A Flowfresh floor addresses hygiene in salmon production facilities

THE Australian food manufacturing design specialist Wiley specified a high performance resin floor from Flowcrete for a $12 million, state-of-the-art smokehouse.

The flooring project at the Huon Aquaculture Smokehouse and Product Innovation center in Parramatta Creek, Tasmania, was part of a 10-month construction program to upgrade, centralize and future-proof the large-scale salmon producer’s operations. It involved a refurbishment of the existing site as well as an extension that would double the business’ footprint.

The floor area would have to withstand the annual production of 17,000 tonnes of fresh salmon, which will subject it to heavy equipment, spillages of fish and by-products, frequent cleaning, thermal shock and constant foot traffic. As one of Australia’s premium global producers of fresh and smoked salmon products, the new 2,500 meter-square facility would need a floor that met the highest standards of cleanliness despite these difficult operating conditions.

Wiley contacted Flowcrete Australia, which is part of the global resin flooring production company Flowcrete Group, regarding its ultra-hygienic antimicrobial Flowfresh flooring range. The food facility designer specified the polyurethane system Flowfresh SR for the task at hand thanks to its ability to combine durability with an anti-slip, easy to clean finish.

A 6mm layer of Flowfresh SR was applied in the smokehouse’s main processing areas, with stainless steel drainage incorporated into the finish. Different colors designate each part of the site to aid navigation and reduce cross contamination. A Signal Green floor was installed in the Cold Smoke Slicing room and Warm Buff was used for the Hot Smoke Slicing room.

A key component of Flowfresh’s hygienic credentials stems from the fact that it has been enhanced with the antimicrobial agent Polygiene®, which utilizes the natural bactericidal properties of silver to eliminate germs and microbes. This additive is homogenously distributed throughout Flowfresh’s resin matrix, a formulation that has been tested to meet the ISO 22196 standard for measuring a surface’s antibacterial effectiveness on plastics and other non-porous surfaces.

Huon Aquaculture’s facility, which opened in July 2015, was designed so that it could be added to over the years. The Flowfresh floor ties into this aim and its robust nature means that it will be able to handle an increased workload at a later date.