BASF will be presenting its group-wide integrated truck industry expertise at the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hannover from September 25 to October 2, 2008. The company will be showing its innovative product range for the commercial vehicle industry in Hall 22, Stand A 04. Products include cost-effective catalyst technology, AdBlue® by BASF, engine coolant Glysantin® plus a large number of plastics for powertrain, chassis and interiors.

Plastics - tailor-made for commercial vehicles

Thermoplastics

In view of the growing worldwide interest in biodiesel, BASF is presenting its engineering plastic Ultraform® S1320 0021 (polyoxymethylene: POM) in Hannover. Storage tests have shown that compared with competitive materials it is significantly more stable than biodiesel. The material is already being used for a variety of components in fuel supply modules.

There is another innovation in the Ultraform product group: a few weeks ago BASF began offering a type of POM that can be extremely well processed using the blow-molding technique. Called Ultraform E3120 BM, the material can be used in the automotive industry for brake fluid, hydraulic oil or AdBlue® containers thanks to its excellent barrier properties against gases, fuels and stability with regard to many chemicals. POM-typical dimensional and mechanical stability additionally open up numerous areas of application for product developers and designers.

More applications for the commercial vehicle sector

For exteriors and under the hood

A stable and high performance component protects the payload and body of commercial trailers against the enormous force caused by potholes and other uneven road surfaces: the air suspension piston manufactured by HBN Teknik of Denmark from a glass fiber reinforced Ultramid® (PA: polyamide) is used in air spring axle aggregates from BPW.

Air suspension piston

Radiator grills and lamp covers for the DAF LF and CF (Van Niftrik) plus A-pillar covers (Promens) for the Scania R are manufactured from Luran® S, BASF's ASA (acrylnitrile styrene acrylester copolymer) and are particularly weather resistant. The styrene specialty polymer meets the truck manufacturer's requirements for good stability and top-quality appearance - without additional paint. The high UV stability ensures that the material retains its color for many years, does not yellow and in addition is chemical and heat resistant. The components on display are manufactured by Van Niftrik and Promens, two Dutch truck suppliers. The large wind tunnel for some of the DAF engines, on the other hand, is made of the engineering plastic Ultramid B3WGM24 HP, a PA 6 from the BASF portfolio.

Radiator grills

The wing mirror housing of the DAF XF105, a roof rail from Decoma, part of the Magna Group, and the cooling water pipe from Polytec Automotive for VW have been manufactured from new Ultradur® (PBT: polybutylene terephthalate) and Ultramid, specially developed for WIT (water injection technology) manufacturing techniques.

A big step in the further development of the plastic chassis is the fender prototype made from new Ultramid TOP 3000, manufactured by Plastal of Norway for Volvo. The new material can be coated online and offers significant advantages for dimensional stability over comparable conventional plastics.

For interiors

The 1.8 meter long internal roof box of the Opel Zafira plus parts of Peugeot's instrument panel are made of Terblend® N, BASF's ABS+PA blend. On the one hand, the material allows for matt, leather-like surfaces that do not need coating and on the other it offers excellent acoustic damping properties - particularly important for instrument panels.

Opel designers used BASF's Terblend® N, a blend of ABS and PA, for the roof console of the Opel Zafira. The 1.8 meter long part was developed in the wake of a cost-cutting program at Opel. The highly flowable material also reproduces very fine surface structures, which means that the desired matt effect can be achieved without coating

The first soft-touch arm rest prototype using the new, cost-effective Dolphin technique for automotive interior components is ready. The core of these two layered components consists of Ultradur S 4090 High Speed, a flow-improved and low-warp PBT. Dolphin is a collaboration between BASF, P-Group, machine manufacturer Engel and toolmaker Georg Kaufmann. Scania has already completed the first prototypes.

Radiator screens with polyurethane

One of the eye catching features of the cabs on the new TGS and TGX trucks by MAN are without doubt the high gloss radiator screens with a strengthening layer of Elastoflex® E. This means they not only look good but also offer improved protection against gravel impact, higher rigidity and thus a perfect surface for this high-stress exterior component on the powerful German trucks.

Eye catchers on the cabs of the new TGS and TGX trucks by MAN: high gloss radiator screens with a strengthening layer of the Elastoflex® E polyurethane foam system from BASF subsidiary Elastogran

Production is based on LFI (long fiber injection) laminate composite technology with the PUR (polyurethane) foam system Elastoflex E. A technology that has proven its worth in automobile construction time and time again: for example, in engine hoods for commercial vehicles, automobile roof modules or instrument panel frames - in fact for any components that need to be both light and very rigid.

Press conference

Press conference on plastics, automotive catalysts and AdBlue® will be held on Wednesday September 24, from 9 a.m. at BASF's exhibition stand.

About BASF

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).