Solutia interlayer to strengthen GM van glass

Solutia Inc. glass interlayers,  designed to withstand a hurricane, will be featured in General Motors’ 2008 full-size passenger vans — marking the product’s first use in a vehicle, rather than a building.

Solutia, based in Town and Country, said Tuesday it is collaborating with PPG Industries of Pittsburgh to deliver the Enhanced Technology Glass to GM.

It will be “an integral part” of the “occupant protection system” featured in the automakers’ Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans, said Steve Matsil, a GM chief engineer, in a statement. The interlayer, which adds tear strength and penetration resistance to glass, will be used in the fourth- and fifth-row passenger windows.

Solutia created this interlayer, which it calls Saflex K, to protect glass in buildings from impacts hurled by hurricane-force winds. It is laminated, under heat and pressure, between two sheets of PPG’s glass to provide greater strength than standard laminated glazing, Solutia said.