Plasan Carbon Grabs SPE Auto Innovation Award for its OEM Model Composed of Ashland’s Pliogrip Adhesive

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Ashland Performance Materials, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is pleased to announce that its customer, Plasan Carbon Composites, has received 2012 Automotive Innovation Award from the Society for Plastics Engineers (SPE). Plasan Carbon was recognized Body Exterior category for its work on the carbon composite hood assembly for the OEM Make & Model: Chrysler Group LLC 2013 model year SRT Viper. Ashlands Pliogrip structural adhesives were used as part of this award-winning project.

For the 42nd consecutive year, SPE recognized plastics innovation in ground transportation in the following categories: Body Exterior, Body Interior, Chassis/Hardware, Materials, Performance & Customization, Powertrain, Process/Assembly/Enabling Technologies, and Safety.

This hood assembly is a Class A carbon fiber reinforced plastics part with a large complex clamshell geometry. The part represents the largest Class A carbon fiber composite part provided to a mainstream OEM. Design, tooling, and fabrication technologies from both marine and aerospace were employed for the first time in automotive to facilitate layup of the complex geometry with severe undercuts. Local section thickness was varied to meet structural requirements. The final part, incorporating fenders as well as hood, is 44 percent lighter than the previous hood-only assembly in SMC, helping improve weight distribution and lower the vehicles center of gravity, for better vehicle dynamics and power-to-weight ratio.

A new Pliogrip two-part structural polyurethane adhesive from Ashland Performance Materials was used to bond the structural inner supports to the Class A outer panels. The Pliogrip adhesive was selected for two tangible performance benefits. First, it passed the Chrysler Groups stringent specification without any surface preparation on the bonded surfaces, thereby avoiding costly primer or scuff steps in production. Second, the Pliogrip adhesive minimized bond line read-through on the cosmetic Class A surfaces.

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In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.