What's New: Week of 08/25/2024

There are thousands of slip-and-fall accidents in various industries, including the food and beverage industry. According to the National Safety Council, slip-and-falls are among the most prevalent causes of accidents and days away from work, with over 674,100 cases between 2021 and 2022.

Among the industries where slips and falls occur with prevalence is the food processing industry. Food processing plants are hotbeds of moisture and grease, which often results in workers losing their footing.

Because surfaces in food processing plants become slippery over time, there's a growing need for slip-resistant flooring. This is where solutions like anti-slip floor coatings come in.

Easy to install and maintain, anti-slip flooring solutions result in fewer accidents and injuries. As a result, plants become safer and more productive, enabling food companies to raise productivity and their bottom lines.

Learn more about the power of slip-resistant flooring and how to implement them in your food processing plant.

Food processing plants have stringent regulations about hygiene and product safety, and every aspect of the facility must meet these strict safety standards to ensure the quality and safety of food products.

Over time, a food processing plant's flooring can develop a number of issues, such as water seeping underneath the floor, rough texture and deterioration. Owners and operators often don't have the time to address the issue, which puts them in a problematic position with compliance authorities.

Leading food retailer reduces downtime, minimizes lost sales and improves safety by hiring RIO Flooring to re-surface floors in hundreds of its food-preparation areas nationwide.

The Company
Our customer is a US nationwide retailer with over 600 stores. Each store features multiple food-preparation areas, including bakeries, meat-prep areas, milk coolers, and food courts.

The Situation
The retailer faced significant wear and tear on their floors. These areas undergo constant use, with heavy equipment, carts, and trolleys causing the concrete to become porous, slippery, and difficult to clean. This not only posed a safety risk, but also affected operational efficiency.

The Solution
RIO Flooring specializes in providing high-quality flooring solutions, particularly for demanding retail, commercial and industrial environments. With expertise in installing and resurfacing floors in various settings, RIO Flooring is known for its durability, safety, and efficiency.

Merck Animal Health achieves significant long-term savings with RIO Flooring's Level 4 cleanroom flooring solution that reduces the need for repairs, maintenance and replacement.

The Company
Merck Animal Health is a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in animal medicine. The company uses the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than a century, Merck Animal Health has been at the forefront of research, introducing medicines, vaccines and innovative health solutions for the world's most challenging diseases.

Situation
Merck Animal Health was expanding its operations with a new one-million-square-foot facility in De Soto, Kansas. The facility was dedicated to the manufacturing of vaccines and other high-value animal health products, requiring stringent cleanliness and durability standards.

The new facility demanded high-performance flooring and wall solutions that could meet the rigorous requirements of a Level 4 cleanroom environment. The primary concerns were ensuring that the surfaces were seamless, sterile, and resistant to both chemical and physical wear.

Merck Animal Health needed a solution that would provide long-term durability, minimize maintenance, and support the stringent cleanliness standards required for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Traditional options like Italian tile and Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic board presented challenges, such as grout lines and the risk of water penetration, which were unsuitable for the cleanroom environment.

Cleanroom Flooring Solution
Merck Animal Health selected RIO Flooring Systems to provide a comprehensive flooring and wall coating solution for the new facility. Leveraging our experience and close collaboration with the project's architects and general contractors from the early stages, RIO Flooring delivered a tailored solution that exceeded Merck Animal Health's expectations.