Kimberly Clark Paper Chooses Sauereisen For Corrosion-Resistant Applications

Engineered Solutions Provide Increased Business Opportunities for Customers

The Right Product for the Job
Sauereisen has always excelled in providing Engineered Solutions to solve corrosion problems. For over 100 years we have striven to provide the appropriate products to meet the requirements of a wide range of chemical-resistant applications. Sauereisen's "Engineered Solutions" approach has led to the development of new products and the modification of existing products to meet the diverse corrosion-resistant needs of an ever widening array of industries.

Engineered Solutions Also Provide New Opportunities
The "Engineered Solutions" approach not only solves problems, it can also provide business opportunities for some of our customers. A project completed at Kimberly Clark Paper in Chester, PA, by long time Sauereisen customer, Shared Systems Technology of Thorofare, NJ, is an excellent example of this.

The Problem
A previous corrosion-resistant application at this plant did not live up to expectations. The glass mat reinforced system was not holding up to the wide range of sulfuric acid concentrations and concentrated sodium hydroxide. It had completely failed in the trenches and was delaminating between layers in the waste sump. A thin film coating in the chemical storage area had also failed resulting in several inches of concrete becoming deteriorated and contaminated. Shared Systems was asked to solve these serious corrosion problems, but were presented with a very tight schedule and plant concerns regarding product performance and safety issues.

The Solution
Shared Systems arranged a meeting with Kimberly Clark engineers and the Sauereisen representative, John Grega of Corrosion Technology, and the Sauereisen regional manager, both of whom were familiar with the plant and the previous application problems. With Sauereisen's extensive product line we were able to offer solutions to all aspects and requirements of this project.

The chemical storage areas, most of which were located below raised flooring, would be restored with Underlayment F-120 and then lined with FibreCrete 218. The trenches would also be rebuilt with Underlayment and the bottoms lined with Conocrete 118, the side walls lined with Fibrecrete 218 and all surfaces sealed with Conoglaze 228. The chemical sump would be repaired with Underlayment and the delaminating 60 mil top layer replaced with 80 mils of Fibrecrete 218.

The Underlayment can be applied by trowel, cast or gunite methods and can be re-coated in 5 hours with epoxy products. Most of the lining work, the FibreCrete and the ConoGlaze can be spray applied. This would enable Shared Systems to adhere to the tight outage schedule.

The 100% solids novolak epoxy formulations easily met Kimberly Clark's chemical resistant requirements and safety guidelines. The Sauereisen solutions were approved and Shared Systems was awarded the entire project.

Successful Application
The work was completed on schedule and according to Frank DeMartino, owner of Shared Systems Technology, "The project went so smoothly that it was a complete non-issue for the plant. The project was completed with no conflicts with other work in the area, no safety problems such as odors or excessive dust and it was within budget. Plant engineering was very pleased with the results."

Increased Business Opportunities
Had Shared Systems not been able to complete this entire project in a single outage they would have lost a portion of the work. Sauereisen's Engineered solutions enabled this contractor to obtain all of this work.

The key elements here were the ability to restore concrete rapidly with the Underlayment systems and to apply FiberCrete reinforced linings via spray method rather than the multiple step, time consuming glass mat lay up method. These products were engineered to handle these types of requirements.

In addition, Mr. DeMartino said that the support and training received from Sauereisen enabled his company to develop the expertise and confidence that will enable them to obtain additional work of this type at other plants. He is confident that he can rely on Sauereisen to provide solutions that will enable us to successfully solve our customers' corrosion problems.