More

Lightweighting for Heavy Trucks - 2018 Sustainability Report

High strength, unidirectional fibers and engineered thermoplastic resins combine to create Polystrand™ continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) tapes and laminates that can help reduce weight while maintaining exceptional strength and impact resistance in a variety of applications.

One customer used Polystrand™ CFRTP materials in the trailer space of heavy truck applications, which increased loading per square foot and provided a moisture and debris barrier. This solution extended the life of the trucks by 20–25%. It also reduced weight to improve fuel economy.

Polystrand™ tapes and laminates can be postformed and co-molded with mixed materials in thermoforming and injection molding processes to achieve part designs and cycle times that meet the most demanding performance targets. And because they are thermoplastic, these CFRTP materials are more easily recycled compared to thermoset materials.