In a food processing and commercial kitchen environment, hot water, grease and organic waste must be counteracted by more complex and sophisticated drainage concepts. ACO achieves this with intelligent system solutions which optimize food safety, health and safety of employees and the protection of water. Every ACO product within the ACO system chain safely controls water as it passes along the chain to ensure it can be hygienically, economically and ecologically handled in a visible way.

ACO provides solutions which optimize food safety, employee's health and safety and water protection. Every ACO product safely controls the water to ensure it can be hygienically, economically and ecologically managed in a viable way.

Food Safety

• ACO Stainless Drainage fulfills hygienic requirements to prevent harmful bacteria contamination. We apply relevant hygienic design principles reserved for food contact surfaces as recommended by EHEDG and NSF/ANSI.
  
• Our product design ensures minimal build-up of food particles and debris as well as a safe connection with the surrounding floor to minimize any opportunity for bacteria to grow throughout the drain system.
  
• Slope function and hygienically designed products ensure our system is fully drainable, eliminating the stagnant odor of waste water.

Cost Control

• ACO Drainage Systems can be easily maintained and reduce associated cleaning costs, thanks to their functional design and cleaning recommendations which have developed in partnership with premium cleaning agent suppliers.
  
• ACO's advanced manufacturing technologies ensure durability and our special surface treatment guarantees corrosion resistance. Our systems perform effectively at all times and keep business disruption to a minimum.
  
• We provide expertise in drainage system planning, correct installation and creating a safe connection with the surrounding floor to avoid unnecessary costs.

Health & Safety

• For additional safety in high risk areas that require heavy water usage, slip resistant grating are used.
  
• Each component of the drainage system is easy to remove and clean, and there are no sharp edges for optimum employee's safety.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is the name given to a wide range of steels which have the characteristics of greatly enhanced corrosion resistance over conventional mild and low alloy steels. The enhanced corrosion resistance of stainless steel essentially comes from the addition of at least 11% of chromium, however, most stainless steels commonly used contain around 18% of chromium. Other significant alloying elements include nickel and for superior corrosion resistant properties, molybdenum.

Stainless steel has the following unique advantages:

• High corrosion resistance
• Non-porous, easy to clean and disinfect
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Resistant to extreme temperatures
  and thermal shock
• Coefficient of linear expansion similar
  to concrete
• 100% recyclable material

ACO stainless products are manufactured from austenitic stainless steel, grades AISI 304
or 316L and is ideal for applications including food processing, leisure, dairy, brewing, pharmaceutical, chemical and petrochemical industries.

Surface treatment

The process cutting, forming and welding of stainless steel will introduce impurities into the surface of the material and unless the appropriate action is taken, the material will begin to corrode and ultimately fail in service. Therefore, after fabrication, it is vital that stainless steel is treated with the correct surface treatment to ensure it is fully corrosion resistant. By applying pickle passivation as the primary surface treatment, the corrosion resistance of stainless steel can be fully restored to its original state, ensuring long and reliable life performance together with the required aesthetic appearance.

Finishes used by ACO include:

Pickle passivation (acid treatment)

All ACO drainage is pickle passivated by immersing products in a series of acid baths. This is a fundamental requirement for removing iron embedded particulates introduced in the fabrication process and also for restoring the chromium depleted regions generated by the welding process. ACO has one of the largest and most advanced pickle passivation installations in Europe which ensures the optimum corrosion resistance of our products.

Electropolishing (electrochemical process)

After pickle passivation, some products are then immersed in an electrolytic fluid in which the products become the anode of a direct current electrical circuit. This process is characterized by a selective attack of the surface of the components whereby upstanding roughness is preferentially dissolved and will yield a progressively smoother, brighter surface. All hygienic trench drain grates are electro-polished as standard

Brushing (mechanical process)

ACO trench drains have a brushed upper edge for aesthetic reasons.

The layout of the drainage system has an impact on future operational effectiveness and costs. This guide offers a range of basic areas which needs to be considered when specifying a drainage system. The specify an appropriate drainage system for a particular application, the zone of operation, and amount and frequency of water should be considered.

Based on the application, the type of drainage needs to be selected according to the layout of the operational space and processing technology employed.

The chemical mixture of the waste water from the process and/or from the cleaning as well as temperature of the final mixture influences the material resistance of the drainage system.

ACO drainage is manufactured from austenitic stainless steel; grades 304 or 316L according to AISI and is ideal for applications within food processing, dairy, brewery, commercial kitchen, pharmaceutical, chemical, petrochemical industries and leisure.

Besides stainless steel, drainage products also contain sealing materials:

ACO floor drains – all the seals are made of NBR (acryl nitrile-butadiene rubber)

ACO trench and slot drains – flange connection seals are made of NBR (acryl nitrile-butadiene rubber)

ACO modular trench and slot drains – flange connection seals are made of NBR (acryl nitrile-butadiene rubber)

For details of material resistance see page 232 or contact our Sales/Technical department.