If you have ever taken the trip from Fort Wayne to Chicago along US 30 you will see many large steel buildings along the highway that house many global manufacturing companies. Many of these companies decide on this spot for its logistical location to major highways, the strong Indiana workforce, and tax advantages to moving in this area.
I have always been interested in what actually goes on inside of all these buildings and what types of products are being made so close to home. This week I got the chance to find out more about a company that we just completed work for and hear about their expansion and growth, including the purchase of a new building (because of the nature of their business and the competitive nature in this particular industry I can’t disclose who we worked for).
Before this company can move into their new location some work is being completed including new lighting and repairing some of the epoxy floor. We were called in to repair sections of the old epoxy where previous machinery had left uncoated parts of the floor. This process included mechanical removal of the old epoxy by grinding, and applying 2 new coats of gray epoxy flooring, for a total film thickness of 20 mils. The top coat also received a 40 mesh silica slip-resistant additive.
To remove the epoxy from the concrete flooring we use multiple grinder and vacuums to effectively remove the epoxy while maintaining a safe working environment. This building is empty but we can also work in fully operational facilities.
Once the old epoxy flooring was removed we found many oil stains in the underlying concrete surface. These stains were from CNC machines that leaked cutting oil into the concrete. It was a must to remove all oil contamination prior to epoxy application. To remove this oil we used multiple techniques that drew the oil to the surface for cleanup. This included mechanical shot blasting, a caustic soda cleaner, and a poultice that set overnight. Our test confirmed we would have a strong long-term bond.
