SABIC's High-performance LEXAN(TM) Resin Solution for Seating Helps Integral Coach Factory Modernize Mumbai's Railway System


SABIC’s LEXAN™ resin is helping an Indian rail coach manufacturer to produce seating for Mumbai’s heavily-utilized railway system more efficiently, with the added benefits of enhanced passenger comfort, easier maintenance and end-of-life recyclability.



Integral Coach Factory (ICF) was selected to develop new modular seating for what is perhaps the most intensively used suburban rail system in the world. With support from SABIC, ICF was able to design a seating system using injection-molded polycarbonate and a fresh design to replace conventional single thermoformed seats for the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), which is responsible for executing projects for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project under the sanction of the Indian Rail Ministry.



In addition to receiving rail ministry and passenger accolades for the seats’ comfort, the new three-seat design is easy to maintain, resistant to weathering and vandalism, more sustainable and meets internationally-recognized rail car standards for flame resistance.



SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business collaborated on a total solution, helping with each stage of the project, from concept, to material, to design and testing, all the way through to commercialization. This was especially important, given that this project involved a new injection-molded solution, rather than the traditional thermoset manufacturing approach. The teams carried out a trial and found that the seats performed exceptionally well under the intense crowds and heavy passenger loads during rush hours. In addition, the seats maintained their brilliant color and gloss despite exposure to strong sunlight, heat and chemicals.



In response to the challenge to introduce a more comfortable, high-performance seating alternative, Integral Coach Factory’s design group worked closely with the Innovative Plastics business’ Global Application Technology team to design the new seat system. SABIC and ICF’s teams collaborated on the design and conducted computer-aided engineering analysis so that ICF could evaluate the design, including a unique mechanism to attach the seats to the frame.



ICF then selected SABIC’s LEXAN 923X resin as it offers excellent strength and scratch resistance, while also meeting important international rail regulations, such as flame retardance and smoke density regulation UIC 564-2, app 11, and toxicity regulation NCD 1409. Additionally, the resin, which exhibits high flow, enables the seating to be manufactured using injection molding, a process that is more efficient than traditional thermoforming, which can take days compared to hours. The injection-molded seat system can also be recycled at the end of its life, unlike thermoset materials which cannot be recycled.



“Beyond supplying the LEXAN resin, SABIC was pleased to work collaboratively with ICF on a seating system that responds to rail industry trends toward greater sustainability and an increased focus on the passenger experience,” Kim Choate, Director of Mass Transportation for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business, said. “The rail ministry and passenger responses to the new seats clearly signal a win,” he added. “In addition, ICF now has a new solution to offer to its customers.”



SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business will also showcase its entire portfolio of solutions for the rail industry, which includes the sector’s broadest range of pan-European EN45545-compliant materials, at InnoTrans, to be held September 23-26, in Berlin, Germany. More information about SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business and the range of relevant solutions it offers for its customers in the railway sector can be found on www.sabic-ip.com. For technical product inquiries, please contact us at www.sabic-ip.com/prtechinquiry.



ABOUT SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.



SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 25.3 billion (US$ 6.7 billion) in 2013. Sales revenues for 2013 totaled SR 189 billion (US$ 50.4 billion). Total assets stood at SR 339.1 billion (US$ 90.4 billion) at the end of 2013.



SABIC’s businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 19 dedicated Technology Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India, China and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide. SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.



Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.



ABOUT INNOVATIVE PLASTICS

SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with an 80-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as Healthcare, Transportation, Automotive, Electrical, Lighting and Consumer Electronics. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).



Innovative Plastics Media Contacts

Susan LeBourdais

E: media.inquiries@sabic-ip.com

T: +1 413-448-5890



Agency Media Contacts

James Page

E: james.page@interpublic.com

P: +44 207-067-0206

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