The craft beer industry in North America has seen tremendous growth in the past decade with US sales accounting for 24% of the U.S. beer market worth over $114 billion. In British Columbia, craft beer sales account for a 30% share.
This case study concerns a micro-brewery in Quesnel. Barkerville Brewery is an all-female operation and, while it brews to the highest standard, time and production work had taken its toll on the flooring particularly the cleaning.
Problem.
The management wanted the minimum of disruption, maximum results and a coating that was as benign as possible with no VOCs or off-gassing over time. Given the rigorous cleaning cycles, the coating must be able to withstand heavy-duty industrial products as well as the movement of workers and any heavy objects.
The floor itself had significant cracking that could compromise hygiene standards, so the coating chosen had to show a history of successful use in re-mediating older floors.
Solution.
VOC-free, BPA-free, non-toxic Ecodur 101, which is made from renewable castor oil and natural gypsum soft rock, was chosen. It has a pedigree of use in heavy industry stretching back decades, including oil and production water tanks.
Its extreme adhesion and ability to permanently fill cracks make it an ideal choice for aging concrete floors where ‘food’ contact grade coatings are required.
Ecodur is NSF/ANSI-61 rated for contact with human drinking water and also has a Class A flame retardant rating.
Application Results.
The client saved time and money by doing the preparation work themselves. The owners prepared the floor by power washing a few days before the coating operation.
Two coats to an average depth of 30 mils were applied and then the operator, Stray Cat Industrial, added color flakes and anti-slip aluminum oxide granules for maximum safety. Full cure of both coats was achieved after 24 hours. As this was an industrial application, the customer specified they did not want a shiny, clear topcoat.
The client reported complete satisfaction with the coating and how the job was carried out quickly with little or no disruption in the production cycle. Being zero VOCs, this meant customers were not only safe but also not subject to any noxious odors that might have affected their enjoyment of the brewery’s tasting room, food, and snacks.
Eurasia Building Technologies provided Stray Cat Industrial information and distribution support of Ecodur for this project.