Continental Structural Plastics, Inapal Components Reduce Weight, Complexity for New Luxury SUV in Europe
21.10.2020 14:30:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Inapal Plásticos, Continental Structural Plastics’ operations in Portugal, will be manufacturing a number of lightweight, low-density sheet molded compound (SMC) components for a premium luxury auto maker’s first SUV. These 11 components, ranging from under hood to underbody and Class A components, will reduce part complexity and overall vehicle weight.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201021005037/en/
Advanced composites allow for the molding of complex shapes to minimize parts, reducing weight and assembly complexity. (Photo: Business Wire)
By molding the complex radiator assembly frame in a low-density composite material, the OEM was able to minimize the number of parts required under the hood, significantly reducing assembly complexity and weight. Such parts are traditionally steel or aluminum and require multiple stamped components to be assembled to create the final product. Further, the SMC allows for the molding of complex shapes and deep draws, enabling CSP to create a finished assembly that fits the dramatic and distinctive styling of the vehicle.
The vehicle’s tailgate, molded in low-density, Class A SMC, is finished by CSP with a conductive primer before being shipped to the customer. This Class A SMC is e-coat oven capable, giving the customer the freedom to paint the tailgate in-house with the rest of the vehicle.
“Because this vehicle is the first SUV to be manufactured by this particular automaker, there are no direct comparisons to provide exact weight savings afforded by the use of low-density SMC,” said Orlando Rebelo, program manager at Inapal Plásticos. “But it is safe the say the weight savings will be significant and will contribute to the luxury performance customers will expect from this vehicle.”
The components will be manufactured at the CSP facilities in Leça, and Palmela, Portugal.
About Continental Structural Plastics
Continental Structural Plastics, a Teijin Group company, has provided leading-edge technologies in lightweight composite solutions for the automotive, heavy truck, HVAC and construction industries for 50 years. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, CSP provides full-service engineering support, and holds multiple patents covering materials development and manufacturing processes. The company has operations on three continents and more than 4,300 employees. For more information, visit cspplastics.com.
About the Teijin Group
Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan's first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials including aramid, carbon fibers and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibers and products converting; healthcare including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions”, Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future. The group comprises more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 853.7 billion (USD 8.0 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,004.2 billion (USD 9.4 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2020. Please visit www.teijin.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201021005037/en/
Contact information
Kim Zitny
+1 248-535-6944
kim.zitny@cspplastics.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Beacon Acquires Haize Labs to Power AI for the Real Economy17.9.2026 17:30:00 EEST | Press release
Beacon Software (Beacon), the first centralized AI holding company, today announced that it has acquired Haize Labs, an AI reliability company that tests and safeguards AI agents for real-world deployment. The Haize Labs team will join Beacon to form its Applied AI Research Group, with co-founder and CEO Leonard Tang joining as VP of AI Research to lead the AI operating system that is deployed across Beacon’s companies. Beacon believes that the fastest way to bring AI to the traditional economy is through the software businesses that essential industries already use and trust, equipping them with AI infrastructure. Beacon acquires these businesses for long-term growth and connects them to a centralized AI operating system that compounds with each additional acquisition and industry. The addition of the Haize Labs team will strengthen this centralized technology platform, which provides shared engineering, AI, product and go-to-market capabilities to Beacon’s portfolio of 45 software co
TIMELAB Develops OEM/ODM Hair Straightener Reaching 200°C at All Three Measured Points in 15 Seconds17.9.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
TIMELAB Co., Ltd., a Japanese beauty-appliance OEM/ODM provider, has developed a hair straightener for OEM/ODM customization for international hair care brands and professional markets. In testing at 230 V with a 260°C setting, all three measured plate locations reached at least 200°C after 15 seconds. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914187865/en/ Three-Point Plate Testing A European-market development unit with a maximum setting of 260°C was tested at 230 V. Fifteen seconds after power-on, readings at the front, center and rear were 212.5°C, 227.5°C and 200.0°C, respectively. From around 60 seconds onward, temperature differences among the three points narrowed, indicating a stable trend. Precision Temperature Control An NTC sensor inside the metal ceramic heater (MCH) detects temperature. A microcontroller (MCU) reads the signal and adjusts heater output. Upper and lower MCH heaters are controlled indepen
Earnix Brings Agentic AI to the Decisions That Drive Insurance Performance17.9.2026 16:09:00 EEST | Press release
Earnix today announced the introduction of Agent Hub, a curated catalog of insurance-specific AI agents and apps within Earnix AIOS — the AI Orchestration System powering Earnix’s pricing and rating, underwriting, and customer engagement solutions. Agent Hub brings agentic AI directly into these solutions, enabling more intelligent workflows and strengthening the high-stakes decisions that shape pricing, underwriting, customer engagement, growth, and profitability. In an increasingly turbulent insurance environment, the useful life of an insurance decision is getting shorter. Risk and market conditions are changing faster, making growth, profitability, and portfolio performance harder to manage. AI is increasing the speed and scope of what insurers can analyze, recommend, and increasingly act on — but as intelligence moves closer to action, the standard for governance, explainability, and accountability also rises. For insurers, that shift has direct implications for both financial per
Medisca Launches Global Peptide Division17.9.2026 16:07:00 EEST | Press release
Medisca today announced the launch of Medisca Peptides, a dedicated global division focused on expanding access to API-grade peptides and building an integrated peptide platform for pharmaceutical and personalized medicine markets worldwide. As the peptide landscape evolves, Medisca is proactively building the capabilities and infrastructure needed to support API-grade peptides within applicable regulatory frameworks. The launch represents a significant long-term commitment to peptides, including the expansion of Medisca’s portfolio, strategic manufacturing relationships, and the pharmaceutical infrastructure needed to support the category’s growth. It also signals Medisca’s ambition to become a leading force in the next generation of peptide innovation. For Medisca, the opportunity is familiar. More than 35 years ago, the company was founded to help close the gap between the pharmaceutical standards compounders needed and the quality ingredients they could readily access. Today, as pe
Elliptic Launches Its Decode Agent to Answer On-Chain Risk Questions and Shows Its Work17.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Elliptic, the global leader in on-chain risk, today launched Decode, an AI agent built on Elliptic’s intelligence platform. The Decode agent answers natural-language questions about cryptoasset addresses and their exposure in seconds, and returns the evidence behind every answer. Compliance and investigations teams need answers to questions nobody planned for. Getting them out of the data is now a specialist skill, so the questions wait for someone who has it, or go unasked. Meanwhile illicit actors move at machine speed, and agents are starting to sit on both sides of a payment. General-purpose AI assistants can produce an answer. They cannot show where it came from. A fluent response with nothing behind it cannot be put in front of a second-line reviewer, an auditor, or a regulator. “The market is full of AI that asks to be trusted. That is not good enough when someone asks how you reached a decision,” said Jackson Hull, CTO at Elliptic. “We published the Elliptic Standard last week
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom