Carbon fiber composites application center to open in Auburn Hills

Teijin Limited (Tokyo) will inaugurate its Teijin Composites Application Center (TCAC) in Auburn Hills, MI, on April 1. The technical center will develop automotive and other industrial applications for carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composite products.

Teijin tech center in Michigan targets auto developments.

TCAC is part of Teijin Advanced Composites America Inc. (TACA), a company Teijin established in December 2011 to conduct marketing and develop applications for CFRTP composite products. TACA is in turn a wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin Holdings USA, Inc., the Teijin Group's holding company in the United States.

Teijin's CFRTP composite business is centered on its innovative technology for high volume production of CFRTP components with cycle times of less than a minute, a breakthrough that overcomes one of the biggest challenges in the automotive industry and represents a long stride towards the increasing usage of carbon fiber in automobiles and other products.

In December Teijin signed an agreement with General Motors to co-develop advanced carbon fiber composite technologies for potential high-volume use in GM cars, trucks and crossovers. This co-development will take place at TCAC.

The opening of TCAC marks another milestone in Teijin's global expansion of its carbon fiber composite business. Teijin will continue to develop markets as a global leader in the field of carbon fiber composite products, aiming at annual sales of 150 to 200 billion yen ($1.8-2.4 billion) by around 2020.-[email protected]