Plastic Developments for European Passenger Car Production in Changing Times

The euphoric predictions that had been made as regards the increasing use of plastics in this field will not, after all, be fulfilled. There is unlikely to be any appreciable progress in the use of the two favourite materials - unsaturated polyesters and polyurethanes - if basic requirements are not newly worked out. The often repeated mention of the raw material and energy situation leeds us nowhere. Development can only be speeded up if one pays due attention to the basic rules underlying the choice of materials, namely technical progress, cost reduction, component optimisation and improved manufacturing techniques.

Urgent suppositions, which have to be solved, lie in the manufacturing field. Here the preparation for the series have to be made by locally employed teams. Hereby the adaption to costs has to be integrated in todays manufacturing. With regard to the manufacture of large body parts for Europe the following applies:

The pressing shop cannot be allowed to die.