Plastic Parts

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32320, 11 June 1970, Page 12

Plastic Parts

Rootes Motors has completed a 82m investment programme in the plastics division of Hills Precision Die Castings, a Britishbased subsidiary company. Hills plastic components are already used extensively in the full range of Rootes vehicles, including the Imp, Arrow and recently-announced Avenger models. The use of plastics in Rootes cars has now reached the stage where plastic components weighing a total of 501 b are fitted to the Avenger. More than 50 separate moulded plastic parts are used in the Avenger range, including door pockets, facia panels and radiator grilles. Explaining the reason behind Rootes’ investment, Mr G. Gurney, director and general manager of Hills Precision, pointed out that

the investment would ensure that the company could meet any future demand for all-plastic car bodies. He said that although Rootes was not about to rush into production, he felt that before the end of this century massproduced plastic car bodies would become commonplace. Hills began moulding plastic components at a fac-l tory in Birmingham in 19651 before moving to premises l in Coventry, formerly occupied by Singer Motors, in 1968. Nearly 400 people are! now employed on injection moulding, vacuum forming,: foam moulding, glass fibre activities and trimming and finishing operations. The ’plastics division is also conducting research and development work into new plastics application and production techniques. Plastic rocker box covers and gearbox casings have already been developed experimentally.

THE BRITISH Dunlop company has opened a new 635,000 sq. ft factory in Alabama, and the move increases the company’s American manufacturing facilities by 60 per cent. The initial production of the factory is 10.000 tyres a day.