Success Story Summary

Hershey Creamery Dishes out Heavy Loads onto Industrial Floor Insulation

Hershey Creamery initiated construction on an ultra-modern, cold storage/distribution facility that features an automatic storage and retrieval system that consumes virtually the entire building. Two 18,000-lb., computer-controlled cranes, running on rails imbedded into the concrete slab floor, receive the ice cream, store it in specified locations, and then retrieve it for shipment. The system is very heavy and very demanding on the floor. There were three basic concerns in designing the flooring system:

The facility operates at -20°F (-29°C) and moisture penetration was a primary concern. Moisture can enter the floor directly as absorbed water, but with cold applications, an even more significant source of moisture is the penetration of water vapor, which then condenses and forms ice.
For floors that must sustain heavy weights, external mechanical abuse or vehicular traffic, superior compressive strength performance is a prerequisite. The compressive strength of the insulation must be highly reliable and not susceptible to deformation or creep.
Dimensional stability is a vital characteristic for the faultless performance of this type of thermal insulation system. Insulation materials with poor dimensional stability can result in system swelling, warping, expansion, shrinkage or other types of distortion. As the system distorts, further damage to the insulation system itself can occur, enabling water or water vapor penetration. FOAMGLAS^® Insulation met all of these criteria.

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