Dow Automotive supports thousands of technology-driven solutions for improving vehicle safety, durability, acoustics, design flexibility and aesthetics. Nearly all of our solutions reduce vehicle weight and provide assembly efficiencies that result in lower total production cost. When it comes to leveraging Dow’s industry-leading plastics portfolio, Dow Automotive is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive solutions rather than simply selling pounds of material.

“Our approach is to work with customers to determine how plastics can solve design and engineering issues for a particular application,” said Todd Prey, Vice President Plastics and Fluids for Dow Automotive. “We do this by letting our science and technology expertise drive the material selection process. The outcomes are solutions that utilize products in Dow’s existing portfolio or solutions that result in innovative new products that produce game-changing results.”

A good example is a new patented technology from Dow Automotive for the use of plastics in seatbacks, an important area that has previously been dominated by metal. Select grades of PULSE™ PC/ABS engineering resins have been optimized to support the blow-moulding process in the manufacture of fully structural blow-moulded seatbacks. These seatbacks fulfill load requirements and globally mandated safety standards, and the design incorporates integrated plastic reinforcements that enable absorption of impact energy and provide stiffness retention.

In addition, mass and weight have been reduced, cost savings have been realized and passenger comfort has been accommodated through lumbar support that is integrated into the plastic moulding. This innovative solution from Dow Automotive has been acknowledged with a PACE Award from Automotive News as well as a Society of Plastics Engineers International (SPE) Innovation award.

To support innovations like the blow-moulded seatback, Dow Automotive has integrated technical capabilities into its global business model to ensure total programme involvement wherever we do business. We have engineering centers strategically located near our customers that employ personnel experienced in all aspects of materials science, part design and prototyping, tool design, and testing and validation appropriate for optimizing solutions under simulated and actual conditions.

When combined with our technical expertise, Dow Automotive’s focus on application development is further enabled through a portfolio comprised of polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and engineering thermoplastic resins. These materials can be further enhanced with other functional polymers, plastomers and elastomers that contribute to processing advantages and component look and feel. We also offer special programmes, like PROMATCH^SM self-colouring service, to create consistency and colour accuracy from batch to batch while maintaining UV stability and scratch resistance.  

“Dow Automotive is pleased to participate in events such as the K Show where we can showcase key technologies that are made possible through the innovative use of plastics,” Prey added.

Dow Automotive will display its new blow-moulded seatback technology, along with other recent interior and exterior innovations, at the K Show in Dusseldorf, Germany from October 24-31, 2007. The organization will have experts on hand to discuss these and other plastics-enabled solutions for the automotive industry.

About Dow Automotive

Dow Automotive is a leading global provider of technology-driven solutions that meet consumer demand for vehicles that are safer, stronger, quieter, lighter, cleaner, comfortable and stylish. The organization provides plastics, adhesives, glass bonding systems, sealants, emissions control technology, films, fluids and structural enhancement and acoustical management solutions to OEM, tier and aftermarket customers around the world. For additional information about Dow Automotive products, services, and application development centers, visit www.dowautomotive.com.

About Dow

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.

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