New Altro Cantata, the company’s first adhesive-free flooring for areas with a low slip risk, is already demonstrating its capabilities at Warrington Hospital, providing a tough time and cost-saving solution in a busy non-clinical corridor.
Lee Bushell, the hospital’s acting head of capital projects, said: “The service corridor is an area that gets an enormous amount of traffic. It’s in constant use during the day.
“After many years of this treatment, the existing vinyl flooring was really showing the strain. It looked tired, scruffy and we needed to find a hard-wearing, affordable, long-term solution that could be laid with minimal disruption in this busy area.
“We have a very good relationship with Altro and their flooring is proving very successful elsewhere in the hospital, so we asked them to have a look at the corridor and give us some guidance.
“They suggested we use their new Altro Cantata flooring because it could be laid straight down onto the existing flooring, without adhesive, which would mean a fast installation.
New Altro Cantata is a decorative, adhesive-free flooring that creates maximum impact with minimum downtime.
Using Altro’s award-winning adhesive-free installation method, it can be welded and walked on the same day, and at the end of its life removed easily, allowing it to be reused or recycled.
It is ideal for busy public spaces where disruption needs to be minimal, such as hospitals, with the durability needed for medium-to-high-traffic areas. Plus, there are no associated adhesive odours.
Altro Cantata’s 16 soft-look shades, which range from subtle naturals to beautifully vivid, allows you to create just the right colour scheme or tone.
Bushell said: “I was sceptical that Altro Cantata would be able to meet our needs, but I am very pleased that I have been proved wrong and it has been perfect for us in so many ways.
“There was a very-short window for installation because the corridor is in use until 7pm, but the process went very smoothly and was completed in just one night.
“A flooring that needs adhesive would have taken 3-4 days to fit. Altro Cantata has delivered a massive saving in cost and the corridor was back in full use the next morning.
When speaking of the floor handling foot and wheeled traffic, he added: “It’s standing up to the demands well with no signs of movement, bubbling or rippling, which proves it truly is a long-term solution and not just a temporary fix.
“In terms of aesthetics, the flooring looks superb. There are some great colour choices. We selected a pale ice blue, which perfectly matches the colour scheme of the corridor.
“And ceaning is proving to be a revelation. The black scuffs and wheel marks from the trolleys were always tough to remove on the old flooring. Initially our cleaning team was doubtful they could get the marks off the new flooring, and nervous of using the scrubber and buffer because they thought they might do some damage.
“But we are delighted to report that the flooring comes up like new after every nightly cleaning regime and even the stubborn black wheel marks are gone. Scrubbing machines and buffers are doing a wonderful job, with no damage.
“Sustainability is also an important factor for us. Because Altro Cantata is an adhesive-free flooring, it means that in the future, if we need to make repairs, we can simply cut out a section and replace it without having to re-lay the entire area. And the product is 100% recyclable as well.
“Overall, Altro Cantata is meeting all our needs in terms of cost saving, durability, looks and hygiene.
“This is vital at a time when the NHS is looking to make savings where possible, while also maintaining the highest standards.”
The hospital is now looking to place the product in another non-clinical area where there are similar issues with installation time.
Altro Cantata was installed at Warrington Hospital by Cheshire Contract Flooring. Director, Dave Hunt, said: “The beauty of Altro Cantata is that it can be laid straight down on to the subfloor, or existing flooring, with minimal preparation.
“There is no need to grind the floor, or put down a DPM, or prime, screed or use adhesive. This is a massive time and cost saver, a real fast-track solution.
“Plus there is no need to wait for adhesive to dry and cure, so the flooring can be used and walked on immediately.
“It’s an ideal product for busy areas with heavy traffic where quick installation is paramount.”