Heavy-duty industrial floor adhesives
Epoxy and polyurethane systems for factory floors create a seamless surface that withstands constant forklift traffic, chemical spills and abrasion, while being easy to clean and meeting the standards of modern manufacturing plants.
Bare concrete floors deteriorate quickly under forklift loads and cart wheels: concrete dust rises, cracks spread, and oil and grease soak in and are hard to clean. Polymer floor coating systems are the solution many plants choose right from construction.
Common floor coating systems
Roller-applied epoxy and self-leveling epoxy
Roller-applied epoxy about 0.3 to 0.5 mm thick suits light-load areas and finished goods warehouses. Self-leveling epoxy 2 to 3 mm thick gives a glossy, flat surface with good load capacity and is commonly used in electronics, pharmaceutical and food plants.
PU cementitious flooring
Cement-based PU systems offer outstanding resistance to thermal shock and chemicals, making them suitable for hot-water washdown areas and food and beverage processing plants. They are 4 to 9 mm thick and withstand temperatures from -40 °C to 120 °C.
Factors that determine floor durability
- Minimum compressive strength of the concrete substrate of about 25 MPa.
- Concrete moisture content below 4% for standard epoxy systems.
- Surface preparation by diamond grinding or shot blasting to increase roughness.
- Treatment of expansion joints and cracks before coating.
- Thickness selected according to forklift wheel loads and traffic frequency.
Nine out of ten cases of peeling epoxy floors we have surveyed trace back to substrate preparation: concrete that was still damp, laitance that was not fully ground off, or a primer coat applied too hastily. — AMS Construction Solutions Engineer
Additional features for plant requirements
Electronics assembly plants often require anti-static epoxy floors with a surface resistance of 10^6 to 10^9 ohm. Wet areas need quartz sand broadcast for slip resistance. Chemical storage floors need a novolac epoxy coating resistant to strong acids.
Post-installation maintenance
Floors should be cleaned with a neutral detergent, and pallets with nails or sharp objects should not be dragged across them. Recoating the topcoat on forklift aisles every few years extends the life of the entire system without having to redo it from scratch.
In the overall plan, floors should be zoned from the outset: thicker coatings for forklift aisles, self-leveling epoxy for assembly areas and PU cementitious flooring for washdown areas. Marking lanes and safety zones with contrasting epoxy paint also makes internal traffic clearer while meeting occupational safety requirements during plant audits.
Contact AMS Vietnam for advice on epoxy and PU floor systems suited to the loads and operating conditions of your factory.
