Posted by Eric Boullenois - 22 June, 2018
At a Südzucker storage facility in Tienen, Belgium, a MasterSeal coating from Master Builders Solutions serves to protect surfaces and keep the sugar dry and free from contamination.
Uncompromising with regard to that industry’s key priorities, hygiene and food safety, companies operating in the food-and-beverage sector place high demands on the construction materials and equipment used in their plants and facilities. Additional entries in their list of top priorities include, for instance, aspects such as durability, good workability, and cost efficiency across the entire service life. Selecting the one solution that is a perfect fit for one’s specific project requirements significantly lowers the risk of potentially high follow-up costs.
Thorough preparation helps prevent risks
Much depends, therefore, on identifying that one right solution. And a first useful step toward that solution is to take the time and collate and document all requirements the solution will have to meet. In the case of a protective coating for use in the foodstuffs industry, such a list might include, for instance: the specific area of application, including specific architectural and structural features at the point of application; the scheduled timeframe for application; climatic conditions and temperature fluctuations; requirements in terms of occupational safety as well as chemical and mechanical resistance, cleaning cycles, and hygiene; the projected life cycle, and, not least, applicable food-safety laws and regulations. Furthermore, any cost calculations should never be based on procurement costs alone but also take into account application and maintenance.
Priority: fast and reliable
In the town of Tienen in Belgium, Südzucker, a multi-national company based in Mannheim, Germany, and the world’s leading sugar producer, operates a large sugar production and refinement plant. A storage facility on the premises, where the sugar is kept temporarily before it is either packaged for shipping or processed further, required a new protective and waterproofing coating.
The storage building has a capacity of up to 30,000 tons of sugar, and the plant manager emphasized the importance of making that storage capacity available again as quickly as possible. Next to keeping downtime as short as possible, another key criterion the coating solution had to meet was its suitability for the contact with foodstuffs in accordance with the relevant European directives. There also were a number of additional requirements relating to specific on-site conditions.
A durable, reliable system solution from Master Builders Solutions
Installed without any seams or overlaps, the MasterSeal system solution – chosen by those in charge – forms a monolithic bond with the substrate. Its constant, long-term high performance and reliability have been confirmed by certification in accordance with, among others, the European standard on concrete surface protection, EN 1504 part 2. The system involves initial substrate priming with MasterSeal P 385 and MasterTop P 617 and the subsequent application of the two-component, epoxy-based MasterSeal M 391 liquid membrane. The result is a glossy surface with high mechanical and chemical resistance that can be hygienically cleaned quickly and easily.
Safe and reliable into every last corner – specifically developed for use with foodstuffs
The key property of the Masterseal M 391 coating is its approval for contact with foodstuffs: The material was developed in accordance with the requirements and specifications of EU regulation 10/2011 and is in line with regulation 1895/2005 in terms of a variety of plasticizers used in synthetic materials. The non-solvent-based coating does not take on or give off any kinds of flavors and is particularly suitable for use in wine barrels, vegetable-oil containers, potable-water tanks, as well as grain and sugar silos.
In addition to surface coating, the system solution also comprised the treatment of joints, steel channels, gutters and other steel elements. Forming a monolithic bond even with substrates holding residual moisture, the material can be applied particularly quickly using airless spraying instead of other standard application methods.
Professional application
A successful project outcome, however, not only depends on choosing the right solution, but also on its professional application. This is why Südzucker followed the experts’ recommendation and commissioned an experienced Master Builders Solutions application partner with the sugar-warehouse coating job. The result: smooth project execution and professional application of the two MasterSeal primers and a total quantity of 3.5 tons of the MasterSeal M 391 topcoat on a surface area of some 4,200 square meters.
