VW ups its use of light-weight TPO

ERJ staff report (PR)

Vienna – Volkswagen is to extend its use of one of a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) – Daplen EE158AIB – on one of its vehicle lines, suppliers Borealis and Borouge have announced.

The 13-percent mineral-filled TPO compound had already been adopted by VW as a material solution for the European production of door panels in its new Up! model, and has now been chosen for Up! production in Brazil as well.

This is the first time Volkswagen has selected a PE/PP TD13 material for its South American production operations, according to Borealis. The grade, it said, helps the manufacturer achieve its targets for lightweighting as well as mechanical performance, high UV and scratch resistance, low emission and fogging, and superior aesthetics.

Borealis recently expanded its plant in Itatiba, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. This €45-million project involves the construction of an additional production building, two state-of-the-art PP compounding extruders, blending and raw material silos, warehouse facilities and a bagging line.

The upgraded plant is scheduled to go fully on stream during the fourth quarter of 2014 and its output will significantly augment current annual production in Brazil of high-performance,high-quality PP compounds.

Borealis provides services and products to customers around the world in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC).

The Borouge 3 plant expansion in Abu Dhabi will be fully operational in 2014. This will deliver an additional 2.5 million tonnes of capacity when fully ramped up, bringing the total Borouge capacity to 4.5 million tonnes. Borealis and Borouge will then have approximately 8 million tonnes of polyolefin capacity.