CONTACTBASF Polyurethanes GmbHEuropean Business Management Special Elastomers (Cellasto® ) Elastogranstraße 60, 49448 LemfoerdeGermany

Phone +49 5443 12­2302 Fax +49 5443 12­2105

E­mail cellasto­eu@basf.com www.pu.basf.de

PUBLISHING DETAILSPublisher: BASF Polyurethanes GmbH | Concept, text and design: UMPR GmbH, Hamburg, GermanyPhoto Credits: p. 4: © eddie toro/fotolia.de (astronaut); © Michael Brown/istockphoto.com (record); © mikie11/istockphoto.com ( jeans ); © Kimball Stock ( Porsche ). p. 5: © Photos 12/Alamy ( J. Joplin ). p. 7: © Anthony Kay/Flight/ Alamy ( Concorde ); © ExQuisine/fotolia.de (cheeseburger ); © Stefani_Ecknig/istockphoto.com (cassette); © studio­fifteen/fotolia.de ( shoes ); © Henkel AG & Co. KGaA? ( “Pril”­flower ). p. 8: © imagebroker/Alamy (Brandenburg Gate); © Antero mite/shutterstock.com ( PC ); © James Black lock/fotolia.de (CD); © Mariano N. Ruiz/shutterstock.com (floppy disk); © Maria.P./fotolia.de (ribbon); © Kimball Stock ( Audi ). p. 10: © Richard Kelley/Transtock/Corbis ( Kia ); © Kimball Stock ( Golf ). p. 11: © Kimball Stock ( Chevy ); © typomaniac/fotolia.de ( robot arm ); © konstantin32/istockphoto.com (DJ); © Karen Mower/istockphoto.com (cell phone); © Ivan Mateev/istockphoto.com (caipirinha). p. 12: © Justin Horrocks/istockphoto.com (self­balancing scooter ). p. 13: © Kimball Stock ( Mercedes ); © Phoenixpix/fotolia.de (cup); © @Radius Images/avenue images (dancer ); © Laurent Renault/fotolia.de (coin); © Beboy/fotolia.de (laptop); © mohaa/fotolia.de ( CFL ). Alle übrigen Bilder: © BASF Polyurethanes GmbH – Bildarchiv / Jens­Ulrich Röthe

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11 50 years of Cellasto: A tradition of innovation

1961

2011

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, After half a century of extremely close cooperation with the auto­motive industry, we have to admit: we haven’t reinvented the wheel. But what we can claim, in all modesty, is that, over a period of 50 years, we have helped to make the car a truly smooth­running vehicle.

What makes cars fascinating is their performance and technology. Making individuals mobile, they set people free and serve as a projec tion surface for powerful emotions. And over the years, BASF Poly urethanes has had a major hand in this with Cellasto. The rapid advances in safety, athleticism and comfort as well as, for some time now, in environmental compatibility and design would have been inconceivable without our instrumental involvement.

Our current position as the sector’s technology and market leader with a global network of production, distribution and development locations is attributable to the company’s remarkable innovative prowess and its devotion to high quality. This has only been possible thanks to the commitment of our employees well beyond the call of duty coupled with the trust and loyalty of our customers.

This is the solid foundation on which we shall meet the coming challenges of the dawning age of electromobility. The success that we look back on as we celebrate our 50th anniversary is the yard­stick for the future of BASF Polyurethanes – even if it is not our aim to reinvent the wheel. Yours truly, Kenneth Lane Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing, BASF Polyurethanes

Kenneth Lane, Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing, BASF Polyurethanes

Porsche is one of the customers of the early years

Setting off in the Swinging Sixties

It may have happened fortuitously, but it seems rather fitting that the Elastogran Group should swing into action in the Swinging Sixties.

