- Launch of flexible multi-pack PU concrete range incorporating an independent dry-powder pigment pack.
- Free from LBC Red List “worst-in-class” materials including phthalates and antimicrobial additives marketing health claims.
- Based on universal ratio liquid components across the range making it simple to stock and manage projects – simply change the filler pack, change the floor
- A pigmented, tight-finish cove render eliminating the requirement for further coating also included in the launch.
- Designed for use in food and beverage as well as hygiene critical industries operating safety management programmes based on HACCP principles.
Vebro Polymers is today rolling out the production of its multi-pack PU concrete range from the company’s flagship manufacturing plant in Manchester.
Having successfully launched the product line across South East Asia last year, the PU materials have been expertly modified, tested and trialled by the brand’s global technical team and field partners to meet application conditions more typically encountered in cooler, less humid climes such as the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe Scandinavia, Canada and Northern US States.
PU concrete is a cement modified polyurethane flooring material that is mixed in-situ and wet-applied in one seamless – often monolithic – layer before curing to an extremely durable, high strength finish.
Phase one of the roll-out includes a 6.0 – 9.0 mm heavy-duty polyurethane concrete flooring system, vebrocrete PU HF, alongside a complementary pigmented cove render, vebrocrete PU Cove and a hygienic, matt finish coating material, vebrocrete PU Coating.
The material, which has been popular since the 1960’s, has been primarily designed for food and beverage processing environments, where its durability, seamless and inherently hygienic finish easily exceeds the performance properties of concrete – and, better still, complies with all the requirements of brands operating food safety management programmes based on HACCP principles.
Delivering all the end user performance benefits that blue-chip clients have come to expect from PU concrete surfaces, including high moisture tolerance, thermal shock resistance up to 120ºC in the high range and -45ºC in the cold range (making it perfect for blast freezers) as well as excellent resistance to exposure from a wide range of chemicals, solvents and corrosive foodstuffs, the new vebrocrete HF also meets high fire resistance standard by reducing the surface spread of flame in the event of a fire.
Practically, for application teams on site, the new and improved formulation ensures enhanced flow in colder conditions – with no visible trowel lines on the cured surface of the floor – as well as a significant reduction in early-stage water spotting and the chalky residue left behind on first wash cycles.
Designed to provide a seamless transition between the floor and wall, as well as a hygienic render for bunds and other areas of containment, the new thixotropic vebrocrete PU Cove product delivers a pigmented, tight-closing and easy-clean finish, eliminating the necessity for further coating – saving up to a day in labour and downtime on live project sites.
vebrocrete HF & vebrocrete Cove technical profiles
As a range, the newly launched multi-pack PU concrete materials also boast strong sustainability credentials and ultra-low VOC emissions in wet state.
Based on European-grade, non-toxic, sustainable castor oil resins, the vebrocrete range is free from materials categorised as “worst-in-class” under the Living Building Challenge (LBC) Red List scheme, including phthalates and – the more recently added – antimicrobial additives marketing health claims.
The list, compiled by International Living Future Institute (ILFI) alongside other partners, documents the materials and construction chemicals known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem with the view to encouraging builders and product manufacturers to work together to phase them out of use entirely.
It is essentially a framework that all involved in the built environment should use as we move toward the goal of truly sustainable materials.
Speaking of the composition of the new multi-pack PU Concrete products, Robert Gray, Specification Director for Vebro Polymers said, “The Red-List is encouraging all stakeholders involved in the built environment towards a shifted mindset that impacts the way we think about products.
“Increasingly we are being asked to declare the make-up of building materials and construction chemicals, so that specifiers can make more informed choices when it comes to selecting products and systems within new-build and refurbishment schemes.
“As manufacturers, this means fostering a culture of innovation when formulating new or improving existing products.
“The new vebrocrete materials not only meet ultra-low-VOC thresholds, but have been built on sustainable, non-toxic, non-taint phthalate-free castor oil resins.
“Antimicrobial additives marketing spurious health claims were just recently added to the Red List, and are now considered to be “worst-in-class” building materials following numerous studies that demonstrated while they may appear effective against a range of microbes in pure state, the technology is not currently proven to have any antimicrobial properties when incorporated into a product, and conversely may prove harmful to building users.
“Antimicrobial additives have therefore been purposefully excluded from inclusion within the new multi-pack PU concrete range from Vebro” concludes Gray.
The introduction of the new vebrocrete line has also necessitated significant investment in new plant, process and personnel at the company’s plant located on Trafford Park.
The roll-out of the new line will involve two further phases of product launches throughout the remainder of the calendar year.
A proud manufacturing member of both the FeRFA and Made in Britain communities – Vebro Polymers is proud to continue championing British manufacturing at the forefront of the global polymer flooring industry.
