Released on February 23, 2009

Materials developer Cymat Technologies Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, announced it has finished casting prototype parts for a 2010 vehicle platform on behalf of a German automobile manufacturer.

The previously announced project utilized Cymat’s proprietary aluminum foam technology (Stabilized Aluminum Foam) to produce chassis components for the OEM. Cymat did not disclose the name of customer.

Cymat’s aluminum foam material is produced by bubbling gas into molten aluminum containing fine ceramic particles. The molten material then can be cast into the shape required by the customer.

“Following our Nov. 17, 2008, announcement of a project to investigate the use of Stabilized Aluminum Foam to improve noise vibration and harshness properties, I am pleased to announce that prototype parts have been completed and shipped to the customer for analysis,” said Tim Hardman, the company’s president. “We are pleased with our in-house analysis of the parts.”

According to Hardman, the OEM also has expressed interest in using the foam as a structural crash protection element on another automobile already in production. Cymat will work with Georg Fischer, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, if the project goes forward into production.