Biofront car seat fabric used in Mazda hybrid

1 April 2009, Osaka - Teijin Fibers Limited, the Teijin group's core polyester fibre company, has announced that a car seat fabric made 100% from Biofront, a green bio plastic produced almost completely from plant-based feedstock, is being used in the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid vehicle that the Mazda Motor Corporation began leasing on March 25, 2009.

The Biofront seats incorporate an upgraded version of a fabric co-developed by Teijin Fibers and Mazda in Autumn 2007. The new version offers improved texture and quality thanks to the fabric's optimized structure and enhanced dyeing and finishing processing, improvements that have further upgraded the fabric's suitability as a mass-produced material for automotive interiors.

Developed by Teijin, Biofront is an innovative heat-resistant bio plastic, with a melting point of 210°C, which is significantly higher than the 170°C melting point of conventional polylactide (PLA). Biofront’s extra heat resistance enables it to endure high-temperature, high-pressure dyeing as well as develop products that offer the levels of quality and durability demanded of automotive interior materials.

Teijin Fibers will continue to refine Biofront fabric for use in automobiles, aiming at sales within the industry of 100 million yen in 2011 and 300 million yen in 2012.

About Teijin

Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in five main fields: synthetic fibres; films and plastics; pharmaceuticals and home health care; trading and retail; and IT and new products. Teijin Limited is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges and has a market capitalization of USD 4.1 billion. The company had consolidated sales of USD 10.3 billion in fiscal 2007, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. Teijin Fibers Limited, the polyester fibre unit of the Teijin Group, researches, manufactures and markets materials and textiles made from polymer and polyester fibres.