Magna’s carbon-fiber molding tech wins JEC automotive award

AURORA, Ot.—Magna International Inc. has been selected as a 2016 JEC Americas Innovation Award winner in the automotive category for the molding process used in making carbon-fiber hoods for Cadillac.

The award is based on technical excellence, working with supply-chain partners, market potential and originality.

The JEC Innovation Awards identify, promote and reward the most innovative composite solutions worldwide. This year’s winners were announced May 4, 2016, as part of the JEC Americas Composites Show & Conferences in Atlanta, Ga.

“Our thanks to the judges for recognizing our efforts with a JEC Innovation Award,” said Grahame Burrow, president of Magna Exteriors. “We pride ourselves at Magna on our engineering and manufacturing leadership, and in having the breadth of knowledge to work with the right materials for the right applications as we respond to customer and market challenges with innovative, reduced-mass solutions.”

At its Polycon Industries manufacturing division in Ontario, Magna manufactures the auto industry’s first volume production of carbon fiber hoods for Cadillac’s 2016 ATS-V and CTS-V high-performance models. The hoods are more than 27 per cent lighter than aluminum hoods and 72 per cent lighter than steel hoods.

The innovation is the result of years of development at Magna, a company at the forefront of R&D efforts to enable carbon-fiber manufacturing at the required volumes for the auto industry.

“Through our lightweighting expertise, we can help customers meet challenging fuel economy and reduced emissions standards,” said Swamy Kotagiri, Magna’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our ability to look at the vehicle holistically uniquely positions us to offer solutions from advanced and ultra high-strength steels to thin seats, multi-material structures, and innovative composites like carbon fiber hoods.”