Solutia Keeps Pace With Vydyne(R) Demand in China's Automotive Market

The growing automotive market in China is one of the primary drivers that has led Solutia to expand its Vydyne presence in the region and invest capital to increase its global compounds production capacity.
As the global automotive industry becomes hypercompetitive along the cost-quality frontier, automotive manufacturers are seeking closer working relationships with their suppliers to help meet challenging goals. Solutia is advantaged as one of the world's few fully vertical, back-integrated nylon producers and compounders. "Performing the entire nylon production process, starting with the most basic raw materials, yields a very consistent and high quality product," says Dennis Godwin, global automotive market development manager, Nylon Plastics and Polymers. "Solutia also provides its own raw materials at many stages of the production process and is therefore less vulnerable to supply interruption. Our customers value that we are able to provide a continuous source of high quality nylon products in a tight market."

By applying its nylon application expertise, the Vydyne Automotive team has been able to reduce development time at a leading Chinese automotive supplier of radiator end tanks. According to Martin Lin, automotive technical account manager for Solutia Inc., "Having resins approved for radiator end tanks that have years of proven end-use performance at one of the world's largest automotive manufacturers has allowed us to move very quickly with molders and Tier 1 suppliers, such as Valeo. Moving quickly helps our partners in China obtain new business and save on development cost."