Canadian Plastics


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Making inroads
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General Motors will offer a pickup truck box made of composite materials on the full size Chevy Silverado beginning in the fall of 2000. The box's fenders and outer tailgate panel are made of reinforced reaction injection molded materials (RRIM), mainly polyurea and mica filler. The one piece inner panel and the inside of the tailgate are formed by structural reaction injection molding (SRIM) of a 50/50 mix of urethane and glass-fibre. The use of these materials reduces the truck weight by about 50 lb. They will be produced at the GM truck assembly plant in Fort Wayne, IN.