Plastics Industry Plays Growing Role in U.S. Automotive Growth

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--All politics aside, the Automotive Industry is continuing with its effort to increase fuel economy. An Obama-era mandate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which targets a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, has not been relaxed. Auto manufactures are looking for ways to improve their vehicles to reach that target--including weight reduction, which they are pursuing with the help of the plastics industry.

Reducing a vehicle's weight by 10% can improve its fuel economy by 6% to 8%, according to the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division. Plastic parts also use less energy in production, reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the manufacturing process. Consequently, plastics now make up about 50% of the volume of a new auto, but less than 10% of its weight.

The plastics industry continues to find new uses for plastics in automobiles. Several plastics manufacturers are using the opportunity to build new facilities or expanding existing ones:

• Proper Group International (Warren, Michigan) is nearing completion of a new, $15.4 million injection-molding facility in Greenville, South Carolina; see project report
• Hematite Manufacturing Incorporated/Pavaco Plastics Incorporated (Guelph, Ontario) is finalizing work on a new, $18 million parts plant in Englewood, Ohio; see project report
• Jiangnan Mould & Plastic Technology Company Limited (Jiangyin, China) is getting into the U.S. market with its $45 million plant in Greer, South Carolina; see project report
• Mar-Bal Incorporated (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) is working on a $15 million renovation of a vacant property for an auto parts injection molding plant; see project report
• Adkev Incorporated (Goodland, Indiana) is getting started on a $15.7 million renovation of a site formerly owned by Caterpillar Incorporated (NYSE:CAT) (Peoria, Illinois) to produce injection-molded auto parts; see project report
• Continental Structural Plastics Incorporated (Auburn Hills, Michigan), a subsidiary of Teijin Limited (Osaka, Japan), is investing $40 million to add more injection-molding capability at its plant in New Baltimore, Ohio; see project report
• Beach Mold & Tool Incorporated (New Albany, Indiana) is working on a $12.3 million expansion of its injection-molding facility in New Albany to increase production capability; see project report

These projects alone come to $161.4 million in capital outlays, and it remains to be seen if the Trump administration's recent tax cuts will foster further activity.

There are other benefits to using more plastic in automobile manufacturing, such as parts consolidation, which eases storage and handling and reduces assembly time, and crash energy absorption, as a plastic composite part can absorb up to 12 times the crush energy of a comparable steel part.

The Automotive Industry has doubled its use of plastic and composite materials in the last 20 years. As it works on many more ways to utilize plastic in automotive manufacturing, more development in this market segment can be expected.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.