¡°Our products touch everyday life in thousands of applications, from cars to electronics to footwear. To accelerate circularity and sustainability we need to work closely with our customers and partners along the value chain on adopting alternative raw materials, renewable energy sources and recycling technologies¡±, says Dr. Guido Naberfeld, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Market Development Mobility at ÃÜÌÒAV. ¡°We are excited to show some of our latest developments and projects and are eager to engage in discussions about them at this year¡¯s Fakuma.¡±

The Fakuma in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is a leading annual international trade fair for plastics processing. Visitors of the ÃÜÌÒAV booth will discover a set of exhibits ranging from Polycarbonates to Specialty Films to Thermoplastic Polyurethanes, demonstrating how sustainability and performance can go hand in hand across industries.

Key exhibits include an innovative automotive frontend design that combines looks and functionality while also incorporating electronics. The materials used in the concept are Makrolon? and Makrofol?. The same materials can be used to create nearly monomaterial electronic displays, ideal for integration into smart surfaces in kitchens, vehicles and consumer electronics. One demonstrator, featuring in-mold printed elecontric circuits, will be exhibited.

ÃÜÌÒAV's recently announced partnership with Neste and Borealis will also have a spot at the booth. It showcases the closed-loop recycling of old tires into highly transparent polycarbonates that can be used in automotive components, such as car headlamps. This innovation exemplifies circularity in the automotive industry through the Makrolon? RP product range, which uses chemically recycled raw materials, attributed via the mass balance approach.

ÃÜÌÒAV in general aims to become increasingly circular and climate-neutral, with the goal of operational climate neutrality (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2035, and full climate neutrality by 2050. To make products that are advancing toward these goals easily identifiable, ÃÜÌÒAV, besides RE or RP, also uses the ¡°CQ¡± label. CQ stands for ¡°Circular Intelligence¡±. CQ ecompasses, for example, products that contain at least 25% alternative, non-fossil raw materials, either as components or through the mass balance methodology. This helps to reduce their carbon footprint while contributing to circularity. Some of the abovementioned and more products can be seen at Fakuma.

At its booth (C20), ÃÜÌÒAV will present materials and solutions that support the corporate vision of achieving a circular economy. Climate neutrality¹ is a core element of that, for which the company just recently announced its ¡°Scope 3 emission¡± targets, encompassing anything from the raw material base of products to their transport, the performance during their lifetime and the end of their life. By 2035, ÃÜÌÒAV intends to reduce 30% of those emissions, while being entirely climate neutral across all scopes by 2050. Working towards that goal, the company¡¯s product portfolio will become ever more sustainable.

¡°As provider of polyurethane raw materials and solutions, including for example systems for Elastomers, we are at the forefront of circularity and climate neutrality. We take that responsibility seriously and develop recycling technologies, switch to renewable energy and already started the switch to an alternative raw material base,¡± says Thomas Braig, Head of Elastomers at ÃÜÌÒAV. "All the while we ensure maximum quality and performance of our products and to enable our customers to be successful to meet the needs and demands of the market. At our booth at UTECH Europe, customers and interested parties can get a glimpse of how we combine circularity and climate neutrality with product and innovation quality.¡±

To achieve full circularity, collaborations across value chains in and beyond core industries such as Automotive, Building and Construction or Furniture and Appliances will be key. The motto of ÃÜÌÒAV¡¯s booth therefore is ¡°Crafting Solutions For You¡±, inviting for in-depth exchanges and discussions. It is divided into three core areas:

Crafting Sustainability

In the area dubbed ¡°Crafting Sustainability¡±, ÃÜÌÒAV will be showcasing innovative products and solutions from the fields of alternative raw materials, innovative recycling and renewable energies that tile the way to circularity. One example among the exhibits is Desmodur^? CQ MS. This climate-neutral MDI (cradle-to-gate assessment) is a key component in the production of low-carbon PU insulation boards, specifically designed for thermal insulation purposes.

Crafting Innovations

In the area ¡°Crafting Innovations¡±, ÃÜÌÒAV shows that innovative materials and solutions will be key to answer an ever more demanding market in terms of properties and reliability while striving to cope with the commanding challenge of a more circular and climate neutral world. At the booth, the company will for example showcase a Baul¨¦^? alpha low pressure dispensing machine for cast PU processing. This machine is notably equipped with catalyst and pigment direct injection and allowing an output up to 10 kg/min. To demonstrate automated production capabilities, the company will also showcase a 3-axis robot equipped with sensors and camera allowing automatic mould detection and casting frame selection as well as safety alarms to improve and secure the casting process.

