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2005-10-03

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GE Plastics Helping Hands to the Automotive Industry

Seattle, WA, USA--(Jobwerx News)--GE is helping improve fuel efficiency with the use of plastics in bumpers, body panels, lighting, fuel tanks, and other components for the automotive industry.

Sharp and painful increases in the cost of gasoline are prompting consumers and legislators to demand improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, as evidenced by proposed new federal fuel economy standards for SUVs, pickups, and minivans. GE Plastics is already helping automakers improve fuel efficiency with innovative, high-performance materials that can reduce vehicle weight by replacing traditional metal, glass, and wiring systems. By extension, the consumer may benefit.

GE is helping drivers save money at the pump with innovative high-tech materials for improved fuel efficiency.

The American Plastics Council reports that for each 10-percent reduction in the weight of a car or truck, gas mileage increases by seven percent. Plastics, which offer high performance and durability, as well as lighter weight compared to steel, aluminum, and glass, may help lower fuel consumption, according to the Council. In some vehicles, the use of plastics in bumpers, body panels, lighting, fuel tanks, and other components has helped cut total vehicle weight up to a whopping 200 pounds.

According to Mark Kingsley, General Manager of Global Marketing, GE Plastics, Automotive, “GE supplies high-performance plastics and compounds that are used by more than 20 OEMS worldwide, including Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, Opel, Nissan, and BMW brands. One of the main reasons why automotive manufacturers can use GE's materials is to promote better fuel efficiency. Through our ecomagination* initiative, we're constantly looking for new ways to help fuel economy - among other environmentally responsible efforts - and are confident that, with best-practice engineering, we could drop a vehicle's weight by up to 25 to 50 pounds, potentially saving consumers around the world up to 25 million gallons (95 million liters) a year.”

GE offers the auto industry a wide range of thermoplastic resins and compounds as lightweight alternatives to metals, wire/cable systems, and glass for the following benefits:

· Lower weight wiring harness: For wire- and cable-coating for auto electrical systems, GE's Flexible Noryl* resin allows ultra-thin coatings vs. traditional materials that help reduce overall wire bundle size by up to 25 percent for lower weight and mass.

· Up to 50 percent weight savings: Under-the-hood vehicle components, such as electronic throttle bodies, can weigh up to 50 percent less when constructed from GE's heat-resistant Ultem* resin grades.

· Lightweight metal replacement: GE's high-tech LNP* specialty compounds offer lightweight alternatives to a wide array of metal components, as well as a diversity of customized performance qualities for specialized applications.

· Forty percent lighter than steel: Using GE's Noryl GTX resin instead of steel for fenders and tailgates may reduce the weight of these parts by 40 percent and provide styling freedom and high impact resistance. GE also offers Lexan SLX resin as a lower-weight, paint-free, environmentally responsible option to painted metal on automotive body panels. The company also provides a range of other lightweight plastic alternatives to metal for wiper systems, machined brackets, transmission components, fuel systems, valve covers, thermostat housings, compressor housings, and die-cast or machined parts.

The same applies for other popular vehicles traveling the nation's highways. For example, GE's Cycoloy* CE1820 extrusion-grade resin used in the design of the Winnebago® View™ and Itasca® Navion™ motor homes can raise fuel efficiency by reducing part weight by up to 17 percent.

Other Consumer Benefits

GE's resins and compounds can further help consumers extend the useful life of vehicles with components that are more resistant to corrosion, heat, and impact. Through the company's ecomagination program, GE is helping automotive customers address tough environmental challenges by investing in new resin and composite technologies that also increase interior space and passenger comfort, improve color retention and gloss, and provide greater design freedom.

Improved design capability, based on GE's advanced material technologies, could enable automotive designers to create colorful and easily replaceable body panels and components. One possibility: automobiles with the option of “two cars within one,” with accessories that totally change the look and feel of the car and combine greater efficiency, performance, and style in one package.

GE Plastics is a leading global supplier of plastic resins widely used in a broad range of industries including automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds. GE Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet is a global leader in the manufacture of high-performance Lexan* sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide.

* ecomagination, Noryl, Ultem, Lexan, LNP, Noryl GTX, and Cycoloy are trademarks of General Electric Company.
® Winnebago and Itasca are registered trademarks of Winnebago Industries, Inc.
™ View and Navion are trademarks of Winnebago Industries, Inc.

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