LiteCon joint venture focuses on producing innovative lightweight composite materials for the automotive and aviation industries

Essen, Germany-based Evonik Industries and Hönigsberg, Austria-based SECAR Technologie of Hönigsberg, established the LiteCon Advanced Composite Products joint venture on September 4. The aim of the newly established enterprise is to mass-produce fiber-reinforced composite components for the automotive and aviation industries. Evonik supports the new company with its materials development expertise—particularly with its experience in developing ROHACELL® structural foam. Combined with SECAR's expert capabilities in mass producing lightweight parts, this creates unique potential for developing new production technologies.

The joint venture is headquartered in Hönigsberg. Evonik and SECAR manage the company jointly, with Evonik owning 49 percent of the shares and SECAR 51 percent. Dr. Arnim Kraatz of Evonik Industries AG and Karl Heinz Semlitsch of SECAR Technologie GmbH are the company's managing directors.

“For years now, our products have supported efforts within the automotive and aviation industries to move toward lightweight construction, and LiteCon is the next step in our partnership with those industries,” says Gregor Hetzke, president of Evonik's Performance Polymers Business Unit. “LiteCon unites our polymer expertise with SECAR's prowess in composite development and manufacturing, so that our customers can use these synergies to their greatest possible advantage.”

Evonik's ROHACELL® structural foam is used in sandwich construction applications in airplanes and sports cars, wind turbine rotor blades, X-ray tables for medical applications, and in athletic and recreational equipment. SECAR is an established provider of carbon-fiber reinforced composites for the automotive, aviation, and medical industries.