Cooper-Standard's full thermoplastic door seal is another innovation that could help carry the company forward in the years ahead.
NORTHVILLE, Mich.—Ask Jeffrey Edwards about Cooper-Standard's greatest strengths, and he'll list a few. But right up there at or near the top of that list would be innovation.
Innovation, after all, has been an essential part of the company's the efforts to sustainably grow its business throughout 2023, where it has—through Sept. 30—seen a $266.1 million increase in sales over 2022.
Edwards, Cooper-Standard chairman and CEO, said during the company's third-quarter earnings call Nov. 3, that innovation will be essential to ensuring the financial and industry competitive strength of the company moving forward.
In the years ahead, he said, Cooper-Standard will expand its portfolio with solutions that bring post-consumer recycled materials to Fortrex, streamline fluid handling and enhance the aesthetics of body door seals.
These innovations, Edwards said, "are helping our customers to advance their own sustainability goals and objectives by reducing carbon footprints and vehicle weight, and improving overall vehicle range and efficiency.
"At the same time, these innovations are providing growth opportunities for Cooper-Standard through increased content per vehicle and margin enhancement."
Since its introduction in 2019, Cooper-Standard has continued to enhance its Fortrex technology for greater sustainability and enhanced performance. This year, for instance, the company introduced MicroDense Fortrex, which offered a lower density (0.65sg) as well as a 26-percent reduction in weight and improved carbon footprint.
Moving ahead, expect the product to go further with ED65 Fortrex, which boasts lower durometer and a simplified supply chain in addition to improved durability and compression set, according to the company.
"ED65 Fortrex is expected to be available in 2024 and will continue to provide lower durometer for enhanced, softer feel and greater design flexibility," Edwards said.
By 2025, Cooper-Standard looks to offer customers Fortrex made with post-consumer recycled materials, though the company did not expound on what materials it would use.
"We are advancing our development of upcycled Fortrex, which will use recycled consumer materials as feedstocks for lower carbon footprint and overall enhanced sustainability," Edwards said.
For fluid handling, one of Cooper-Standard's latest innovations is eCoFlow, a fluid system—designed in partnership with Saleri—that eliminates independent values and pumps by combining that functionality into the unit itself. This, Edwards noted, reduces the overall complexity and componentry of the fluid handling system, but it also optimizes tube and adaptor routings and reduces system pressure drops.
"The new technology is expected to lower the overall cost of fluid management systems for the OEM customer, but will provide increased content and margin for Cooper-Standard," Edwards said. "We expect this technology to be quoted for new programs beginning in the first quarter of 2024."
Cooper-Standard's sealing portfolio will get a boost next year with the addition of a full thermoplastic seal.
The design, Edwards said, involves a proprietary carrier design that allows for the replacement of the more traditional steel or aluminum materials without compromising mechanical integrity. This helps to reduce the weight of the seal by 30 percent compared to traditional EPDM with stainless steel or aluminum carriers.
It also helps to reduce energy costs, according to Cooper-Standard, while enhancing aesthetics.
"This new technology also offers a wide variety of color options that can enhance overall vehicle aesthetics," Edwards said.
The full thermoplastic body door seal is expected to hit the market next year.
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