OREANDA-NEWS. With the glued-floor concept, Schmitz Cargobull has found a solution to substantially improve the floor quality, especially in connection with the industrial production of semi-trailers. In this new process, the floor plate is joined to the chassis using a special permanently elastic high-performance adhesive. Only six screw connections per floor plate are used as fitting aids, with each plate being fixed at different points.

The floor plate is glued to the cross-members, l-beams and outer frame from below, producing a permanently elastic high-strength bond. The adhesive is designed for use in all temperature ranges in the respective geographical operating regions. The standard sealing is also being replaced by the new gluing technology.

Due to the permanent seal, cargo damage through moisture, for example when transporting paper rolls, can be avoided. This improves both the product and transport quality.

Similarly, the stacker axle load bearable by the floor plate is increased to 7.5 t through the optimised and flexible overall joint between the floor and the chassis, without increasing tare weight. Due to the increased floor load-bearing capacity, the customer can make more flexible use of the trailer when loading at a ramp. The higher load-bearing capacity can prevent the floor from breaking and thus significantly improves safety during the loading process.

The new floor joint was tested for all possible applications in Schmitz Cargobull's own validation centre. A service-life test on the hydropulser and an endurance test at DEKRA, among other things, were also performed successfully. Extensive field tests in all regions of Europe also confirmed the outstanding properties of the adhesive joint.

The new flooring is supported by outstanding customer service. Appropriate repair methods have been developed, tested and documented and are available from our service partners.

The longer durability, optimised leak sealing and higher stacker axle load bearable by the floor plate significantly lower a trailer‘s life cycle costs. The customer has a lower risk of downtime since floor plate stability is improved through the use of fewer bore holes and screws. Additionally, the value retention of Schmitz Cargobull curtainsiders has been further improved.