The production room of a manufacturing facility is under constant pressure from machinery, vibrations, extreme temperature or constant washdowns. Antony Di Girolamo, on behalf of Allied Finishes, explains why choosing the right flooring is critical.
In the production room of a food manufacturing facility, where efficiency is key, every moment counts. This bustling space sees more action than any other in the facility. Amidst the hustle, machinery hums, trolleys clatter, and forklifts navigate through the organised chaos.
The pressure on the production room floor is tangible, carrying the weight of heavy machinery and enduring constant vibrations. Some machines crank up the heat, adding to the floor’s challenges, while frequent hot washdowns test its durability. Choosing the right flooring is critical in this environment, ensuring it can handle the demands while lasting longterm.
A&I Coatings national business development manager, Antony Di Girolamo, is an expert in the field and provides invaluable advice on flooring solutions tailored to the needs of the production room.
“There are several key advantages of polyurethane cement flooring solutions when it comes to production rooms being able to meet the typical requirements,” Di Girolamo says.
Heat Resistance
For production rooms with hot/warm washdowns, or hot machinery, it’s important to understand which flooring systems will stand up to the heat. Epoxy resins generally begin a softening process at 40C and at about 65C of constant heat will result in the coating/film becoming ductile and plastic. In this state the epoxy loses mechanical strength and is easily damaged by mechanical/chemical forces.
PU Cement handles much higher heat loads, with any softening only occurring in the 100-120C range. The PU Cement will retain its Shore D hardness at higher temperatures than epoxy, resulting in retention of the physical properties of the system.
Thermal Expansion
For rooms near cool rooms/ freezers, or with thermal cycling, where the concrete will expand and contract, understanding the advantage of PU Cement is critical. As PU Cement has a linear coefficient of thermal expansion closer to host concrete than epoxy, PU Cement can handle thermal shock and fluctuations in temperature far better than epoxy.
Chemical & Abrasion Resistance
Having resistance to both chemicals and heavy trolleys and machinery is essential in a production room. PU Cement has better resistance than epoxy-based flooring to many chemicals and cleaning agents used in production facilities.
PU Cement is a hybrid system containing the best of Polyurethane technology and the hydration reaction occurring with the cementitious component. The polyurethane component delivers chemical and abrasion resistance along with ability for thin film layers (under 10mm). The cementitious component and graded fillers will deliver the heat resistance characteristics.
Post-Concrete Installation
PU cement can be applied to green concrete and concrete with moisture levels up to 10 per cent part by weight. In comparison, epoxy-based flooring systems will generally require the moisture levels to be under 4-5 per cent parts by weight. For application of epoxy systems, concrete generally requires 28 days cure, which also increases in winter.
So, if a new slab has been poured with a tight timeframe to complete the flooring, a polyurethane cement system is one of the
only options to handle the green concrete.
Return to Service
For areas being upgraded while other production areas are still in operation, time is of the essence. PU Cement cure time is faster than epoxy and can be accelerated to execute short down time applications, such as smaller turn around projects in addition to isolated infill and repairs.
“PU Cement is taint free and NON-DG chemistry. It doesn’t exhibit odours like some epoxy systems, and VOC levels are extremely low,” Di Girolamo says.
When it comes to production room floors, it’s critical to understand the important differences between epoxy and polyurethane cement flooring systems, to know what will work in your area and what is going to stand in the long run.
This article first appeared in the April/May 2024 edition of Food & Drink Business Magazine.
