Customer case

Concrete truck mixer lasts longer and loads more with Hardox® wear steel

October 12, 2021 6 min read

Black and white Ultra-Eco concrete mixer truck made in highly abrasion-resistant Hardox® wear plate

Case details

Product Hardox® 400 Hardox® 500

Country Germany

Company Stetter

Industry Trailers and body builders

Brand program Hardox^® In My Body

Hardox® wear plate makes Stetter’s concrete truck mixers go round and round, day after day and year after year. Find out how the company got a thinner mixer drum wall and could transport more concrete.

Stetter puts its concrete truck mixer drums on a constant diet

German company Stetter has been manufacturing concrete truck mixers for more than 60 years. It turned to lightweight construction as early as the 1980s, enabling it to trim its mixer body by 600 kg (1,323 lbs.) with Hardox^® wear sheet and thereby offer users higher payloads. The strategy has obviously been successful. Stetter is a European market leader in in-transit concrete mixers, and also exports the mixers worldwide.

A concrete truck mixer with drum made in Hardox® wear steel on the road.

Case details

Product Hardox® 400 Hardox® 500

Country Germany

Company Stetter

Industry Trailers and body builders

Brand program Hardox^® In My Body

Concrete benefits for abrasive concrete in mixer drums

From the beginning of 2000, Stetter has increasingly combined lightweight construction with increased wear resistance. “More abrasive gravel grades – round gravel is hardly ever used today – and the increased use of different aggregates in fresh concrete were leading to higher stress on the drum wall and spiral blades. We responded in good time, introducing hardened steels at an early stage,” says Ulrich Bolte, Director of Sales at Stetter.

The UltraEco model in the Light Line range is a telling example of the concrete truck mixers’ success. Weighing just 3,250 kg (7,165 lbs.), the UltraEco is Stetter's lightest concrete mixer drum and, combined with a weight-optimized chassis, allows for a payload of up to 8 m³ (10.464 cu yd) of fresh concrete. Almost every second truck mixer Stetter delivers is an UltraEco.

The weight reduction from the thinner wall on the mixing drum allows around 0.5 m³ (0.654 cu yd) more fresh concrete to be transported compared to standard truck mixers. When returning empty to the concrete plant, the lower total weight of the concrete truck also reduces fuel consumption.

A concrete mixer truck in black and white, with mixer drum made in Hardox® wear steel.

Stetter’s Light Line concrete mixer drums have a 5-year warranty, while the super-sturdy Heavy Duty Line comes with an 8-year warranty.

Hardox^® 400 and Hardox^® 500 ensure the performance of Stetter’s concrete mixers

Stetter has been using wear-resistant Hardox^® steel sheet for the concrete mixing drum and spiral blades since 2015. Hardox^® 400 for the mixer drum wall and Hardox^® 500 for the spiral blades, each in 3 mm (0.118”) thick sheet, have further optimized wear resistance. A 60 mm (2.362”) wide and 6 mm (0.236”) thick Hardox^® 500 steel strip is used as edge protection on the spiral blades.

All these measures increase the service life of the drum and spiral blades. It is little wonder, then, that Stetter gives up to a 5-year warranty on the mixing drums and spiral blades in the Light Line range.

If a particularly long service life is required, Stetter’s Heavy Duty Line range is the preferred choice. The Hardox^® plate on the drum and spiral blades is thicker, but otherwise the design is similar to the Light Line range. Here Stetter offers a warranty of up to 8 years for the drum and spiral blades.

The inside of an enormous concrete mixer drum

Hardox^® wear sheet for concrete mixer drums – now also in Hardox 500 Tuf

Stetter has fully embraced the idea of using Hardox^® wear plate in sheet form, and for good reason. Hardox^® wear sheet has excellent bending properties as well as exact thickness and flatness, ensured by the Hardox^® Guarantees. Hardox wear sheets are available in thicknesses from 0.8 mm (0.32”) to 8.0 mm (0.315”) and lengths up to 16,000 mm (629.9”).

Hardox wear sheets come with a clean and smooth surface, bringing both practical and aesthetic benefits. The high surface quality simplifies welding of the drum sections. On the outside of the drum, painting and striping really stand out.

With the introduction of Hardox^® 500 Tuf as wear sheet, the additional hardness compared to Hardox^® 400 and Hardox^® 450 allows for thinner dimensions that reduce drum weight even more with the same high wear life. Or, keep the same thickness and make the drum last longer. Either way, Hardox^® wear sheet makes any concrete mixer drum more competitive.

Close-up of the inside of a concrete mixer drum made in strong yet light Hardox® wear steel

Support for innovative concrete mixer drums

Stetter has been a member of Hardox^® In My Body since 2016. Membership is granted by SSAB after a review and is a quality certification. The Hardox^® In My Body sign on a product confirms that it has been manufactured using Hardox^® wear-resistant steel and is a premium product. It offers excellent resistance to abrasive wear even under the toughest operating conditions.

Hardox^® In My Body members have extensive knowledge of the properties of Hardox^® wear steel. They know the benefits of Hardox^® and apply this knowledge to product development. Hardox^® In My Body manufacturers get prioritized access to SSAB's state-of-the-art expertise in materials engineering, applications and manufacturing processes, which translates into market-leading concrete mixer drums.