Introducing Lauren Watson, our spotlight employee of the day at TPS360! Lauren joined us as an administration assistant in May 2022, reporting to the office manager. Her responsibilities included managing company timesheets, tracking, and maintaining company vehicles, and ensuring accommodations for employees working away from home. She also provided support with day-to-day administrative tasks and the purchase ledger.
We have exciting news to share! During Christmas 2022, Lauren decided to transfer to a site-based position as a labourer at TPS360 and has also enrolled as an apprentice with FeRFA the Resin Flooring Association. How awesome is that? Lauren has been enjoying her work on site and is eager to learn more. We are extremely proud of her achievements!
In her free time, Lauren enjoys going to the gym and indulging in a packet of M&S Percy Pigs on her way home (yum!). She has an active mind filled with amusing facts and thoughts. Lauren also loves scenic walks with her dog (weather permitting) and is a big fan of dancing and partying. You can often find her at various festivals throughout the year.
At TPS360, we are fortunate to have Lauren representing women in construction. Her work ethic is truly impressive, and we are grateful for her dedication, whether it’s working late nights, early mornings, or putting in hours in between.
As Lauren once asked, “Does a cow know a penguin exists?”
You are invited to join the Fosroc complete floor solutions product training at your local Resapol Depot. The training will include classroom and practical demonstrations covering a range of Fosroc flooring products and systems. Morning (10am – 12pm) and afternoon (1pm – 3pm) sessions are available.
The Preparation Group, a leading mechanical surface preparation equipment manufacturer and contractor, is excited to announce the launch of its newly remodelled Training School. Located in the historic city of Lincoln, the purpose-built facility offers construction industry professionals an ideal space to host training days, product launches, demonstrations, and more.
With over 31 years of experience in the industry, The Preparation Group places a high priority on quality services, innovation, sustainability, and exceptional customer care. However, the company’s unparalleled dedication to upskilling its workforce and the construction industry as a whole is what truly sets it apart.
“Our aim is to share our expertise in order to raise awareness and knowledge of mechanical surface preparation methods and their importance,” said Tracey Glew, Managing Director of The Preparation Group. “By breaking down the barriers that prevent many people from pursuing a career in the construction industry, we are helping to build a more skilled workforce that is better equipped to meet the demands of the industry in the 21st century.”
The company’s virtual training school, set to launch in late 2023, will provide comprehensive education in equipment operation and maintenance, surface preparation techniques, and industry best practices. Students will receive a balanced curriculum of independent desk-based and practical training, equipping them to confidently handle a range of working scenarios. This expansion will also allow global customers and partners to benefit from The Preparation Group’s expertise and training services.
“Our in-person training is available for construction industry professionals throughout the UK, and our virtual expansion will help us reach a wider audience,” added Tracey Glew. “We are proud to offer accessible, high-quality training and support to our customers across our industry and beyond.” The new Training School offers a versatile and well-equipped environment in the historic heart of Lincoln. With over 500m2 of space and a variety of surfaces, including resin systems, terrazzo, and concrete, the facility provides businesses with an ideal space to host training days, product launches, demonstrations, and more.
In addition to its training and upskilling efforts, The Preparation Group continues to innovate and develop new technologies and techniques to improve the quality and efficiency of its services. Its range of specialised equipment is designed to be versatile and adaptable, allowing the company to tackle a wide range of surface preparation tasks. From shotblasters to hand grinders and a huge range of accessories, its equipment is designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients.
The Preparation Group also endeavours to maximise sustainability, choosing methods that minimise its environmental impact where possible, while ensuring that its clients receive the most sustainable and cost-effective solutions for their surface preparation needs.
“At The Preparation Group, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional results while also making a positive impact on our industry and beyond,” said Tracey Glew. “With our investment in upskilling and training, our innovative approach to surface preparation services and equipment manufacturing, we continue to build a more skilled and sustainable construction industry that is equipped for the future.”
To learn more about The Preparation Group and its newly remodelled Training School, or to enquire about training and using the space, please visit www.thepreparationgroup.com or contact +44 (0)1522 561 460 to speak to a member of the team directly.
Lee has enjoyed a stellar career in both Rugby Union and Rugby League. He started his career playing rugby union for Bridgend Athletic RFC and Tondu RFC as a full-back or wing, and after being spotted playing rugby league for Bridgend Blue Bulls, was signed for the Llanelli Scarlets – his international career began shortly after when he was called up for the international squad when he made his debut against the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium, going on to win 46 Welsh caps. During his illustrious career Lee also represented the Ospreys, Clermont Auvergne and Newport Gwent Dragons.
