Polyurethane Food Plant Flooring

Tough, chemical-resistant, temperature-tolerant, seamless flooring contains no grout joints where bacteria can lodge. Called Ucrete, the polyurethane flooring system from Harris Specialty Chemicals, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is used in numerous food and beverage plants because of its cleanability and durability. It's also designed to minimize slippery surfaces, enhancing plant worker safety. The surface profile can be adjusted to provide various degrees of skid inhibition, according to customer specifications.

Bob Sherokee of RMS, Inc., a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based consulting engineering firm specializing in civil structural engineering and plant facilities maintenance has long experience with Ucrete flooring systems. Formerly with Heinz USA, Sherokee is now an advisor to Heinz and other food and beverage companies.

"Heinz has been using these flooring systems with great success," said Sherokee. "I also have recommended the system to Brown Forman Distillers. One big benefit is Ucrete's corrosion resistance. And its elasticity properties are very concrete-compatible. Also, the product is odorless--an important feature when you're putting down new flooring in one area of the plant while food products may be running in another nearby area. Ucrete works in both performance and cost. It's less costly than brick or tile floors, and comparably priced with epoxy floors."

Highly compatible with concrete subflooring, Ucrete surfacing offers elasticity over a temperature range from -50 to 220 °F. It can serve in plant areas as diverse as freezers and fry lines, and it won't delaminate due to thermally induced stresses.

Tests have shown the flooring is exceptionally resistant to damage from caustics, organic and inorganic acids, solvents, and most other commonly used chemicals. It can handle daily exposure to various heavy-duty cleaning techniques, including live steam, hot water, and aggressive detergents and disinfectants. And because the seamless systems absorb direct impact blows in a distributed manner, the flooring is far less likely to crack, chip, splinter, or flake.

Contacts: Harris Specialty Chemicals, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. Phone: 904-996-6253. Fax: 904-996-6084.

Bob Sherokee, RMS, Inc., 277 Knickerbocker Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15235. Phone: 412-372-4595. Fax: 412-372-0131.

By: Mike Pehanich