A specialist anti-static flooring system from Flowcrete is helping to ensure a safe working environment at the newly expanded personal hygiene products manufacturing facility of Unilever Australasia in North Rocks Sydney.

An existing warehouse area was to be converted into a state-of-the-art aerosol production and bottling zone, for the company’s range of deodorants, personal sprays and other similar products. The manufacturing process used can result in airborne solvents. It was therefore essential that the flooring system selected would be capable of dissipating any static charge that might otherwise cause the solvents to ignite.

The specification called for a system in compliance the anti-static requirements of BS2050 which stipulates that a floor must deliver a resistance of between 5x (10 to the power of 4) -1x (10 to the power of 8) Ohms. Unilever also wanted a floor that would enhance the aesthetics of the area and provide an attractive working environment.

Flowcrete Australia recommended the use of its Flowshield ESD (Electro-Static Dissipating), a self-smoothing 2mm resin flooring system.

Flowcrete’s approved contractor CFP carried out shotblasting of the 600m2 concrete floor area to remove all contamination. The surface was then skimmed with Flowcoat SF41 Composite to provide a flat substrate for installation of the Flowshield ESD. With this system, static electrical charge is directed through the floor along integral copper strips and into two earthing rods, so ensuring a safe work environment.

Testing was carried out both before and after application of the body coat to ensure the readings were within the BS requirements.

Andrew Bodnar, plant engineer for Unilever commented, “As well as the safety benefits, the seamless floor is easy to keep clean and looks a world apart from the old concrete floor”.