New Short Glass Fibers for PP Offer Superior Mechanical Performance, Tensile Strength and Impact Resistance 
 
In Paris, at March 29, 2011, at the annual JEC Composites Show, Owens Corning (NYSE:OC), a leading global producer of glass fiber reinforcements for composite systems, announced two new grades of short glass fiber (GF) reinforcements for polypropylene (PP) specifically engineered for automotive applications. They are available worldwide and provide alternatives to short GF reinforced polyamide (PA) and long glass fiber reinforced PP in automotive
applications.
 
”Thermoplastics are the material of choice in a broad range of demanding automotive applications because it provides outstanding design freedom, functional integration and processing efficiencies,” said Global Product Leader for dry use chopped strand thermoplastics Ludovic Chichignoud.
 
Owens Corning’s new grades, 248A and PerforMax® 249A short fibers, provide an exceptional balance of high-performance mechanical properties, tensile strength and impact resistance to meet increasingly tough automotive application requirements while reducing overall systems costs. Both new grades offer a more cost-effective alternative to short GF PA and long fiber thermoplastic (LFTP) PP.    
 
Chichignoud continued, “Global automotive OEMs, tiers and molders expect increased strength and fatigue resistance, higher quality and greater efficiency. Both 248A and PerforMax® 249A meet these requirements for producing high-performing PP components including door modules, front ends and air intake
manifolds.”
 
The new 248A and PerforMax®249A short fibers offer improved processing with low fuzz and fines generation providing easy dispersion in the extruder and less downtime.