From Cadbury, India, to McVitie's, UK, FlowCrete expands into F&B industrial flooring

RPM International is a US multi-national holding company with subsidiaries that manufacture and market specialty coatings, sealants and building materials.

Productos Cave deal in Chile

FlowCrete is now working with Productos Cave, an Euclid Chemical Company, part of RPM, to introduce its ultra-hygienic flooring Flowfresh to the F&B sector in Chile.

Mark Greaves, President, Flowcrete Group, told FoodProductionDaily the F&B sector is a key market for the firm and it has previously supplied production, processing storage and retail environments during both new build and refurbishment projects.

“This includes working with Cadbury, India on a major refurbishment of its Induri plant, McVitie’s production site in Glasgow, the Florida Beer Company when it turned a NASA research facility into a brewery and Unilever’s sustainable manufacturing site in Durban​,” he said.

“This award was due to the collaborative work that Flowcrete has been undertaking with other companies under the RPM umbrella to expand into food and beverage construction markets around the world​.”

Greaves added the work with Products Cave has included presenting to architects, developers and construction professionals on the practicalities and benefits of installing a cementitious urethane flooring with an in-built antimicrobial additive within the different areas of food production facilities.

“​A key focus for us is working with clients during the specification process to ensure the right materials are chosen early on; statistics show incorrect specifications cause many industrial floor coverings to fail within the first two years of service​,” he said.

Flowcrete Americas’ Latin American expansion

“It means taking into consideration the condition of the substrate, the impact, heat and cleaning demands that will be exerted on the floor every day, the type of chemicals the floor will be exposed to and the level of such exposure not to mention the budgetary concerns, maintenance of the floor over its lifetime, aesthetics, anti-slip requirements, signage, coving, hygiene regulations and construction schedule​.

“Failing to fully consider all these factors could easily mean the early failure of the site’s floor – which in turn could lead to unwanted repair costs and sanitation issues​.”  

Among the projects recognised by RPM include Flowcrete’s work to boost Tremco and Carboline’s reach in Asia by having their products manufactured in its Malaysian manufacturing facility.

To date this has led to the manufacture of 185,000 US gallons of Tremco Asia’s Tremproof 60 system and further Tremco products will be manufactured locally in Asia over the next 12 months.

In India, Flowcrete and Euclid Chemical have introduced a range of Euclid Chemical’s products and admixtures to the Indian market, supported by a Euclid manufacturing facility in India, within the next six months.

Flowcrete Americas’ Latin American expansion plan also involves similar partnerships with Viapol in Brazil, Toxement in Colombia and the supply of material to Stoncor in Argentina.

Quick construction of F&B infrastructure

Greaves said the main challenge in today's climate is various countries around the world are experiencing rapid population growth which needs to be met with an increase in food production.

“However, this has the potential to lead to the quick construction of food and beverage infrastructure without due consideration for the hygiene and contamination issues that can arise from fast but flawed specification and building work​,” he added.

“Sustainability is going to become more important in the future and as a business Flowcrete is active in minimising our carbon footprint and that of our clients through product innovations and green working practices. ​

"Key aspects to focus on will be increasing the amount of recycled content in systems, working to further remove substances such as Ordinary Portland Cement, phthalates, solvents and nonyl phenol from products as well as streamlining processes and limiting the amount of waste sent to landfills​.”

The next stage for the company is to focus on the Latin American market and to work with other RPM construction chemicals companies who have an established presence in the region to introduce its products to the market.