GE Advanced Materials offers lower cost option for unique metallic looks

Modern appliance manufacturers increasingly find themselves navigating between appealing design that will attract customers and low production cost that will maximize profit margin.

Using Visualfx® resin technology to differentiate in appearance, Spanish appliance leader Fagor Electrodomésticos, chose CYCOLAC® resin for its Innova luxury refrigerator line. The line, which features a unique metallic look and high performance, will be available in second quarter 2004 to consumers.

During the development process, Fagor quickly identified an element key to the success of the Innova line. All parts, from the internal and external displays to door trimmings, ventilation grills and roofs had to appeal to customers in look and feel, while maintaining a consistent color. Color match was vitally important, as the many parts had to match not just within each refrigerator unit, but across the complete Innova line as well.

“GE Advanced Materials had the quality materials we were looking for,” said Losu Zabala, managing director of Refrigerators Business at Fagor. “Their materials allowed us to achieve the metallic look we desired, while keeping our own internal costs down. They also offered superior technical service compared to their competitors, saving us time and energy during the development process.”

After working with GE Advanced Materials’ technical support resources in the development phase, Fagor chose CYCOLAC resin for the Innova refrigerator parts. CYCOLAC, an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) thermoplastic resin, is widely recognized as offering outstanding flow, toughness, and dimensional stability even at elevated temperatures. Used in combination with Visualfx resins, Fagor was able to create a metallic look with a reflective sheen.

Beside a unique aesthetic appeal, Visualfx resin gave Fagor the ability to maintain a consistent and high quality color across each piece of the entire Innova line. As an added benefit, the use of Visualfx resin allowed a cost out opportunity by eliminating the need for an additional paint application. All Visualfx resins are formulated with the color and effect inherent in the pellet to create colorful and exceptionally rich looking parts out of the mold. Fagor used a molded-in color option to achieve a flow-line free appearance.

“The Innova line is just one example of the type of innovative product GE Advanced Materials can help customers produce,” said GE Advanced Materials NORYL & ESR marketing director, Dermot Ainsworth. “GE’s technical, product management and marketing resources were used by Fagor during its concept and design phase which helped enable Fagor to create its innovative refrigerator. This is crucial to help maximize the end result and achieve the always-present cost-out goal. Our globally available products and services helped deliver a materials solution for Fagor and allowed us to play a key role in contributing to the innovative nature of their unique and expanding product line.”

”We look forward to working with Fagor in the future,” said Ainsworth “by providing materials that can help them achieve their innovative and imaginative designs for products that maintain practical functionality for consumers.”

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+31 164 29 20 97

helen.vandebovenkamp@​ge.com

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