INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY, FLOOR & WAREHOUSE CLEANING

Sun Hydraulics - West Midlands, England, CV3

Client's Challenge

Sun Hydraulics required an immediate and measurable improvement to cleanliness standards across their Coventry manufacturing facility.

Key production machinery, tooling areas, and surrounding floors had developed a long-term build-up of oil residues, swarf, debris, and engineering contaminants. Over time, these contaminants had spread into walkways and working zones, increasing slip risks and impacting overall presentation.

The client also required a structured, Health & Safety-focused cleaning approach that would protect production efficiency, support Kaizen and continuous improvement objectives, and ensure the site remained presentable for high-level customer visits.

Assessment & Planning  

Following initial consultation, APT ICC carried out a full factory survey in collaboration with Sun Hydraulics’ Health & Safety Officer and engineering team.

The assessment focused on:

• Contamination levels across machinery, tooling, and production floors
• High-risk slip and safety areas
• Access constraints around live machinery
• Compatibility of degreasing products with sensitive engineering surfaces

Controlled trial testing was completed using specialist industrial degreasers to confirm surface safety and cleaning effectiveness. A phased cleaning programme was then developed to deliver deep cleaning across machinery, production zones, and warehouse floors while maintaining safe access routes throughout the plant.

    Methodology

    APT ICC delivered the works using a controlled, step-by-step industrial
    cleaning methodology designed for live engineering environments.

    The process included:

    1. Initial dry wipe-down of machinery surfaces to remove loose contamination.

    2. Physical removal of hardened grease and swarf using non-damaging scraping techniques and controlled abrasion where suitable.

    3. Emptying and flushing of machine sumps to remove internal residue build-up.

    4. Thorough degreasing and cleaning of base areas beneath machinery to reduce slip hazards and prevent contamination spread.

    5. Industrial floor cleaning using scrubber dryers and specialist degreasing chemicals to restore walkways and production zones.

    6. Removal, cleaning, and controlled reinstallation of machinery spools to allow safe access and an organised workflow.

    Following cleaning, surfaces were prepared for subsequent industrial
    repainting works where required.

    Site Access & Logistics

    Equipment
    • Industrial floor scrubber dryers
    • Manual hand-cleaning and wipe-down systems
    • Safe scraping and non-damaging cleaning tools

    Chemicals
    • UltraMax 2020 – heavy-duty industrial degreaser used for machinery cleaning and as an industrial floor cleaner through scrubber dryers
    • Citrus RTU – ready-to-use degreaser introduced for ongoing machinery
    and maintenance cleaning

    All products used were APT Commercial Chemicals formulations, selected for effectiveness, surface compatibility, and suitability within precision engineering environments.

    The Results
    • Machinery, tooling areas, and production zones restored to a significantly improved cleanliness standard
    • Oil, grease, swarf, and debris contamination safely removed
    • Slip risks reduced across walkways and machine bases
    • Improved Health & Safety compliance within active production areas
    • No disruption to live manufacturing operations
    • Site presentation improved for customer and stakeholder visits

    Due to the success of the programme, APT ICC was awarded further planned maintenance works to support long-term cleanliness standards at the Coventry facility.