Stainless Steel Drains vs Polymer Concrete Drains

Maintaining high hygiene standards in food processing areas requires the use of drainage systems, and keeping them clean to the fullest extent should be top priority for business in the food/beverage industry. Stainless steel drains manufactured by our company are a proven solution for this type of production.

Our drainage systems are manufactured in accordance with the applicable hygienic requirements contained in the PN-EN 1672-2 standard. Additionally, we apply good hygienic practices in design and production according to the guidelines of EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group), of which we are an active member. The material from which our drainage systems are made, i.e. stainless steel, is characterized by high anti-corrosion resistance, is easy to clean and aesthetic. The method of connecting individual drainage sections can be implemented in two ways. Using flanges screwed onto a gasket made of chemically resistant material or by welding directly on the construction site. Both of these solutions ensure that the connection is tight and will not expose the floor and substrate to penetration, and consequently to the degradation of the substructure and environmental pollution. It is also resistant to mechanical damage and temperature changes.

Our products are characterized by high flexibility in the design phase and freedom of shaping, for example, around technological lines (design in plan) as well as height (selection of slopes and initial depth). We are able to produce any drainage according to the end customer’s requirements. The final stage of the production of our drainage systems is the chemical pickling and passivation process, which gives the finished mechanically processed product additional anti-corrosion properties.

Leading manufacturers of stainless steel drainage systems, do not recommend the use of concrete and polymer concrete drainage systems with galvanized and/or stainless steel gratings in food production plants and wherever there is a chemical load and we want to ensure the tightness of the floor. This solution does not guarantee long-term use of the floor and does not provide protection against chemicals entering the soil. Multiple years of experience show that these drainage systems do not meet hygienic standards due to their construction.

The produced drainage shapes with a length of 1 [m] or 0.5 [m] are not permanently connected to each other, but added (like a curb), and the profiled space left between the shapes is filled with sealing compound (every 1 or 0.5 [ m]), which does not provide any guarantee of tightness, among other things, because it is exposed to mechanical damage when cleaning the channel. You should also pay attention (depending on the type of fitting, whether it is with or without a steel edge) that it is not possible to seal the edges of this fitting with the floor. Additionally, galvanized gratings are not resistant to chemicals used in plants, both in the manufacturing processes and in the cleaning of equipment, machines and floors. Due to the quality and precision of the drainage shapes, water and chemicals penetrate the substrate and cause its destruction.

During the inspection at the plant, we came across a case where cleaning chemicals actually dissolved the polymer concrete channel, which resulted in the foundation being washed out and the floor and the tanks standing on it collapsing.