ÃÜÌÒAV will furthermore give a glimpse on the latest in terms of recycling with its Evocycle^? CQ program. The goal of the Evocycle^? CQ Mattress initiative is to bring end-of-life polyurethane (PU) mattress foam back to its building blocks polyether polyol and toluene diamine (TDA), a key precursor of toluene diisocyanate (TDI), via chemical recycling. These shall then again be used just like virgin materials.

Crafting Performance

Circularity won¡¯t happen unless sustainable products provide at least equal value and quality for customers and industries. ÃÜÌÒAV aims to provide its customers with exactly that ¨C and will showcase some examples how it ¡°crafts performance¡± during UTECH Europe. For example several products made with Desmodur^? 15 prepolymer based systems. On top of improving safety and comfort in the railway sector, these cost-effective and safe solutions can also boost the sewing process in the loom shuttle or reduce maintenance costs in the offshore wind industry.

¹ _{Climate neutrality is the result of an internal assessment of a partial product life cycle from raw material extraction (cradle) to the factory gate (of ÃÜÌÒAV), also known as cradle-to-gate assessment. The methodology of our LCA, for which an external audit and certification will soon be available, is based on the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. The calculation takes into account biogenic carbon sequestration based on preliminary data from the supply chain. No compensation measures were applied.}

The award was handed over during the conference "A Circular Future with Plastics" of the European Plastics Converters (EuPC) association at a gala dinner at Palais de la Bourse in Lyon. The conference, organized by the EuPC, the French association Polyvia and the plastics producers' association Plastics Europe, was attended by more than 250 industry representatives.

ÃÜÌÒAV is very pleased to receive the award and to score well in all categories, including circularity, because a full circular economy is the company's most important goal for the future. To achieve this goal, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed a whole portfolio of more sustainable products made with renewable raw materials, including the Makrolon^? RE and Bayblend^? RE polycarbonate ranges.

"The Best Polymer Producers Awards were created in 2016 to re-establish a constructive dialogue and good communication between suppliers and users of polymers in Europe. The fact that we organised this seventh edition with a growing number of voters every year is a clear indicator of the awards¡¯ success," said Ron Marsh, Chair of the Polymers for Europe Alliance.

The Polymers for Europe Alliance was initiated by the EuPC association in 2015. Each year, Best Polymer Producers Awards for Europe are granted for a number of major polymer types ¨C among them polycarbonates. In addition, an overarching prize on the commitment to the European market, covering all polymer types, has been awarded this year.

"For me, the chemical industry is predestined for the use of AI because we have a lot of complex processes going on that cannot be described by fixed rules," says Walter Gr¨¹ner, Head of IT & Digitalization at ÃÜÌÒAV. "They are not suitable for automation. We rather need learning systems to which we grant a certain degree of decision-making autonomy. In doing so, we focus primarily on the development of systems that work in a complementary manner to humans and support their abilities."

With the introduction of AI in the chemical industry, questions about technical, operational and organizational implementation are also increasingly emerging. This includes, for example, the role of AI in decision-making, but also its implementation along value chains.

Artificial Intelligence ¨C great opportunity for chemical industry

Under the motto "Shaping industrial change with AI", the participants exchanged in a generic way views on the following topics:

• AI system to assist decision making or as an autonomous decision-maker?
• AI awareness, literacy and capabilities
• Production technology vs. supply chain management: independent or joint optimization?
• Needs and requirements for external data generation (monitoring)?

"It is precisely the exchange across company boundaries that helps us a lot in the upcoming transformation because overall challenges become clearer," says Nils Janus, Global Head of Advanced Analytics at ÃÜÌÒAV. "This increases efficiency and saves time."

Overall, there was agreement among the participants: Artificial intelligence offers great opportunities for the chemical industry. The new systems help to create a common ecosystem for cross-divisional production planning. It must be decided on a case-by-case basis and each company has to decide individually and independently how much autonomy these systems will be given. With regard to access to the systems, the participants saw a strong democratization of artificial intelligence. Companies could support employees in learning more about data and AI and bring them into contact with experts when it comes to the widespread use of AI solutions in the company. The generation and dissemination of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) data are currently the biggest drivers for using external data sources. Here, all participants saw opportunities to intensify the use of external sources.

Digitalization drives sustainability

Digitalization is a key driver to improve sustainability and make the circular economy a reality. ÃÜÌÒAV is focusing on more data-oriented corporate governance to drive digital transformation.

