Polyvance, a manufacturer of automotive plastic repair and refinishing products based in Rainsville, Alabama, began to export products to Japan in 2019 through its exclusive distributor there, T-Craft Co., Ltd., based in Nagoya.
Nitrogen plastic welding has not yet been adopted in Japan, so it has been received with interest. As a result of T-Craft’s success in demonstrating the Polyvance nitrogen plastic welder in Japan, the technology has been recognized by the Japan Autobody Repair Work Association (JARWA).
On January 1, 2020, Polyvance was inducted as a regular member of JARWA. In their press release, JARWA stated that the association will support Polyvance through its distributors to support the spread of high-quality plastic welding technology with excellent strength and aesthetics in Japan.
One of JARWA’s missions is to promulgate quality sheet metal welding standards and training in Japan as there is no equivalent to I-CAR there. JARWA is now expanding its purview into plastic repair in response to their members’ interest.
Polyvance’s involvement with JARWA and the Japanese market has also piqued the interest of Jiken Center, an organization supported by the Japanese insurance industry with an interest in researching repair methods for safety and cost reduction. Jiken Center is also supportive of T-Craft’s and Polyvance’s efforts since plastic repair is very rarely done in Japan and the organization sees an opportunity to reduce severity.
