As the world’s largest manufacturer of High-Pressure Laminate (HPL), its international network of design, manufacturing, distribution and sales operations maintains the recognition of Formica® as a global brand.
When its North Shields factory had some serious issues with an existing corridor flooring, the company turned to a local flooring supplier to suggest a suitable solution, which ultimately saw Formica Group specifying 300m2 of Attraction fast track vinyl floor tiles from international flooring specialist Gerflor.
Joseph Buzzeo, Managing Director, Newcastle Flooring Company Limited said: “We were contacted directly as a firm local to Formica Group who needed specialist advice on their refurbishment project in terms of a credible and technical solution for their specific requirements on site.”
On specification Joseph Buzzeo added: “We recommended Gerflor’s loose lay Attraction® interlocking fast track flooring tile solution for the corridors because of its ease and speed of installation, and also due to the heavy contract nature of the product.”
However, not everything about the Formica Group installation was straightforward with Joseph Buzzeo explaining: “The existing floors were an asphalt subfloor and they had begun to crack in various areas in the main corridor of the building which was some 65 metres long.
"There was an option to dig up the entire area and replace it but this would have been too time consuming and disruptive for the company in terms of dust, dirt and limiting access for employees and visitors to site.
"The Gerflor Attraction® interlocking tile product was found to be the most appropriate solution as it enabled a loose lay installation that could accommodate movement underneath.”
Gerflor's Attraction® range is a perfect solution for renovations as its interlocking tile edge design delivers a fast track, loose lay flooring installation or replacement. This permits the area to remain open and provides a clean installation with no adhesives required.
A two-person team can install up to 200m² of Attraction® with minimal preparation. Its Protecsol®2 surface treatment ensures the floor requires minimal maintenance in terms of a cleaning regime and is a highly durable solution suitable for heavy traffic applications in a host of sectors.
Attraction® is available in 21 colourways as standard across 3 designs, including the new ‘Neopolis’ raw terrazzo inspired design, allowing more creative effects through mixing and matching. Additionally, for larger projects there are an extra 28 colour options available, across a range of palettes and designs, with a minimum order quantity of 500sqm.
Steve Betts, Senior European Category Manager, Formica Group commented: “We had suffered a long-term issue with cracks appearing in the previous flooring, this was due to the way it was laid and the structure underneath.
"We required a hard-wearing flooring that could sit on top of the existing floor and free float. We chose the Gerflor Attraction® floor tile down to the sub floor issues which meant we had to rule out many alternative conventional flooring methods, thus, we had to find a solution that was not bonded to the existing surface.”
The Attraction® range, when compared with alternative flooring such as ceramic tiles, delivers up to 19 dB less noise and when users walk on it the product’s underfoot comfort reduces fatigue.
With excellent slip-resistant properties and a R10 rating it’s a popular choice for high traffic areas. Attraction® is 100% REACH compliant, is free of formaldehyde, heavy metals, solvents and has 80% recycled content. It also delivers TVOC emissions 100 times better than norm requirements (TVOC < 10 μg/m3 after 28 days) and is Floorscore® certified, M1 certified and complies with AgBB protocol.
Steve Betts ended by saying: “The innovative Attraction® fast track interlocking tile products are performing extremely well and I have received many comments to date about how much better the flooring looks when compared with the previous flooring. We believe this is a hard wearing and cost-effective solution to our flooring issues in the corridor.”