BASF: The use of engineering plastics per vehicle in Germany is five times that of China

Ou Dafu, Senior Vice President, Engineering Plastics Group, BASF Asia Pacific

Gasgoo.com: First of all, please briefly introduce the applications and prospects of engineering plastics in the automotive industry.

Oudafu: The engineering plastics used in automobiles are currently based on PA polyamides. According to an external research report, the use of polyamides in automobiles shows that the average amount of engineering plastics used per vehicle in China is now less than 5 kg, while in Germany each vehicle is 25 kg, which means that each vehicle in Germany is engineering plastics. The use of China is five times as much. This is one of the reasons why we are very optimistic about the Chinese market. In China, polyamides and PBT have great potential for growth in the automotive industry.

Assuming that China's auto production remains the same, increasing the amount of engineering plastic used on each vehicle on an existing basis is itself a very large market. Based on optimistic expectations for the Chinese engineering plastics market, we expanded the factory. In 2007, we built a 45,000-ton factory which was already considered a world-scale factory. Now according to the future growth potential and demand of the Chinese market, we have decided to more than double this capacity and increase production capacity by 65,000 tons. We hope that through our expanded factory, we will better meet the needs of China's automotive industry and the electrical and electronic industries for engineering plastics.

Gasgoo.com: BASF once predicted that the global plastics market will grow at an average rate of 5% by 2015. In Western Europe, the proportion has now increased from 6% in 1970 to 15%. There are also agencies that by 2020, the ratio may be Increased to more than 25%. What is the reason behind the development trend of using auto parts instead of steel for auto parts?

Oudafu: The development trend of engineering plastics to replace metals has several main reasons: First, it can reduce costs. It is not that plastic itself is cheaper than metal, but it is reflected in the flexibility and freedom of design. Because engineering plastics are made by injection molding, if the design is very complicated, metal cannot be made. A very complicated design may be something metal is made by welding 15-20 different parts. And the same thing, you can use injection molding to do it in a relatively low-cost way.

Second, functional integration. In the production process, its convenient performance is also better. The third point is light weight.

Gasgoo.com: You just mentioned that the use of engineering plastics in each vehicle in China is one-fifth that of Germany. The use of high-grade engineering plastics is now even lower. What do you think has constrained the development of high-grade engineering plastics in China?

Ou Dafu: I think there are several reasons: First, the process of using metal is a mature process. Everyone knows how to do metal processing. If you want to use engineering plastics, you must first have different equipment. The knowledge and skills are not Everyone knows. Second, engineering plastics have a characteristic, and its premise is high investment. For example, if you want to match the mold of the production line and the modulation of the production line, the initial cost will be very high, but then the marginal cost will be lower. At present, the constraint is not due to the fact that China's overall production scale is not enough, but that there are many Chinese vehicle manufacturers and the number of vehicle models is relatively large. This is a relatively decentralized state, and it is difficult to achieve the scale economy required for engineering plastics production. I think this situation will change in the future. Every year, the proportion of China's bicycle engineering plastics will surely increase, but it needs a process.

Gasgoo.com: What are the key applications of engineering plastics in automobiles?

Ou Dafu: In fact, in addition to batteries and battery casing, engineering plastics, especially PA, have been used in the seat structure. The seat uses PA engineering material. This seat structure is now available. In addition to foam and polyurethane fillers, the exterior is steel. Now is the use of engineering plastics to replace steel structures, this product has already come out. In addition, the oil pan is now metal, and there will be engineering plastic oil pans in the future. The body structure of the front suspension of the car will have PA nylon, ie polyamide, plus a mixture of metal structures. Another application is the gearbox housing.

Gasgoo.com: How long is BASF's research and development cycle in automotive engineering plastics? Where is the biggest difficulty in the R&D process?

Oudafo: Development cycle is divided into product development cycle and application development cycle. The application development cycle includes the final application, such as the development of automobiles, electronic components or components, all of which belong to the category of application development. The general development cycle of electronics is 6-18 months. The car is relatively long, 2-8 years. In general, the life cycle of Western-generation models is seven years, which means that the parts and components you developed for this generation of cars are sufficient for a seven-year cycle. China's cycle may be a little compressed, and the car itself is a more complex system. I think there is no difficulty. Product development refers to the development of raw materials, such as engineering plastics, such as PA, which is conducted in our laboratory. Constantly developing and improving our products is actually part of our daily work. This side of course will involve overcoming some technical difficulties and so on. Our product development mainly responds to the needs of our customers. For example, we are now very concerned about the battery this is an example, in fact, its main driver comes from the customer's request.

Gasgoo.com: What is the positioning and operation mode of BASF's engineering technology research and development center in Shanghai and its localized R&D team?

Oudafu: Our technical center is located in Jinqiao, Pudong. The design and component testing in the field of engineering plastics are the services we provide. Another feature is to be able to do very advanced CAE (Computer-aided Engineering Design), product simulation and simulation on the computer. Simulations can be performed on the computer before the part has produced the initial sample, such as what would happen in actual use, as well as performance and performance. In this way, we can further reduce the time period for developing products, thereby reducing costs.

The technical center currently has two Korean technicians, and the rest are Chinese technicians. We will not invite many foreign technical experts from Germany or elsewhere to lead the technical center in China. We will train in the local area and send local engineers to the technical centers in other countries to receive training, including training at our technical centers in Korea, Japan and Germany.

Gasgoo.com: Thank you for accepting my interview.

Note: The output of engineering plastics modification plant in Pudong Base will increase by 65,000 tons per year, doubling the total output. The first phase of the expansion project is expected to be completed in 2013 and the second phase will be completed in 2015. The current annual output of BASF's operating engineering plastics modification plant is 45,000 tons.