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Extol, Inc., a leading provider of plastics-joining solutions, was named by Ford Motor Co. in the safety category at the 44^th Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards Competition & Gala recently held in Livonia, Mich.

Ford was cited in the safety category for its Active Glove Box. This new system uses an injection-molded plastic bladder (instead of the typical fabric airbag) attached with hot-plate welding to the glove box door. Ford worked closely with Extol to develop the hot-plate weld tooling. The unique design provides protection for passengers in a smaller, lighter package while providing more interior space for increased comfort. The glove box is currently in the 2015 Mustang and was molded by  from materials supplied by Advanced Composites Inc. and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. 

“It is a pleasure to collaborate with world-class customers like Ford on proprietary ideas and help bring their concepts to market with state-of-the-art solutions,” said Bill Reed, Extol sales and marketing director. “With three decades of plastics-joining experience and some of the finest engineering minds in the 911������, we are eager to see what’s next not only in the automotive sector, but in life sciences and consumer products as well.”