How HOG is innovating by following a familiar path

HOG Technologies is melting the competition with its line of thermoplastic equipment. Whether you need something mounted to a chassis or skid, or something smaller and more compact, HOG is your total pavement solution.

HOG began with a desire to melt and apply thermoplastic more efficiently. After years of research and testing, the Thermo HOG was born. Instead of using a traditional direct-fired kettle, the Thermo HOG circulates heated oil throughout the melter to provide lower, but more effective, heat transfer over the entire surface area. Since the surface is evenly heated, a Thermo HOG can shut down instantly without waiting for the thermoplastic to cool, minimizing the separation of solids. The solids that do separate are thoroughly blended back into the system through recirculation at startup. This innovative process allows the Thermo HOG to achieve ultrafast startup times of around one hour.

With heated oil, the heat transfer temperature on the kettle surface never exceeds 500 F, eliminating the risk of scorched or charred material that’s caused by traditional kettles which can get as hot as 2,000 F. The Thermo HOG’s kettles can be built to any size and offer capacities ranging from 4,000 to 16,000 pounds. With two kettles per truck, you can house up to 32,000 pounds of thermoplastic and melt them at rates of up to 24,000 pounds per hour.

While traditional thermoplastic trucks can have up to nine burners, the Thermo HOG 8.0 and 16.0 use only one burner, while the 32.0 uses two burners to heat the thermoplastic thanks to a unique extremity heating system with separate temperature control.

After innovating this new technology, HOG transferred the breakthrough design to a skid-based system. HOG’s skids come in sizes as small as a twin 1,250-pound skid, and all the way up to an 8,000-pound skid. Depending on the model, the skids can melt at rates of 2,000, 6,000 and 8,000 pounds per hour. All sizes use the same melting technology as the Thermo HOG, with temperatures never exceeding 500 F.

The skids are available in single- or dual-color configurations.

In addition, HOG has created a ride-on striping machine option called the Mini HOG. Slightly larger than a small tractor, this form factor machine can melt thermoplastic and apply it to the pavement without having to feed the material into a separate application vehicle or device. As a result, the Mini HOG is the perfect solution for smaller jobs such as parking lots, crosswalks and other road markings.

The Mini HOG has a shoe applicator that allows you to customize your line widths. The shoe has four extrusion gates; two that are 4 inches, and two at 2 inches. Simply open the knives to your desired line width.

Now, HOG is cooking up new innovations by taking its melting technology and turning it laterally. The Thermo HOG, Mini HOG, and Thermo Skids are receiving a new lateral design that moves the melter into the bed of the skid. This unique concept reduces the footprint of our existing layout to give you more deck space for your material in a smaller, more manageable form factor.

The Florida-based company’s forward-leaning approach doesn’t end there. HOG has also introduced a brand-new product to their pavement marking line, the Epoxy HOG. It uses only one glycol pump and features nozzles in the recirculation lines, tight temperature control and temperature maintenance using insulated lines. Temperature control is achieved as each gun recirculates the material at high speed to keep the lines warm while spraying.

The Epoxy HOG shows its versatility by using epoxy or polyurea material and has the option to add handgun kits, fusion guns and mix tubes.
With these innovations, HOG has expanded its pavement marking footprint with a wide variety of versatile solutions for any marking job. What began with just one product has now grown into a family of thermoplastic and plural component products that bring unmatched innovation and performance to an industry that has relied on a tried-and-true, yet inefficient, method for more than 30 years. This is just another reason why HOG is YOUR Total Pavement Solution!

If the past is any indication, HOG won’t be stopping any time soon.

For more information, please visit www.THEHog.com, email us at sales@thehog.com or give us a call at (772) 214-1714.