Based in Nelson, Proper Crisps is a fast-growing snack company that supplies potato, kumara and other root vegetable crisps nationwide. They recently opened a new state-of-the-art factory, expanding their manufacturing capacity to keep up with demand and make space for future growth.

For the food manufacturing areas, Proper Crisps’ Operations Manager, Aaron Grooby was careful to select a wall material that would be easy to clean, moisture-resistant and could handle any bumps and knocks from trolleys and other equipment.

“Traditionally you’d use a pre-finished high-density fibreboard panel,” explains Aaron. “But it can become damaged over time, resulting in ingression of water." He decided to seek a hardier alternative and approached experts Ceiling and Interior Systems for advice.

“It had to be hygienic, tough so it wouldn’t get damaged and washable, so that’s where I came into it,” says Hadyn Beatson, Project Manager, Ceiling and Interior Systems. While Hadyn made a few suggestions, it was Resco’s Multicom wall panelling that came out on top.

Multicom is a cost-effective, rugged walling system suitable for wet, damp or high use areas. Panels are bind fixed with no need for a conventional impact-resistant backing sheet, ensuring easy installation and a clean look.

Multicom is safe for use in food manufacturing as Troy Henriques, Product Specialist, Resco explains: “The panels have ISEGA certification to show that they comply with the EN 1186, EN 13130 and CEN/TS 14234 standards making them suitable to be in contact with food.”

What sets Multicom apart from other wall panelling options is its exceptional impact-resistance — a feature that made it perfect for use in the food preparation areas of the factory.

While the high factory walls added an extra challenge for the Ceiling and Interior Systems team, installation went smoothly and was completed faster than planned thanks to the large sheet size of Multicom, simple installation method and hard work by the installers.

The installed Multicom panelling ticks all the boxes for the Proper Crisps team. “It’s easy to clean, looks pristine constantly and there is no impact damage when doors or trolleys hit the wall,” Aaron says. “I would definitely recommend Multicom in future and if I was to do another build I’d definitely use it again.”