Highlights of First Envalior North America Customer event

In November, Envalior colleagues and customers gathered in the Troy, Michigan, office for the very first Envalior North America Customer event that included presentations given by Envalior industry experts, application exhibits, a lab tour and networking.

The afternoon kicked off with Grace Showalter, Regional Commercial Director of Envalior Americas welcoming everyone to the event. She shared how impressed she is with colleagues who represent the history, knowledge, and extensive capability of Envalior.

“The most impressive part of this business is our people – we have some of the smartest, hardest working, dedicated people, and it’s because of them that we have earned our customers’ trusts in way of business,” said Showalter.

How we are creating value for our customers

Christophe Cazabeau, EVP Performance Materials of Envalior, presented first and discussed how Envalior is creating real and meaningful value for customers. He touched upon how Envalior is built on two strong heritages – Envalior and LANXESS High Performance Materials—and how the company has global reach, a strong and broad portfolio solutions, design and simulation capabilities, exceptional know-how, a dedication to sustainability, and a collaborative and pioneering spirit.  

“As an engineering materials powerhouse, we offer a uniquely positioned portfolio of longstanding material, application, and design expertise,” explained Cazabeau. “This enables us to create real and meaningful value for our customers and the greater society.”

Automotive companies must prepare for a BEV future

Next was keynote speaker, Mike Jackson, executive director for Strategy and Research, Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA). He spoke about how the automotive industry is a “new competitive paradigm.” He reviewed U.S. economic conditions, the North American Outlook, and the MEMA OEM Supplier Barometer.

He discussed Q4 industry threats, including labor constraints, economic weaknesses, and higher interest rates, among other challenges that automotive companies need to be cautious of. Other topics Jackson reviewed were research and development spending as the industry prepares for a BEV future and how software is going to play an ever-bigger role in development costs moving forward. 

Supporting our customers every step of the way

Jose Chirino, ADTS/R&T Director for Envalior, then gave a product portfolio review, focusing on Envalior’s advanced material options and expanded capabilities. He explained that Envalior is a one-stop shop with a broad portfolio including intermediates, base resins and compounds, plus the company has a global and diversified production and R&D footprint.

“Besides offering one of the broadest portfolios in the industry, we also pride ourselves on supporting customers,” said Chirino. “We collaborate with customers along every step of the development process – material development, concept development, CAE design support, processing support, and part testing.”

Materials that will meet EV performance demands

Keith Kauffmann, Automotive Application Development for Envalior Americas, presented a hot topic— materials that will meet performance demands of EVs. He spoke about improved battery protection and performance, sustainable solutions, and applications made with Envalior solutions, including fuel cells – an alternative to BEVs.

“It is no secret that the automotive industry is currently going through tremendous changes as we move from ICE to EV technology,” said Kauffmann. “We are also seeing a resurgence in hybrid technology and new vehicle introductions to reduce emissions.”

With EVs there is now an issue of long-term exposure to coolants such as water glycol since battery packs require constant cooling or heating to keep them in the optimal operating temperature range of 15°C-35°C. 

“We need to avoid high temperatures that can lead to thermal runaway and avoid low temperatures that can adversely affect the range,” explained Kauffmann. “Applications such as E-water pumps, coolant manifolds and coolant lines are now exposed to 5K-10K hours of exposure, and the materials need to maintain performance after long exposure times.”  

Sustainability is in Envalior's DNA

The last speaker of the event was Jean Seibold, regional product manager for Envalior, who spoke about sustainability, moving towards a low carbon and circular future.

“In collaboration with our partners and suppliers, our internal stakeholders are determining our next steps to further reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and advance our circularity agenda,” said Siebold. “Many companies use the phrase "sustainability is in our DNA" – but at Envalior, these are words that we can all truly stand behind. Sustainability was deeply embedded in our legacy businesses. Now that we’re one company, we’re already building on this strong heritage as our license to operate.”

Siebold then discussed the increased awareness around global sustainability challenges due to legislation becoming stricter, Envalior’s sustainability strategy and ambitions, how engineering plastics is transforming to a sustainable future, and how Envalior is leading the sustainability transition.

Siebold wrapped up the presentation with GHG emission reduction and how Envalior measures its impact, the benefits through a backwards integrated value chain, and different forms of renewable electricity used in Envalior production facilities.