Specially modified Flexigrid matting, manufactured by Plastic Extruders Ltd, is helping to provide an anti-fatigue and hygienic surface for fresh fruit importer and packer Griffin & Brand.
This long established supplier to major supermarkets had a problem with grapes falling onto the floor, being squashed and causing a slip hazard. This was originally solved with wooden duckboards which allowed the grapes to fall through the gaps. When the duckboards needed to be replaced, the company wanted a better alternative which would be more hygienic and easier to move for cleaning.
Crossgrip safety matting has recently been installed on the roofs of two buildings which both serve airports - The Heathrow/Windsor Marriott Hotel at Langley, near Slough, and at Manchester Airport.
At Manchester Airport, Project managers DTZ appointed contractors Weatherproofing Advisors to repair some areas of the roof of office building '4M'. It has been refurbished with Crossgrip matting to provide safe walkways used for maintenance and to provide access to the rooftop services. Here, the matting's deeply etched open grid surface provides permanent high slip resistance even in the worst weather conditions.
200sqm of tough Vynagrip matting has been laid by SABIC Petrochemicals in its UK Teesside plant. When complete, the plant will be the largest in the world for the manufacture of low density polyethylene. The Vynagrip matting, supplied by Plastex distributor Arco Teesside and in a special bespoke yellow colour, has been used for both the main workshops in the Aromatics manufacturing, as well as for all weather access on the exterior loading jetties and mooring dolphins.
Floorline matting in extra long rolls is now available for the hospitality industry and for other light duty applications. The cost effective benefits include increased safety and comfort underfoot coupled with reduced wastage and longer seamless walkways.
The hardwearing matting is widely used back of house in hotels, clubs, bars and restaurants. It is particularly suitable in potentially wet areas, such as behind bars or in tap rooms and in kitchens or cellars. The soft tubular grid construction will cushion falling bottles or equipment and is impervious to liquids which are dissipated through the grid. The matting is also suitable as an economical floorcovering which is comfortable to walk on and which will insulate from hard and cold floors, such as in stores, serveries and housekeeping areas.
The metal processing works of Corus Tewkesbury is one of latest industrial plants to install large areas of Flexigrid high performance slip resistant matting. According to Tony Huntbach, in charge of health and safety, the problem was one of fluid seeping from the cold rolling lines on to the floor and thereby creating a potential hazard. By using Flexigrid, a safe and slip resistant walkway has now been created. The matting is also comfortable to walk on which in turn relieves fatigue.
Flexigrid, one a number of floorcoverings from international matting manufacturer Plastic Extruders Ltd, is widely used in heavy industrial environments where dirt, production waste, oil and other spillages can create problems. The matting is extremely hard wearing, resistant to oils, chemicals and industrial fluids. It has a deep etched surface with open grid through which debris and spillages are dissipated.
