US-based thermoset resin manufacturer Momentive Specialty Chemicals has announced that it will set up a Transportation Research and Application Centre (TRAC) in Germany for the development and testing of lightweight structural composite solutions for the transportation, aerospace and automotive industries.
The centre will provide support to other research and development facilities of the company that are located around the world.
The TRAC will be located in the premises of the company’s existing plant in Duisburg. This plant specialises in the production, research and development of new formulations intended for various end industries. The new research centre will consist of advanced dosing/injection unit and press from Cannon, which has been specifically created for the production of epoxy composite test components in small batches in conformance to a set of conditions laid out by customers. New formulations have helped in the introduction of fast moulding methods instead of the traditional and slower Resin Transfer Moulding which help in reducing cycle times for automotive applications. The main equipment for application technology will be installed at the TRAC by the end of March 2012 and the centre is expected to be fully operational by April-May 2012.
According to the President of Momentive’s Epoxy, Phenolic and Coatings division, TRAC will help the company to expand its capabilities and customer reach and will also act as an additional support to the research and development facilities that are already operated by the company.
Source: http://www.momentive.com