After discontinuing plans to build a new plant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in nearby Staten Island, N.Y., Brooklyn Brewery, a craft brewery, sought to do major re-development work at its existing plant in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, including upgrades to the floor coating systems in the brewery’s main production halls. The brewery, which originally opened its doors to a dozen visitors each Friday evening in the late nineties, now receives around 3,000-4,000 visitors each weekend, including both local New Yorkers and visitors from around the world to taste the company’s distinct brands and flavors.
Rejecting the trend for dairy brick, the brewer opted for almost 8,000 sq. ft. of Flowcrete Americas’ urethane cement for its major upgrade. Flowcrete Americas’ durable and slip-resistant, Flowfresh SR cementitious urethane was selected for installation in the brewery’s main production hall with a subsequent topcoat of 100% solids Flowcoat CR for additional chemical resistance. Flowfresh offers strong thermal cycling and thermal shock resistance, making it a good candidate for installation in areas subject to extremely hot temperatures or those that may be exposed to intermittent hot spillage or hot water wash down processes. Unlike dairy brick, Flowfresh cementitious urethane systems are installed in a seamless application, meaning no joint or grout lines, which can become susceptible to damage and cracking and once penetrated offer a ripe spot to harbor dirt, dust and other bacteria. Flowfresh material is also certified by HACCP International as food-grade for use in both wet and dry processing and production areas.
Seamless Flooring Systems Inc. in Somerdale, N.J., completed the installation work over seven consecutive weekends. The installation was challenging for crews as much of the equipment remained in-situ throughout the install. As such, highly skilled applicators working low down and often in tight spaces were required.
“A lot of labor was involved, with crews applying a degreaser prior to pressure washing, followed by treatment with a diamond grinder to remove contaminants in the cement, much of it worn down to expose aggregate,” said Chris McDermott, vice president of Seamless Flooring. “With the forklift traffic and dropping kegs, brewing is one of the most abusive industries we deal with.”
Speaking on completion of the project, Brian Campbell, Flowcrete Americas’ regional manager for the East Coast said, “The Brooklyn Brewery project is a testament to both the quality of the Flowfresh materials alongside the skill and talent of the installation team. I look forward to visiting Williamsburg to check in on how the floor is holding out and perhaps have a tipple at the same time.”
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