Building a Volume Supply Chain for affordable lightweight composite Structures

GKN through its expertise in composites and vehicle structures (Autostructures) sees a potential to offer their Automotive OEM customers vehicle structures incorporating composite lightweight components.Legislation is driving lower CO2 targets, historically achieved through powertrain efficiencies however the industry is in agreement the technological focus will have to shift to light weighting to achieve ever tighter limits. GKN knows that adoption of new technology will only happen once the business case supports it, this will require an efficient supply chain and lean manufacturing processes capable of meeting the customers’ requirements for cost, volume and quality.The focus for this project will centre upon GKN working to establish a UK based, light weight supply chain supporting this high value and “sticky” technology, building a consortium of industry experts concentrating on technologies in the areas of manufacturing processes, joining technology and non-destructive testing, which will be essential to meet the customer needs and provide lightweight structures in automotive volumes.