Chemical company Eastman and Gruppo Maip, a plastics formulator and compound producer based in Turin, Italy, are to partner on the formulation of new sustainable polymer solutions for automotive interior applications.
“Gruppo Maip is the right strategic partner to help bring new sustainable polymer formulations to the automotive industry,” said Scott Ballard, Eastman’s vice president and general manager of specialty plastics.
Gruppo Maip will make use of two Eastman products, Tritan Renew and Trēva Renew. The former utilizes Eastman’s polyester renewal technology and delivers up to 50% certified recycled content diverted from post-consumer and post-industrial waste streams. Unlike mechanically recycled plastics, the company claims the material offers the same high performance as virgin plastics.
Meanwhile, Trēva Renew offers up to 48% biobased content sourced from sustainably managed forests and is certified by the USDA’s BioPreferred program. In addition, the material benefits from carbon renewal technology that uses mixed waste plastic, providing an additional 23% certified recycled content as an alternative to polycarbonate, ABS and PC-ABS.
“This partnership allows us to develop breakthrough specialty plastic formulations for auto makers to meet their aggressive targets for sustainable content and replacement of petroleum-based materials,” added Eligio Martini, president of Gruppo Maip.
“Through Eastman’s circular recycling technologies, OEM manufacturers will now be able to specify content and recycled-content plastics in critical Class A components, such as molded-in-color interior trim.”
