FasTop™ Flooring Improves Performance for BIX Produce

Situated just outside St. Paul, Minnesota, BIX Produce has been offering produce, cheese and dairy, baked goods and a wide variety of other locally sourced products to much of the state population for more than 80 years.

BIX is dedicated to not only delivering produce in a fast, efficient manner, but also maintaining the highest standards of quality. When the company needed to expand its facility to keep up with ever-growing production demands, a functional, high-quality flooring system was among its priorities.

BIX Produce Flooring Solution

Construction of a larger operating space was on the horizon, and BIX Produce preferred local support, a solid warranty and a track record of success in food and beverage environments for the new flooring system. Sherwin-Williams was a perfect fit - thanks to its history of serving the food and beverage industry for over 20 years, and the company’s industrial coatings store in the vicinity.

This was not a small project – the spec called for approximately 30,000 square feet of flooring within refrigerated produce processing and other processing rooms, all of which would need frequent washdowns and sanitation. The Sherwin-Williams High Performance Flooring representative recommended using FasTop™ Topfloor SL57 system (formerly FasTop 12S) at ¼” thickness with Elladur 4850 (formerly GP4850) Polyaspartic grout and topcoat as the best option for the facility. This specific system provides thermal shock, chemical and slip resistance, cryogenic and high-heat exposure tolerance, durability, and is easy to clean.

Prior to application, the preparation included abrasive blasting to remove all contaminants and create the proper concrete surface profile, as well as installing a resinous cove base. Utilizing a trowel-applied cove base is a best practice for food and beverage facilities, as it creates a seamless, watertight transition between floor and wall to eliminate areas where bacteria may grow. Once the base and primer were applied, the FasTop Topfloor SL57 was spread using a cam rake, then backrolled with a loop roller to assist in leveling. Silica sand was then broadcast over the slurry and cured for about twelve hours. Lastly, Elladur 4850 Polyaspartic topcoat was squeegeed and backrolled over the system for exceptional slip and chemical resistance and cleanability.

The owners, staff and customers of BIX Produce have appreciated the benefits of this system since 2019, and because of its long-lasting durability, they will be enjoying it for many years to come.

For more information, contact us at swflooring@sherwin.com