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One of the world's largest pet food manufacturers needed to upgrade the flooring in their Colorado facility because it was not pitched to properly drain. BY JEN KRAMER D id you know that the company that manufactures the M&Ms; and Snickers bars that we love so much also manufactures the Pedigree food and Greenies treats that our four-legged friends love so much? Not in the same facility, of course. But the Mars food manufacturing company has us and our pets covered when it comes to beloved food items. They are internationally known for quality and consistency across their many brands. For this reason, when the flooring in one of their Colorado pet food manufacturing facilities did not meet their high standards of quality, they did not hesitate to call in experts to begin the repair process. "The facility manufactures dog food in pelletized form," explains Norm Klapper, the manufacturer's representative for International Coatings, Inc., the coating ultimately specified for the project. "The process involves creating a cereal- and grain- based mash that is processed at high temperatures and then pelletized through a specialized press. The entire area is washed down in accordance with food-grade standards, incorporating Clean-In-Place (CIP) cleaning solutions that are chlorine- and caustic-based." As it happens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards for pet foods are the same as those required for human food production (Editor's Note: See "The Science Behind It" PHOTOS COURTESY OF INTERNATIONAL COATINGS, INC. sidebar for more information). "They were having some drainage issues in their processing room," Klapper continues. "Mars had very recently taken over the aging food processing plant and needed to upgrade the facility to reflect its standards. The general contractor for the facility indicated that the floor was sloped to drain." Klapper arranged to visit the site and make some recommenda- tions. What he saw was a different "pitch" than the one he had been given. "The reason for their drainage problems was immediately apparent," he says. "The floor was flat. For any coating to work, the floor would first have to be pitched to drain." Not surprisingly, the concrete substrate was in bad shape. Klapper describes the scene: "The concrete was in terrible condi- tion. There was aggregate showing, and several areas had severe cracks." The area with the worst damage was approximately 1,200 square feet (111.48m2 ) located directly beneath the two pieces of production machinery that cut the pet food into pieces. "There were gaps around the equipment legs—areas that could potentially harbor contaminants," Klapper says. These machines could not be shut down for extended periods of time without bringing the entire plant to a standstill. "The entire 3,000-square-foot (278.71m2 ) July 2012 J www.coatingspromag.com 41