Future of Fortrex flexes beyond automotive space with latest advancements

NORTHVILLE, Mich.—For Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc., the future is Fortrex.

And not just for the automotive industry. During a call with investors Aug. 5, Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Edwards touted the sustainability advancements of the product, saying the company's vision for Fortrex includes expanding into new end markets.

For starters, think footwear.

Cooper-Standard, through a partnership with an unnamed footwear maker, is preparing to help bring to market new products with Fortrex technology, potentially within the next nine months.

"We continue to make very good progress with the first product launch slated for the first quarter of '23," Edwards said. "… We have had people in their facilities over the last couple of months, we have passed all of the manufacturing hurdles they had for us, and we expect a successful launch during the first quarter."

So what is it about Fortrex that makes it both versatile and attractive? It's everything the automotive industry—among others—has come to love.

"We are continuing to develop the material science around Fortrex to make it even lighter weight, higher performing, and to potentially, to use recycled post-consumer waste as feedstock material—all of which are highly valued characteristics with our customers," Edwards said. "(These are) the things that make it very attractive, and frankly, more attractive for our automotive customers moving forward. That is also making it more attractive for the customer in the footwear space."

Fortrex has garnered praise for its sustainability, most recently earning the Environment + Energy's Leader Award for Top Product. The materials innovation previously won an Automotive News PACE Award in 2018, was a finalist for the SPE (Society of Plastics Engineers) award and won the General Motors' Overdrive Award in the category of Sustainability in 2021.

"The Environment + Energy Leader Award for our Fortrex chemistry platform is especially significant as it recognizes our culture of innovation, our dedication to bring innovative materials to new markets, and our commitment to sustainable business," Chris Couch, Cooper-Standard's senior vice president and chief technology and procurement officer said in a July 19 statement touting the award. "I'm proud of our materials science team and their achievements in enhancing our Fortrex technology to improve product performance, sustainability benefits and overall value."

Fortrex, the company said, is a new class of elastomeric material that combines the best attributes of EPDM and TPV materials, while eliminating what often is perceived as their negative characteristics.

In terms of the material's carbon footprint, it is 53-percent lower than traditional EPDM, is low in volatile organic compounds and has no harmful nitrosamine or plasticizers.

Cooper-Standard claims that Fortrex's innovations also result in a 30-percent reduction in weight when compared to traditional EPDM materials and a 10 percent reduction in weight when matched against traditional TPV materials. This ultimately helps auto makers achieve lightweighting goals, which improves the efficiency of vehicles and—in the case of EVs—could add range.

Fortrex boasts enhanced performance with low hysteresis loss (high elasticity) as well as improvements in compression set, durability, UV resistance and aesthetics compared to traditional materials, the company said.

In months and years ahead, Edwards is certain that further innovations around the product will continue to drive company success.

"We anticipate a terrific reaction," Edwards said. "Keep in mind, Fortrex was a premium-priced product, it's on significant SUVs today in the market. These enhancements we are talking about is going to make it even more attractive for our customers and probably more affordable in areas that before was deemed too much of a premium product.

"Our innovations are part of the value proposition we provide to our customers and a clear differentiator among our competition," Edwards said. "We believe the new developments around Fortrex will create additional market opportunities in our sealing business going forward."