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Dow Chemical & DowAksa to set up new composites institute

16 Jan '15

2 min read

The Dow Chemical Co., a leader in specialty chemicals delivering products and solutions to sectors such as electronics, water, energy, and coatings, in partnership with its joint venture, DowAksa, a consortium of composites-related businesses, academic leaders, and government organizations, has been selected by the Obama Administration to establish the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI).

IACMI is expected to help advance the state of knowledge and commercialization of carbon fibre composites technology in response to market demands for strong, lightweight materials by creating a platform to overcome technological and cost barriers to the wide-scale adoption of carbon fibre composites in a variety of industrial sectors including pressure vessel, infrastructure and wind, and automotive, Dow Chemical said in a statement.

IACMI creates a strategic platform for ongoing collaboration between the two companies, which began in 2012 with a joint development agreement between Ford and Dow to develop lost-cost, high-volume carbon fibre composites.

Heinz Haller, Dow executive vice president and board chairman of DowAksa said, “Dow recognizes the importance of public-private partnerships such as IACMI to create innovative and strategic commercial opportunities aligned to attractive, high-volume industrial markets. IACMI enables further growth with our commercial partners such as Ford to meet demands for lighter weight, competitively priced composite automotive parts.”

DowAksa, a joint venture formed in 2012 between Dow and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S., one of the world’s largest acrylic fibre manufacturers based in Turkey, has become a leader in the production of carbon fibre and carbon fibre intermediates and high quality composite materials.

Dow Chemical’s integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agro-sciences, and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries. (GK)

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