As a new foreign trade service provider driven by both technology transformation and foreign trade services, HiSiaddi has established a "1+2+3+4=1" service system and can supply original factory products of many well-known brands of polyether polyols. As a technology-driven foreign trade service provider, HiSiaddi has repeatedly resolved customers' customized demands for polyether polyols through technological transformation cooperation with manufacturers and accurate insight into market demands. The following is a case of HiSiaddi addressing customized development requirements for polyether polyols.
Please contact HiSiaddi customer service if you need more customized service solutions.
Autotherm is a core supplier of thermal insulation rigid foam for mid-to-high-end automobiles in Europe. Its main products include thermal insulation rigid foam for new energy vehicle battery PACKs, thermal insulation profiles for vehicle air conditioners, and structural foaming materials for high-end RVs. Its products are supplied to the original supporting supply chains of Mercedes-Benz and Volvo in Europe, complying with strict access standards for automotive OEMs as well as EU regulations including REACH, RoHS and low-VOC environmental standards. The company’s annual procurement volume of high-end modified polyether polyols reaches 180 tons. It had long purchased customized special polyethers from Covestro and Dow, yet faced multiple issues including surging European chemical raw material prices, a minimum order threshold of 50 tons for customized products from overseas giants, delivery cycles exceeding 60 days, and low production scheduling priority for small-batch custom orders. Therefore, Autotherm entrusted HiSiaddi to develop exclusive customized modified polyether polyols in China, with an initial trial production order of 22 tons.
1. Customized Parameters: Tri-functional modified polyether with a hydroxyl value of 325±5mgKOH/g, viscosity of 3200±200mPa·s at 25°C, moisture ≤0.04%, unsaturation value ≤0.008mol/kg, and potassium & sodium ion content ≤3ppm. Conventional domestic general-purpose 4110 rigid foam polyethers feature unstable hydroxyl values and excessive ionic impurities, failing to meet the standards.
2. Customized Formulation Performance: Compatible with full-water foaming systems; the resulting foam shall have a thermal conductivity ≤0.021W/(m·K), resist cracking and shrinkage under long-term exposure to 120°C high temperatures, and feature low aldehyde and low VOC content to adapt to the sealed thermal insulation working conditions of new energy battery packs.
3. Customized Raw Material Structure: Composite initiator system (sorbitol + modified glycerin compound initiator) with ethylene oxide block modification to improve cell fineness. Most manufacturers only mass-produce grades with single initiators and refuse to adjust production processes for small-batch customization.
The customer independently contacted three major domestic polyether manufacturers (Wanhua, INOV, Shandong Dexin), all of which prioritized promoting their standardized mass-produced grades:
1. Full-capacity regular production lines of major factories are reluctant to switch reaction kettle processes for small-batch 22-ton custom orders. Customized quotations were marked up by 42% with a 45-day delivery cycle.
2. Factory R&D teams only fine-tune existing mature formulas and refused to adjust block ratios and initiator proportions per the molecular structure requirements proposed by the Swiss client.
3. Lack of supporting capabilities to compile customized EU-compliant documents, making it impossible to issue English raw material traceability documents, SVHC test reports and full VOC test reports required by automakers. Lacking domestic chemical supply chain resources, the customer’s R&D team stalled the customization project and fully entrusted HiSiaddi to coordinate the entire process including formula customization, pilot testing, mass production and compliance management.
HiSiaddi is staffed with polyether R&D engineers, supply chain specialists and EU compliance specialists. It collaborated with the customized R&D workshop of Shandong Dexin Chemical (equipped with flexible small-kettle customized production lines) to complete the customization in four phases: formula optimization → laboratory small sample testing → 500kg pilot production → 22-ton industrial mass production.
1. HiSiaddi engineers translated the Swiss original process specifications and converted European molecular block design parameters into domestic polymerization production processes: adjusted the feeding ratio of propylene oxide/ethylene oxide, composite initiator dosage and DMC catalyst addition amount to precisely lock the hydroxyl value and viscosity ranges.
2. To address the high-temperature shrinkage defect of battery foam, a small amount of flame-retardant modified monomers were introduced at the end of polymerization to enhance the thermal stability of the foam at the molecular level and avoid finished product deformation under high temperatures.
