The USD800 million food producer Bakhresa Group specified a hardwearing epoxy floor from Flowcrete as part of its recent renovation project to turn an ageing Durban facility into a state-of-the-art flour mill.

Bakhresa knew that the floor coating would need to maintain a hygienic surface despite the challenging working conditions that are unavoidable within large-scale food production facilities, which can include heavy equipment, intense cleaning regimes, corrosive by-products, thermal shock and frequent foot traffic.

The resilient, self-smoothing epoxy flooring system Flowshield SL was applied within the mill’s critical production area. The ability of Flowshield SL to withstand high mechanical and chemical stress made it the perfect fit for this part of the site, as it will be able to maintain a seamless finish in the face of Bakhresa’s busy daily workload.

The joint-free, impervious nature of this system makes it a hygiene asset within food and beverage facilities, as it leaves no hard-to-clean gaps for bacteria, mould, mildew and fungi to get trapped within. Instead, any dirt or grime can be quickly and easily washed away by the site’s cleaning routine, minimising the risk of contamination incidents.

The non-critical areas of the site, such as the warehouse, packaging and logistics spaces, were coated with the epoxy resin finish Flowshield SL 1000. This system would provide the same hygienic and aesthetic properties as the production room floor but it could be thinner in these areas as it would not have to endure such rigorous conditions.

In total, 11,000m2 of resin materials were required to bring the facility’s floor up to the necessary standard. Flowcrete supplied all the systems in a custom Sand Yellow colour in order to meet the client’s aesthetic requirements.