Although Rapid is a relatively “new kid on the block” when it comes to business’ specialising in cleaning and maintenance in the food processing industry our team of experts has over 25 years’ experience. This expertise was recently put to good use by a small NZ based company that manufactures and supplies a range of industry specific surface treatments, cleaners and sanitisers.
This company has developed a true Antimicrobial coating and after considerable efforts had been able to arrange for trials at a large dairy processor. This factory has a major mould issue on the walls and ceilings in some large areas of the plant necessitating very costly remedial cleaning on an annual basis.
The plant’s process manager and food and compliance team agreed to a 200m² trial of the antimicrobial coating during the annual shutdown. The coating manufacturer inspected the test area and decide that the complicated access and maze of fixed machinery and pipes would require an experienced team to carry out the work. At the same time, they looked at the areas that would need to be coated if the trial was successful and they were even more complicated.
We were invited to submit a quotation along with several our competitors and as part of the proposal we were required to detail exactly how we would handle the access issues and apply the coating. The team discussed the situation, poured over the photos supplied by the manufacturer and came up with a pricing structure geared around roller application of the coating. Luckily the dairy factory involved decided that they would do all the precleaning required which kept the overall cost down.
Our proposal, presentation to the client and the reputation of our team members secured the job for Rapid. We had decided that if the coating trial was successful we wanted to be in the top spot for the full job which will be around 8000m² and would start in mid-2019 and so had called on all of our combined expertise to secure the job.
The original plan behind our approach was to apply the coating by long reach rollers after masking all critical surfaces and equipment but a more detailed analysis of the total job suggested that an airless spray application would be quick and more cost effective. After discussions with the manufacturer who recommended a suitable type of unit we purchased a Graco HVLP which will be only used for applying this antimicrobial coating.
When the job started it was immediately the decision to spray apply the product was the right one. Certain difficult to reach areas needed to be lightly rolled out because of the over-spray situation but the job was completed with minimal disruption. The client was happy and the factory management team more than impressed.
Everyone is now waiting to assess the results of the trial and looking forward to carrying out the complete job next year
