VW chooses Dow Automotive's LESA technology for hybrid parts

Volkswagen will be the first commercial user of the LESA (low-energy surface adhesive) hybrid plastics/metal technology developed by Dow Automotive (Schwalbach, Germany). The carmaker will use LESA on the long-fiber-reinforced polypropylene/metal front-end systems for its new VW Polo vehicles, commercially available now in Europe.

During the Plastics in Automotive Design conference in Stuttgart, Germany earlier this year, Dow automotive officials hinted at this project but could not then name the carmaker. According to Dow, VW will save about 1.5 kg/part compared with its previous Polo front ends.

Dow supplies the LGF-PP as well as its Betamate adhesive for the parts, which are molded by Inplas (Azemeis, Portugal), a subsidiary of Simoldes (Oliveira de Azemeis, Portugal), one of the world''s leading manufacturers of injection molds.

LESA contrasts with other hybrid plastics/metal technologies, such as those offered by Lanxess, GE Advanced Materials, and others; LESA moldings include a closed-box design, with the box closed by a metal insert. Dow automotive says this design produces parts with better stiffness at lower weights than other technologies. -Matthew Defosse [email protected]