Smooth and stable – even under heavy loads

… is a specialist in the field of plastic extrusion and a leading global provider of plastic panels and plastic profile systems for windows, doors and roller shutters based in Germany. The company sells its products in almost 40 locations, and has over 5,600 employees worldwide.

As part of the manufacturing process for glass door profiles, the customer transports its products internally using transport units. These transport units are moved two at a time, using either forklifts or other towing equipment. The tugger trains cover long distances on industrial concrete cover floors at speeds of up to eight kilometres per hour. Previously, the transport units were carried by four cast iron rigs with cast iron wheels supplied by a competitor. These wheels frequently collapsed, damaging both the transport unit and the ground.

The customer wanted to find a caster solution which was more fit for purpose in order to reduce the risk of accidents and further damage. They also didn't want to spend any more than they had on the previous setup. The customer also required the solution to be smooth-running and have a long service life.

We performed extensive driving tests using the heavy duty rig of the LH series in combination with a variety of Blickle wheel series to find the solution which best met the customer's requirements. While keeping an eye on costs, Blickle developed an optimised version of the POTH wheel series with a reinforced nylon wheel center, a larger ball bearing and a moulded 98 Shore A polyurethane tread.

The robust LH series heavy duty rig with hardened bearing seats was added to round out the optimal caster system. Blickle matched the hole pattern of the top plate fitting to make the caster easy for the customer to install at no additional cost.

Compared to the cast iron casters which the customer was using before, the Blickle LH-POTH solution is smoother and much easier on the floor. It is also much quieter when in motion.

By using the reinforced Blickle LH-POTH heavy duty casters, the customer significantly lowered their costs by greatly reducing the wear on the casters, decreasing subsequent costs and removing the need to repair the floor. The new system is also considerably better from an ergonomic perspective.