Stepping on safe, hygienic floors

ANTIMICROBIAL and heavy-duty flooring are options to boost hygiene and safety as well as durability in many food and beverage production and warehouse facilities. Seamless industrial and commercial floorings can be customized for the needs of the company. In the following case studies, Flowcrete Group Ltd proposes several types of flooring for a microbrewery in Florida and a logistics company in Malaysia.

High traffic at microbrewery

Microbrewery Florida Beer Company mills, mashes, bottles and boxes 28 varieties of ales, lagers, pilsners, porters, stouts and ciders – all of which are visible to the viewing public from the company’s new visitor center. The craft beer specialist is located at the former Florida site of Chrysler Corporation Ballistic Missile and Space Activities and situated next to a highway that brings around three million people each year from Orlando to the beaches on the Atlantic coast. Another three million people board cruise liners every year in nearby Port Canaveral – making it the ideal home for a showcase brewery and tasting lounge.

The 5,574 sqm facility features the most efficient brewing equipment and technologies including a CombiCube B brewhouse that offers a capacity of well over 90,000 barrels – tripling the number of brews per day compared to Florida Beer Company’s previous operations.

Florida Beer Company has a 5,574 sqm facility with efficient brewing equipment and technologies including a CombiCube B brewhouse that offers a capacity of well over 90,000 barrels

Looking for a suitable flooring material that would stand up to the daily demands of his new brewhouse, new president Jim Massoni sought recommendations from Texas-based Flowcrete Americas, a part of Flowcrete Group Ltd.

Flowcrete worked with PPI Epoxy Coatings, and prepared a specification calling for the use of various specialist resin flooring systems throughout the building. It offered Flowfresh SRQ, a 1,115sqm of a slurry broadcast cementitious urethane concrete system for Florida Beer’s central production hall and bottling plant. Flowfresh SRQ contains colored quartz granules that create a positively textured profile to assist with preventing slip risks underfoot.

The phthalate-free material also contains a silver ion-based antimicrobial additive, Polygiene, which limits the spread of bacteria and other harmful pathogens. The material is also designed to withstand temperature swings and thermal shock up to 180°F and is highly resistant in the face of chemical and solvent spillage.

Flowcrete and PPI Epoxy Coatings partner to provide craft beer maker Florida Beer Company with heavy-duty hygienic floorings

A second system, 1,858sqm of Flowcoat SF41 HCS was proposed for use in the storage and packing halls and a further 7,000 sq ft in a safety yellow shade for use in the brewery’s tank fermentation area.

Originally designed for the aviation industry, Flowcoat SF41 HCS is a non-porous, highly chemical resistant epoxy floor coating system that has a proven international track record within the industrial manufacturing and food and beverage production sectors.

PPI Epoxy Coatings, based in Orlando, Florida, specializes in the installation, repair, maintenance and protection of floor surfaces. The applicator has over 20 years’ experience in the industry and offers a range of specialist coating systems with a host of performance benefits and advantages including urethanes, epoxy terrazzo and anti-corrosion coatings amongst others.

PPI Epoxy coatings came up against various challenges throughout the installation process. Aside from there being no utilities on site, there were also no windows for the duration of the project. Plumbing contractors were also installing trenches during the substrate preparation phase, which had to be carefully worked around.

The substrate itself was heavily contaminated by oil due to the nature of Chrysler’s previous activities at the site.

Multiple methods of surface prep were utilized, including shot blasting with Blastrac equipment, HTC planetary grinders, hand grinders, and saw cuts around the walls and drains to create a key way to anchor the floor.

James Cook, president for PPI said, “The entire project from substrate preparation to the installation of the final finishes took three weeks to complete, ensuring the site was returned in time for the relocation of FBC’s operations.

“The client is delighted with the end result. Not only providing a wear resistant, easy to maintain surface that is likely to last up to 15 years, the colorful finish provides a great platform from which to showcase the brewery to visitors.”

The privately owned microbrewery has an interesting history. Originally known as the Indian River Brewing Company, it was based in Melbourne, Florida, until 2003. Under the watch of Mr Massoni the company changed its name to Florida Beer Company and is now the largest craft brewer in the state of Florida.

FL Logistics installs heavy-duty flooring

In Malaysia, LF Logistics has upgraded its warehouse in Bukit Raja, Klang with heavy duty, hygienic flooring system. The company provides distribution center management services to 400 brands worldwide, ensuring that their products are stored and handled with care. Its existing warehouse was due for renovation with the previous epoxy floor finishes peeling due to a combination of poor quality materials and bad workmanship. 

Each warehouse is customized to serve a product vertical or, in some cases, a specific client and the design requirements for storage and handling can vary according to business needs.

Dilapidation work is an important consideration for all manufacturing companies as without it increased costs, prolonged labor, operational downtime and potentially unforeseen expenditure could be on the horizon.

The floor is often an area of concern – as it is invariably the part of a building that has weathered the most use and abuse. The floor finish of an industrial site such as a warehouse or factory will have been exposed to impacts from heavy equipment, spillages of corrosive oils, liquids, greases and worse.

Flowcrete Asia has collaborated with LF Logistics to provide a heavy duty, hygienic flooring system for its warehouse Bukit Raja, Klang, Malaysia

LF Logistics chose Flowcrete to reinvigorate its rapidly deteriorating floor, and the resin flooring specialists had a very short shut down period in which to work, as the warehouse needed to be ready to fulfil a contract from a leading food & beverage brand within a week of the installation deadline.

Large-scale manufacturing companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of having a good quality floor surface and ensuring that all areas of the site are adequately prepared for the workload they will encounter. With the significant financial outlay that comes as a result of failing flooring systems, businesses simply cannot afford to take a chance on a floor liable to fail and cost them money.

Because the Flowfresh HF finish is hardwearing, it protects the floors for a long period of time

Over the space of two weeks in early November, 413sqm of Flowfresh HF 12mm was applied in the cold room as well as 151 sqm of 6mm Flowfresh HF.  The heavy duty, chemical resistant, antimicrobial polyurethane resin floor screed is ideal for wet processing zones such as food manufacturing, food preparation areas, and chemical processing plants.

Despite the very challenging time frame and the need to remove all of the old epoxy coating before installing the Flowfresh, Flowcrete and its licensed contractor completed the project on schedule.

The client was impressed with the company’s efficiency and the fact that its contractor managed to avoid removing the existing racking during the application process.

Like LF Logistics, many manufacturing, companies will be looking for a hard floor that is designed to withstand the impending loads, especially from racking and fork lift trucks. It is also important to ensure that dusting will not take place and that any existing floor cracks are examined and fixed prior to the application of a floor coating.

This combination of factors calls for a refurbishment solution that can minimize costs, cope with the on-site conditions, allow for a rapid return to service and also provide a long lasting, functional finish.

The exceptionally hardwearing nature of the Flowfresh HF finish is ideal for businesses that want to reduce the frequency of upgrade works as much as possible, as its dependable, colorful and multi-functional finish is suitable for even the most heavy-duty industrial environments.