It is in this period of new departures that the engineers in Lem­förde lay the foundation for a technology that would soon em bark on its triumphal march all over the world. After the merger of various companies and the successful production of expanded polyure thane components, true component production in ten­piece moulds takes place for the first time in 1961. Right at the start of mass production, it is obvious that the automotive industry will be one of the main customers for spring and damping com po­nents. The first customer from the industry to use the innovative technology from Elastogran is Auto Union. In the ensuing years,

the company really gets moving – in every respect: the instal­lation of the so­called Pfaff belt permits the introduction of cyclic process steps, and pro duction becomes more flexible and efficient. Cellasto production gets underway in Japan in 1965 following the establishment of Nippon Cellasto and gains an early foothold on the US market with the purchase of the American Wyandotte Corporation. The newly developed McPherson strut with Cellasto goes into service on the Toyota Corolla. And custom­ers move into gear as well – Mercedes and BMW are followed by Porsche in 1969.

Mercedes: “Cigar” bump stop

Auto Uni on 1000: bump stopEven in the 1966 Toyota Corolla: the first McPherson strut with Cellasto

Auto Union F102: torsion spring damper

the

60s

The car, an object of desire, remains an impossible dream for most people for a long time. With the advance of automation and the standardisation of production processes, this dream of personal mobility then comes within reach for more and more consumers.

Mass production brings with it growing expectations of safety and comfort. At the beginning of the seventies, the Elastogran Group sees the associated challenges, identifies the opportunities and sei zes them. A year after joining BASF in 1971, Elastogran gives the go­ahead for the first genuinely automated production process with the installation of a Jabelmann line. It attracts VW and Opel as customers. Over 150,000 parts per month are supplied to Opel alone in the mid­seventies. This is accompanied by the start of busi ness with VW and the supply of the first

genuine spring aid to the Passat. Savings of weight and cost become possible in the suspen sion system due to the shift from a progressive to a linear steel spring component.

This is joined by the development a new medium­rigid, closed­cell formula displaying cold flexibility, which is used for the first time on the VW Passat.

Growing expectations of safety and comfort

The dream of mobility

VW Passat: first jounce bumper

Opel Rekord: bump stop

Audi 50: bump stop

the

70s

Jaguar XJ: Suspension strut

More cars come off the assembly line each year. The inno­vation cycles grow shorter, and engineers and customers become increasingly ambitious in their aims and wishes. Not satisfied with merely keeping pace, Elastogran takes the lead with inno vation.

Boundless ideasCellasto proves to be a superior material in many fields

While the engineers of the automotive industry think about ways of making cars faster, lighter, comfier and greener, Cellasto pro­vides solutions in areas where rubber and other materials reach their limits. For developers, the physical properties of Cellasto leave little to be desired. Cellasto components are ideal for use in areas subject to high dynamic stressing – for the damping of vibration in chassis, for instance. Volume­compressible, they show minimal lateral expansion when compressed and thus perform outstand ingly even in confined spaces. This period also sees the development of a new market. In addition to damping, the properties of fine­celled polyurethane elastomers prove to be ideal for noise reduction – the NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harsh­

ness) application sector sells well over the years and becomes a bestseller.

Now a supplier to the entire German car industry, Elastogran steps up export busi ness and internationalisation in the eighties. Mile stones along the way include the Saab “Sombrero”, a com­bination of a spring aid and spring pad in a single component; the supply of top mounts and spring pads to Jaguar; and the construction of the plant in Wyandotte, USA. This is where the first spring pads are produced for the GM Oldsmobile Ciera, Buick Century and Chevrolet Celebrity. And with seven more production lines, busi ness in the USA develops rapidly.

SAAB  99

the

80s

Jaguar XJ: damper top mount and coil spring isolator

Saab: coil spring isolator and bump stop in one part,

the “Sombrero”

It’s starting to become difficult to find a car anywhere in the world that doesn’t run on Cellasto components. Nine out of ten carmakers choose Cellasto damping systems.

