Plastic cards produced from the biomass – base material of polylactic acid are attracting keen attention as an eco – friendly alternative to conventional types. At Mitsubishi Plastics, we have marshaled our expertise in material processing technology to surmount the challenges of card processing aptitude, heat resistance and other issues regarding this material. Working with our customers to steadily and meticulously advance the task of confirming specifications, we have succeeded in improving the aptitude of the material. In fact, a sheet base material developed by Mitsubishi Plastics is already being adopted in mobile telephone prepaid cards, health insurance certificates, various types of members´ cards and other applications. On the strength of the material design technology built up to date, we have triumphed in the development and commercialization of a card base material use sheet that overcomes the traditional drawback of inferior durability under high temperatures. * ECOLOJU features   NatureWorks´   PLA as the key raw material. For injection molding to produce cases for liquid crystal televisions and other products, the Mitsubishi Plastics Group has developed a technology that uses the "Rapid Heating/Rapid Cooling Molding Method" to realize products with beautiful external appearances. The method is mobilized to heat up the mold surface temperature to a level above or near the heat deflection temperature of the material plastic, and then injected. This is followed with the rapid cooling of the material to a temperature at which it can be removed from the mold. This molding method is a breakthrough in the production of attractive molded items more lustrous in appearance and free of weld lines, while also solving product warp, deformation, cracking and other problems. Heat – ray absorbing polycarbonate sheet is widely used as a roofing material for carports, terraces or other structures, a shielding sidewall material and other applications. Mitsubishi Plastics has perfected an in – house blending technology for heat – ray absorbing materials, while using our formidable molding know – how to develop products that dramatically reduce costs compared to conventional versions. In addition to the capacity to block out virtually 100% of ultraviolet rays, the heat rays (near – infrared rays) contained in direct sunlight are held to less than one – half, realizing the industry´s top – class heat – ray absorption performance. We use this breakthrough to curb temperature increases triggered by direct sunlight, making it possible to introduce soft and comfortable sunrays into structures.