Repair with minimum disruption

Uretek was formed in Finland in the early 1980s and developed a ground stabilisation process using rapidly expanding polymers that are injected into the floor, filling voids which strengthens and stabilises the floor. The firm started with the biggest supermarket in Finland as its first client. Since then Uretek has expanded into more than 50 countries around the world, including the UK.

Uretek MD Roland Caldbeck told HSS: "We've got a lot of experience in the food and drink industry carrying out ground improvements, for example, where there are variations of loading on the floor. Mezzanine floors can be a great way to create additional capacity but you may need ground improvements to support the increased load.

"This part of the business has become increasingly important in the UK. There is a premium on space and companies often prefer to continue with current logistics channels and maximise the space they have got."

Uretek treats the floors to improve the load bearing capacity. Its ground strengthening solutions consolidate the underlying ground and increase its bearing strength, resulting in long-term foundation support. The patented process is a fast and non-disruptive alternative to piling and underpinning.

"In the food and drink industry, we have worked with a number of suppliers to supermarkets who are very strictly audited. They have to comply very closely on things like trip hazards. So we have carried out re-stabilisation of floors when the driver was health and safety rather than operations," explains Roland.

Slab stabilisation is also a key area for Uretek. This is absolutely key in terms of racking, where any slight movement in the slab will have a big impact on racking 8, 9 metres up in the warehouse.

"We have done on a number of projects as a maintenance solution, whereby we can re-level the slab to a certain level within the confines of the racking, which means it doesn't effect the ongoing operation of the site.

"We carry out a network of injections under the slab and that enables us to re-level it and we have a range of geo-polymers depending on the strength required by the application. The work is designed specifically to match the loading that is required on a particular site.

"With VNA the condition of the slab becomes especially important, tolerances are low. However, floors are usually designed for such applications and are unlikely to move much."

Polymer injection is suited to today’s warehouse sector, with super-flat floors and high racking. Older methods of digging out slabs, filling voiding with cement materials and replacing slabs is disruptive, and would struggle to achieve the extreme accuracy of the Uretek method which can be easily applied while the facility continues to operate normally.

"Our main selling point is the lack of disruption we create compared to other methods because we have a relatively non-destructive approach to what we're doing, we have a quick set-up and curing time," says Roland.

"One example is a recent project with over sixty warehouse aisles. We took the job two aisles at a time, minimising disruption. If the company needed access to the aisles we were working on, they could get this with 10 minute notice. That's the key factor in most warehouses.

"Grinding is generally not needed, we return flooring back to its original state."

Floor improvements can also help to boost rack utilisation, as when floor stability issues occur, it is not uncommon for firms to be forced to under-load racking for safety reasons.

Working to a high level of accuracy, Uretek stabilised and lifted the factory flooring in a West Country industrial facility with racking up to 40ft high. Accuracy of +/-3mm was achieved.

"We are market leaders because we are utilising materials developed specifically for this application," explains Roland, "with expertise that has been acquired over the last 30 years."