Lee is a seasoned professional, not only the pinnacle of international Rugby having been capped by the British Lions, but also in developing business revenue opportunities. He’s an expert in initiating and developing strategic partnerships and ensuring projects have the required support throughout the duration.
In his new role as Business Development Executive with TPS360, Lee will be responsible for identifying and ‘converting’ new opportunities in the business core industrial and commercial sector markets, providing a best-in-class experience bespoke to the individual client’s business and brand.
Leicestershire-based Abacus Flooring Solutions has made history by inventing a way to use waste plastic, that would otherwise go to landfill, in industrial resin flooring.
The ground-breaking invention, named Abaplas, is set to transform the flooring industry as well as providing an eco-friendly method for replacing harmful bulking materials in other products such as tile adhesives. Nick Megson, managing director of Abacus Flooring and the brains behind the pioneering Abaplas system, has already proven his idea after carrying out a painstaking series of tests over several years. Having arrived at the perfect formula, which performs even better than traditional resin flooring, his world-beating patent for Abaplas has now been approved.
Resin flooring, along with many other industrial products, has traditionally been manufactured using silica sand, which is a dangerous and potentially carcinogenic substance when inhaled. Abaplas instead contains non-harmful recycled plastic which is ground down to a white powder. The process will vastly reduce the volume of waste plastic ending up in landfill or the world’s oceans.
Nick said: “We carried out so many tests that it seemed as if it would never happen. We conducted tests using numerous grades and types of plastic before we finally achieved the fantastic result we have today. “
“On our first ever project using this product, the installation guys said it was the best self-smoothing resin system they had used. Further research uncovered many other uses for our 100 per cent recycled plastic, in things like our primer coats, scratch coats, self-smoothing screeds, repair compounds – and even things like tile adhesives. It could turn the plastics recycling industry completely on its head and really make major strides in helping to save the planet.”
The world’s first resin flooring using 100 per cent recycled plastic was installed by Abacus in the enormous VIP Visitor Centre auditorium at JCB’s global headquarters in Staffordshire, UK. The company has since gone on to install Abaplas flooring in warehouses, medical facilities and football stadiums throughout the UK. Nick has established a new firm, Abaplas Recycling Limited, to handle all the plastic recycling for Abacus as well as beginning the sales of treated plastic for use by other product manufacturers.
Abaplas has already led to Abacus winning a number of awards, including a Green World Award – a global environmental campaign that rewards the world’s greenest countries, communities and companies. With more than three decades of experience working with resin flooring, Nick has been the industry’s ambassador for sustainability and recycling since 2005. Abacus is also a member of the Resin Flooring Association (FeFRA), of which Nick sits on the board of directors to help maintain industry standards. He founded Abacus Flooring Solutions with his wife Amanda during lockdown three years ago. The company now turns over more than £1m per year and manages an ever-expanding order book at its manufacturing headquarters in Coalville, Leicestershire.
A leading surface protection company, Ancorite Group, announces investment in its UK business with the Steuler Group acquiring 75% of Ancorite Holdings Limited (and its subsidiaries) in three stages completing in 2024.
Steuler Group, who are headquartered in Hoehr-Grenzhausen near Frankfurt in Germany, are one of the largest designers, manufacturers, and installers of anti-corrosive surface protection products globally. It employs over 2700 employees with revenue of around 440 million Euros.
Ancorite Group Managing Director Mark Nicholson commented, ‘We are delighted to become a new family member of the Steuler Group. This will future proof the long term continued success of the business with synergies complementing our current service offering of specialist floor coatings, rubber and refractory linings, anti -corrosive linings and GRP pipework. It will also allow access and opportunities to new market sectors, products and services to support the growth and future ambitions of the Group.’
For more information on the company’s combined service offering, visit the following websites:
Warrington, UK: Kemtile, one of the UK’s leading specifiers, manufacturers and installers of hygiene flooring and specialist drainage solutions, will be exhibiting at Foodex Manufacturing Solutions, the UK’s premier trade event for the food and drink processing, packaging and logistics industries.
From 24-26th April 2023 at NEC Birmingham, on stand G49, Kemtile will showcase their ‘single-source’ flooring and drainage solutions designed to meet today’s stringent Food and Beverage (F&B) requirements.
With over four decades of experience in the industry, Kemtile will offer individual advice on flooring and drainage systems focusing on fit-for-purpose solutions providing the quality, durability and longevity required in busy F&B processing environments.
