Chanda ranga: Find Car Parts

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CGT talked about replacing petroleum-based phthalate plasticizers with natural oil-based platicizers (e.g. soybean oil and castor oil) in auto seats and liner products. Ontario-based CGT supplies seat major auto manufacturers seat coverings and covering of moldable inserts, door panels and instrument panels.

CGT's Patrick Diebel presented their Vehreo coated fabric product that uses the bio-based plasticizers and a textile fabric made from 55% recycled PET water/soda bottles. Diebel said they are also looking at buying back their scraps, grind them to powder and reintroduce them to the foam layer of the seating products.
CGT said they expect their biobased products to be used in cars around 2010-2011. The company supplies to 85% of North American built vehicles including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi.
Decoma's William Harney talked about their development of a new light-weight load floor for SUV vans and cross-over vehicles using recycled honeycomb cardboard core sandwiched between two layers of natural fiber-reinforced soy-based polyurethane. Harney said the new light-weight load floor will help improve fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Decoma is looking to replace up to 50% of the petroleum-based polyol in load floor materials with soybean-based alternative. The company currently uses up to 20% of soy polyols in the materials. In terms of skins/mats for load floor, Harney said they are looking to replace the currently used fiber glass with natural fibers.
Woodbridge Group's Hamdy Khalil said that they are developing a soy-based foam automotive headliner system that also uses natural fiber reinforcement (as opposed to fiber glass). The company has already been using soy polyol produced by US agribusiness major Cargill for their BioFoam products that are being applied in seat cushions, head-restraints, arm-rests and overhead systems inside automobiles.
Khalil noted that automakers these days are very amenable to accept biobased products for car interiors. Examples cited are headliner, headrest, armrest, coverstock foam, acoustical products, under the hood, sunshade, seat cushions, structural foam, carpet backing and elastomers.
All three companies emphasized the importance of price competitiveness for biobased auto parts compared to their petroleum-based counterparts. Woodbridge's Khalil said bio-based materials are now in the blueprint for most auto makers.