LyondellBasell Industries is the only plastics raw material supplier that has received two coveted awards from Toyota Motor Europe for quality and supply performance in 2009. The company was honored with the Supplier Award for Quality for outstanding achievements in product quality and supply consistency that it provided to all Toyota manufacturing sites in Europe.
"We really appreciate the support LyondellBasell provides to our manufacturing sites in Europe, including their proactive approach and ongoing communications," said Emin Atac, Toyota's European general manager. Polypropylene (PP) compounds produced exclusively for Toyota are sourced from LyondellBasell's plant in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (UK), and supplied to Toyota facilities in France, the UK and Turkey.
Products rigorously tested
With PP compounding facilities located in the major regions of the world, LyondellBasell can provide original equipment manufacturers with the material consistency and quality they demand, regardless of where their operations are located or where the materials are specified. Before a LyondellBasell material is approved for use in a Toyota model, it undergoes rigorous testing. "Each batch is tested by LyondellBasell experts, then checked and pre-approved by Toyota quality control before being dispatched to a Toyota facility," explained Paul Ashurst, LyondellBasell's sales and project manager for Toyota in Europe.
Certificate of Supply award
LyondellBasell has also received the Certificate of Supply award from Toyota in Europe for two consecutive years. The award recognizes the company's excellent customer communications, on-time delivery and overall supply reliability of its polypropylene (PP) compounds used by Toyota for a variety of interior and exterior applications.
"The employees who work in our customer service organization and the production and supply chains at Milton Keynes understand Toyota's expectations and processes, and are always willing to go the extra step," said Ashurst. "This is what differentiates LyondellBasell from the competition is our quality and supply performance strengths."
LyondellBasell supplies Hostacom and Hifax polyolefin compounds used in a variety of Toyota interior and exterior applications. The company's Hifax resins demonstrate improved processability and higher stiffness compared to traditional materials; the resins were used in bumper applications for the Yaris model. Toyota's Auris model features instrument panels produced using LyondellBasell's Hostacom resins, which provide benefits such as dimensional stability, heat resistance, weight reduction and reduced processing times.