As a division of Stonhard, Kemtile offers an even more extensive portfolio of products, many of which have HACCP certifications. Kemtile’s expertise has been called upon by industry brands such as Greggs, ingredients giants Blends, and Scotland’s newest distillery Glen Mhor in Aberdeenshire.
Jamie Cook, Director of Kemtile, commented: “Foodex is a key event for us. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet our existing customers and new ones, championing the benefits of working as part of the Europe-wide Stonhard Group with access to many bespoke flooring solutions.”
“The three-day event will also allow us to demonstrate our experience of an increasing number of turnkey projects for leading brands in the industry.”
On the Kemtile stand, attendees will be able to see a range of high-quality products from Kemtile’s partner companies such as Polysto, the leading manufacturer of composite HACCP designed kerb systems, which are exclusive to Kemtile in the UK, and the German-engineered Wiedemann Technik stainless steel drainage systems.
Jamie added: “We are looking forward to getting back to this important food and beverage show after a number of years away and using it as a platform to start new conversations with customers across the UK around hygienic flooring and drainage requirements.”
John Lord Flooring, the UK’s leading specialist industrial and commercial flooring company are delighted to welcome two new apprentices to the flooring team. Natasha Brierley and Owen Sidlow joined us in January and will be working alongside our commercial flooring team gaining hands-on, practical experience with our experienced fitters.
John Edwards, Commercial Manager at John Lord commented ‘Due to the continued growth of the business, and our commitment to a fully employed workforce, we have started 2023 with a bang, taking on two new apprentices for our commercial flooring team.’
‘John Lord fitters are some of the best in the industry and understand the value of passing on those skills to the next generation. We are looking forward to helping Natasha and Owen kick-start their flooring career to reach their full potential.’
Commenting on her apprenticeship, Natasha said: ‘Being an apprentice here means gaining skills for life. The fitting team have been supportive, and I feel a great sense of pride breaking into a traditionally male-dominated industry like this.’
Owen said, ‘I’m really excited to be joining the John Lord team. I love that no day is ever the same – one day I could be working in a residential property and the next in a luxury retail building or education setting. I’m looking forward to building up my skills and moving my career on with John Lord.’
Resin flooring is the flooring of choice for industrial applications, including manufacturing and warehousing due to the excellent performance characteristics and ability to provide a seamless, hygienic, durable and slip-resistant floor. Other industries such as the food processing sector, present a diverse range of industrial environments that can be aggressive to flooring and a damaged floor can reduce efficiency, cause personal injury and lead to unhygienic conditions. The high cost of re-installing a floor in terms of disruption, inconvenience and loss of production makes it important to get the floor right first time. This requires a thorough understanding of the environment, the best possible design and the choice of the most suitable product for the job. Even with the correct floor design and finish specified, the correct installer is needed to make the floor work.
If concrete is not sealed, especially in wet processing areas, spalling can occur where the trowelled layer wears away. Water containing high levels of chlorine, acids and food products will also attack unsealed or uncovered concrete. Exposed aggregate is a potential home for microbes where they will be extremely difficult to remove. A correctly specified resin floor appropriate for the conditions under which it will be used can provide a seamless surface with greatly enhanced performance compared to the concrete base on which it is applied by withstanding heavy mechanical loads over long periods, helping to prevent slips and trips, protecting the substrate from the ingress of liquids and remaining hygienic and easy to clean.
Resin flooring offers a number of advantages from a hygiene point of view:
Easy to clean and disinfect: As with all floors, good housekeeping and the correct cleaning regimes are important, but a dense, seamless, resin flooring will facilitate easier cleaning. Many resin floors are unaffected by abuse from the use of water, cleaners, sanitisers, acids and lubricants and some are designed to be regularly steam cleaned. Continuous impermeable surfaces allow the minimum of joints where dirt and bacteria can collect. An almost unlimited range of colours means that corporate identities can be maintained and separate zones and walkways easily identified within the factory.
Impervious and non-absorbent: Correctly specified resin flooring is effectively impermeable to water and non-absorbent, unlike concrete, which is inherently porous.
Washable: Many resin flooring systems can be pressure washed at 60°C (sufficient to disperse most contaminants), and some grades are fully steam cleanable up to 120°C.
Durable: With a strong, permanent bond to the concrete base and a minimum requirement for joints, resin flooring reduces the possibility of mechanical breakdown and facilitates maintenance. As a consequence, there are resin floors in arduous environments still giving good service after 15 to 20 years. Resin flooring types are available that are slip resistant, even when wet, and are resistant to abrasion, impact from dropped equipment and tools, fork-lift traffic and pallet trucks.
