In addition, it offers greater freedom in manufacturing and design.
Through local production, Freeglass aims to cultivate business with Japanese automakers. The company has already supplied sample products to a number of domestic automakers. It expects manufacturers to make formal decisions on adoption of the glass in the next one to two years.
The company plans to decide on a plant location and manufacturing scale as early as this year.
The resin material is a transparent polycarbonate that is about 40 per cent lighter than glass. The material can be shaped using a mold and offers greater freedom than conventional glass in forming angles. To date, the disadvantage to using polycarbonate resin has been that its surface can be easily damaged. But Freeglass made use of a proprietary coating to make its resin as strong as glass in resisting surface damage.
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German Maker of Resin Auto Glass to Launch Japan Ops in 2008
Asia Pulse - Freeglass GmbH & Co., the German maker of resin automobile glass, plans to begin production in Japan as early as 2008.The resin glass is lighter than conventional glass and thus contributes to improvements in fuel efficiency.