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Let’s talk about flooring:

We walk on them, we drop things on them, we work on them, so when it comes to future-proofing a food facility floor, it’s important to choose materials specifically designed to tackle food industry challenges!

Hardwearing resin systems, epoxy and polyurethane, are typically used for busy food plants that subject their floors to physical impacts, point loading and traffic from equipment such as heavily laden pallet trolleys and forklift trucks. Of course, all of these factors can cause damage to a floor finish and if the coating is applied too thinly; hard to clean cracks can appear in the finish, increasing the risk of unwanted bacteria.

To prevent these risks from occurring, businesses, manufacturers and architects are continually on the look out for protective floor systems such as epoxy or polyurethane. Although they are often talked about as the same product, they are actually two different types of floor coatings with their own distinct properties. To make sure you’re choosing the right system for you, we thought we’d compare the two.


What do they cost?

Whilst a polyurethane system will initially cost more compared to an epoxy, it is far more cost effective in the long term. In fact, the lifespan of the PU system is roughly double that of the epoxy, clocking an impressive ten-year’s compared to the epoxy’s five. PU systems also benefit from their increased wear, abrasion and impact resistance properties.


What resistance do they offer?

In general, epoxy resins offer limited resistance to the organic acids that are found in large quantity of food and drink produce, whereas polyurethane systems boast unrivalled resistance to corrosion, inorganic, alkalis, organic alkalis and solvents.


Are they tolerant to heat?

Polyurethanes provide superior heat, cold and thermal shock tolerance. Epoxies on the other hand are naturally more rigid and are able to move with a concrete substrate when exposed to heat fluctuations. To exemplify this, a standard two-pack, 100% solids epoxy coating, has a heat resistance of up to 65 °C, whereas some PU systems can tolerate 120°C. This thermal shock resistance is a great benefit in food and beverage facilities where extreme temperature changes often occur on a daily basis. For example when a room is steam cleaned; in areas where hot oven doors are being opened or where there is the possibility of boiling substances spilling onto the floor ( ... )

Industrial environments have very specific needs for their flooring systems, whether they are manufacturing plants, automotive areas or food processing factories.

The flooring system needs to tackle these challenges whilst boasting impressive resistance levels against cleaning agents, aggressive chemicals and spillages.


Sites that use hazardous or flammable chemicals should pay particular attention to the systems fire and temperature resistance, whilst sites that are exposed to steam cleaning, industrial ovens or are at risk of hot liquid spills should consider flooring with good thermal shock resistance.


Safety First

It is not just resistance to the initial incidents that need to be considered; spillages, for example, can cause areas of the site to become slippery, and so flooring properties such as slip resistance should also be studied. A popular choice for large areas, specifically in the manufacturing and food industries is a joint-free polyurethane system. The easy-to-clean properties of seamless systems means that dirt and germs cannot hide in crevices, but can be washed away quickly and easily. This is especially resonant for sites where food is prepared or packaged, where maintaining a high standard of hygiene is paramount. Ease of cleaning also keeps the flooring looking fresh, making for a more habitable working environment.


Colour Me Impressed

The use of different coloured areas in flooring can have huge benefits to a site; from separating walkways to highlighting areas of dangerous machinery or hazardous zones, to outlining where pallets should be stored so as not to cause obstruction. This is highly applicable in the Food and Beverage industry, where cross-contamination between zones needs to be avoided. An example of this could be having different coloured zones for different applications, such as red flooring in the zone where raw meat produce is handled and blue flooring in the zone where cooked meat produce is handled. Keeping these areas separated by colour and distance, with produce remaining in the right designated zone, can help to reduce the chance of contamination.


Having a large expanse of a single bold colour also has its advantages, from creating a striking visual for employees and visitors being shown around the site, to choosing brand colours for the flooring or having a colour that will show up dropped or spilled items clearly.

Timing Is Everything


For market sectors such as production, closing an entire site during application can be problematic for the business. In cases like this, the speed of application is key and a fast-cure system becomes an extremely attractive option. Flowcrete’s Flowfast Quartz for example is named as such for the rapid installation and cure-time, but this system also features properties such as slip and wear resistance, as well as being tolerant of sustained temperatures up to 70 degrees. Whatever the needs of a flooring system, it is not a decision to be taken lightly. Making a list of necessities for the flooring, or for the working environment as a whole, can make the decision on the flooring system much easier and well informed ( ... )