Changyu Wine City, China

China’s oldest and largest wine producer, Changyu Pioneer Wine, has opened the doors to its new $900 million wine tourism complex located in the port town of Yantai, Shandong province, to promote the country’s growing domestic wine industry as well as attract international buyers and visitors.

The production centre, which went into operation in August 2016, is one of the most advanced in China, with a high level of automation and information management as well as the world’s most efficient production line, which has been imported from Germany.

The facility alone sprawls over 220,000 square metres making it one of the world’s largest wine and brandy production plants with an annual capacity for 250,000 tons of wine and 150,000 tons of brandy.

Having previously witnessed subsidence and cracking in uncoated concrete substrates, Changyu recognised the need for a long-term, hard-wearing and protective floor coating system that would be able to cope with the corrosive and staining effects of wine production as well as the constant stream of heavy vehicular traffic traversing the large-scale complex.

In addition, hygiene and the need to protect against contamination risk, was a significant factor in selecting a suitable floor finish that could provide the right degree of protection.

More than 20,000 square metres of Flowcrete Asia’s Flowfresh MF, a cementitious polyurethane floor screed containing a natural silver-ion based antimicrobial additive, was selected for installation in all bottling zones at Changyu in a striking dark green shade.

Flowfresh MF provides a durable, easily cleaned flooring surface with excellent chemical resistance, thermal shock resistance and stain resistance credentials.

Designed originally for application in the food and beverage industry, the Flowfresh range of flooring is endorsed by HACCP International certification; a globally recognised stamp that assures the material meets a wide range of punishing criteria and is suitable for food-grade applications including in both wet and dry processing areas.