Reference Daimler Truck AG
A conversation with Dietmar Favorat, Global Advanced Technology Daimler Truck AG, about surface protection and cleaning chemicals.
You are an expert in surface technology and work for Daimler Trucks in the field of Global Advanced Technology. What are the greatest challenges you face in your specialist field?
My work involves developing effective solutions relating to surface technology with suitable technical partners. Let us take vehicles used to keep the roads snow- and ice-free in winter as an example. To prevent corrosion caused by high levels of contamination, we tested various preservation materials for underbody coating and corrosion protection. During this process, we established that relatively few customers had a vehicle cleaning concept in place.
The background: when working with detergents that damage the preservation, we are not able to achieve the desired effect. As a next step, we tested various coatings and detergents. Kärcher and other manufacturers supported us in this task, which enabled us to develop a cleaning concept that is now recommended by our customer service. We deliberately assume no liability for this, as we have no influence over factors such as dosage, equipment or user errors.
Where are your contact points when it comes to industrial cleaning and which solutions do you predominantly use for cleaning tasks?
Initially, I had no contact points at all, but that changed when I became involved in the shipment of our trucks. From our plant in Wörth am Rhein trucks are delivered all over the world, including by sea. In this context we are also interested in materials like protective wax used for transport purposes. After carrying out application tests at the Kärcher technical centre, we tested hot water high-pressure cleaners with steam jet and power nozzles at our plant and discovered that we could achieve the desired result much quicker with these and suitable detergents. We pass on the results of these tests so that our service partners can also benefit.
Which aspects of Kärcher as a company impress you the most?
The company has an attractive range of products, in terms of both cleaning concentrates and equipment. What I find particularly impressive is the expertise in new developments and the expert application knowledge of the colleagues I work with. It is rare for me to encounter such enthusiasm for experimentation.
If you could ask for anything, which innovation( s) would you like to see next from Kärcher?
Over the coming years, e-mobility is set to experience above average growth. For e-trucks, this will also involve new requirements for cleaning processes on components such as the battery, e-axis and e-motor. Various alloys and components made of a variety of materials are used for electrical contacts, batteries and various electrical units. This is why cleaning agents should have the correct pH value so they do not damage the many different substrates.
We have been working with Kärcher since 2019 to develop a cleaning concept that contributes towards value preservation and enables damage-free cleaning of electric vehicles. This involves finding the maximum surface pressure that can be achieved but also the right detergent concentrate. As this is a topic for the future, I hope that Kärcher will soon be offering solutions.
