---

Laminated Glass In Automotive Side Windows Increase Safety

3 October 2000

Laminated Glass In Automotive Side Windows Provides Increased Safety and Noise Reduction

            Solutia Shares Results with Auto Industry at IBEC 2000

    DETROIT, Oct. 3 Two representatives of Solutia Inc.
, the manufacturer of Saflex, the plastic interlayer that gives
strength to laminated glass, will present papers on noise reduction and safety
to the automotive industry at the 2000 International Body Engineering
Conference (IBEC) and Exposition held today through October 5 at the Cobo
Center in Detroit.  The result of intense studies, the papers will highlight
two benefits of the Saflex interlayer in automotive side windows -- resistance
to object penetration and noise reduction.
    Jun Lu, senior research specialist, Solutia Inc., will present the paper,
"Enhanced Protective Glass for High Security Automotive Glazing," on Oct. 4 at
11:55 a.m.  The paper details how a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) layer such as
Saflex can deter object penetration through side windows, which is the primary
method used to break into more than 1 million vehicles each year.  Tempered
glass, the standard side glass in most vehicles, requires less than two
seconds to penetrate.  In contrast, laminated glass requires 20-30 seconds to
penetrate, an obvious deterrent to car thieves.  In addition, the glass
includes a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that adds stiffness to
prevent window collapse or pullout.  The result is a window that provides
greater protection against intrusion and vandalism.
    Jay Pyper, manager, automotive market development, Enhanced Protective
Glass, Solutia Inc., will present the paper, "Use of PVB in Laminated Glass
for Passenger Vehicle Interior Noise Reduction," on Oct. 4 at 3:15 p.m.  Pyper
will discuss the dampening effect of the PVB interlayer, which reduces wind
and traffic noise entering the cabin.  Because of this noise-reducing
property, the glass is already being used in several airports and railway
stations, as well as in side windows of a number of European automobiles such
as Audi and Volvo.  With less wind and traffic noise entering the cabin,
drivers of vehicles manufactured with laminated side window glass such as
Saflex enjoy a substantially quieter ride.
    IBEC is the only event in the world dedicated to automotive body systems.
The event focuses on providing technology solutions to automotive body
engineers.  IBEC is sponsored by The Engineering Society (ESD) and the Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE).  For more information on IBEC 2000, visit
http://www.sae.org/calendar/ibe00 .