Five Flowfresh Facts
Five Flowfresh Facts
A hygienic floor design in a food and beverage facility is essential for maintaining consumer confidence, as food safety is paramount in the production, processing, and storage of products.
Given the numerous challenges that flooring in large-scale industrial environments faces, maintaining a high level of cleanliness is critical. This task becomes especially difficult due to regular impacts from heavy equipment, hot water washes, exposure to harsh cleaning chemicals, frequent foot and forklift traffic, and contact with a variety of corrosive food by-products.
To deal with these occupational hazards, seamless, impermeable and crack-free resin-based surfaces, such as Flowcrete Flowfresh range, are increasingly being specified across the Food & Beverage industry.
Here are Five Flowfresh Facts for Contractors:
- Polyurethane systems, such as Flowcrete UK’s Flowfresh range, are the most commonly used resin solutions in the food industry, especially in the most heavy-duty industrial areas. The high cross-linked density typical of polyurethane floors makes them exceptionally robust and able to withstand abusive environments.
- Flowcrete has an exclusive partnership with Polygiene®, which is a manufacturer of natural silver ion-based antimicrobial agents. This additive has been incorporated into the polyurethane matrix of Flowfresh to offer an advanced surface protection against harmful bacteria, mould and yeasts. The effectiveness of this technique is exemplified by the fact that many world-class healthcare environments have embraced Flowfresh flooring.
- Flowfresh systems have a coefficient of expansion similar to that of concrete. This means that the material expands, contracts and moves with the substrate to prevent any lasting damage during thermal shock scenarios such as hot water washes and steam cleaning. A thick polyurethane system is especially advisable for cold stores, blast freezers and the space underneath hot ovens, due to the inevitable long periods of exposure to extreme temperatures.
- Many industrial plants take advantage of the fact that signage can be incorporated into a Flowfresh finish to enhance on-site safety. The bright and colourful systems available in the range allow walkways to be clearly marked out, helping staff and visitors avoid getting unnecessarily close to machinery and produce.
- All Flowfresh systems are non-porous, preventing bacteria and mould spores from surviving in the joints and cracks that are typical of alternative flooring systems such as tiles or acid bricks.
