Mitsui Chemicals is establishing a new production facility for long glass fibre reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) at the Ohio plant of its US subsidiary Advanced Composites. The new facility, with capacity of 3,500 tons per year, will be completed in September 2019. LGFPP is a lightweight material, already being used in unpainted insides of rear car doors.

The facility will start operating in October 2019.

LGFPP is a composite material made by melting and mixing polypropylene (PP) resin with long glass fibres. The lightweight material offers an attractive appearance, with long glass fibres providing a good balance between hardness and impact resistance. The material is already being adopted in areas such as the unpainted insides of rear car doors.

The recent strengthening of environmental regulations and a shift toward electric vehicles have led to increasing demand for automotive lightweighting. As a result, demand is expected to grow for fibre-reinforced resins, which offer the prospect of a 30 per cent reduction in weight when used to replace metal (for example insides of rear car doors). The decision to establish a new LGFPP production facility in the US comes in response to growing demand in North America. (SV)