The Australian food manufacturing design specialist Wiley specified a high performance resin floor from Flowcrete for a US$12 million smokehouse.
The flooring project at the Huon Aquaculture Smokehouse and Product Innovation center in Parramatta Creek, Tasmania, was part of a 10-month construction program to upgrade, centralize and future-proof the large-scale salmon producer’s operations.
The project involved a refurbishment of the existing site and an extension that would double the business’ footprint.
The facility opened in July 2015, bringing together Huon’s full range of seafood processing, which incorporates whole fish, fresh fish and value-added cold and hot smoked salmon production.
“The new smokehouse and new product center is part of a four-year, US$200 million controlled growth strategy for the company which consolidates our operations to Tasmania, delivers increased production capacity and efficiency whilst reducing our environmental footprint,” said Huon’s MD Peter Bender.
Expected to deliver over US$1 million in cost savings in its first year of operation, Huon Aquaculture’s floor area would have to withstand the annual production of 17,000 tons of fresh salmon, which will subject it to heavy equipment, spillages of fish and by-products, frequent cleaning, thermal shock and constant foot traffic.
The 2,500 sqm facility would need a floor that met the highest standards of cleanliness despite these difficult operating conditions.
Wiley contacted Flowcrete Australia, which is part of the global resin flooring production company Flowcrete Group, regarding its ultra-hygienic antimicrobial Flowfresh flooring range.
The food facility designer specified the polyurethane system Flowfresh SR for the task at hand as it can combine durability with an anti-slip, easy to clean finish.
A 6 mm layer of Flowfresh SR was applied in the smokehouse’s main processing areas, with stainless steel drainage incorporated into the finish.
Different colors designate each part of the site to aid navigation and reduce cross contamination.
A Signal Green floor was installed in the Cold Smoke Slicing room and Warm Buff was used for the Hot Smoke Slicing room.
Flowfresh has been enhanced with the antimicrobial agent Polygiene, which utilizes the natural bactericidal properties of silver to eliminate germs and microbes.
The Polygiene additive is homogenously distributed throughout Flowfresh’s resin matrix, a formulation that has been tested to meet the ISO 22196 standard for measuring a surface’s antibacterial effectiveness on plastics and other non-porous surfaces.
