Tractor giant John Deere (Moline, Ill., www.deere.com), one of the older and more trusted names in all industry, has built its reputation on quality and reliability. Starting 10 years ago, when Deere's facility in Welland, Ontario, Canada, needed a coating installed on its concrete floors that would stand up to chemical spills and heavy equipment traffic, management turned to a company equally committed to quality and reliability—Valspar (Minneapolis, www.valsparflooring.com).

"Initially it was the name ‘Valspar' that caught John Deere's attention," says Jeff Fleming, Valspar flooring technical sales representative. "Because our parent company produces John Deere's trademark green paint, they associate Valspar with quality."

During the past decade more than 1,000,000 square feet of rugged

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Valspar flooring has been installed at Deere's Welland Works where rotary cutters, utility vehicles and loaders for agricultural and construction applications are manufactured.

Deere has continued to receive service tailored to the plant's specific needs. For example, "We work around John Deere's demanding production schedule," says Ron Blasco, owner of AJK. "By starting a project on Friday afternoon and continuing through the weekend, John Deere doesn't have costly manufacturing down-time."

From day one, Blasco recommended Valspar EC-7 Epoxy Coating be installed in all five of Welland Works' factories. EC-7 Epoxy—an economical work horse—is easy to apply and provides excellent chemical and abrasion resistance. "This low-odor, 100% solids coating has a fantastic wear," says Fleming. "Some of these floors have been down 10 years and still look great."

According to Fleming, EC-7 is designed to serve as an economical base coat application on concrete floors, specifically as a thin coat ranging from five to 10 mils. Besides its amazing durability and low odor, EC-7 offers the advantage of being a green product. Its low VOC (volatile organic compounds) actively contributes to the long-term preservation of the environment. Plus, facility management and flooring installers reap the immediate benefit of a coating that produces minimal to no out-gassing, allowing installation while the facility maintains business as usual.

AJK installed the clear EC-7 finish, accented with John Deere's signature yellow striping. This flooring design enhances the company's professional image among employees and visitors.

High-performance for High Traffic
Devcon (Danvers, Mass., www.devcon.com/74.) Floor Savers coatings are high-performance, nonVOC formulations for protecting concrete floors, walkways, ramps, platforms, and walls against harsh chemicals, solvents, hydrocarbons, acids, and alkalis. Easily applied by maintenance personnel without special tools or training, these gray epoxy-based coatings attain functional cure (for foot traffic) in 24 hours, drying to durable, attractive finishes that are easy to clean. Epoxy Coat 7000 NonVOC is a self-leveling epoxy coating that can be applied to smooth or mildly scaled concrete to produce a glossy, highimpact, anti-abrasion finish that is also chemical resistant. Epoxy Coat 7000 AR (Acid Resistant) is an epoxy novolac floor coating system with unmatched chemical resistance. Capable of withstanding sulfuric acid concentrations of up to 98%, it is ideal for protecting concrete surfaces in the vicinity of chemical storage tanks (floors, piping, dike walls, containment areas, etc.). Epoxy Coat 6500 NonVOC is a self-leveling epoxy coating designed for large coating jobs such as concrete warehouse or showroom floors and is conveniently packaged in three-gallon containers. This formulation also produces a glossy, high-impact, anti-abrasion, chemicalresistant finish on wood, brick, and stucco. Epoxy Concrete Sealer is a self-leveling, clear epoxy sealer that can be used as a chemical-resistant primer on damp concrete floors at temperatures as low as 40° F.

100% solids formulations that meet federal volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations, Devcon Floor Savers are acceptable for use in meat and poultry plants. Easily applied with a brush, roller, or squeegee, they also can be mixed with Devcon Safe-TGrit or Anti-Skid Silica (food grade) to produce nonskid surfaces. Cured hardness ranges from 82 to 85 Shore D (per ASTM D2240).

John Deere's Welland Works now has more than on million square feet of flooring coated with Valspar EC-1

Devcon Floor Savers are self-leveling, easily applied finishes.