Food Processing Flooring

by Jeffrey Smedley Epoxy Flooring Contractor

Food and beverage manufacturing flooring and food processing flooring must be able to stand up to some of the most extreme conditions. They are subjected to a wide range of fats, hot oils, blood, sugar, and natural food acids. These floors are also subjected to harsh chemical cleaners and thermal shock from wash downs. In addition, food and beverage manufacturing floors must generally adhere to strict USDA, FDA, and SQF standards. The resinous flooring that we provide is specifically designed for the food processing industry. Food processing facilities often require extensive re-sloping to promote healthy drainage as well as new trench drain installation, both which are additional services we provide. Our sub-specialties within the field include dairies, meat processing, rendering, poultry & egg, fragrance & flavor production, bakeries and commercial kitchen flooring and . Our flooring installations guarantee strict adherence to high standards of sanitation, cleanability, and safety and we specialize in plant shut downs and fast turnarounds.

Food Processing Flooring: Which Type For Which Area?

Processing Areas

Food processing areas must be slip resistant to provide a safe work environment for employees. It must be chemical resistant to withstand the multitude of cleaners and food by products it will encounter. It must also be impact resistant and be able to stand up to heavy forklift traffic. The type of food processing flooring you place in these areas must have excellent thermal properties to withstand expansion and contraction known as thermal shock which is created by high temperature cleaning and general fluctuations in temperature. Urethane cement flooring is the premier choice for food processing flooring because it provides all of these features.

Packaging Areas

Packaging areas also need to offer excellent thermal shock resistance to handle the high temperature cooking and cleaning. The addition of an integral cove base provides a completely seamless floor that will adhere to even the strictest government regulations. Obviously chemical resistance and slip resistance also come in to play. Once again a urethane cement would be the optimal choice.

Bottling Areas

Bottling areas must be able to handle heavy weight loads and high traffic from material handling equipment. High chemical and impact resistance is also a concern. A seamless floor customized with just the right amount of slip resistance will provide a safe and easy to maintain bottling facility.

Charging Areas

Most food and beverage manufacturing facilities have charging stations for their material handling equipment. The acid from these batteries is extremely corrosive and will easily damage and discolor most types of conventional flooring. A chemical resistant Novolac epoxy is generally used in these areas to prevent this from happening.

Freezers and Walk-In Coolers

Cold areas such as coolers and freezers present a challenge for flooring installation because generally most flooring products need to be installed with substrate and ambient air temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The use of Methyl Methacrylate flooring, or MMA flooring has become a popular type of food processing flooring because these types of floors can be installed in below freezing temperatures and they have extremely fast cure times resulting in fast turnarounds.

Above we have covered some of the main areas that can benefit from resinous food processing flooring but it can serve well in virtually any area within your facility. We have products that will provide a safe, durable, easy to maintain, and aesthetically pleasing floor in rest rooms, locker rooms, mechanical rooms, loading docks, lobbies and more. Call us today or fill out the form to the right for a free consultation with one of our flooring experts. Call 800.928.7220 Today.