Teijin subsidiary expands

Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), a Teijin Group Company, is set to install a sheet molding compound (SMC) line at its facility in Pouance, France, to meet the needs for composites in Europe. CSP will invest approximately €5.1 million ($6 million) to establish the SMC line.

 

CSP is currently the largest compounder of SMC in North America, with current SMC volumes exceeding 84,000 U.S. tonnes annually. The installation of this SMC line in France will be used to further develop the company’s wide range of proprietary, advanced composite products, including low-volatile organic compounds (VOC) formulas currently under development to meet European market regulations. The line will be capable of producing SMCs made with both glass and carbon fibres.

 

The Teijin Group is leveraging its lightweight, strong, high-performance materials and integrated composite technologies as one of the key focuses of the transformation strategies for the group’s medium-term management plan, under which the company aims to expand business with a view to becoming a supplier of multi-material components.

 

The CSP Pouance facility is an innovative, rapid development centre for lightweighting technologies including carbon fibre resin transfer moulding (RTM), Class A RTM and thermoplastic composites.  The 12,000 sq.m. (130,000 sq.ft.) facility was purchased by CSP in 2013. 

 

The SMC line is expected start commercial operation by the third quarter of 2019.