For almost 25 years, fluid-assisted moulding has been the inspiration for some of the most innovative thinking in injection moulding. Gas-assisted injection moulding, the first of a family of technologies commonly known as FIT (fluid-injection technique), came to the attention of the European plastics-processing community in the early 1980s, when English company Peerless Plastics unveiled "Cinpres." The technique used nitrogen gas to hollow out sections in thick-walled parts, and to prevent warpage and sink marks. The process was also seen as a way of cutting cycle times and material usage.