MonoPan is a new truck body panel material introduced by Wihag two years ago at the IAA in Frankfurt. The 2002 IAA in Hanover saw a further development of MonoPan truck bodies — and also a MonoPan roller shutter door.
MonoPan is a sandwich panel made of a polypropylene honeycomb thermally welded to face sheets of polypropylene reinforced with fiberglass. It is much lighter than other truck body panel materials, and also easy to form. Panel edges can be closed by thermal welding, and recesses for hardware are easily formed. No edge profiles are required.
MonoPan truck body panels are typically 25 to 30 mm thick (1" to 1.18"). Weight of this honeycomb panel is 4.6 kg per square meter (15 ounces per sq ft).
The roller shutter door displayed by Wihag at the IAA is striking because there are no gaps between the separate door segments. From the outside, the MonoPan door is a continuous sheet of polypropylene. No hinges are necessary. Removal of the glass fiber reinforced face sheet on the inside at bending points serves as the hinge. The door is fitted with 2" rollers having nylon running surfaces and steel ball bearings. The door lock is Todco's hook lock. Typical weight for a 2200 mm by 2300 mm (86" by 90") roller shutter door is 55 kg (121 lb) including rails and spring shaft.
Wihag has built a new manufacturing plant to produce MonoPan in different thicknesses and in sizes up to 2760 mm by 13 meters (108" by 42½ ft). Besides sales in the truck body sector, DaimlerChrysler is marketing its own MonoPan bodies, and Iveco Scandinavia fits MonoPan bodies on light trucks. Wihag Nutzfahrzeugtechnik, Artur-Ladebeck-Strasse 171, D-33647 Bielefeld, Germany.