This strategy has yielded their high-performance Complet Hybrid long glass and carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials, which are cost effective and have wide application potential
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the long fiber composites market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes compounder PlastiComp, Inc. of Winona, Minn., with the 2015 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation. Identifying the need to reduce the cost and weight of products, PlastiComp introduced their Complēt Hybrid long glass and carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials for customer applications requiring higher performance. These composites help automotive companies adhere to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standard, which is compelling original equipment manufacturers to make vehicles lighter and cleaner than ever before.
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PlastiComp uses a proprietary pultrusion compounding method to manufacture Complēt Hybrid long glass and carbon fiber-reinforced composites. This method assists in deriving a homogeneous injection-molding material apt for diverse industry applications that can make use of long fiber composites as an alternative to heavier metal materials.
Integrating continuous glass and carbon fibers in the right proportion to obtain effective long fiber composites has been PlastiComp's key focus. The company can tailor mixing ratios per the specifications of varied customers with regards to cost and performance. When compared to conventional thermoplastic materials, long fiber composites are stronger, tougher, and lighter while offering a similar life cycle and ability to be recycled or re-ground.
PlastiComp's optimum mix of proactive and reactive product development strategies has helped it develop an extensive portfolio of composite solutions, which allows customers to choose the best-fit material for their needs. The company's strong expertise in quickly developing customized products that resolve key customer challenges has also played a key role toward this end.
Technologically sturdy, PlastiComp has managed to spread its products globally. The company has maintained perfect parity between the functional performance of its products and the customer service it offers by continuously introducing composite solutions with enhanced value propositions.
"Part of PlastiComp's success must be attributed to its culture of innovation and excellence in addressing emerging industry requirements by gauging market trends and responding to them," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Soundarya Shankar. "For instance, when customers were skeptical about the fatigue- and creep-resistance properties of discontinuous fiber-reinforced composites, the company developed unidirectional continuous fiber inserts to be molded with the long fiber thermoplastic compounds. As a result, the material's load-to-fatigue life of 1 million cycles was increased from 50 to 70 percent of the strength of the material."
PlastiComp clearly stands out as a company with differentiated abilities that is capable of giving customers a rich ownership experience. By offering mold flow and finite element performance analysis services along with designated teams of specialized design and composite engineers, the company serves as an end-to-end service provider.
"Overall, PlastiComp's comprehensive approach to strengthen its market position has enabled it to fortify customer relationships and brand image," summed up Shankar. "As things stand, the company is far ahead of the competition."
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it offers customers, which, in turn, increases customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About PlastiComp
PlastiComp, Inc. focuses on developing and providing long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite technologies to partners worldwide. These include ready-to-process long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) pelletized composites along with process development and manufacturing equipment licensing for LFT pultrusion, in-line direct long fiber thermoplastic (D-LFT) Pushtrusion®, and in-line direct glass mat thermoplastic (D-GMT®) technologies. PlastiComp's injection moldable Complēt® LFT composites are available as standard and custom engineered formulations that combine long glass, carbon, and other specialty fiber reinforcement with thermoplastic polymers from polypropylene to PEEK.
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Kirk Fratzke
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