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| January 27, 2015 |
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Mitsubishi Chemical, Mazda Jointly Develop New Grade of DURABIO™,
Bio-based Engineering Plastic for Exterior Automotive Components
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Company name
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Ishizuka) today announced that MCC and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda; Head office: Aki-gun, Hiroshima; President: Masamichi Kogai) have jointly developed a new grade of bio-based engineering plastic called DURABIO™, which can be used in exterior automotive components.
This new grade of DURABIO™ will also be used for interior components for the new Mazda MX-5, which will be launched worldwide in 2015. In the future, exterior components using the new grade will be introduced on a succession of other Mazda production models.
DURABIO™, developed by MCC, is a bio-based engineering plastic made from plant-derived isosorbide. It offers higher resistance to impact, heat, and weather than conventional engineering plastics. In addition, it can be colored with ease and has extremely high transparency, which imparts a glossy, highly reflective surface can be created simply by mixing DURABIO™ with pigment. Another advantage is its hardness, which enhances durability and scratch resistance. These properties mean DURABIO™ eliminates the need for a coating step, thereby reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inherent in any such process. These superior characteristics have led another automaker to adopt DURABIO™ for a range of interior components.
The innovative MCC development of the new grade will optimize the material characteristics of DURABIO™ for use in both interior and exterior components, while Mazda focused on development of processing technologies.
The result of this joint development effort was a combination of appearance and performance impossible to achieve with painted components.
MCC's ongoing R&D is aimed at developing performance products that help create eco-friendly, higher value-added products to support the global automotive market.
For further information, please contact:
Public Relations and Investor Relations Office
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation
Tel: [+81] (0)3-6748-7140
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