Major refurbishment work being carried out at two meat processing plants in Sweden has led to the specification of our Biodex hygiene coatings.
Biodex Sheen and Biodex HB, both water-based anti-microbial coatings, have been used for the refurbishment of internal walls at HKScan’s plants in Kristianstad and Linköping, Sweden, totalling more than 2,000m2. HKScan is one of the leading Nordic meat manufacturers, supplying a wide range of pork, beef and poultry products to its home markets of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Baltic countries. The firm employs 7,700 people across several manufacturing facilities and in 2014 the company’s turnover reached 2 billion Euros.
In 2014, HKScan put plans into place to improve operational efficiencies by developing its structure in Sweden. Production was centralised and integrated at four key locations in Kristianstad, Linköping, Halmstad and Skara. More jobs were created at the Kristianstad and Linköping plants and major refurbishment was carried out to accommodate new production processes.
Biodex Sheen and Biodex HB were specified for application to the internal wall areas due to their proven ability to offer a defence mechanism against the growth of mould and bacteria, including E.coli. Formulated using state-of-the-art silver ion technology combined with the latest generation biocide technology, Biodex coatings incorporate active in-film protection, allowing for the ultra-slow controlled release of active ingredients into the coating film.
Biodex coatings are ideal for use in meat processing plants as they can withstand sustained exposure to extremely cold conditions without cracking or embrittling, whilst also being able to withstand high humidity and hot temperatures from steam cleaning. They are vapour permeable, allowing the surface to breathe, and can be rapidly applied by brush, roller or spray so the very minimum of disruption is caused during application.
The waterborne composition of Biodex was critical for this project as the coatings are non-toxic, ultra-low odour and release no hazardous solvents during application, so there was no threat of contamination of food products. A surface area of 1,500m2 was refurbished with Biodex at the Linköping plant and 700m2 was treated at Kristianstad. The Biodex coatings are available in a range of attractive colours, of which white was chosen for this contract. Our Biodex coatings were applied by our distributor in Sweden, Esgard Inc AB.