Versatile: A variety of different types of synthetic resins are available to form the binder of a flooring system. These include epoxy, polyurethane, methacrylate and polyaspartic resins. Different resin types give different combinations of application characteristics and in-service performance and the considerations which affect the selection of a particular type should be discussed with the specifier.
Sustainable: Synthetic resin flooring is extremely tough and durable and can have a life expectancy in excess of 20 years when specified and installed correctly. In such cases, the majority of the life cycle cost will be in regular cleaning and maintenance. However, resin flooring is easier to clean than most types of flooring and a wide range of high-performance, specially formulated cleaning products are available to help with the job. The choice of good cleaning chemicals is key to success. In addition, resin flooring can generally be refurbished by overcoating with a lower thickness than applied originally.
Since 2005 we have been looking at what we do, how we do it and if we can change and improve any element.
In July 2020, we started the research into using alternative materials for the use in Resin Flooring. We researched many materials to ensure once the material was sourced, we could maintain a supply.
Not only did we find a material, but it also ticked so many boxes, being plastic was a major plus. The plastic we use is white which ensures it does not change the colour of the base resin option.
Our plastics are made up from various plastic components such as light switches, conduit, and toilet seats to name a few. The plastics we processed to use the materials in processes, however, we use the finer grades otherwise destined for landfill.
We use the Abaplas recycled white plastic filler for various applications, from a scratch coat to a filler for a resin screed when repairing a floor. We have also used it as a 1mm-2mm self-smoother when applying a resin coating as the final coat. We were the first company in the World to use an alternative material in resin flooring. We welcome enquires through our Abaplas Recycling Limited.
We will continue to research and develop the use of alternative materials within many applications such as tile adhesive, flooring screeds, cement-based levelling screeds to name a few.
Proudly winning 2 awards at the FeRFA Awards does prove to us that we are making a difference. We proudly won a Gold Award at the Environmental Awards at the Houses of Parliament.
The new Swansea Arena, opened earlier this year, has been described as the ‘crowning jewel’ of a £135m regeneration of the Swansea marine frontage. This new facility is part of a wider £1 billion scheme to rejuvenate the city as a whole and provide an exciting new focus for business and leisure.
The Arena is now fully operational and hosting major international acts from The Kaiser Chiefs to Will Young and Rhod Gilbert. However, the first thing anyone will notice as they enter the foyer of the building is the very impressive polished concrete floor. In fact, there are 1,633sq metres of polished concrete throughout entrance and the main concourse.
“This is polished concrete with a difference – a distinctive red, high gloss finish, with aggregate exposed,” says Mark Jackson, TPS360’s Sales Director for the Central, North and East Regions. “It does look absolutely stunning and it was achieved without the use of acrylic or any other top layer. The high gloss appearance is achieved by diamond polishing with our remote controlled, planetary grinding machines, according to our technique perfected over more than ten years. I would say that our experience in the field of polished concrete is unique, and it is very strongly highlighted on this project. Like most major projects, there have been challenges along the way, but part of what we do is to overcome challenges and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in this landmark development for Wales.”
It was TPS360’s experience and excellent project portfolio which opened the door for them on this project initially. The company worked with the main contractor from a very early stage to develop the spec and to bring to reality the architect’s specification for polished concrete. This high level of involvement is typical of the way that TPS360 works with partners on construction projects and in this case it also enabled the company to win the contract for 4,300sq metres of resin flooring in addition to the polished concrete areas.
TPS360 specified and installed a FeRFA Type 5 Resin system throughout, including the main arena, kitchens, corridors, both indoor and outdoor stairs, dressing rooms and back of house areas.
“This project was unusual in featuring significant areas of both polished concrete and resin on the one job,” says Mark Jackson. “We put a FeRFA Type 5 solution forward, as it is the hardest-wearing of the decorative resins and is often used in arena applications. It looks great and will keep looking good for at least ten years, given an appropriate cleaning regime.’’
The advantages of polished concrete on the other hand include the fact that it will last up to 25 years, with very little ongoing maintenance and the cleaning process is environmentally friendly, requiring only water and a diamond pad.
The appropriate maintenance procedures will ensure that both the polished concrete and the resin flooring areas at Swansea Arena, installed by TPS360, will look outstanding for many years to come, so that this remains a popular venue within the cultural landscape of South Wales for many years to come.
The architects on the project were ACME and AFL, and the main contractor was Buckingham Group Contracting.
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