ÃÜÌÒAV is advancing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) both in its own company and in the chemical industry. To this end, the materials manufacturer is investigating how digital technologies can make processes more efficient and sustainable as part of several pilot projects across different divisions.

Arfinio^? combines high-performance liquid polymers and unique minerals with reaction-based injection molding (RIM), a combination previously considered impossible. The technology produces truly seamless shapes without requiring sheets, and combines the key benefits of aliphatic chemistry, injection molding, and solid surfaces: mechanical resistance, light-stability, and repairability alongside low product weight, quick production, and improved design freedom. It therefore enables manufacturers to integrate complex shapes and functional performance in new and dynamic ways. The material also contributes to improved sustainability. It can be made with partially bio-based raw materials and, at the end of its lifetime, it can be milled and reintroduced into new products.

Joan Miquel Garc¨ªa Mart¨ªnez, Senior Project Manager Arfinio^? at ÃÜÌÒAV: ¡°We¡¯re delighted to have been awarded this distinction by Koelnmesse and Red Dot. Our work with Arcesso to bring this technology to the market has seen us deliver a breakthrough solution that redefines design freedom in solid-surface materials. This award is yet more motivation for us to keep innovating new, game-changing solutions to help shape a materials future that supports people and planet alike.¡±

The two models of Midea¡¯s odourless series refrigerators (BCD-439WFPZM and BCD-516WFGPZMA) use low-carbon-footprint MDI through a mass balance approach from ÃÜÌÒAV, a transparent certified solution based on the third-party International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS standard. ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainable development certification system for biomass and bioenergy. Through the mass balance approach, raw materials from biomass or waste are blended with fossil materials and then mathematically attributed to the final products to achieve greenhouse gas reductions. Since mass-balanced products have the same performance as fossil-based products, customers do not need to change their existing production process or equipment.

Realizing the mass production of the low-carbon-footprint refrigerators 

At last year¡¯s CIIE, ÃÜÌÒAV made the Asia debut of its mass-balanced MDI. MDI is a key raw material for producing polyurethane thermal insulation layers for refrigerators. This year, the application of the mass-balanced MDI to Midea refrigerators marks the mass production of low-carbon-footprint polyurethane products within the home appliances industry.

Christine Bryant, the Global Head of Tailored Urethanes Business Entity at ÃÜÌÒAV, said, ¡°the collaboration with Midea extends the low-carbon-footprint polyurethane to the broad home appliances market. Looking forward, ÃÜÌÒAV will develop more solutions through technological innovation to empower the sustainable development and low-carbon transition of the chemical engineering industry and its downstream industries.¡±

Bringing the new generation of low-carbon green refrigerators within reach

The low-carbon-footprint MDI in the two models of refrigerators has a 60 percent share of biomass raw materials from plants, reducing carbon emissions by percent compared to fossil-based MDI.

Midea, the pioneer of green and intelligent home appliances, is among the first enterprises to obtain the national green product certification. Both models of refrigerators have received the China Green Product Certification, which meets the relevant requirements in terms of practicality, environmental protection, energy saving (energy efficiency rates Class 1), and health (hazardous substance content less than or equal to 1000 mg/kg).

In addition to the display on the booth, Midea will sell the BCD-439WFPZM refrigerators through live streaming on its official Tiktok account, ¡°Midea Refrigerator Flagship Store¡±. More consumers will be able to buy low-carbon-footprint appliances through the Expo and can become involved in carbon reduction efforts.

Huawei Zhang, the R&D Director of Refrigerator Business at Midea, stated, ¡°The collaboration between Midea and ÃÜÌÒAV on low-carbon-footprint green refrigerators marks that low-carbon-footprint PU products have entered the consumer market. To meet the growing demand for sustainable development, we believe that this cooperation can serve as a reference for the whole industry and open more cooperation opportunities on low-carbon materials. We look forward to cooperating with ÃÜÌÒAV to take greater corporate social responsibility together.¡±

Arfinio^? material is made by injection-molding of a combination of high-performance liquid polymers and unique minerals. This produces truly seamless shapes without requiring sheets. In this way, the technology combines the key benefits of aliphatic chemistry, injection molding, and solid surfaces: mechanical resistance, light-stability, and repairability, as well as low product weight, quick production, and improved design freedom.

