JUNE 19, 2018 – Fall River, MA – Known for its commercial floor maintenance chemistry and technology, XL North announced it recently “cut the ribbon” on a new division with the roll out of three revolutionary concrete surface prep products.
Ed Sisk, President of XL North, is excited to offer his company’s innovative technology and processes to another section of the flooring arena. “We heard the calls from flooring contractors to create dustless surface prep products that are easy and safe to use, while remaining less expensive than traditional shot blasting and grinding systems.”
Heading the new division is Ron Sandoval, a seasoned veteran in the world of surface prep. Ron notes, “The need for these industry changing products has been around for years, but as creatures of habit, we stayed on the same wheel.” Enactment of OSHA regulation CFR 29 1926.1153 was a driving factor for XL North’s expansion into the surface prep. The safety standard includes strict documentation regarding an employee’s exposure to airborne silicas and may require contractors to retrofit expensive equipment. Ron points out, “The adhesive industry is also moving away from calling out a CSP designation, and rather looking for a porous substrate for the adhesive to bond with.”
With new regulations and industry changes, there was a need to create an alternative solution that’s contractor friendly, dust free, OSHA and EPA compliant, and more cost effective than traditional surface prep methods. Welcome XL Porosity+, XL Sander, and XL Clean-Up!
XL Porosity+ is engineered to open up the surface of the concrete, creating the porosity needed for adhesive bonding, coatings, sealers, and moisture mitigation materials. Producing a dust free, consistent surface for optimum chemical or mechanical bond, it requires only water clean up.
XL Sander provides an OSHA compliant process to achieve the desired substrate conditioning acceptable for all adhesives without creating airborne silicas that can occur from traditional sweeping of the subfloor.
XL Clean-Up is used in combination with XL Porosity+ or XL Sander and continues XL North’s commitment to environmentally responsible chemistries. It solidifies high solids slurry, and can be disposed of in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations.