Corporate News

April 02, 2019
Trinseo Launches Lightweight ABS LGF for Semi-Structural Automotive Parts

Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a global material solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, announces its innovative lightweight plastic that can replace metal in semi-structural components, providing up to 30 percent weight savings compared to magnesium or aluminum. The Company will present its new long-glass-fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS LGF) alloy at VDI’s Plastics in Automotive Engineering (PIAE) conference, held April 3-4, 2019 in Mannheim, Germany.

In the past, car makers looking for stable and reliable materials for structural components have opted for conventional steel, magnesium, or aluminum. Trinseo’s new ABS LGF enables high dimensional stability and high stiffness, making it the lightweight alternative for semi-structural components. As a structural polymer, the ABS LGF composite offers not only lower weight than magnesium, but also low VOC and low odor properties, and enables faster production cycle times.

Trinseo’s new ABS LGF has already been proven for performance after being used as an alternative to magnesium in an instrument carrier in the new BMW 3 Series. Working in co-operation with Tier One supplier Dräxlmaier, Trinseo was able to optimize the behavior of the material in terms of stiffness, warpage, crash and head impact, creating very narrow tolerances, and stability of the final component.

“With this new ABS LGF alloy product, we have developed a thermoplastic composite that combines high stiffness over a broad temperature range with high dimensional stability, which facilitates lighter weight designs in comparison  to aluminum and magnesium,” said Norwin van Riel, Technology Leader at Trinseo. “Automotive manufacturers are increasingly looking to reduce vehicle weight without affecting stability. Our new lightweight plastic solution offers an easy processing and lightweight solution.”

On Thursday, April 4, 2019, at 12:05 p.m., Trinseo will present the new material solution together with Dräxlmaier at VDI’s Plastics in Automotive Engineering conference. Their joint presentation is titled “30% weight savings and process improvement with a new LGF ABS Alloy material replacing metal for an instrument carrier and enabling a high dimensionally stable part” and is dedicated to a cooperative development of an innovative lightweight semi-structural automotive part. The presentation will also highlight how the new material leads to improvements in the manufacturing process.
About Trinseo

About Trinseo

Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a specialty material solutions provider, partners with companies to bring ideas to life in an imaginative, smart, and sustainability-focused manner by combining its premier expertise, forward-looking innovations and best-in-class materials to unlock value for companies and consumers.

From design to manufacturing, Trinseo taps into decades of experience in diverse material solutions to address customers’ unique challenges in a wide range of industries, including consumer goods, mobility, building and construction, and medical.

Trinseo’s approximately 3,400 employees bring endless creativity to reimagining the possibilities with clients all over the world from the company’s locations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Trinseo reported net sales of approximately $4.8 billion in 2021. Discover more by visiting www.trinseo.com and connecting with Trinseo on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and WeChat.

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