• Food Industry
• Catering and Restaurants
  • Commercial Kitchens
  • Food Service Areas
  • Restaurant and Public Toilets
• Drinks
• Engineering
• Health and Pharmaceutical
• Leisure and Retail
• Paper and Print

Cleanability

The Floor must be non-porous and free of pinholes, and be capable of withstanding the chemical abuse caused by spillages and cleaning. If the surface breaks down, delaminates or becomes porous the outcome can be slippery or uneven areas, with added hygiene hazards. The floor system must retain its cleanability for life, not just for the first year or two. Acrylicon is 100% solid, resin saturated acrylic. The non-porous, monolithic, impervious Acrylicon surface does not allow penetration by liquids and dirt, or the proliferation of fungi or bacteria. Acrylicon Systems are highly resistant to chemical attack, cleaning agents, liquids and foodstuffs. Chemical bonding ensures that the wearing surface remains locked into place for the life of the floor.

Drainage

Acrylicon carry a full range of special flexible resins for the creation of joints at abutments to drains, gullies and channels etc. By the use of special primers, the bond to the drain edge can be assured, creating a hygienic interface.

Waterproofing

All Acrylicon systems are non-porous will not allow the passage of water, and in this regard, can be considered waterproof. If further assurance is required against ingress of water to lower floors then the use of an additional flexible membrane can be included.

Coves, Kerbs and Upstands

For a floor to be fully hygienic it must be easy to clean with no dirt traps. To this end most floors are laid with coving. Acrylicon can lay a variety of coves, kerbs and upstands dependant on the clients needs. Because Acrylicon chemically bonds, the coves fuse to the floor giving a totally sealed joint (as opposed to “cold joints” with other resin systems) ensuring no dirt traps.

Aesthetic

Creating an environment that is conducive to high productivity and which reflect corporate values and quality standards is always important. Acrylicon provides a dynamic range of colours that can be blended to meet any requirement of the designer or architect.

Resist Urine Stains

In toilets accidents often happen. Because of this you need to know that the floor will not stain, and can be easily cleaned. Acrylicon will resist urine, and is of course “non porous” and therefore not only easy to clean but will not create unpleasant smells.

Maintenance

When a conventional resin system becomes ready for overhauling it is necessary to completely remove it from the substrate before starting again, creating disruption, noise and dust. Alternatively the existing system is abraded to create a mechanical key for the new coating, a practice that generally fails and on some systems can be highly dangerous to health. Acrylicon is a special thermo-elastic resin that ensures each layer chemically fuses to the previous one, no matter how old. It is not possible to separate the individual layers that make up the system. Allied to a cure time of just 2 hours, this ensures that maintenance work is both more economic and less disruptive than is the case with other systems.

Concrete Erosion

Many chemicals if allowed to penetrate the floor surface will eat away or erode the concrete substrate below. It is often difficult to properly repair these areas if they are in constant use. Acrylicon have a special system that is designed to not only repair the concrete, but also cure within 2 hours. It can also be used as a quick curing underlayment to facilitate flooring that has to be carried out in short shutdown periods. All Acrylicon flooring systems chemically bond to it and thereby effectively repair and prevent future damage.

Termination to other floors

Acrylicon is nominally laid at 4mm thick and “toe-ins” are created at junctions to other finishes to ensure there are no steps or abrupt changes in level to disturb passing traffic. There are some occasions when Acrylicon need to be thickened at these abutments and again this is done in a manner which will not cause problems.

Down Time

Most resins must be applied in moderate temperatures and traditional resin systems can take days to fully cure. Often other commercial pressures mean that the floor is used too soon after installation, jeopardising the system, resulting in premature damage, bacterial growth and other complications. Acrylicon fully cures, even at temperatures below zero, and can be put into use within two hours of installation. This avoids costly down time and eliminates the pressures to start using the floor too soon with the resulting damage that all too often accompanies the installation of conventional systems with long cure times. Let alone the saving to the company of shutting down production for a shorter time.

Warranties

Material manufactures will usually only guarantee their products. Installers usually restrict their guarantee to the installation and align it with the Manufacturers guarantee. This inevitably means that there is not a full guarantee on the system. If it fails the divided responsibilities leave the client exposed, particularly where the manufacturer and installer blame each other for the problem. Most guarantees do not:

Provide Design and “Fit for purpose” warranties.

Mention the “life expectancy of the system”.

Specify the “period to first maintenance”.

Acrylicon provides a full and detailed warranty with no split responsibilities because we manufacture the resins, design the system and install it. Acrylicon provides a meaningful warranty that highlights the main areas of guarantee and backs it up with reference locations that are as old as the length of warranty Acrylicon provides. Note: The “life expectancy” of a floor depends upon installing a floor that is correctly specified for the purpose to which it is to be put. The only true guarantee is to select a floor in the first instance which can demonstrate a proven track record in other, similar locations and environments. Invariably the costs of rectifying a defective floor will far exceed the initial cost even excluding any losses associated with production shutdowns to accommodate the repairs. “Life expectancy” means the period for which all of the original design criteria are still functioning e.g. if the floor cannot be cleaned then it has failed even if it is still adhering to the substrate.