Choosing The Right Industrial Floor Coatings for Manufacturing Environments

Concrete floor erosion naturally occurs on unprotected flooring that withstands the daily wear and tear of manufacturing, such as heavy machinery, chemical spills, impacts, and excessive heat. Over time, these harsh conditions may require you to completely replace the concrete floor, which can be detrimental to your budget.

Eroded, rough concrete isn't the easiest to clean either, which creates a slew of environmental and sanitation issues in a plants' production and process areas. Cracks and crevices in a floor caused by concrete erosion can harbor harmful bacteria, which may create problems with governing agencies who inspect your plant.  

You can alleviate these problems by installing a smooth and protective industrial floor coating system in your production and process areas, like epoxy and urethane cement. But, what makes these industrial floor coatings different, and which one is best?

EPOXY COATINGS

Epoxies have excellent adhesion properties and protect against contaminate spills and abrasion caused by foot or vehicular traffic. 

An epoxy floor coating system is a great option for manufacturing plants that use extremely harsh chemicals in their manufacturing process. Epoxies are economical, durable, and provide a high level of impact resistance with anti-skid properties.

Epoxies can be applied in a wide variety of colors and textures, so if aesthetics are important to you, epoxies are a great option. And, for increased protection, a thin layer of urethane can be applied directly over the top of an epoxy. This provides additional protection against abrasion, temperature fluctuations, water, etc.  

Epoxies may or may not be recommended for high temperature applications (above 180°), so be sure to speak with a qualified expert before deciding on an epoxy for your high temperature application.

For help getting started on your next floor coating project read 4 Things to Consider When Planning Your Epoxy Floor Coating Project.

URETHANE CEMENT

Urethane cement is a raked and troweled slurry mortar system that has excellent chemical, thermal shock, abrasion resistance, and moisture tolerance properties. Urethane cement is commonly recommended for high temperature applications, like hot water. And, although durable, urethane cement does not have a shiny appearance when compared to epoxy coatings, but is still a great option for new floors, since it bonds well to bare concrete.  

Both epoxies and urethane cement are excellent options for manufacturing facilities. To choose which one is best for your facility, careful considerations should be made, like current surface conditions, performance criteria, aesthetics, lifecycle, installation guidelines, and budget.  

If concrete erosion is a problem in your production and process area, we can help. We'll talk you through the best plan of action based on your flooring requirements, timeframe, and budget.