However, the company is in an excellent position to satisfy the growing demand for its products. After further extension of auto ­ mation in the production department at the beginning of the nineties, the first industrial robots go into operation on the pro ­ duction lines in 1995. The company thus responds to the constantly growing requirements and expectations of customers – with increasing speed and always on time. Numerous commendations such as Ford AG’s Q1 Award and “Preferred Supplier” status from Monroe Europe Ltd. demonstrate that high output is possible with consistently high quality. At the same time, the intensive preoccupation with the present doesn’t stop the company looking ahead. In 1999, the development of new markets and fields of

application includes building up the Korean market with the first body mount in the Kia Sportage, followed by further models at Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo, as well as the establishment of BHC, the first Chinese system house, as a joint venture with Headway in Nansha in 1999. As development work on NVH gets moving, there are increasingly specialised requirements and applications, such as the Cellasto emergency wheel on the BMW 7 Series. A new central research laboratory is built in Lemförde. About 200 employees in research and development pave the way here today for the successes of tomorrow, in close cooperation with US and Asian companies of the BASF Group involved in poly­urethanes.Golf Harlekin: 1996

Rising output and many awards for quality

The arrival of robots

Kia Sportage: first body

mountsVW Passat: damper top mount

and jounce bumper front axle

Jaguar S-Type: coil spring isolator, damper top mount and jounce

bumper

@BMW 7 Series:

run­flat tyre in armoured car

(VIP)

the

90s

New standards in environmental protection and resource conservation

Safe, clean and comfortable

The new millennium catapults the company into a new dimen­sion. Whenever new standards of travel comfort, athleticism and safety have to be set, the market and technology leader develops custom solutions for vehicle manufacturers all over the world.

Acting as co­designers, company employees engage in direct  digital data interchange with the automotive industry. Cellasto com po nents, and increasingly modules and systems, can now be found in one in two cars. The Lemförde location, which is also the devel opment headquarters for the global Cellasto network, produces 450,000 Cellasto parts per day, with 160 million parts being pro duced on average per year. Today, Cellasto is sold at five locations on almost all continents, with six production

locations worldwide and a roughly 600­strong workforce. The organisation is not only being expanded worldwide, but also has a strong customer orientation, with global key account teams that come up with matching solutions for each customer in each region. In 2010, Elastogran GmbH is renamed BASF Polyureth­anes GmbH. The company supports the chemical industry’s worldwide “Responsible Care” campaign. In the context of sus­tainable development, the same status is accorded to safety, health and environmental protection in the company as to the pursuit of economic success.

With Cellasto applications, not only is it possible to enhance the comfort and athleticism of the car, but the special prop­

erties of polyurethane also help to cut weight and fuel con­sumption.

New fields of application such as large­volume top mounts for VW, BMW, PSA and GM, steering dampers and roll restrictors open up further new markets. The expansion of production capacity in the USA with three new production lines at the start of the decade and the opening of a new production location in Shanghai in October 2011 underline the PU material’s global success story.

With pride in its strong tradition, BASF Polyurethanes looks back at the last 50 years while setting its sights firmly on the future.

Mercedes SL: strut mount ABC (ActiveBodyControl)

Suzuki YC5 China: jounce

bumperFord Explorer: body mounts

Citroën C3, Peugeot 206/207:

jounce bumper

Chrysler LX: first coil spring isolator in 2004

the

00s

We’re there for our customers – wherever they are

Cellasto locations worldwide

50 years of Cellasto – an absolute success story. Today, there’s hardly a car that doesn’t come off the production line without Cellasto. Our five production locations worldwide keep production running smoothly. A new location is opening in Shanghai in the fall – so that we can always be where our customers are.

2011

Above: VW Golf jounce bumper; Alfa Giulietta top mount; Alfa Giulietta coil spring isolator

Below: Volvo V60 top mount; GM Gamma (Opel Corsa, Chevy Aveo) jounce bumper and dust tube

Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan: combi module with jounce bumper and coil spring isolator

Fiat Fiorino: combi module rear axle

Land Rover Evoque: jounce bumper rear axle

Toyota Yaris Sport: jounce bumper

Ford Fiesta:

coil spring isolatorRenault Scénic

Sport: jounce bumper with dust

bellow

Citroën C4: combi module “Sombrero”