A new $4 million innovation center was recently opened by Toray Plastics (America) Inc. in Front Royal, VA to support its PEF division, the company announced in a release Tuesday. The 5,000-sq-ft PEF Division Innovation Center houses a custom designed pilot line that will enable the firm to develop new resin systems and technologies. 

“Toray is renowned for its high-quality foams and expertise as an innovator, and the new Innovation Center will allow us to do more of what we do best: innovate on behalf of our customers,” Jack White, director of sales for the PEF division, said in a statement.

The PEF division produces advanced irradiation-crosslinked polypropylene and polyethylene foam for a variety of applications, including automotive and industrial. Toray Plastics manufacturers polyester, polypropylene, and metallized films. 

“The markets we serve are diverse and evolving. More customers are requesting specific solutions for their material systems. Having an in-house lab equipped with a proprietary pilot line allows us to leverage our intellectual property freely,” said White. “We can now compound, extrude, and coextrude, and laminate foam to custom materials and constructions with even greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness.”

Toray Plastics said the opening of the innovation center is part of a $40 million expansion project at the Front Royal site. The investment included expanding the facility by 74,000 sq ft and adding a new extrusion line, a new irradiation unit, and a new salt bath unit. 

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