World's First Purpose-Built Law Enforcement Vehicle Will Be World's First Car with 100% Paintfilm Exterior

LANCASTER, S.C., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Carbon Motors Corporation announced today its plan for the Carbon Motors 'E7' law enforcement vehicle to be the world's first car with a 100% paintfilm thermoplastic exterior developed with Fluorex(R) Paintfilm from Soliant, LLC. The homeland security company announced plans to develop a production facility in North America and a concept demonstration vehicle by the end of this year. The Soliant's Fluorex(R) Paintfilm that will be used in the vehicle's production is on over fifty million components worldwide, demonstrating excellent durability as well as chip, weather and chemical resistance.

"Our law enforcement officers deserve the best technologies, and we have to be both fiscally responsible and environmentally conscientious with our manufacturing," said Alan J. Bratt, Executive Vice President and Chief Production Officer of Carbon Motors Corporation. "Including Soliant Fluorex(R) Paintfilm technology in our supply base brings added value to our vehicles, streamlines production and enhances environmental sustainability."

Virtually every major automotive original equipment manufacturer uses Soliant Fluorex(R) Paintfilm on exterior components such as fascias, door steps, rocker panels, stone guards, body side moldings, A pillars, roofing strips and window surrounds. This is the first time an entire automotive exterior surface with paintfilm will be produced, primarily because legacy automakers have infrastructure for traditional paint and may be reluctant to change.

The exterior body panels for the Carbon Motors E7 law enforcement vehicle will be produced with combined technology from Soliant, the world leader in paintfilm technology, and BASF, a leading global chemical company. The thermoplastic body panels will include an enhanced UV-cured film technology with added scratch and mar resistance allowing for the coating of a vehicle to be held to a minimal cost with less of an environmental impact.

Paintfilm Enhances Vehicle Quality and Exterior Options

Paintfilm is very durable. It will not fade or peel over time so the appearance of the vehicle exterior is preserved. Paintfilm is also chip resistant as it has an adhesive layer bonding it to the plastic substrate. Gravelometer tests comparing paintfilm panels to paint panels exemplify the substance's durability in extreme abrasive conditions.

Paintfilm enables Carbon Motors to easily offer an infinite number of color options, including two-tones, metallics, pearlescents, special effects and finishes including chrome and brushed chrome. The Depth of Image of paintfilm is impeccable, avoiding the orange peel effect frequently seen with paint.

Paintfilm Enables Manufacturing Cost Savings

"We knew from the start we did not want a paint shop," said Bratt. "Carbon Motors Corporation will save millions in investment using paintfilm and forgoing the cost of a traditional paint line."

A paint line is typically 40% of the cost of a new car production plant. The floor space required for a paint line can be between 30 - 40% of the plant while most of the bottlenecks in manufacturing originate in the paintline. In addition, the environmental compliance issues associated with paint can significantly drive up costs.

Paintfilm Saves Energy

Paintfilm uses less energy than paint. "Our calculations indicate that the electrical power savings achieved using paintfilm instead of paint is 150,000 MW hours per year which is the equivalent to the power consumption of 17,000 average U.S. homes," said Bratt.

Another manufacturer using paintfilm estimated saving 23 GW - hour of energy which is equal to 13,200 barrels of petroleum. Their water savings in a year using paintfilm was 115K ton.

Paintfilm Wins Environmental Awards

Soliant won the Environmental Award in the "Emerging Technologies" category at the SPE-GPEC 2006 (Society of Plastics Engineers-Global Plastics Environmental Conference) for their paintfilm process. Soliant demonstrated a 98% reduction in volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions based on an analysis of the production and use of their product compared to traditional vehicle painting. As a frame of reference, this means that if paintfilm were used on just 5 million cars per year, the VOC reduction would be the equivalent of totally eliminating the current emissions of Atlanta, Charlotte, and several other similarly sized cities. Soliant also won an environmental award for its Fluorex(R) bright film (chrome alternative) at the March 2008 SPE GPEC.

Carbon Motors Corporation is developing and will manufacture, distribute, and service the world's first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle. You can learn more at http://www.carbonmotors.com .

Fluorex(R) Paintfilm and Bright Film (chrome alternative) can be used with a variety of plastics including TPO, ABS, PC, PVC and PVC/ABS. Soliant won the Environmental Award in the "Emerging Technologies" category at the SPE-GPEC 2006 (Society of Plastics Engineers-Global Plastics Environmental Conference) for their paintfilm process. Processing applications include thermoforming, injection molding, insert injection molding, compression molding, extrusion and embossing. They can also be used on a variety of metal substrates including stainless steel and aluminum. Both products are gaining popularity in automotive, marine, consumer electronic, building and construction markets. www.paintfilm.com

Soliant LLC is headquartered in Lancaster, South Carolina with sales offices in Detroit and The Netherlands. The company has an R & D facility in Lancaster that is developing products to meet growing market demands and to support customers.

SOURCE Soliant LLC