Reckitt
Kemtile, a division of Stonhard, has been appointed as a ‘single source’ supplier to design and install a new flooring solution for production area corridors at Reckitt (formerly Reckitt Benckiser) in Nottingham. The 2000m² site is a flagship one for the company, fully GMP pharma compliant, which means products are consistently manufactured to defined quality standards. Reckitt is a UK-based global manufacturer of products in hygiene, health and nutrition sectors for brands including Strepsils and Nurofen – both produced at this site – as well as Dettol, Finish, Durex, Gaviscon, Air Wick and Clearasil.
Customer Name
Reckitt
Business Sector
Pharma
Products
Stonset TG5 Base 100mm deep, an epoxy-based infill mortar, Stonclad GS and Stonkote ESD.
Challenge
Kemtile has worked for Reckitt for many years, and they trust us to select the right flooring system for their requirements. For this particular project we were asked to propose a suitable flooring system in the main access corridors, which link to all the manufacturing suites, granulation rooms and packing areas. These need to withstand frequent, heavy traffic such as electric forklift trucks delivering raw materials to various rooms for use in the manufacturing process. Some of these materials are powders, which are transported in heavy stainless steel IBCs (intermediate bulk containers).
The existing floors in the corridors consisted of marble terrazzo tiles on a thick screed/concrete bed. Because of this and the heavy loads transported along the corridors, the tiles had started to crack and the screed had collapsed, so constant repairs were necessary. Terrazzo tiles were not a suitable finish for a Reckitt site which has to meet rigorous GMP pharma standards.
Full testing before installation began. Before Reckitt committed to the works being carried out, a 50m2 sample of the proposed flooring solution was installed so that it could be thoroughly tested, evaluated and later approved.
Kemtile overcame various technical challenges when removing the very thick terrazzo tile and screed floor, which had to be done by using specialised hybrid/electric excavation equipment, as diesel or petrol versions couldn’t be used in a sensitive pharma environment. After the existing floor had been removed and the areas were cleared and cleaned, Kemtile installed a quick curing, heavy duty, epoxy based underlayment screed, Stonset TG5 plus co-polymer screeds, which was overlaid with our high performance Stonclad GS epoxy floor screed. Installation was very quick because of the use of power trowels which provide a very flat, dense floor finish.
Electro Static Dissipative (ESD) product
The Stonclad GS was finally finished with a resin rich, self-smoothing ESD (electro static dissipative) product – Stonkote ESD. This was important. FLTs moving up and down the corridors generate a static charge called turbocharging. Any static electricity built up by the FLTs could ignite the powders being transported, so using an ESD product in the system was a vital safety consideration. We also provided Protectorseal wall coatings and stainless steel kerbs
What our customer had to say
James Johnson at Reckitt said: “Recognising our need for an electro static dissipative flooring system was the latest demonstration of expertise from Kemtile, delivering the best flooring solution for our specific needs that we can absolutely rely on.”
