Milliken showcases new Hyperform HPR-803 reinforcing agent for automotive use

Milliken, a technology-based company serving textile, chemical, and floor covering markets, will present its innovative high performance reinforcing agent, Hyperform HPR-803 and its Hyperform HPN nucleating additives for polyolefins at the VDI's plastics in automotive engineering conference 2010 in Mannheim, Germany.

The Hyperform HPR-803 agent is very suitable for customers in the automotive market, seeking opportunities to reduce the weight of their polypropylene car parts. Hyperform HPN nucleating additvies for polyolefins are bringing advantages to polyolefins in the domains of productivity; quality, dimensional control, coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) optimization and mechanical property improvements.

The European Union will require automakers to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the coming years, with a target of 95g/km by 2020. Automakers will have to pay penalty payments if they do not meet the new requirements. To a large extent, lighter cars result in cleaner cars. Plastics such as polyolefins are already playing an important role in reducing vehicle weight. To help automakers and suppliers achieve greater weight reduction, Milliken Chemical, a division of Milliken & Company, is introducing Hyperform HPR-803 high performance reinforcing agent for polyolefins. New Hyperform HPR-803 reduces weight by up to 15% vs. traditional mineral-filled systems while delivering an outstanding balance of stiffness and impact strength. Further, the new Milliken agent offers comparable surface finish to talc-filled compounds that cannot be achieved with chopped glass fiber reinforcement.

By utilizing Hyperform HPR-803 reinforcement as a replacement for chopped glass fiber, customers can expand applications for PP and other polyolefins beyond current "hidden" structural automotive and appliance parts to encompass highly visible components such as bumpers and door panels. And by replacing talc and other mineral reinforcements with the new Milliken technology, customers can achieve significant lightweighting of parts while maintaining or exceeding existing performance properties.