Baydur® GS for a one-piece PU road salt spreader container

THIEME is a family-owned leader in polyurethane injection molding applications located in southern Germany. Their customer LEHNER Agrar GmbH, a provider of winter service spreader technology, required a large-capacity salt bin for installation on a salt spreader truck. The container had to be a strong, lightweight component that could stand up to severe cold weather and store the highly corrosive salt pellets used in snow removal and road gritting.

The task here was to provide THIEME with a durable, cost-effective polyurethane material solution for this demanding salt bin application. The material had to be tailored to reaction injection molding (RIM) technology while offering exceptional rigidity and low weight along with resistance to impacts, chemical corrosion and rot.

The Polaro® brand salt spreader container had to be manufactured in two different sizes, the L and XL, accommodating significant salt loads of 550 kg and 720 kg. Salt bins of this size are typically made of sheet steel or fiberglass with added framing for transport support. However, THIEME was aiming for a single-piece custom molding solution using a strong, moldable polyurethane resin. This PU material would have to simplify the reaction injection molding process,and provide the needed strength and rigidity within the molded polyurethane part.

Baydur® GS polyurethane resin presented the ideal material for this one-piece high-capacity salt storage container manufactured using RIM processing. 

The aluminum molds for the LEHNER spreader containers were some of the largest ever made by THIEME. The resulting large PU molded parts made with Baydur® GS resin show particularly high stiffness, impact strength, and inherent resistance to both rot and chemicals. The black-colored molded polyurethane has no need for any subsequent surface coating, adhesive, coloring or water-repellent treatment, and its production process is much simpler than fiberglass or steel. This made molded polyurethane an interesting material solution for LEHNER.

Thanks to our Baydur® GS polyurethane resin, THIEME was able to deliver LEHNER a high-capacity salt spreader container that meets the demanding requirements of the snow removal industry. The large container combines inherent strength and rigidity in a single, seamless part, along with high resistance to chemically corrosive salts and the rigors of harsh winter weather.