• INEOS Styrolution unveils enhancement to Novodur product line uncovering a range of possibilities for automotive applications  
• Plastic 7A selects electroplatable ABS grade Novodur 4000PG for exterior wheel caps

Today INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, unveiled enhancements to its established portfolio of materials suitable for metallization. Extending the value of its Novodur product line to electroplating applications, Novodur Ultra 4000PG completes the state-of-the-art ABS portfolio, suitable for electroplating, by offering high heat resistance, impact strength and exceptional surface quality.

Novodur has emerged as a benchmark injection molding grade for electroplating processes. Novodur Ultra 4000PG enables a variety of automotive applications which require tailored impact and heat resistance coupled with high degree of purity for superior surface finish.

“Our specialty styrenics not only enable metallization processes but also help designers and OEMs address customer expectations regarding weight-reduction, costs savings and aesthetics. Complementing our extended range of material solutions, INEOS Styrolution also provides industry-leading expertise and collaboration to ensure customers realize the full benefits of electroplating with plastics”, says Pierre Juan, INEOS Styrolution’s Automotive Global Vice President.

Key points:

• Specialty styrenics for automotive exterior applications: Specialty styrenics for electroplating uncover a range of innovative application possibilities in the automotive industry where they are used in front car grills and give exterior as well as interior features the luxurious look and feel of chrome that consumers desire. Plastic 7A, a leading supplier for polymer-based solutions, identified INEOS Styrolution’s high heat electroplatable ABS grade Novodur 4000PG as the material of choice for its automotive wheel caps. Novodur was selected due to its high heat resistance, impact strength and most important due to its outstanding surface quality.
  
  

• A cost-effective material with premium aesthetics: The use of styrenic specialties instead of metal or other materials has increased extraordinarily due to the advantages styrenics provide in design freedom, flexibility, toughness and durability. Through the process of electroplating on Novodur, designers and OEMs are able to replace more expensive and dense materials while still achieving a glossy, chrome-like appearance resistant to corrosion and abrasion with high durability.
  
  

• Versatile design options: Clean and free of disturbance surfaces and a good adhesion of the metal layers to the plastic substrate are key requirements for electroplatable materials. The easy processability and coloring characteristics of styrenic polymers also make them attractive to designers and manufacturers, allowing changes to be simpler and more cost effective. Additionally, they enable expanded customer choice.