BASF celebrates half a century of Ucrete floors

Ludwigshafen, Germany – BASF is celebrating 50 years since its Ucrete flooring solution was patented.

Development of the polyurethane-based flooring began in the late 1960s as part of a search for a resilient, durable and easy-to-apply floor coating for chemical plants. It incorporates polyurethane as the basic ingredient, with a controlled reaction with water prior to application, and aggregates previously used in concrete.

“Ucrete was insensitive to any residual moisture in the substrate, which meant it could be installed quickly – ideal in any refurbishment work, which, from then on, required almost no downtime,’ said Philip Ansell, marketing manager for Ucrete Industrial Flooring Europe at BASF. ‘The resin-based solutions available up to that time required the substrate to be very dry – a preparatory step that took, and still takes, a lot of time and effort.’

It is now commonly found in chemical, pharmaceutical and food process areas, and also engineering facilities. It forms homogenous surfaces with minimal joints, and slip resistance can be incorporated.