e2ip, Antolin and Walter Pack form alliance to focus on IME technology and manufacturing
by CM Staff
Through this alliance, e2ip, Antolin and Walter Pack become an integrated IME solution providers for the automotive industry with control of all elements of this technology from intellectual property to integrated manufacturing.
MONTREAL, BURGOS and BILBAO — Antolin, a supplier of technology solutions for automotive interiors; Walter Pack, an Antolin partner and global In-Mold-Decoration (IMD) company; and e2ip technologies, an In-Mold-Electronics technology manufacturer, have announced the establishment of the In-Mold-Electronics (IME) Alliance, a global initiative focused on IME technology and manufacturing.
In-Mold Electronics (IME) is a manufacturing process that integrates printed and component electronics directly into the structural surface of the product during the automated molding phase, enabling the integration of functionality and design. Another benefit of this technology is its sustainability: using the product’s existing structure and material (e.g., a door panel) to incorporate functional electronics within the structural surface reduces the eco-footprint of the component.
Through this alliance, e2ip, Antolin and Walter Pack become an integrated IME solution providers for the automotive industry with control of all elements of this technology from intellectual property to integrated manufacturing (printing, high pressure forming, injection molding), lighting and advanced electronics. Antolin and Walter Pack are leveraging partnerships with the automotive industry’s largest OEMs to industrialize and directly deliver IME technology, that Antolin now fully controls through the new alliance.
Antolin has selected e2ip’s foundational Smart Structural SurfacesTM IME technology and patent portfolio as its primary platform to deliver In-Mold-Electronics smart parts to the automotive industry. e2ip has also designated Antolin as its primary partner for the automotive industry. The companies will offer a global manufacturing network to make IME available globally from ideation to fabrication within a single integrated industrial infrastructure. Walter Pack produces in Spain and Mexico, while e2ip has facilities in Morocco and Canada, and Antolin boasts a worldwide manufacturing network with 130 plants across 25 countries.
“As a Tier-1 partner to the automotive industry, Antolin will fully leverage the alliance with Walter Pack and e2ip to deliver directly to OEMs transformative smart surfaces with IME solutions, lighting and other functions that will seamlessly integrate into the most advanced trims,” said Javier Villacampa, Group VP, Innovation and Sustainability at Antolin.
“Following years of additional research performed by e2ip technologies and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), it is now time to move into the mainstream of the finest automotive products through this unique Alliance between Antolin and the IME foundational patent team, the NRC and e2ip technologies,” said Eric Saint-Jacques, CEO of e2ip technologies.
e2ip technologies is also actively working on a global automotive licensing model, that greatly reduces IME economic barriers and facilitate the adoption of this technology by other Tier 1 Automotive providers. Antolin, Walter Pack, and e2ip say they are dedicated to this strategy because they consider it to be the most effective for automakers, who serve as the industry’s anchor tenants and require diverse Tier-1 manufacturing partners and technology providers.
