Two component polyurethane adhesive helps boost motor home production
Adhesives expert Chemique Adhesives has worked closely with Auto-Trail, the UK’s leading motorhome manufacturer, for more than a decade and over this time, Chemique’s innovative products have helped Auto-Trail to continually increase its productivity.
Located in Grimsby, Auto-Trail produces an exquisite range of motorhomes, which includes models to suit all lifestyles and budgets. The company first approached Chemique Adhesives in 2006, asking for a solution that would help to increase manufacturing speed and reduce the curing time required for the adhesives used when bonding internal and external walls and floor panels. At the time, Auto-Trail was using single-component polyurethane adhesives but was finding that its long curing time created a production bottleneck.
“Auto-Trail needed a fast yet dependable method for bonding floors, sides and roof panels for use in their motorhomes”, recalls Justin Clark, Business Development Manager at Chemique Adhesives. “After carefully reviewing the company’s requirements, we suggested our Solfre 2 product. This is a two-component polyurethane adhesive that not only has a short cure time, but also eliminates the use of water misting during the bonding process.”
Offering excellent chemical and moisture resistance, Solfre 2 can be used to bond a wide variety of substrates including metal, plastic, wood and foam. It can be applied either manually or automatically by rolling, beading or spraying, complementing a wide variety of production methods and requirements. For its application, Auto-Trail chose a spray line, and a few years later a beading one was also added.
The dispensing system, which was designed and installed by Chemique Adhesives, uses the adhesive very efficiently, greatly reducing the amount needed per panel, which has led to significant cost reductions over the years. The beaded press line eliminates the need for extraction fans since it is working with a solvent-free product, thereby saving energy and further reducing costs.
Since the adoption of the system by Auto-Trail, Chemique Adhesives has continued to enhance the formula of the adhesive, giving even shorter curing times that pave the way for even more productivity gains. “Thanks to the improvements made possible by Chemique Adhesives, we managed to increase output by 20% last year, which is an extraordinary gain,” enthused Carl Bristow Production Director at Auto-Trail.
“We’re very pleased with the equipment from Chemique Adhesives and also with the way the company has helped us to look after them. They have operated faultlessly ever since we’ve had them,” explained Carl Bristow. “We have a great working relationship with the Chemique Adhesives team; we are currently collaborating on some ambitious projects that will further improve production and, ultimately, our motorhomes.”
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