SAPA is the protagonist of Plastics in Motion 2019 for the second time – the world’s most important event dedicated to plastics for cars. The challenge: more lightweight, less polluting cars, and tripling productivity while keeping high quality standards.
It’s been less than two weeks since Plastics in Motion, the event that gathers the best of the automotive sector to debate the challenges of sustainability and car lightweighting, and to discover the new technologies in the transport sector.
I guess you know this event very well, so you can imagine what an honour it was for SAPA to be invited to participate for the second time.
Car makers and car parts manufacturers came together from 4 to 7 March in Charlotte, North Carolina to find today effective solutions for the cars of tomorrow.
More lightweight, less polluting cars. A more sustainable world, without giving up mobility as we know it today. This is the big challenge ahead of us in the car sector.
SAPA took part as a speaker for the second time and told about its innovative production system, the One-Shot® Method, thanks to which it patented five parts that are already industrialised.
The One-Shot® Method is unique. As a matter of fact, it is the world’s fastest production process to create car parts.
This method goes beyond the concept of lean production and it further develops it. The parts are namely produced in “just one shot”, thus eliminating work phases and energy waste.
Sustainability is being put at the centre by researching lighter and recyclable materials and by fully automating the whole process, which yields excellent quality results while also reducing waste.
SAPA namely differentiates itself mainly thanks to its research projects that are being implemented by the Innovation Engineering department, and that are centred on the environment and on experimenting with innovative materials.
The One-Shot Method optimises production phases by reducing them to one single press stroke.
Engineer Mr Alfonso Molaro, R&D Specialist at SAPA in his speech voiced the new challenges ahead of the company from the Campania region; the company, despite having deep roots in the region, also has a well-established international presence, which makes it the flagship of the Italian automotive industry.
One of SAPA’s main objectives is to reduce the number of work phases to speed up production. The underbody shield produced with the One-Shot® Method is emblematic of this process because it reduces the part moulding operations to just one step, and it reduces the cycle time from 420 to 85 seconds, thus increasing productivity by 500%.
SAPA’s very new One-Shot® Aero Shield does not use thermoforming but it deploys a mixed moulding process that eliminates the assembly phase.
More lightweight parts, more lightweight cars and a low-environmental-impact production – while keeping excellent quality standards.
This innovative system that revolutionises the classic production process was met with keen interest at the event.
To date, we have five parts patented and already industrialised with the One-Shot® Method.
The One-Shot® Method is our response to the challenge of designing more lightweight cars for the future, cars that meet the sustainability requirements that our world is asking for.
Up to now, our method also brought about increased productivity and shorter delivery times.
And we are very proud of this.
Kind regards,
Giovanni Affinita
Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors at SAPA
