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Fortrex™

fortrex chemistry platform

Fortrex™, Cooper Standard's proprietary low-density elastomer based on our unique chemistry platform, is a lightweight thermosetting elastomer. The elastomer has low hysteresis loss (high elasticity) offers improvements in quality, durability, weight savings, aesthetics and performance over competitive material solutions.​

Fortrex™ is inherently colorless and stable against UV exposure and most chemicals. This highly tunable thermosetting material – which processes like a thermoplastic – has remarkably low carbon footprint and great sustainability.

Key Material Attributes

Fortrex™ offers a wide spectrum of performance properties with an environmentally friendly footprint.
 

Performance Properties

  • Excellent compression set characteristics
  • Superior thermal stability due to higher chemical crosslinking
  • Improved Resilience and energy return
  • High Elasticity due to low hysteresis
  • Excellent chemical resistance

Superior Aesthetics

  • Best-in-class Weathering Performance
  • Broad color match capabilities
  • Non-blooming
  • Improved abrasion resistance

Environmental Attributes

  • Significantly Lighter Weight
    • 30% Mass Reduction from EPDM
    • 10% Mass Reduction from TPV
  • Low VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compound)
  • No nitrosamine
  • Plasticizer free
  • An Advantaged Carbon Footprint
    • Up to a 53% reduction vs. EPDM
    • Up to 22% reduction vs. TPV

Awards and Recognition

The Fortrex materials platform has been recognized for its game-changing impact. The materials innovation has won an Automotive News PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence) Award – often referred to as the "Academy Award for Innovation" in the automotive industry – in 2018, was a finalist for the SPE (Society of Plastics Engineers) award, won the General Motors' Overdrive Award in the category of Sustainability in 2021 and most recently received a Top Product of the Year Award in the Environment + Energy Leader Awards program that recognize excellence in products and services implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line.

Awards