GSK Demand the Best. They Chose FloorTech®: Case Study

As the 6th largest pharmaceutical company in the world, having a sterile work environment is vitally important for GSK.

As GSK operates highly specialised and state-of-the-art facilities, they demand flooring that can offer high performance, extreme durability and compliance with hygiene and safety standards.

GSK selected Floortech® as their partner for recent development projects at The Gantrez and The Kilo manufacturing facilities. They required super durable, easily maintained flooring to significantly enhance the performance, cleanliness, aesthetic, safety and sustainability of your premises.

The Gantrez Extension Project

Seamless, hygienic and microscopically clean surface required

GSK invested €30m into The Gantrez manufacturing facility at the Ringaskiddy plant in 2013. The 1,700sq meter project required a PMMA flooring solution that wouldn’t harbour dirt or bacteria and could be maintained easily. The main challenge was a tight building schedule, however, this was easily overcome with the Trazcon® Décor System 1 offered by Floortech®. Due to its seamless non-porous finish, it not only offers extreme durability and hygiene, its rapid one hour cure time ensures the fastest possible installations and the least downtime.

ULTRA HYGIENIC

The Trazcon® Décor System 1 is both easy to clean and totally impervious to germs; the seamless, monolithic surface is topped by a non-porous resin screed, making them 98% cleaner than standard PU floors. Trazcon® has been deemed microscopically clean by independent auditors and are officially the most hygienic floors on the market.

EXTREME DURABILITY

Trazcon® is just 4mm thick but it is classified as ‘Class AR1 – Heavy Duty’ for abrasion resistance. The PMMA hardens to form a completely seamless surface that is incredibly strong and can withstand heavy vehicle and foot traffic without lifting, cracking, fading or wearing. Trazcon® also offers temperature resistance up to 60 degrees Celsius of continual heat or up to 80 degrees Celsius for short irregular periods e.g. wash-downs. Plus, it provides chemical resistance from all drinks, oils and greases, the majority of cleaning agents and even solvents and acids.

RAPID INSTALLATION

Trazcon® flooring offers the fastest install time and simplest repair procedures of any resin flooring. Due to the incredibly rapid cure time of PMMA resin (just one hour), floors can be laid by professionals overnight, eliminating the need for any business downtime. The unique inter-layer chemical bond means that the floor can also be easily repaired or recoated over time, unlike epoxy or polyurethane floors that have to be completely removed and replaced, when damage occurs.

For the Gantrez project, Floortech® prepared the floors by day and installed resins at night, completing 250-300 sq. meters every 24 hours, depending on room size. The completed floor was handed back to GSK on schedule, helping them achieve what were very tight development times with minimal operational downtime.

The Kilo Scale Project

Durable, hygienic, anti-static flooring required

At the start of 2016, GSK invested a further €12m in a new state-of-the-art Kilo Scale facility, including a technical development laboratory. For this project, they needed the same rapid installation, quick curing and ultra-hygienic flooring, combined with an additional anti-static requirement. They chose the Trazcon® PMMA Anti-Static System, which offers the same one hour cure time, with an additional certified electrical resistance of 1×106 Ω < RE < 1×108 Ω., making it ideal for their purposes.

ANTI-STATIC

Anti-static floors inhibit the generation of electrostatic discharge (ESD), which is the pulse of static electricity that occurs when a charged person or surface comes into contact with another object. In environments like GSK facilities, an ESD can be highly dangerous and could lead to catastrophe, so installing appropriate anti-static flooring is essential for creating a safe working environment.

Traditionally, anti-static flooring was composed of a primer, copper strips and independent earthing with an epoxy coating, which required a full seven days for a full chemical cure. In contrast, the unique Trazcon® Anti-Static System is dissipative which means that it does not require copper strips and independent wiring. This coupled with the one hour cure time makes for much faster installation and importantly also means that patch repairs where necessary can be carried out in the future without the need to cut channels for re-grounding as is the case with the traditional system.

ATEX ZONES

The Trazcon® Anti-Static System is also suitable for use in AtEx zones, offering protection for the storage of flammable liquids, gases, vapours and mist, as well as combustible clouds of dust and explosive materials. This not only safeguards GSK’s equipment and staff, but it also ensures they pass all regulations around AtEx zones and the controls required.

Once GSK had considered the advanced anti-static properties and durability of the Trazcon®, as well as the fast installation and simple maintenance capabilities, it became an easy decision to make it their preferred choice for the Kilo Scale.

High Performance, Super Durable, Resin Flooring

Thanks to Floortech®, GSK were able to adhere to building programmes with extremely fast turnaround times, without compromising on quality or safety. Both new facilities benefit from flooring that offers enhanced protection, going way beyond industry hygiene and safety standards. Additionally, due to the increased durability and ease of maintenance offered, the ongoing costs will be kept to a minimum. The durability, cleanliness and lowest total cost of ownership made Floortech® the natural choice for GSK.

A precise, complete solution that guarantees perfect PMMA resin floors, a FloorTech® floor.

Floortech® are world-class specialists in the development and installation of PMMA resin floors. Super durable floors to significantly enhance the performance, cleanliness, aesthetic, safety and sustainability of your premises.

To speak to someone about your own specific flooring requirements, simply contact FloorTech^® today and one of our team of experts will be happy to help. In the meantime, why not download the technical brochures for the Trazcon^® flooring system used in these GSK projects here.