Huntsman Polyurethanes Resin Technology Helps Bright Lite Structures Win the Materials Innovation Award at SPE ACCE 2015 Technical Conference

Most Innovative Composite Part Award Honors Chassis from Bright Lite Structures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 28, 2015
The Woodlands, Texas
NYSE: HUN

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) announced that its VITROX® resin technology developed by the Polyurethanes Division helped Bright Lite Structures win the 2015 Materials Innovation category of the Most Innovative Composites Part Award at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE). The event took place Sept. 9–11 in Novi, Michigan.

Bright Lite Structures, a key Huntsman Polyurethanes customer, took home the Materials Innovation Award for its Zenos E10 sports car chassis, which has a patent-pending, structural carbon fiber solution that features Huntsman’s VITROX resin technology. The chassis uses a novel sandwich construction with a thin layer of recycled and virgin carbon fiber and a central core of recycled plastic honeycomb. Huntsman’s VITROX resin system and automotive RTM-grade epoxy are used to form the skins and bond these elements to the plastic honeycomb core.

The chassis manufacturing process is capable of molding complex, deep draw designs in one step, which otherwise is not possible without complex and expensive pre-forming and significantly larger capital expenditures. The resulting chassis is lighter, less expensive and faster to manufacture than those made from conventional composites, while meeting or exceeding compression, stiffness and torsional rigidity requirements.

Huntsman’s novel VITROX resin system has been designed to have a low, stable initial viscosity with minimal viscosity increase; followed by a tunable induction period; and then a full, snap cure. This reaction behaviour enables long working times in fabrication of large parts for automotive and other applications. At the same time, the VITROX resin system maintains the high physical property performance and impact strength for which polyurethane composite resin systems are best known. 

“We are delighted Bright Lite Structures received this award that recognizes the innovative work of our customer and the adaptability of our VITROX resin,” said David Bareis, Composites Sales Manager, Huntsman Polyurethanes. “The Materials Innovation Award is a prime example of how Huntsman Polyurethanes works side-by-side with customers to solve their application-specific challenges.”

“This award would not have been possible if Huntsman had not supported and encouraged individual staff to work with Bright Lite Structures to develop a better composite fiber solution that addresses many of the drawbacks of conventional carbon fiber,” said Antony Dodworth, Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer, Bright Lite Structures.

The VITROX resin technology previously received the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry’s (CPI) Polyurethane Innovation Award in 2012 for a cure-in-place pipe (CIPP) application. Dan Heberer, Composites and Elastomers Technology Manager, Huntsman Polyurethanes, also won a Best Paper Award at CPI 2013 for a contribution describing VITROX resin technology.

The mission of the SPE ACCE is to inform and update the automotive industry about the increasing significance of thermoset and thermoplastic composites in passenger vehicles, light trucks and other modes of ground transportation.

VITROX® is a registered trademark of Huntsman Corporation or an affiliate thereof in one or more, but not all, countries.

About Bright Lite Structures:
Bright Lite Structures has developed a unique patent pending carbon fiber composite technology that is lighter, more versatile, less expensive, and faster to manufacture than conventional composite fibers. The unique structure of the patent pending BLS composites makes the material stiffer, more flexible and lighter weight than conventional composite fiber materials, providing our customers with an attractive value proposition. Bright Lite Structures offers a unique combination of design, development and manufacturing services to producers of durable goods and consumer products with a primary focus on the automotive and aerospace industries. We assist our customers in designing components utilizing the propriety BLS technology that will meet desired performance characteristics. We fabricate prototypes and manufacture finished components at our production facilities in Peterborough, England. As an example, we designed, developed and are commercially producing the chassis for the Zenos E10 sports car. For other auto OEM’s, we have designed, developed and made prototypes of chassis and other components. For more information, please visit www.blstructures.com.

About Huntsman:
Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2014 revenues of approximately $13 billion including the acquisition of Rockwood’s performance additives and titanium dioxide businesses. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets.  We operate more than 100 manufacturing and R&D facilities in more than 30 countries and employ approximately 16,000 associates within our 5 distinct business divisions.  For more information about Huntsman, please visit the company's website at www.huntsman.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations. The forward-looking statements in this release are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company's operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Huntsman companies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Significant risks and uncertainties may relate to, but are not limited to, financial, economic, competitive, environmental, political, legal, regulatory and technological factors.  The company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by applicable laws.

Disclaimer:
While all the information in this publication is to the best of our knowledge, accurate at the date of publication, nothing herein is to be construed as a warranty, expressed or otherwise. In all cases, it is the responsibility of the user to determine the applicability of such information and the suitability of any products for its own particular purpose. The sale of products referred to in this publication is subject to the general terms and conditions of sale of Huntsman International LLC or of its affiliated companies.

Media:
Eric Stebel
(281) 719-4602