Anti Microbial Alaska Urethane Flooring Upgrades at Seafood Plant

Unisea (a subsidiary of Nissui of Japan), based out of Redmond, WA, recently upgraded a fish-processing factory in Alaska. Previously epoxy flooring had been installed in some areas of the plant.  The new urethane mortar flooring, Puma-Crete, is a heavy duty 1/4″ urethane mortar flooring. The flooring is part of a $21 million makeover implemented from 2016-2017.  The factory on the Bering Sea coast processes locally caught crab and whitefish to make “surimi,” or fish paste, and other products.  Nissui owns factories in dozens of countries, including France, Brazil and Thailand, and ships products to Japan, the U.S., Europe and China. The upgrades are expected to help boost sales in Nissui’s maritime products business to $2.4 billion this year. 

Dutch Harbor, AK  (August 15, 2017)– When Unisea decided to increase efficiency and expand operations at an existing processing plant, they wanted to ensure that the facility met the highest of safety, sanitary and work efficiency standards. When Unisea wanted to  team up with expert installers and service providers for one of it’s major seafood processing facilities, they tapped leading seafood flooring consultant, and flooring installation company, E P Floors Corp.

EP Floors Corp is a specialist in seafood processing plant flooring, throughout the U.S. and abroad and the best choice for an Alaska urethane flooring project..  EPF installed PUMA-CRETE ^®,  a proprietary blend of polyurethane resins and cementitious aggregate blend. PUMA-CRETE ^®  is a trowel-applied mortar, installed in one pass at ¼ to 3/8”   thickness (6mm to 9mm).

Puma-Crete^®  is designed to withstand harsh conditions in seafood processing facilities.  Conditions may include live steam, thermal shock during 180 deg. F washdown, chemical sanitizers, and grueling impact and abrasion conditions. Per USDA requirements, the flooring must be impervious to moisture, so they can be readily and thoroughly cleaned. Floors may be graded for complete runoff, with no standing water, and should not promote microbial growth.

E P Floors project consultant Glenn Jobson noted that the Unisea project required thorough preparation and analysis to ensure that the urethane concrete floors met the unique requirements of this seafood processor. “Unisea required a thorough design process, because the existing floor required a new layout, along with complete drainage after customer washed down the floors.”  E P Floors was able to provide cost effective SLOPE-TO-DRAIN services, enabling water to properly runoff to the drains.     The floor drains and perimeter edges were addressed by keying in each drain and termination for the flooring.  Jobson explained, “We cut out 1.5 inches wide by three-quarter inches deep around each drain to provide extra strength, integrity, and a seamless ‘locked-in’ fit.”

EP Floors’ PUMA-CRETE ^®  hand scraped, troweled urethane finish is more durable than epoxy flooring and concrete. Unisea’s PUMA-CRETE ^®, seafood flooring is definitely one of the toughest floors in a seafood processing plant today. Turnaround time was only 5 days, which occurred during a brief shutdown for the areas, so that the plant could install new equipment.   The extra attention to detail, and extra effort by the installation team, impressed company management, who are expected to bring in visitors to tour the new  facility to see examples of best practices in food processing facility floor design and construction.

A Solid Foundation for Success 

Unisea’s  floors are among its most hardworking assets. Every day, their floors are subjected to heavy forklift and foot traffic, and loads weigh as much as 4,000 pounds each.  Unisea Project supervisor Art Aliment commented; “We’d say that flooring is a very big concern in a food processing plant,” he added. “It’s important to have a floor that’s durable, non-skid, sanitary and easy to maintain.”

 

The PUMA-CRETE^® which E P Floors used is ideal flooring for a busy plant like Unisea and for abrasion resistance.  It helps create a safer and healthier work environment by reducing slips and falls, and provides a surface that actively works to fight germs and bacteria.  The concrete urethane mortar flooring is also available with a seamless cove base, which may also transitions over concrete curbs

Right Flooring Choices

In selecting the right flooring solution and flooring supplies for a food processing plant, Jobson suggests looking at all variables—budget, potential downtime, temperature, traffic loads and degree of slip resistance required—before making a final decision.

For instance, packaging areas with moderate traffic require a thin film coating system with good stain resistance. Regular wash down and process areas, on the other hand, require additional protection including thermal shock resistance, impact resistance, and chemical resistance.

“Of course, there is no substitute for an experienced team of flooring specialists who truly understand the demands of the business,” Jobson added. “In the case of Unisea, they are now experiencing the material gains of investing in quality food processing flooring, well planned architecture and design, and top notch building materials and vendors. In the future, they may even add additional product lines to the facility, and they are confident that with a dependable partner like E P Floors, they can continue to grow and diversify while adhering to superior quality standards.”

In addition to Unisea, E P Floors’ roster of satisfied clients include industry leaders like:   Peter Pan Seafoods, National Fish, Fishery Products, Bristol Seafood, American Seafoods, Campbell’s Soup, Kroger Foods, Hersheys, among other top names in food processing.

For more information about E P Floors’ USDA approved seafood flooring systems, visit the website at www.EPFloors.com.

About EP Floors Corp.

E P Floors Corp. is a vertically integrated flooring company, providing consulting services, manufacturing and installation of PUMA-CRETE ^® urethane cement flooring throughout North and South America.    Specializing in Food & Beverage processing floors, EPF has received accreditation from ISN, an international Industrial Compliance & Safety Firm and is a top Alaska urethane flooring solution provider.

For more information, contact:
Sean Mitchell    Phone:  1-800-808-7773         E-mail: smitchell@EPFloors.com