These properties are now opening new possibilities in applications including an Estoli shower plate, and a luxury design chair. In bathroom furniture, Arfinio^? provides a solution at least 50 percent lighter than traditional solid surfaces with improved wet slip resistance and increasing safety during installation and use. Its formulation can also be supplemented with antibacterial additives, enhancing hygiene on high-touch surfaces. In furniture, injection molding enables a quick production of complex, truly seamless structures. Finally, the thermal coefficient of Arfinio^? makes it warm to the touch, and its texture and color can be customized. This also allows for backlighting in electronic applications.

Arfinio^? also contributes toward a more circular, sustainable world. Its excellent impact, abrasion, and chemical resistance properties give it a long service lifetime. Additionally, as a monomaterial, it can be easily repaired by sanding or milled and recycled into new products.

Joan Miquel Garc¨ªa Martinez, Senior Project Manager at ÃÜÌÒAV: "We¡¯re proud to have joined forces with Arcesso to bring the benefits of RIM-produced aliphatics to the market! Arfinio^? will open new opportunities for a wide range of designers and OEMs, and we¡¯re looking forward to exploring how it can be used in even more applications."

Ernest Mont¨®n, CEO Arcesso Dynamics: "It¡¯s been great working with ÃÜÌÒAV to bring our innovation for aliphatic PUR to life. Our partnership has already helped customers in several industries to solve key product challenges. Together, we¡¯ll continue to develop exciting new Arfinio^? products that are designed to meet our customers¡¯ and end-users¡¯ needs."

Taking cast elastomers to a higher level

Often, cast polyurethanes replace materials in traditionally manufactured components, making their overall application more efficient. However, material innovations from ÃÜÌÒAV aim to further improve mechanical, chemical or physical properties. In this context, the company has developed new PU casting formulations to increase application life or environmental resistance:

• Highly wear-resistant cast PU elastomers that challenge the previous use of rubber in mining applications
• Hydrolysis resistance for applications in wet environments
• Fungal resistance in contaminated or humid environments

For ÃÜÌÒAV, innovation means more than developing new materials and products. The materials manufacturer also sets standards in terms of customer-oriented services and process efficiency.

Baulé® processing machines

Baulé® processing machines can be fully customized and scaled: They can be tailored to current processing needs and further developed to integrate functions for future requirements.

Baulé® quikmix: the practical hand caster

In hand casting, small deviations in mixing and degassing of the most demanding systems can lead to failure. To avoid this problem and simplify the processing of challenging systems, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed a planetary mixer with unique features. This unit can be used to perfectly process all types of cast PU formulations.

Visit ÃÜÌÒAV's booth E28 at the MECC Exhibition & Convention Center in Maastricht for a closer look at our PU castings on display as well as our processing machines and to participate in live demonstrations.

Proven Baulé® Easy services

ÃÜÌÒAV has taken the next step in digitizing customer support. Digital solutions make life easier for injection molders today in many ways. These Baulé® Easy Services have been developed around the company´s Baulé® machines to ensure that its customers' production lines work perfectly and that any potential delay factor can be solved in a simple and effective way:

• Baulé® Easy Assist: solving process problems through remote monitoring by ÃÜÌÒAV experts
• Baulé® Easy Parts: online identification and ordering of spare parts
• Baulé® Easy Data: production monitoring with all relevant process data

A casting companion in your smartphone

To help its customers, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed an app that supports every operator on the customer's shop floor when working with hot cast polyurethane molded parts. The Easy Casting app is available via the Android platform. It guides each operator through the entire manual casting process. This daily casting companion allows recipes to be created and saved, automatically calculates the weight of each component, and supports the operator through every step of the process by providing practical instructions, such as reminders about temperature control or the mixing order of components, needed to produce better castings.

How ÃÜÌÒAV digitized recipe development

To gain new insights for R&D, technical service and customer experience, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed a set of digital tools that create digital recipe maps by leveraging the power of the design of experiments method. This method has been used to gain insight into the polyurethane casting process and recipe optimization, and was first applied to a Desmodur® MTX6076-based polyurethane cast elastomer system. By simply dragging a cursor, the Easy System Tool allows users to change processing and formulation factors and view the effects on the resulting properties of the polyurethane cast elastomer.

Visit ÃÜÌÒAV's booth E28 at the MECC Exhibition & Convention Center in Maastricht to experience our digital solutions.

Sustainable contribution for offshore wind applications

Offshore energy generators require materials that are strong and durable. To this end, ÃÜÌÒAV provides the offshore wind industry with materials that improve the lifespan of equipment installed in wind farms through subsea cable protection, cable kink protection, turbine protection and more.

