Dubai, Saudi Arabia, July 21--H2O Concepts is poised to launch an aggressive marketing campaign for its newly-established flooring division, following its recent tie-up with Tarkett, a leading French manufacturer of flooring tiles.
Tarkett - which has grown to become one of the largest producers and distributors of resilient floorings worldwide since its merger with flooring leader Sommer-Allibert in 1997 forming Tarkett Sommer - is planning to introduce a whole range of products that is expected to floor the competition in the region, says a company spokesman.
The new Acczent and Century range of floorings developed by Tarkett's design department will offer users greater opportunities when designing commercial interiors. The patterns and colours are contemporary and the four influences that inspired the collection - mineral, vegetal, metal and synthetic - will harmonise with any mood or sensitivity. Shades and patterns can also be co-coordinated to create striking aesthetic effects. Acczent and Century are suitable for heavy traffic areas such as hospitals, schools and stores and shops.
The thick PUR (polyurethane)-reinforced wear layer makes the Acczent and Century ranges exceptionally hardwearing and resistant to abrasion and indentation and gives them superior cleaning and maintenance characteristics. Heavy, wet cleaning methods are eliminated. No wax or polish is needed. And because cleaning and maintenance represent about 90 per cent of the flooring's total lifecycle costs, this is where major savings can be made. Savings up to 30 per cent are not unusual, says the spokesman.
In addition, the built-in sanitised treatment gives long-lasting and efficient protection against contamination by bacteria and fungi, and assures a hygienic environment.
The raw materials used in the manufacture have been selected to limit environmental impact, and use of recycled materials conserves natural resources. The improved cleaning characteristics are also beneficial to the environment, as they reduce the need for water and chemicals.
In addition, with Tarkett's launch of Toro EL, the market is being offered a flooring system that not only meets high demands for electrical conductivity but is also reinforced with polyurethane.
Combining electrical conductivity with polyurethane is a hard problem to solve, because polyurethane normally influences the electrical conductivity of floorings and increases its resistance. So this is a huge breakthrough for Tarkett's technicians, who have now succeeded in producing an electrically conductive polyurethane.
Toro EL, which has been on the market since 1999, has now been extended into a new nine-colour collection formed by adding five new colours to the existing four most popular colours.
Toro EL is manufactured at Tarkett's factory in Ronneby, Sweden. Like its predecessors, it contains carbon fibres and has a black, electrically conductive back. However, thanks to today's technology the flooring can still be produced with non-directional patterns and in light, attractive colours. Previously, antistatic and conductive floorings were dark and drab, which naturally affected the working environment and imposed restrictions on the interior designer.
Toro EL is valued for its excellent electrical conductivity, although, it has not achieved the same cleaning characteristics as Tarkett's IQ flooring.
