SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Extra-High-Temp Lexan* XHT PC Copolymers Shine Bright Light on Hella’s Automotive Headlamp Designs

BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – June 10, 2010 – Hella, a leading Tier 1 auto lighting supplier, has selected SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan* XHT resins to create a metallized headlamp bezel and a clear, ice blue-tinted bezel for two major European car manufacturers. The new high heat polycarbonate (PC) copolymers perform brilliantly in these high-heat headlamp applications, delivering outstanding thermal and color stability, excellent metallization performance and high gloss. Lexan XHT copolymers also provide easy processing and greater design flexibility, enabling Hella to create distinctive lighting and directly meet the need for ultra-high-performance materials to create colored/transparent and metallized headlamp bezels, as well as other cosmetic parts. SABIC Innovative Plastics’ advanced materials technologies for the automotive industry continue to break new ground, helping OEMs and Tiers meet customer demands for exciting style and next-generation performance.

“Temperatures in automotive lighting applications keep climbing and many traditional materials simply can’t handle the heat,” said Hella company spokesman Dr. Markus Richter. “SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan XHT resins are a clear solution. They are ideal for bezels, reflectors and other cosmetic parts that must maintain their appearance and stability under harsh, high-temperature conditions and give us the choice of transparency for tinted components or direct metallization for a highly reflective look. In either case, the new Lexan XHT technology is essential to our success in creating new lighting designs.”

“We have made a strategic investment in ultra-high-performance materials such as Lexan XHT copolymers in anticipation of increasing automotive application demands,” said Jim Wilson, global product marketing director, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “These materials have thrown open the door to new lighting designs while reducing system costs through enhanced processing and higher quality vs. competitive products. Our collaboration with Hella is driving design innovation to new levels to meet the demands of today’s savvy consumers.”

Cool Elegance under High-heat Conditions

Lexan XHT copolymers provide dimensional stability under the high temperature demands of today’s forward lighting designs and high-intensity halogen, xenon and light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Compared to traditional PC and other materials, Lexan XHT copolymers can handle continuous use in temperatures over 170C in metallized applications.

These new transparent resins can be custom tinted for sophisticated looks, such as Hella’s ice-blue transparent bezel, and retain their color stability over the lifetime of the vehicle.
Or, they can be metallized for a high-gloss, high-reflective appearance. Because of their excellent polymer-metal adhesion performance, Lexan XHT resins can be direct-metallized, avoiding the need for a coating application on the part. They have excellent resistance to humidity and deliver a high-quality metallized surface finish without bubbles or blisters.

Lexan XHT materials also provide easy processing, including high flow for thin-wall parts. These copolymers can be dropped into existing PC molding tools with only minor modifications.

For additional information on SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan XHT resins, please go to www.sabic-ip.com.

SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a
75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world’s top six petrochemicals manufacturers.

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* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.

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SABIC Innovative Plastics,
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