Automotive

According to the quarterly SupplierBusiness Confidence Index released on Aug. 23, suppliers to the automotive industry continue to be concerned about the long-term strength of the recovery and its stability, in spite of industry growth. Overall though, positive trends remain in place among suppliers, with all four elements of the index—New Orders, Production Volumes, Inventory levels and Employment—scoring over 50, suggesting they are in an upward trend.

A new application need not necessitate exchanging grippers for handling of different sprues when using a system from Fipa (Cary, NC) that requires only that the gripper jaws be swapped. The model GR04.103 and GR04.130C sprue grippers can be reconfigured quickly meaning a substantial amount of time can be saved during changeover.

Frimo Inc. is opening a new $5 million technology center within its North American headquarters in Wixom, MI, with that site joining four such facilities in Europe. Fully operational in September, the tech center will feature tooling and production facilities for a range of polyurethane-based processes used for automotive interior products like instrument panels, door trim, consoles, headliners, seats, headrests and more.

What do airbag covers, engine-valve covers, and a one-piece sun roof frame have in common? All have recently applied Trexel's MuCell microcellular foaming process to improve aesthetics and strength, utilize less material, and allow injection molding on smaller machines.

DuPont and ChemChina will form a 50/50 joint venture to produce and market fluoroelastomer gums and pre-compounds in China. Specifically, DuPont will work with the Chenguang Chemical Research Institute, which is a subsidiary of ChemChina (China National Chemical Corp.). The venture will include a precompounding plant to be constructed in Shanghai that's expected to be operational in the second half of 2011, pending government approval.

Tier One automotive supplier SRG Global Inc.'s Ripley, TN molding, coating, and assembly facility has been recognized by Ford Motor Co. with its Q1 quality award. The Warren, MI headquartered automotive supplier was created in May 2008 when Guardian Automotive Inc., a subsidiary of Guardian Industries Corp., acquired Siegel-Robert Automotive from Siegel-Robert Inc.

Plastics processing equipment supplier KraussMaffei hosted approximately 130 customers at its Shanghai location for its first Tech Day event at the site. Taking place April 28-29 at Krauss-Maffei Plastics Machinery Co. Ltd in the Pudong area of Shanghai, the event focused on new plastics processing developments, with a particular emphasis on the automotive and construction industries.

Automotive Tier One supplier Hutchinson has selected Stanyl Diablo OCD2100 polyamide from DSM Engineering Plastics (Sittard, Netherlands) for the turbo charger air duct resonator on the Alfa Giulietta 1.6 L Multijet 105 Hp Euro 5 turbo diesel engine. The resonator acts to dampen noise in the charge air system.

For the fifth straight quarter, automotive Tier One supplier Lear Corp. (Southfield, MI) increased its earnings, with sales improving by 33% over the year-ago quarter to $3 billion and a profit realized. In the August 3 release of second-quarter financial results, Lear said core operating earnings had increased by $242 million to $190 million, with the three-year sales backlog up half a billion dollars to $1.9 billion and an improved full-year outlook for core operating earnings and free cash flow.

The new RVR compact crossover from Mitsubishi Motors Corp. sports a front fenders molded from Noryl GTX resin supplied by SABIC Innovative Plastics (Pittsfield, MA). This is the second time that polyamide (PA) and modified polyphenylene ether polymer (PPE) blend has scored success in a fender application following the Delica D:5 minivan in 2007.