Decorative glass in CARS? “Imagine the possibilities”, says Fusion Show

The annual showcase event, which debuted in January 2004, consists of an exclusive ‘private viewing’ of futuristic DuPont products targeted at the automotive industry. ‘Fusion’ is taken to automotive OEMs, laminators and design schools in Europe and North America.Larry Cole of DuPont Automotive Products commented: “In last year’s show, called Catalyst, we found that designers from other industries such as boating, appliances, footwear, cell phones, furniture, aircraft, buses, trucks, tools and computers also wanted to come to the event. We plan to invite more designers from these industries in 2004.”

Fusion organizer Rowena Williams of Haydon Williams International Ltd. of the UK told LGN: “Our annual auto designer exhibits – in 2003 called Catalyst and in 2004 called Fusion - showcase a host of possibilities that automotive designers should consider for the next generation of concept vehicles. Safety and security are big issues – but so is design kudos. Intrusion-resistant side windows with SentryGlas® Plus ionoplast interlayer have formed an important aspect of the exhibition that virtually all designers have expressed interest in over the past several years.

“Now we are adding a new dimension by showing automotive designers how they could design with SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative laminated glass to add an exciting aesthetic design detail to their car windows – or to target automotive OEMs targeting the commercial fleet vehicle market, for example. The Fusion presentation gives auto designers ‘food for thought’ and presents futuristic concepts.

Logos for fleet vehicles
“Today’s automotive designers are very interested in branding possibilities for fleet delivery vans – for example, pizza delivery trucks. Company logos could be incorporated in glass areas of the car where viewing safety is not affected – for example in rear side windows using a transparent background or even roof areas using a more translucent or one-way translucent or opaque background. One could imagine office workers in city high-rise towers looking down to happily see their lunch arriving because they recognize the logo in the delivery truck’s roof skylight!

“Auto designers also want the whole mood of the car to gel together – that includes color hues in exteriors, interiors - and now, even more than before, automotive window glass – with the safety and added security of laminated glass built in. The advent of SentryGlas® Expressions™ means that a whole new area of aesthetic and safety/security options in glass is opening up for automotive designers. For all of these reasons, I believe we will be seeing a lot more decorative glass in the next generation of commercial vehicles.”

In addition to Laminated Glass Solutions, the Fusion show showcases a wide range of DuPont products for the automotive industry, from exterior and soft touch paints, to Delrin® acetal resin, sueded Hytrel® sheets, Corian®, Kevlar®, Nomex®, Leather with Lycra® and airbag systems.