1 Jul 2004
GE ADVANCED MATERIALS PROVIDES “BUMPER TO BUMPER” SOLUTIONS FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
Offering bumper-to-bumper engineering thermoplastics materials as well as Silicones and Silane solutions, GE Advanced Materials, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), is committed to addressing the emerging needs of major OEMs and tiers with technologies that enhance vehicle aesthetics, efficiency and performance. From Plastics solutions for Body Panels and Glazing to Under-the-Hood, Components, Structures and Lighting, GE Advanced Materials provides industry leading application development and technical support to bring new concepts to market while attempting to drive cost out. In the Silicones and Silanes segments, GE Advanced Materials offers best-in-class Elastomers, Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Urethane Additives and Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) products for longer lasting, higher performance.
“We have a truly global Automotive organization — with manufacturing and sales sites in 79 locations across 21 countries — that is dedicated exclusively to serving this important industry,” said GE Advanced Materials Automotive Vice President, André Horbach. “This allows us to concentrate our R&D and commercial resources exclusively on developing solutions that address industry’s emerging design and technical needs and to better serve our global OEM partners. Our goal is to help OEMs build technically advanced vehicles for an industry that serves the world’s most demanding consumers.”
GE Advanced Materials has been serving the automotive industry for more than 50 years. Moreover, the company sees technology innovation as its key differentiator and is committed to developing proprietary technology and adding value through concept design and application development. This commitment is backed by $2.6 billion in annual spending that GE invests in reseach and development at its global research centres. Respected by the scientifc and consumer communities alike, GE Global Research Centers are strategically located in the U.S.A., China, India and Europe and are staffed by more than 2,500 world-class scientists and engineers. With the official ribbon cutting on June 28, 2004, GE officially opened a new $52 million Global Technology Center in Munich-Garching, Germany, bringing even more world-class developments to the heart of Europe.
“In this fiercely competitive market, manufacturers are subject to increased external pressures from safety and environmental legislation, as well as consumer demands for additional features and style changes,” Horbach added, citing the pressures that automakers face from the ever-present - and absolute need - for cost reduction. “GE Advanced Materials has been very successful in using our technology to help customers address these issues. Now, by leveraging the global strength of our dedicated automotive organization, we can better focus our technical resources on developing more innovative, higher value application solutions all over the vehicle.”
The following backgrounder provides additional information on GE Advanced Materials’ bumper-to-bumper solutions for five key plastics automotive segments: Body Panels and Glazing, Under-the-Hood, Components, Structures and Lighting. It also details the company’s diverse silicones and silanes product offerings.
No Paint Solutions, Body Panels
For Body Panels, GE Advanced Materials is helping drive cost out by eliminating the need for secondary paint operations with “no-paint” solutions. Advanced LEXAN® SLX film provides automakers with a ‘paint-free’ option that can deliver a Class A surface finish with deep gloss consumer appeal. Furthermore, the film has the ability to withstand prolonged exposure to UV rays without fading, and it offers greater scratch and chemical resistance when compared to similar films. The automotive public quickly took note of the exciting technology behind the application. The LEXAN SLX film roof module on the smart™ Roadster recently won the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Grand Prize for Innovation.
For automakers, LEXAN SLX film can eliminate new paint line investment and emissi
Reader enquiries
GE PlasticsPlasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
Netherlands
Helen Vandebovenkamp
helen.vandebovenkamp@ge.com
Tel: +31 164 29 20 97
Fax: +31 164 29 10 66
Netherlands
Notes for editors
GE Advanced Materials
GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:
• Silicones, which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offers silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (https://www.gesilicones.com/gesilicones/am1/en/home.jsp);
• Plastics is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, which serves customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (https://www.geplastics.com);
• Quartz produces high purity materials for the semiconductor, fiber optic, lamp making and water purification industries. GE Quartz is a leading supplier of quartz materials to the semiconductor industry (www.gequartz.com/en/index.htm);
• GE (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology, media, and financial services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming, and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
LEXAN, XENOY, NORYL, GELOY, ULTEM and VERTON are registered trademarks of General Electric Company.
Related images
GE turned imagination into reality with LEXAN® resin glazing that can provide panoramic roof systems with integrated features in complex shapes that glass cannot deliver. LEXAN® resin glazing offers weight savings of up to 50 percent versus glass and metal systems, while helping to lower the center of gravity for greater stability.
Development of advanced LEXAN® SLX film provides automakers with a ‘paint-free’ option that can deliver a Class A surface finish with deep gloss consumer appeal. Furthermore, the film has the ability to withstand prolonged exposure to UV rays without fading, and it’s scratch and chemical resistant. The LEXAN SLX film roof module on the Smart™ Roadster won the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Grand Prize for Innovation.
GE Advanced Materials, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), today announced that fenders for the recently launched BMW 6 Series are the latest application success in a series of painted body panels molded from NORYL GTX® resin. The resin, a modified high-performance PPO®/PA alloy, was selected by BMW for its broad chemical resistance, stiffness, impact strength, and superior high-heat performance.
Silica tires, since their introduction in the mid ‘90's, have improved average fuel economy by about .5 mpg or more for every car they are on. Using GE's paradigm-shifting NXT® silane molecule, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has now developed an innovative tire using new silicon process technology.
This is the new Goodyear Assurance™ featuring TripleTred™ Technology, a tire that offers three distinct tread zones – Ice, Wet and Dry – providing excellent traction in many weather conditions. These tires, and complementary Assurance tires featuring ComforTred™ Technology, represent Goodyear’s latest technology. Goodyear has announced plans to spend $50 Million to promote these new tires.
GE's NXT silane has facilitated the manufacturing process of Goodyear's Assurance featuring TripleTred Technology and its highly complex tire construction, enabling delivery of a consistent state-of-the-art product to the consumer.
Editorial enquiries
Marianne Schouten
GE Advanced Materials
Brigitta de Vries
Marketing Solutions NV