Victrex plc is a UK-headquartered, global high-performance polymer solutions provider. Matthew Beecham spoke to Stephen Dougherty, Strategic Marketing Director, Victrex Polymer Solutions about its automotive business, applications and some misconceptions about the use of certain materials in vehicle manufacture.
Could you tell us a little about Victrex's advanced polymers for automotive applications and the most important things for your customers?
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Knowing that there is no compromise on cost and performance in the automotive sector, Victrex partners with all stakeholders along the value chain to provide the specific support and solutions they need, from concept to launch, in order to turn today's challenges into their benefits. Equally important, we are the only Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) manufacturer, including Victrex PEEK, in the world with more than 35 years of experience, a vertically-integrated supply chain, and the capacity to deliver high-quality PAEK solutions just-in-time.
This is extremely important for automotive manufacturers, who are making use of the latest materials technologies as part of their move towards developing efficient, safe, eco-friendly, enjoyable, yet affordable vehicles which conform to the latest environmental legislation. Particularly in the highly compact, high-efficiency conventional engines now demanded by the automotive industry, high performance materials such as Victrex PEEK provide solutions in areas with higher temperatures and higher load conditions of such engines.
As a result of teaming up with industry leading companies across the globe Victrex has helped to develop applications that achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions, enhance efficiency, reliability and durability, and increase component lifetime. Victrex PEEK is being used in the most demanding environments due to its excellent resistance to grease, oil particle contamination and current automotive fluids, making it the key proven material of choice in automotive design and manufacture.
What are the forces driving change in your automotive business?
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By GlobalDataAutomotive is, of course, a global market with stringent demands in terms of reducing CO2 emissions. Europe is ahead of the game following the Euro VI emission standard setting the requirement of 95g/100km in 2020. North America is following the Tier II, Bin 4 MPG directives also driving CO2 emission reduction. Meanwhile, the fastest growing market, Greater China has already implemented the Euro V emission standard in the Beijing region. Environmental legislation is therefore one of the main forces driving change for us.
Light weighting of the car, however, is not a major driver for using our products. Victrex PEEK has proven to deliver critical performance requirements, improved durability and improved moment of inertia, especially when replacing metals such as steel.
Another force we see driving change in the automotive industry is the increasing demand for enhanced driver, passenger and pedestrian safety. According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, more than 1.2 million people are killed and about 50 million are injured on the world's roads and the car is the killer number one of young people. It is of no surprise that ESP became an obligation in Europe last November.
Since the introduction of ABS, we have been working with our partners in the value chain. Together we enabled more than 200 million proven Victrex PEEK-based ABS systems and millions of ESC systems – making the world's roads a little safer.
We also see major trends driven by the end user such as the increasing demand for improved driving experience and driving comfort but also OEM and Tier 1 driven trends like the strong requirement for more durable and reliable materials that can cope with the tougher environment, e.g. higher torque, higher temperatures, poor lubrication, design constraints that come as a result of smaller engines, fewer cylinders, turbocharging and alternative powertrain solutions. Victrex and its PEEK is a solution to a lot of challenges where other materials are no longer suitable. Victrex PEEK can provide benefits translating into CO2 emission improvements, enhanced safety and improved driving experience while helping Tier 1s and OEMs to boost productivity with an injection mouldable, easy-to-process solution providing sustainable system cost improvements.
The powertrain is constantly changing, with different types of transmission, ICE, cylinders etc. With higher engine temperatures and smaller areas in which to package technologies, I guess that puts pressure on your engineering team to offer new products that perform the same job. How do you address that?
We have a dedicated global team of automotive market and technology experts continuously monitoring industry trends. We proactively look ahead to the future developments, pressures and challenges our customers face. In doing that, we can anticipate their needs and ready to respond to their changing requirements, helping them move ahead of the competition and impact the bottom line.
To what extent are you involved in technology partnerships to develop these highly engineered technologies?
In many cases we are involved throughout the whole product development process. This makes perfect sense for two reasons: First, rather than supplying the raw material, we partner with our customers in order to help to develop valuable solutions. Second, as the PEEK material experts, we have a long history of proven successes within the automotive industry.
In an age of downsized engines, do you see the balancing system market growing or declining? And to what extent does certain trends – such as down sized engines or engine technologies – affect that pace of growth?
In an area demanding more from less, with the strong trend towards smaller engines with fewer cylinders (2-3 cylinder) we see the balancing system market growing and the requirement for even more advanced materials increasing. Along with some of the regulations for passenger safety, the engine will become smaller and lower in a hotter and harsher environment, a condition that under-the-hood materials need to cope with.
Are there some misconceptions about the use of certain materials in vehicle manufacture?
The remainder of this interview is available on just-auto's QUBE Global light vehicle materials market- forecasts to 2030
