Magna Exteriors and Interiors has announced the teaming up with the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) in order to add wood fibre into auto components.
A high-volume process and product technology has been planned to be developed by the company and it combines pulp sourced from Canada and wood fibres from North Ontario to the automotive components. Long glass filled polypropylene (LGFPP) is used to mould several sub-systems and components for worldwide manufacturers of automotives.
Wood fibre can replace glass fibre in certain applications, as it offers essential physical and mechanical properties. When the primary testing process has been completed, the company’s objective will be to increase the amount of wood fibre to obtain optimized performance.
During the phase II of the project, the knowledge obtained from using wood fibre in automotive components can possibly be applied for high-volume industrial and consumer products. The packaging industry demands higher material volumes for yearly processing. Logistics pallets are ideal for material solutions based on wood fibres, as weight and cost benefits will decrease the overall expenses and use pulping capacity in Canada for wood fibre supply.
CRIBE is carrying out an investment of $1.3 million in this technology, as it helps two main industries in Ontario, which are automotive manufacturing and forestry. Also, the government of Alberta has combined with CRIBE to help this significant project. Magna has announced plans to partner with the National Research Council (NRC), Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures and Alberta Bio-materials Development Centre (ABDC) for this technology development. Magna will jointly work with pulping companies in order to develop wood fibres.
Source: http://www.magna.com/
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