China now and is evaluating which facility it will purchase to become its manufacturing footprint in Asia.

    It expects to announce details during the first quarter of 2014, Macher said during a Dec. 6 briefing at CSP's new headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills.

    Earlier this year, CSP purchased the assets of a thermoset molding company in Pouance, France, which has since become CSP Europe, establishing not only a manufacturing base in Europe but also acquiring new expertise in carbon fiber molding.

    The Pouance plant has a strong history in multiple carbon fiber processing techniques, including resin transfer molding, sheet molded compound and traditional prepreg for both Class A surfaces and structural parts. The Pouance site also makes its own RTM equipment and will make machines for CSP to use globally, said Michael Siwajek, director of research and development.

    CSP has a long history in providing major composite parts for the auto industry. It already was a supplier of thermoplastic composites when it purchased the Budd Plastics division of Germany's Thyssen Krupp Automotive AG in 2006. Budd had its own in-house SMC compounding line in Van Wert, Ohio — where it co-developed an SMC blend that would lead to fewer paint blemishes. Budd also made the first high-volume commercial composite truck beds for Ford Motor Co.'s Sport Trac.

    Last month, the company announced it would invest $18.3 million in a new paint facility at another former Budd plant, in Carey, Ohio.

    Macher, an industry veteran who was vice president of Ford's Automotive Components Group and a CEO of auto suppliers Collins & Aikman, Federal Mogul Corp. and ITT Automotive, joined CSP in 2010.

    The Van Wert compounding operation will be at the center of CSP's plans to launch commercial production of carbon fiber, Siwajek said. The company will expand the site there once it is ready to begin full-scale manufacturing.

    Timing for when that expansion happens depends on CSP's customers, Macher said.

    CSP is a development partner with Ford, Dow Chemical Co. and Dow's carbon fiber joint venture, DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings. The team is working on bringing a faster and less expensive carbon fiber composite option to the market.

    The new technical center has a pilot carbon fiber SMC line as part of that project.

    CSP has developed a prototype hood for a Lincoln MKS sedan that would replace standard mid-density SMC with a combination of lightweight SMC and a structural carbon fiber composite using a 1-inch chopped carbon fiber.

    In addition to seeking fast and reliable molding systems, the company has had to put a lot of work into finding the way to align the carbon fibers within a higher volume production system.

    “Carbon fiber doesn't like polymers. It likes itself,” Macher said. “It's one of those narcissistic materials.”

    The technical center also has developed tools for predictive engineering, three presses to produce test parts and is studying the potential to recycle SMC and other key projects needed to take composites to the next level in an auto industry looking for lightweight solutions.

    “We have to go beyond body panels,” Siwajek said. “It has to be put into true structural applications.”

    CSP has delivered 40 different parts to Ford for validation as part of the development process and is now waiting for word from customers to determine how soon it can look at commercial launch of its carbon fiber programs. With the expertise from both North America and Europe, it will also be able to make those parts in a variety of methods — from SMC to RTP to prepreg — and with the expected expansion to China next year, produce them globally.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Numbers That Matter Live — sign up for the next live
    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
    Plastics treaty talks bring industry leaders to Paris
    2
    Resin Prices
    3
    Recycling plant for laminated packaging launches in Mexico
    4
    Target, Walmart cut from bag drop-off site directory following report
    5
    Plastics industry social media accounts worth following
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    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
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. 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
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • 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
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • 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
    • 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
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • 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