Japan

Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo) concluded a technical partnership agreement with Gordon Murray Design Limited (GMD; Shalford, U.K.) on the side-lines of the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011 aimed at promoting GMD's iStream hybrid production process in vehicle manufacture and other industrial sectors.

For all the talk of Japan's automakers shifting significant production of vehicles in the wake of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and associated tsunami, the outlook for 2012 auto domestic sales at least looks rosy according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA; Tokyo).

Japanese resin supplier Kaneka (Osaka) is claiming an industry first with development of a flame-retardant, glass fiber-reinforced PET grade that employs a non-halogenated flame retardant and can be utilized in environments exposed to temperatures of up to 150ºC.

The market for solar installations based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film panels will nearly double in size to $2.35 billion in 2015, as manufacturers signaled a breakout year in 2011 by taking advantage of falling production costs, improving module conversion efficiencies and increasing adoption in commercial rooftops. This according to a Lux Research (Boston, MA) report titled Sorting through the Maze of CIGS Technologies: Who Will Cash in on the Breakout Year?.

Carbon fiber-reinforced grades of thermoplastics such as polypropylene (PP) are nothing new but Japan's Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo) reports that it has succeeded in making performance advances that make such CFRP composites a more attractive option in automotive applications.

Synthetic mineral reinforcing fibers developed by Milliken (Spartanburg, SC) will debut this year in the rear tail gate of a 2013 model Japanese hatchback vehicle. Hyperform HPR-803i can replace talc in filled PP compounds, bringing density reductions and improved scratch resistance.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI)  has got the thumbs up from shipping classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV; Singapore) for a large container ship fueled not by heavy oil, but environmentally friendlier liquid natural gas (LNG), with plastics playing a key role in containment of the fuel.

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. and its affiliated Prime Polymer Co. (both Tokyo) are to boost capacity for polypropylene compounds in Thailand to meet growing demands of the automotive materials sector in the region.

Toray Industries (Tokyo) has purchased the remaining shares in Société des Fibres de Carbone S.A. (Soficar), a subsidiary engaged in manufacturing and sales of carbon fibers in France, in which Toray held a 70% stake, from Arkema (Colombes, France). Along with the purchase of the remaining stake, Toray is renaming Soficar as Toray Carbon Fibers Europe S.A. (CFE).

As part of its development strategy in high-growth countries, and particularly China, Tier I Valeo (Paris) has acquired an 80% shareholding in the Chinese automotive lighting specialist Ruby from Chery Technology, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Chery Automobile (Wuhu, China). Chery Technology will retain a 20% stake in the company.