8 rounds of small sample adjustments were conducted in total: the first 3 rounds suffered from excessive viscosity and insufficient hydroxyl value. Subsequent optimization of polymerization temperature control curves and devolatilization duration yielded small samples with measured indicators: hydroxyl value 323mgKOH/g, viscosity 3120mPa·s, moisture 0.032%, potassium ion 2.1ppm, all falling within the customer’s tolerance range. Foam samples tested in the Swiss customer’s laboratory achieved a thermal conductivity of 0.0207W/(m·K), with no shrinkage or cracking after cold-hot cycling between -40°C and 130°C; VOC indicators complied with EU ELV limits for automotive interiors.
A dedicated 5m³ customized reaction kettle was arranged to avoid scheduling conflicts with general mass production lines. The laboratory process parameters were fully replicated during pilot production, with strict control over polymerization heating rates and vacuum removal of small molecular by-products. Key indicator fluctuations of finished pilot products were controlled below ±1.5%, solving the common industry challenge of inconsistent indicators during scale-up from lab to industrial production, and finalizing standardized SOP process documents for mass production.
Leveraging long-term strategic cooperation with the factory, HiSiaddi secured batch reactor capacity for priority scheduling of the customer’s custom order, breaking the barrier of manufacturers refusing small-batch production. The full mass-produced batch was split into three storage tanks for separate filling, with independent sampling from each tank for full third-party testing by CNAS-accredited laboratories, and English COA test certificates issued.
1. HiSiaddi’s compliance department compiled bilingual (English & French) GHS-aligned SDS, upstream raw material traceability customs documents for propylene oxide and initiators, full 224-item SVHC screening reports, and third-party VOC & aldehyde test reports in accordance with EU automotive chemical access requirements. All documents could be directly used by Autotherm for raw material filing with Mercedes-Benz and Volvo OEMs.
2. Given the product’s classification as Class 9 dangerous goods (UN3082), HiSiaddi designed a temperature-controlled drum packaging solution with moisture-proof lined iron drums and arranged constant-temperature container sea transportation to prevent deterioration from hydrolysis under high ocean temperatures.
1. Initial Order Fulfillment: The 22 tons of customized polyether was shipped on schedule from Qingdao Port to Rotterdam Port with no customs inspection or port detention. The customer produced battery thermal insulation foam, and three types of new energy PACK insulation components successfully passed OEM type tests and were incorporated into the supply chain of Mercedes-Benz’s new electric vehicle models. Compared with original Covestro materials, the comprehensive customized procurement cost dropped by 31%, and the delivery cycle was shortened from 62 days to 28 days.
2. Annual Long-Term Agreement Signing: After the customized formula was finalized, Autotherm canceled orders for custom materials imported from Europe and signed a 180-ton annual long-term custom order with HiSiaddi, scheduled for monthly production in 6 batches. The same customized grade was subsequently adopted for foaming raw materials of the customer’s Austrian RV division.
3. Iterative In-Depth Customization: In the following year, the customer developed a new generation of high-density energy storage thermal insulation materials and once again entrusted HiSiaddi to conduct secondary modification and upgrading based on the existing polyether, with continuous iterative optimization of customized formulas.
1. Industry Customization Pain Points: Major domestic polyether manufacturers focus on mass production of standard grades with scarce flexible customized production lines. Small-batch and non-standard parameter custom orders have low factory acceptance willingness due to high production switching costs. For overseas mid-to-high-end automotive supporting customers bound by strict EU regulations and OEM access standards, customization requires not only qualified indicators but also full sets of compliance traceability documents, which are difficult to secure through direct independent contact with manufacturers.
2. Demand Characteristics of Mid-to-High-End Customers: Customization prioritizes formula performance matching complete vehicle supporting standards, with raw material stability outweighing procurement unit price. Unqualified raw materials will cause mass scrapping of complete vehicle parts and delays in OEM qualification approval, resulting in losses far exceeding raw material price differences.
3. Core Value of HiSiaddi: As a third-party foreign trade service provider, HiSiaddi links formula conversion, flexible factory scheduling, pilot & mass production, cross-border compliance and dangerous goods export full chains, acting as a technical bridge between overseas R&D teams and domestic manufacturers to deliver non-standard exclusive customization and support mid-to-high-end customers in achieving localized raw material substitution.
Please contact HiSiaddi customer service if you need more customized service solutions.
+86-13120989737 
info@hisiaddi.com 
English
