An alternative backcoating process is being introduced to Autoneum’s range of automotive carpets, replacing commonly used latex with a thermoplastic material to significantly improve recyclability at the end of product life.

In addition, the new manufacturing process for applying the backcoating greatly reduces water and energy consumption in production.

Lightweight, textile-based carpet technologies such as Di-Light or Relive-1 already improve the environmental performance of carpets. They are around 20% lighter than conventional needlepunch carpets and Di-Light carpets consist of up to 97% recycled PET.

Unlike latex, the thermoplastic adhesives can be heated and melted down together with the carpet components made of pure PET at the end of the product life cycle. The thermoplastic mono-materials are also easier to open and carpet cut-outs can be reclaimed more easily.

The thermoplastic adhesives, developed in-house, will open up new possibilities for adapting backcoatings to the individual needs of vehicle manufacturers in terms of their acoustic performance, stiffness and abrasion resistance.

Models from various customers in Europe and North America are already equipped with latex-free needlepunch carpets from Autoneum and in the near future, backcoatings with thermoplastic adhesives will also be used for the company’s tufted carpet range.

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