In dairy industries it is vital that the correct flooring is chosen for maximum safety and efficiency around the workplace.

The common flooring requirements are a balance of durability, cleanability and a seamless anti-slip profile, which all work together to produce a safe and hygienic environment.

John Lord Flooring have many long-standing and successful relationships with dairy companies, ranging from small independent dairies to the mega dairies, which include the world’s largest zero carbon dairy in Aylesbury, UK.

How has the dairy industry changed?
Over the past few years, John Lord have seen an increase in the dairy market and so, an increase in resin flooring demand.

With larger milk producers taking in the milk production, the local and independent dairies are now looking to move into other areas.

They have started producing more cheese and yogurt products, while across the whole country there has been a rise in the production of soft cheeses, such as mozzarella and goat’s cheese.

Tiled flooring is the thing of the past
Traditionally, tiling was the favoured flooring product to use throughout dairies, however the jointing materials used between each tile proved to be a weakness to caustic and lactic acid.

This caused various hygienic bacterial issues and some costly maintenance problems where these materials were eroding and damaging the concrete floors.

In addition, tiling has never been able to provide the appropriate slip-resistant surface a dairy factory requires.

Due to the fats and other similar products in the dairy process, potential spillages can drastically increase the risk of slips and falls in the workplace.

Why choose resin flooring?
More people are turning to resin flooring systems with its seamless, hygienic and anti-slip attributes.

At John Lord, the Uragard polyurethane systems are always recommended for dairies. They are formulated to cope better with thermal cycling and shock than other types of acrylic, epoxy and tiled flooring.

Once installed, a polyurethane floor is able to expand, contract and move with the substrate beneath when the floor is subjected to temperature changes over time.

The performance of the exclusive Uragard resin floor range is second to none. Having excellent chemical resistant against corrosives such as organic acids and cleaning materials, a resin floor will naturally outlast a standard concrete or tiled floor.

Further considerations
It is not just the flooring material to decide, further consideration should be given to the design of any dairy.

At the junction between the floor and wall there is often a difficult to clean gap where bacteria and debris can accumulate.

Introducing a resin floor wall cove creates a seamless transition between floor and wall surfaces, which removes the risk of gap and provides an easy to clean surface.

Flooring design within a dairy
And why stop there? Liquid from cleaning fluids, lactic acid spillages and other dairy sources can create a substantial amount of water. Any pooling water can be a hygiene nightmare as it is here where bacteria growth can occur.

Therefore at John Lord, they introduce floor falls into the flooring design, which promotes a well-drained surface and ensures that water does not stagnate.

Paired with a hard wearing stainless steel drainage system from the John Lord Aspen range, not only makes a dairy processing area impervious to water, but also extremely hygienic and very easy to clean on a daily basis.

Need a consultation?
For more information or a consultation about your dairy project, contact a member of the Technical Sales Team via email or phone +44 (0) 161 764 4617.

Alternatively.. you can specify your own flooring system online using the website. Choose your industry, the type of traffic in the area and if you have any specific requirements and the team at John Lord will present you the most relevant products to use.