Kemtile has delivered a major renovation at a time-honoured manufacturing hub in the UK famed for the production of the world’s biggest ice cream brands.
The site has been in operation since the 1960s and still stands today as a major producer of frozen food products and sweet treats.
Subject to repeated repairs and maintenance over multiple decades, it was decided that the factory required further renovation to meet optimum hygiene standards - and owners invited the flooring specialist Kemtile to complete the necessary work (with its sibling brand Stonhard completing projects at the other plant in Poland).
The flooring team was tasked with providing a new floor finish to an existing tiled area, as well as an adjacent space where a new slab made a significant difference in floor levels following excavation work - amounting to 580m2 overall. Fresh drainage was also needed to accommodate discharge from a new freezer.
Kemtile’s civil team made the necessary underground connections, pouring concrete into the desired “falls”, with Kemtile SBR screed installed to the excavated tiled floor area to provide an even, consistent finish capable of supporting the new equipment.
After the concreting and screeding works were completed, Stonclad UR with UR7 topcoat and a “Texture 2” surface profile were added. Stonclad UR is a unique heavy-duty polyurethane flooring system installed using power trowels - meaning large areas can be installed quickly with a smooth, flat finish, not possible with ordinary hand trowelling. This material also provides all-important Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) accreditation for the factory.
As the project progressed, the company decided to change some of the existing clay drainage gullies for stainless steel in order to improve hygiene standards further. Pipes were supplied by Stonhard drainage partner Blucher and installed without hindering or delaying the programme.
The project lead at Kemtile said: “This is one of the biggest manufacturers of ice cream in the UK and they wanted to bring the standards of the factory as high as possible in line with their reputation as a premium ice cream brand.
“The brand knew what we could do based on previous experience using Stonhard products on the site, and they valued our ability to provide a ‘single-source service’ civils, concreting, drainage and floor finishes, installation.”
The successful installation has resulted in further work for Kemtile - with the company inviting the contract floorers to complete an adjacent area.
