Ian Spreadborough, Co-founder and Director at innovative technology company, IOBAC, lifts the lid on this game-changing magnetic flooring technology and the benefits that it can offer.
Have you thought much about your flooring recently?
Although we engage with it every day, flooring is an often overlooked area of building design, seen merely as a necessity that once chosen, you are stuck with for many years.
But imagine if it could actually be a source
of business revenue, and if it was a flexible design element used to enhance a space, which could be updated with minimal disruption? Imagine if installation, repair and maintenance costs could be slashed, with zero landfill at the end of its life?
Imagine if your flooring solution worked harder for your organisation?
Re-thinking flooring
It was the desire to solve these all-too-common flooring issues that led to the creation of a modern, sophisticated magnetic flooring system. Radically re-thinking traditional flooring, IOBAC have created a range of magnetic flooring solutions for different built environments that dramatically reduce installation time, offer enhanced design freedom and bolster the bottom line.
How it works
As simple as a fridge magnet, the solution consists of a metallised resin or dry-laid base, to which a magnetised top surface carpet or Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) is attached. Or if standard non-magnetised surface tiles are preferred, these can be attached using a clever MagTab solution.
One of the highest performing base options has been developed in close collaboration with Peter Roosen, CEO of Castagra Products, Inc., a pioneer in renewable coatings. This patent-pending VOC-free, non-toxic resin is manufactured mostly from renewable castor oil and ferrosilicon which, once cured, gives the sub-floor a light but positive adhesive tack, much like a sticky note, combined with magnetic attraction.
So, by combining adhesion and magnetic attraction, you get double the grip between the sub-floor and tile, meaning that high foot traffic and movement of heavy goods via forklifts or trolleys is not a problem for this resilient choice. Yet for repair, maintenance or when the time comes for a design change, the tile can still be removed undamaged in a matter of seconds, without the need for external contractors. The MagnaTak resin developed by Castagra Products Inc is available to purchase from Thortex Group US.
And for those looking to avoid wet-trades, the MagnaTak resin base is also available in a roll down layer format to give a quick, clean and easy dry-laid solution, ideal for hotel and residential sectors where acoustic dampening properties are a benefit.
Installation
Magnetic flooring is fast finding favour with a wide range of brands across the world, from leading supermarkets such as Giant, to hotel chains to offices including Regus – and it’s easy to see why. A recent installation at a Formula 1 headquarters used the resin base described above with IOBAC MagTabs to create a stylish showroom area in super-quick time.
Smart solutions
IOBAC have recently gone one step further and incorporated the roll down layer with sensor technology to create intelligent magnetic flooring, which enables businesses to use big data to drive better outcomes. Harvesting data from flooring, including entrance matting, engagement areas, and full floor tracking, can help businesses make strategic decisions based on real insight. There’s also the opportunity to advertise on these floor tiles for added impact and revenue. And because magnetic flooring is flexible and modular, that data can be used to inform what flooring you lay, where you lay it, and with what advertising.
This proves that with magnetic flooring, you truly can make every step count.