A Wash Bay Built for Biosecurity

The Challenge: Biosecurity Above All

Swine transport carries a real biosecurity risk. Porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PED, first showed up in Ontario in January 2014 and spread to more than 60 farms in the province within six months. In pigs that haven’t been exposed to it before, PED can kill 70 to 100 percent of the young pigs it infects. Trucks and trailers are one of the ways PED and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS, move between farms, which is why the Canadian Food Inspection Agency treats transport as a defined risk point in its national biosecurity standard, not an afterthought. For a swine hauler, the wash bay between loads is where that risk gets stopped or carried to the next farm.

“This wash bay is a key part of TNT Transport’s operation,” Josh Bender says. “With swine transport, biosecurity is a major priority, and having a dedicated space to properly wash and disinfect trucks between loads is essential. It allows them to maintain their standards while keeping trucks moving efficiently.”

That priority set the requirements for every material in the room. “It really came down to eliminating any surfaces that could hold moisture or contamination,” Josh explains. “The materials needed to be fully washable, non-porous, and able to handle regular use with pressure washers and cleaning products.”

Trusscore checked every box on that list.

The Solution: A Surface Built to Wash Down

Trusscore Wall&CeilingBoard is an interlocking wall and ceiling panel, with a tongue-and-groove design that hides every screw for a smooth, continuous finish. RibCore by Trusscore is a corrugated panel made from the same material, built for harder-use wall and ceiling applications: drive sheds, livestock barns, and wash bays among them. At TNT Transport, Wall&CeilingBoard lines the walls and some ceilings, while RibCore by Trusscore covers the ceiling above the wash area, standing up to direct overhead spray without the corrosion a primed steel liner would eventually show.

Because both products resist water rather than absorbing it, pressure washers and disinfectants clean the surface instead of soaking into it. That’s a critical distinction in a facility where contamination has to end at the wall, not live in it.

That performance comes from the material itself, not a coating that wears off over time. Both panels have a smooth, inert PVC surface that gives mold, bacteria, and viruses nothing to grow on. In independent testing to ISO 846:2019, a standard used to evaluate microbial growth on building materials, Wall&CeilingBoard was the only material tested that showed zero growth. Both products also meet CFIA, USDA, FDA, and cGMP requirements for food processing and agricultural facilities. Those are the same standards TNT Transport has to satisfy for its own biosecurity protocols.

In a large, drive-through wash bay, that performance also has to hold up under constant use, not just on day one. “In this type of environment, durability and consistency are important,” Josh says. “The material holds up well under constant use and keeps the facility looking clean over time. It also helps reduce long-term maintenance compared to more traditional wall systems, which is important for a high-traffic operation like this.”

A wash bay this size put installation speed to the test, and Trusscore delivered there, too. “From an installation standpoint, it was very efficient,” Josh says. “The panels are lightweight and straightforward to work with, and compared to other systems, it is noticeably faster to install. On a project of this size, that helps keep the schedule on track and reduces overall install time.”

The Outcome: A Product They Trust for the Long Haul

Bender Contracting has installed Trusscore across agricultural and commercial projects for years, and the TNT Transport wash bay reinforced why the company keeps specifying it. “We have used it across agricultural and commercial projects, and it has been consistent in how it performs,” Josh says. “It solves practical issues like moisture and maintenance, and it is a product we know will hold up over time. That reliability is why we continue to use it.”

For TNT Transport, that reliability backs up the standard the business set from day one: trucks that are clean, disinfected, and ready to move. For Bender Contracting, the project adds another build to a growing run of award-worthy work. “We will definitely be entering TNT Transport into the 2027 CFBA,” Josh says.