On the other hand, these companies are also looking for ways to reduce their CO? footprint. To this end, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed a Desmodur® PU system made with a material based on the CO? technology. The innovative solution enables processors to develop products that contain up to 20 percent carbon dioxide as a chemical raw material. They can replace some of the fossil-based raw materials previously used. Last but not least, this solution overall surpasses the previous material solution in its mechanical properties.

Introduction of the circular economy in mining applications

In the mining industry, the need for solutions to reduce overall costs and increase efficiency in terms of performance and durability is critical. In addition, as part of a global trend, the industry is seeking insights to improve its waste management and reduce its environmental impact. To this end, ÃÜÌÒAV offers a high-performance solution that allows waste to be reintegrated into the production process.

In this solution, the steel insert of the screens is replaced by a grindable insert. After use, the screen is ground into particles, which are then incorporated into the Desmodur® PU system to produce the bottom layer of the screen. ÃÜÌÒAV also offers a special device that can process the ground particles into the system. To produce a high-performance screen, the top layer of the screen is made with a Desmodur® based system specially developed for mining screens, which has excellent wear resistance. The screen produced in this way is fully recyclable, as it can be completely ground after use. Overall, this solution helps reduce the end-of-life cost of parts while ensuring the screen's technical performance.

Solutions for material handling

The transportation industry demands wheels that help keep logistics platforms moving. To deliver such performance with pinpoint accuracy 365 days a year, ÃÜÌÒAV offers solutions for high resistance to dynamic loads combined with low wear for long-term performance with minimal maintenance. These solutions are based on Vulkollan® elastomers. For smaller loads, systems based on Desmodur® with an optimized price/performance ratio are suitable.

Baulé® processing machines

For all sizes of PU casting production, Baulé® processing machines offer the possibility of casting quality parts despite chemical or process limitations. These include Baulé® alpha machines – fully customizable and scalable machines that can be tailored to current processing needs. They can be further developed to incorporate features to meet future requirements. They also include Baulé® omega machines designed to meet the most demanding and specific requirements.

Baulé® quikmix: the practical hand caster for degassing and mixing When it comes to hand casting, small sacrifices in mixing and degassing can lead to failure in the more demanding systems. To avoid this problem and simplify the processing of challenging systems, ÃÜÌÒAV has developed a planetary mixer with unique features. This Baulé® quikmix can be used to perfectly process all types of cast PU formulations.

Digital tools

ÃÜÌÒAV has taken the next step in digitizing customer support. Digital solutions make life easier for molders today in many ways. For example, the company has developed a digital service for the quick and easy exchange of spare parts – for minimal interruptions to production processes. Customers can order spare parts via the online platform as soon as they identify a need. And by integrating customer databases with technical drawings, catalogs and machine documentation, Baulé® Easy Parts makes it easy to identify and order the parts they need in real time. Thanks to accurate references and regular price updates, this service reduces the number of quotes, speeds up the ordering process and reduces the possibility of errors.

Visit ÃÜÌÒAV's booth at Stand 34, Hall 1 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center (SWEECC).

For this purpose ÃÜÌÒAV, one of the world leading companies in high performance polyurethane solutions, provided the leading wind turbine blade manufacturer Goldwind with a special Baul¨¦^? infusion machine for processing its high performance polyurethane resin. Goldwind and ÃÜÌÒAV achieved a major breakthrough with the development and production of a 64.2 m long polyurethane turbine blade.

¡°ÃÜÌÒAV Elastomers developed a tailor-made Baul¨¦^? machine for the direct infusion of polyurethane rotor blades,¡± said Philippe Jeantin, Global Head of Machines Division, Business Segment Elastomers at ÃÜÌÒAV. ¡°We designed this machine to solve various challenges involved in this manufacturing process, e.g. process under vacuum, high volume casting and speed of resin infusion. This machine is therefore combining a very accurate dosing, a large variable output controlled by in-mold pressure and a real time data management to ensure a high quality direct infusion process for these large rotor blades.¡±

New vacuum infusion equipment for polyurethane resin processing

¡°Today, as the wind energy market is growing, we are faced with the challenge of producing ever-larger wind blades,¡± says Liu Baofeng, Professor-level Senior Engineer, Head of Windblade Material Development at Goldwind. ¡°We were therefore looking for a reliable partner to provide us with the dispensing equipment which is suitable for processing the PU resin especially developed for larger wind blades. Our manufacture was successful thanks to the machine that ÃÜÌÒAV engineered for the production of a 64.2 meter turbine blade. It will allow us to propel the whole industry to make sustainable and innovating progress towards such large blades. In the future, both sides will strengthen the cooperation in materials and related equipment, for promoting a continuous innovation and upgrading of materials for rotor blades.¡±

¡°The successful trail of this such long rotor blade manufacture using polyurethane resin proved that our Baul¨¦^? machine is qualified for the direct infusion process,¡± adds Simon Chen, Head of ÃÜÌÒAV Elastomers in the Asia-Pacific region. ¡°Our local machine team in China will support our partners to achieve rapid growth and technical upgrading of the wind power industry.

