BASF Ultramid® BWG5 CR Bumper with FIBER™ Design

Lower bumper stiffener (LBS) uses Ultramid® CR

WYANDOTTE, MI, March 13, 2008 -- Pedestrians are at risk to vehicular accidents on a daily basis with little or no protection.  National statistics indicate that over 100,000 pedestrians are injured by vehicles each year in the United States alone.  Even if a pedestrian is hit by a slow moving vehicle, chances are, the injury will not be minor.

BASF Engineering Plastics business has developed Ultramid® BWG6 CR (crash resistant), a reinforced PA6 engineering resin that provides the right level of performance to minimize pedestrian impact.   The lower bumper stiffener or LBS weighs just over two pounds, is three feet long and is installed behind the front bumper so as to diminish the risk of serious knee injury in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.

Using our FIBER™ design process and Ultramid® BWG6 CR the performance of the LBS can be modeled accurately to provide the most efficient design that meets performance requirements and minimizes part weight.   FIBER™ uses an integrative simulation that combines a classic mold-fill simulation with experimental data obtained from a special high-speed measuring device made by BASF.   The accuracy of the FIBER™ integrative simulation minimizes the need for prototype testing and can considerably shorten the design cycle.

About BASF Corporation
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America, and had sales of approximately $16.4 billion in 2007. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner, BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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