Project 1 – Renovating Industrial Floors in Vitasoy’s Food Processing Plant in Tight Spaces and Even Tighter Timelines

The Process

  • STEP 1 – Demo and remove all failing floors
  • STEP 2 – Diamond grind and shot blast to prepare remaining sections
  • STEP 3 – Apply Poly-Crete with ColorFast
  • STEP 4 – Include a formulated accelerator to meet tight deadlines

Project Overview
As the exclusive flooring contractor for Vitasoy USA, Black Bear Coatings & Concrete was hired to maintain the plant’s flooring system to adhere to strict USDA regulations. This required repair of failing floors in the Extractor area which housed affixed machinery and immobile equipment. To minimize downtime, the team needed to work quickly in close quarters working around the equipment to provide a seamless system.

Vitasoy Flooring Before
Vitasoy Flooring

Project Details

  • Project Name – Vitasoy: Extractor #2
  • Type of Business – Food and Beverage Manufacturing
  • Location – Ayer, Massachusetts
  • Size – 850 square feet
  • Products – Poly-Crete MDB with ColorFast + an accelerator

Challenges
The Extractor area of the Vitasoy plant has oversized stationary equipment that the crew needed to accommodate [work around?] during renovation. As a wet space, the Black Bear team also needed to ensure that the industrial flooring was seamless and waterproof to meet the rigid health and safety standards of a food processing plant. The team worked in tight spaces, and underneath processing room equipment, to install the Poly-Crete evenly throughout the area.

Black Bear Solution
Black Bear was accustomed to working at the Vitasoy plant and knew the requirements of the specific environment. As a food manufacturing plant, Vitasoy flooring needs restoration every few years to maintain health and safety standards. Black Bear sought to upgrade their floors to a highly durable, slip-resistant, no VOC solution that would provide longer lasting results.

Project 2 – Industrial Flooring in Vitasoy’s Food Processing Plant Plagued by Corrosive Byproducts and Exposed Aggregates in Chemical Storage Room

The Process

  • Tank removal and chemically neutralize existing floor
  • STEP 2 – Use Scratch Coat Poly-Crete WR to fill in gaps from deterioration
  • STEP 3 – Apply Poly-Crete MDB at ½ inch
  • STEP 4 – Use 2 top coats of burnt orange ColorFast

Project Overview
Black Bear Coatings & Concrete’s experience working in food and beverage manufacturing plants, and adhering to strict regulatory standards set forth by the USDA and health departments, proved advantageous when Vitasoy sought maintenance for their plant. For this specific job, Black Bear was required to repair the existing floors in the Chemical Storage Room that were heavily damaged by chemical byproducts, and provide an engineering a solution that would provide greater durability against the elements in the room. When the tanks were removed, Black Bear needed to neutralize the area before starting the repair and renovation.

Project Details

  • Project Name – Vitasoy, Chemical Storage Room
  • Type of Business – Food and Beverage Manufacturing
  • Location – Ayer, Massachusetts
  • Size – 2,800 square feet
  • Products – Scratch Coat Poly-Crete WR, Poly-Crete MDB, ColorfFast Top Coat

Challenges
One of the biggest challenge that Black Bear faced with this specific space in the Vitasoy plant was the regular storage of Sodium Hydroxide at 85%. The highly corrosive compound and byproducts of chemicals stored in this area deteriorated the existing floor. Black Bear needed to repair the heavily degraded floor that was exposing signs of ½ inch to ¾ inch aggregates.

Black Bear Solution
Black Bear was able to salvage remnants of the existing floor and value engineered a cementitious urethane solution that would withstand the harsh chemicals in the storage facility. The flooring was more durable and the additional topcoat provided extra protection to prevent earlier decay.

About the Client – Vitasoy USA
Vitasoy USA Inc. is the soy foods pioneer – offering an array of products that promote health and wellbeing. Under the umbrella of the parent company are brands Nasoya® and Azumaya®, San Sui®, Vita® and Vitasoy® that manufacture premium tofu, Asian noodles, pasta wraps, vegan spreads, soymilks, juices and teas.

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