¡±With the rapid development of the wind power industry, larger wind turbine blades have become increasingly popular in the industry. ÃÜÌÒAV has been committed to providing innovative and sustainable products and cost-effective integrated solutions for the wind power industry to cope with market requirements and to support the expansion of renewable energy. In cooperation with industry partners such as Goldwind, ÃÜÌÒAV will continue to contribute to the efficient development of the wind power industry.

The new model features a creative multi-material design concept: The structural frame in the center is made of aluminum and magnesium alloy, while the front and back shells have been given the highly-coveted look of carbon fibers. It is also designed with an advanced lock system featuring the absence of rivets and screws, giving it a smooth, minimalist finish.

Despite the dramatic decrease in travel due to the corona crisis, TUPLUS believes the travel industry will bounce back steadily as travel restrictions are eased in China and the world. “People haven’t changed in that they still want to travel, but we need to adapt to the new times ahead and to the new needs of tourists to feel safer,” says Catherine Jiang, President & CEO of TUPLUS. “High-quality materials are always at the heart of our design concept because we know our customers rely on them for travel safety and security. ÃÜÌÒAV’s Maezio® composites have allowed us to take advantage of the superior strength and premium value of carbon fiber, to offer our customers enhanced protection and an entirely new travel experience.”

Performance meets design

On and off airplanes, in and out of car trunks, natural wear and tear – luggage needs to be robust. Maezio® thermoplastic composites are based on a polycarbonate matrix system. The intrinsic toughness of polycarbonate has made it a staple material for hard-shell suitcases for decades. Carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate composites take stiffness and impact resistance to a new level. They can reduce the risk of damage and deformation, even when compared to metal, without adding weight.

Rigorous safety tests ranging from drop and tumble tests to falling ball impact tests have shown better impact resistance of composite shells compared to aluminum. This means the material can better protect articles in the luggage against perils, in particular sensitive equipment like cameras and high-end electronics.

A suitcase built to last also needs to look good. With a natural, unidirectional carbon fiber appearance, Maezio® composites break away from the traditional woven look of carbon fiber, while striking a chord with natural materials like wood in its looks and aesthetics. The simplicity and authenticity of that visual language is a good source of inspiration for designers.

Designed for scale

Performance and design are only the starting points for luggage manufacturers however, as they need to integrate new materials which can also be manufactured cost-efficiently at scale. Despite its popularity, carbon fiber luggage is known to be laboriously hand-crafted, driving up costs and making them difficult to scale.

Maezio® materials on the other hand, are thermoplastic composites, which can be thermoformed efficiently at high yield rates and low cycle times, making them ideal for mass production. Not all carbon fiber suitcases need to be thermoformed however – the unique design of the front and back shell structures of TUPLUS luggage allows composite sheets to be integrated directly into the production line and assembled after proper cutting and coating. This design approach is unique to expedite the scaling of carbon fiber suitcases.

“We believe our thermoplastic composite solutions will accelerate the adoption of carbon fiber composites in luggage thanks to their unique performance, aesthetic and production advantages,” says Lisa Ketelsen, Head of the thermoplastic composites business of ÃÜÌÒAV. “Meanwhile, we’re also working on thermoformed, 3D luggage cover solutions to make composites available for a wide range of suitcases and allow more and more consumers to enjoy the performance and lifestyle benefits of composites.”

Press Kit
Press Releases about "Future Car Interior":

• "The automotive interior of the future: from display to vegan seat covers – ÃÜÌÒAV and its partners develop a premium concept"
• "The reinvention of the display – The future of mobility: seamless and fully networked"
• "Get to your destination in peace and serenity – More privacy thanks to acoustic foams made from ÃÜÌÒAV raw materials"
• "Innovative polyurethane synthetics thanks to INSQIN® technology – High quality, low environmental impact and customized design"

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