• Food Industry
• Catering and Restaurants
• Drinks
• Engineering
  • Aircraft Engineering
  • Automotive Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
• Health and Pharmaceutical
• Leisure and Retail
• Paper and Print

Longevity

Most conventional floor systems rely upon a mechanical bond to the substrate surface, ultimately risking bond failure and resulting in delamination. The result can be constant and expensive repair work Acrylicon has an unbreakable chemical bond to the special primers that have penetrated the substrate. This results in a seamless surface without holes, voids or cold joints. The whole topping is truly monolithic and it is impossible to separate the individual layers that make up the system. To remove Acrylicon from a concrete surface you will break into the top zone of the concrete not delaminate it at the Bond Line.

Forklift Routes

These can be general or defined routes. Acrylicon systems can cope with the continual abrasion and high traffic movements in a defined route. If the forklift routes require additional slip resistance or colour coding for health, safety or production reasons this can easily be achieved at the time of installation or later should the ergonomics of the area change. This is due to Acrylicon’s ability to chemically bond to itself, even after many years. Acrylicon will also produce high tolerance routes (superflat) for those areas involving high racking.

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.

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.

Combustion Risk

When cured, Acrylicon resins have very little combustion risk. Even when burnt they have little risk with the by-product being carbon and water, as opposed to Epoxy and PU which have an extremely high risk and can prove lethal if the fumes are inhaled.

Flexibility to area change

Few factories or production areas remain the same for long. With equipment often being moved or replaced, the general use for the area can often change; wet to dry, production to storage etc. Because Acrylicon resins chemically bond to themselves should the area change, it is easy to change the state of the surface. For instance should a storage area become production, we can add a non-slip surface by simply cleaning the existing Acrylicon surface and applying a non-slip surface on to it. This can be done quickly as well if you consider our 2 hour cure time. Also if the floor was laid with equipment in-situ, when you come to remove the equipment, we can fill the area left and the floor chemically bonds in place, leaving a seamless floor that will not delaminate.

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.

Chemical Resistance – Oils/Hydraulic

Many degreasers and cleansers used in engineering will chemically attack traditional flooring materials leading to flaking, spalling and delamination of the topping. Acrylicon is not only highly resistant to most degreasers and cleaning materials, but also possesses good resistance to hydraulic fluids such as Skydrol B500, machine oils, petroleum, kerosene and other aggressive materials. See our separate chemical resistance chart for the more common acids and alkalis commonly used in industry on the products page.

Traffic Route Marking

In busy working environments it is often required that areas safe for pedestrian use are clearly marked. The traditional method of using coloured tape to mark the boundaries or laying different floors often cause problems of delamination or wear. Acrylicon can lay these areas in a different colour to the rest of the floor, without adding weak points or joints. Because Acrylicon chemically bonds to itself, where the different floors colours meet, they chemically fuse together. This will ensure that marked areas never wear out or become unclear. We can also lay slip resistant flooring in these areas alone.

Heavy Loads/Impacts

Although Acrylicon Systems have exceptional compressive strength and can resist most impacts, it is inevitable that if there are exceptional heavy loads or impacts some damage may occur. Because Acrylicon chemically bonds to the substrate, should the impact be severe enough to penetrate through the floor, it will not delaminate around the edges of the hole. Therefore the damage will not get any worse over time, and can await an effective repair. Acrylicon can be repaired easily and quickly and therefore proves very economic in the long term.

Substrate Protection

When a concrete floor is showing signs of abrasive wear the surface dusts and becomes uneven, pitted and a danger to the workforce. If the existing floor is a conventional resin system the effects of heavy wear and abrasion will show in delamination with holes creating a dangerous uneven surface and allow chemicals to attack the substrate. Acrylicon has unique primers, which are designed to achieve high penetration into the substrate. Ultimately it is the strength of the bond line that produces successful floors, and the ability of the bond line to transmit loadings and thermal changes without reducing its grip that creates longevity. The compressive, abrasion, impact and flexural strengths of Acrylicon are generally far superior compared to other systems and they do not degrade as the effect of time, water and the working environment take effect. Thereby ensuring that your substrate is protected for many years, saving you money on costly substrate repairs.

Oil Bunds

Acrylicon is not only suitable for horizontal surfaces, but can be applied vertically to any height. The chemical bonding nature of Acrylicon ensures there are no cold joints or weak points within the bunded area, particularly between the horizontal and vertical interface.

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.

UV Resistance

Most new floors look good in terms of colour, but many flooring systems show the ageing effect of UV light very quickly, both fading and discolouration. Acrylicon Systems are highly resistant to the ageing and discolouration effects of UV attack, ensuring that the aesthetic qualities of the floor are guaranteed for the long term.

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.