New facility for plastics development
1 min read
Plastics manufacturer Luxus is building a new laboratory which will be used to develop new high-performance materials, many of which are destined for major automotive clients.
The investment at the Louth, Lincolnshire site will give Luxus the ability to accelerate development of thermoplastic polymers with a high recycled content, primarily for global automotive industry clients including Nissan, Ford, Jaguar, BMW and Renault.
The 140-strong, £21m business is committed to developing sustainable components for car interiors, along with its other services which include transit packaging recycling schemes.
Luxus MD Peter Atterby says the lab will help the company's growth plans: "Our team will be housed in a new state-of-the-art facility that will enable them to continue to undertake thermoplastic polymer testing, development and analysis research work that provides bespoke solutions for niche market needs.
"For example, we are achieving improvements in compound design through a new European collaboration project that focuses on the technical aspects of recycled polymers in car interiors. It has recently led to the development of a new lightweight polymer, Hycolene, that reduces interior component weight to enable manufacturers meet tough CO2 targets – its route to market will no doubt be speeded up thanks to the lab."
The facility is due to be completed by December 2012.
