Danone

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Danone  nutricia

Baby nutrition producer Danone Nutricia is thriving on the back of global population and economic growth. With the company having already doubled the production capacity of several European factories in the past three years, it is now the turn of the Netherlands. French parent company Danone is currently building a new factory in Haps, North Brabant, to replace the existing production facility in the centre of nearby Cuijk. The construction of the ultra-modern facility is well under way. Given that a project of this scale takes a long time to complete, Danone works exclusively with reliable construction partners who can offer certainty of supply. Bolidt is one of them, supplying Bolidtop^® finishes for floor, wall and ceiling surfaces totalling tens of thousands of square metres. According to Danone, Bolidt offers the capacity and production speed needed to deliver the vast quantities of required materials within the tight schedule.

At a cost of €240 million, the more than 49,000 m2 new facility represents Danone’s largest investment in its European production capacity. From the beginning of 2018, the Haps factory will produce baby-food products for more than 80 countries. The new factory is not only impressive for its sheer size. Danone says that the facility is state of the art and incorporates the latest technologies to ensure its own sustainability ambitions can be achieved. Designed for highly energy-efficient operation, the new factory will meet the strictest standards for CO2 emissions. The office design has been awarded a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification, the highest sustainability rating that can be achieved.

Tight deadlines

 Building a production facility of this size is a long-term commitment: the overall construction work on the new factory takes a considerable time. This is why Danone works exclusively with construction partners who can provide that certainty.

Danone has thus chosen to rely on Bolidt for the development, production and installation of both flooring and wall and ceiling finishes in the new factory. Bolidt has the capacity and production speed needed for a megaproject such as Danone’s. Specialised application teams are working continuously at the new factory to ensure that every single deadline is met. As Bolidt develops and produces the floor, wall and ceiling finishes itself, it is able to install large quantities of material at short notice. Following a tightly planned schedule, Bolidt installs about 1,000 m² of flooring and 1,500 to 2,000 m² of wall and ceiling material per day. In total, 30,000 m² of Bolidtop^® flooring and 85,000 m² of wall and ceiling finishes will be installed. Especially the latter is remarkable; Bolidt is mainly known for its synthetic flooring, but nevertheless also supplies wall and ceiling finishes specially developed for this project. 

Perfectly sealed surfaces

 It is not only the certainty of supply provided by Bolidt that has been of key importance to Danone.

The good reputation of the synthetic floor finishes was another decisive factor. The new production facility – divided into high, medium and low care areas – has to maintain the strictest standards of hygiene and food safety. Just like Danone’s other production facilities, the new factory in Haps will be regularly inspected by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). 

Due to their seamless and impermeable quality, Bolidt systems meet the strictest HACCP safety standards and requirements. The floor, wall and ceiling finishes have no seams or cracks and are additionally pore free and dirt repellent. A first: Bolidt developed a wall and ceiling finish specially for Danone’s new factory, which seals the surface it is applied to. As a result, the entire interior of the factory can be disinfected to the highest standard and bacteria and moulds have nowhere to hide.