Location: Curitiba Industrial Zone, Brazil
Industry: Poultry and Beef Deep Processing
Challenges: Tread cracking due to extreme hydrolysis, debonding caused by animal fat corrosion, and high-frequency maintenance downtime.
Solution: Specially engineered Polyether-based Polyurethane wheels integrated with 304 Stainless Steel cores.
I. Background & Challenges
The client, one of Brazil’s premier protein exporters, operates its Curitiba facility 24/7. As a vital link in the global food supply chain, the plant maintains rigorous sanitation standards, which posed significant challenges to their mobile logistics equipment:
Chemical Hydrolysis: The facility utilizes high-pressure steam and strong alkaline cleaning agents for daily disinfection. Under these high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, the molecular chains of standard polyurethane wheels break down rapidly, leading to softening and disintegration within just three months.
Lipid Degradation: Constant exposure to animal fats (lipids) causes standard polyester-based polyurethane to swell, resulting in the tread delaminating (debonding) from the wheel hub.
Floor Protection Pressure: Damaged wheels began to abrade the facility's expensive anti-microbial epoxy floor coatings, incurring substantial secondary repair costs.
II. The Solution
Following an on-site audit and technical analysis, we provided a customized Food-Safe Series mobility solution:
1. Polyether Elastomer Chemical Formulation
We utilized high-purity polyether prepolymers. Unlike standard polyurethane, polyether possesses inherent water resistance at the molecular level. This ensures that physical properties remain intact despite Brazil's humid climate and intensive daily washdown cycles.
2. Enhanced Stainless Steel Bonding Technology
To address the difficulty of bonding polyurethane to stainless steel, we implemented a multi-stage chemical pre-treatment process combined with a food-grade specialized primer. This ensures that the bond strength between the PU and the 304 stainless steel core exceeds the tear strength of the material itself, preventing debonding even under repeated 80°C hot water rinsing.
3. H1-GradeFully Sealed Protection System
Bearings: Equipped with fully shielded, double-sealed stainless steel ball bearings to completely block the ingress of blood, brine, and cleaning agents.
Lubrication: Utilizes NSF H1 Food-Grade grease, ensuring that even in the event of trace leakage, there is no safety risk to food production.
III. Operational Results
The implementation of these high-performance wheels significantly boosted the client's logistical efficiency:
Metric | Before (Standard Industrial Wheels) | After (Specialized Food-Grade Wheels) |
Service Life | 3 - 5 Months | 18+ Months (Still in operation) |
Failure Mode | Debonding, Cracking, Softening | Uniform wear, structural integrity intact |
Washdown Resistance | Poor (Softens under heat) | Excellent (Stable hardness at 95A) |
Total Maintenance Cost | High (Monthly inspections/replacements) | Reduced by over 65% |
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