When it comes to drainage products that guarantee excellent hygienic properties and comply with the strict European hygiene standards, the Blucher range has been many a customer’s first choice for over 40 years.

Its high-quality stainless steel products have been installed in dairies and food-processing factories worldwide, including in the Gulf where they have been fitted at Emirates Flight Kitchen, Union Co-operative Society, Del Monte Food Factory, Ikea in Dubai Festival City, Geant in Ibn Batuta Mall, all in Dubai, UAE; as well as at Almarai Dairy in Saudi Arabia.
“Compared to the materials traditionally used for drainage systems, stainless steel offers the advantages of ease and speed of installation, excellent hygienic properties, easy cleaning and maintenance, durability and favourable whole-life costs,” says a spokesman for Mac Al Gurg, the exclusive agent for Blucher in the UAE.
Outlining the advantages of Blucher systems, he says: “Stainless steel has an extremely smooth surface, providing fast-flow, preventing deposits and minimising bacterial growth.
“These are inherent advantages that, in Blucher drainage products, are enhanced by careful product design, making them particularly suitable for the dairy, beverage and food industries as well as for other applications requiring high levels of hygiene.
“Blucher complies with the stringent EU hygiene requirements that state, among other things, that floor surfaces in food processing plants must be easy to clean and allow adequate surface drainage. Legislation on safety states that floors should be slip-resistant under normal conditions of service.”
Food processing plant requires equipment of the highest quality in terms of operational, hygienic and environmental standards. To minimise the risk of bacteriological contamination of the products, the equipment used must be easy to clean and keep clean.
“All Blucher drainage products are made entirely from high-performance austenitic stainless steel grade 304 or – for the most demanding corrosive environments – grade 316L. All products are chemically descaled and passivated to enhance their natural corrosion resistance and to provide a uniform matt silver surface finish,” he points out.
Being a modular system comprising floor drains, drainage channels and a pipe work system – all combinable, the Blucher stainless steel drainage system offers numerous possible combinations and a solution to any drainage project, says the spokesman.
For industrial applications, Blucher offers heavy-duty floor drains and channels point and linear drainage. The hygiene-promoting design of drains and channels – without corners or cavities inside the drain body – prevents bacterial growth, and the reinforcement of the underside of the frame edge with synthetic resin infill provides a hygienic structure also without any cavities, he says.
According to the spokesman, one of the most important features of the system is the removable water trap with its excellent self-cleansing properties and small water surface, which minimises bacterial growth. In addition, the water trap unit is easily removed for cleaning.
“Experience shows that this water trap facilitates cleaning because larger solids that are trapped in it and grease deposits in it can be removed by washing down,” says the spokesman. “Being easily removed and refitted in the drain or channel, it also provides access to the drain bowl and the pipe underneath.”
Floor drains and channels are fitted with a grating, the load capacity and slip resistance of which is suitable for the application in question. For the drains and channels, Blucher offers a range of gratings with one or two-way non-slip surface, all designed with a view to obtaining excellent hygienic properties and facilitating cleaning.
The smooth surface of stainless steel also makes it the perfect material for drainage pipe work systems in hygienically-demanding applications.
Blucher EuroPipe is a lightweight and versatile drainage pipe work system featuring simple push-fit jointing, thus ensuring easy handling and rapid installation.
“A further and important safety advantage is that Blucher products are non-combustible. In the event of fire, the high temperatures will not cause any toxic gases to be released from the drain and pipe material,” says the spokesman.
Blucher is an international group of companies with head offices and production facilities in Denmark, subsidiaries in Norway, Sweden, the UK, Germany and France and a worldwide network of sales representations and distributors. The firm is certified in accordance with ISO 9001 and all products are manufactured under this globally-recognised quality assurance system using the most modern production technology.
Internationally, Blucher products have been installed at Danone, Valencia (Spain), Unilever (Helados Holanda), Mexico City (Mexico), Valio Ice-Cream Factory, Turenki (Finland), Heineken, Sevilla (Spain), United Dairies, Westbury (England) and several Arla dairies in Denmark and Sweden.
“This comprehensive range, providing the best of hygiene in the drainage system, is backed by the excellent customer service by Mac Al Gurg, a trusted name in the supply of building materials in the UAE since 1974,” the spokesman concludes.