BASF has announced it was selected as a 2014 Automotive News PACE Award finalist for its mold-in-color high touch, high gloss black interior door switch bezels that offer durability and a luxury appearance while saving production costs.
The specially formulated resin BASF created to achieve the mold-in-color, high gloss interior design application uses its Ultramid® polyamide technology. The innovation is an industry-first, resulting in cost savings and in interior components that demonstrate excellent scratch and mar resilience, plus high color, gloss and depth-of-image appearance without the use of paint.
“We were challenged with producing a specific color with good scratch resistance. We used one of our standard base materials and we created a new recipe that allowed us to compound in other resins and additives in order to achieve the desired performance. It’s an impressive part,” said Mark D. Minnichelli, director, Technology and Development, BASF Performance Materials/Engineering Plastics. “Our team was asked to develop a material that had a rich, deep-black, high-gloss appearance as molded, with a highly durable scratch-resistant surface, and UV-stable color performance. These attributes are challenging to achieve simultaneously.”
The Automotive News PACE Awards honor superior innovation , technological advancement, and business performance among automotive suppliers. BASF was chosen among 34 other innovative finalists for the 2014 awards.
About the Automotive News PACE Awards
The Automotive News PACE Awards, now in its 20th year, is recognized around the world as the industry benchmark for automotive innovation . PACE stands for Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence. The 2014 Automotive News PACE Awards will be presented on April 7, 2014, at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit, Michigan.