Playtime partnership with pupils

Rossendale manufacturer Interfloor has donated a large amount of materials to Broadway Primary School in Haslingden, to help fuel the creativity of pupils during breaktime.

The donation was made-up of surplus materials from the factory, Europe’s largest manufacturer of floorcovering underlays and accessories. It included large tubes and boxes that can be used in crafting or games, including a long plastic tunnel.

The items have been donated as part of the Outdoor Play and Learning programme, which aims to inspire children and encourage the reuse of materials in an eco-friendly manner rather than them being disposed of.

Interfloor were introduced to the OPAL programme through charity Active Lancashire in 2022 and have already made a couple of donations to the school this year. Interfloor works closely with Active Lancashire as both the annual headline sponsor of the Active Lancashire Awards and sponsor of this year’s Primary School of the Year category, as part of their aim to champion and support local young people and community initiatives.

Interfloor's Site Operations Director, Ian Merrifield, attended the handover of materials. He said, "Sustainability and community engagement lie at the core of our values. Partnering with Broadway Primary School aligns perfectly with our vision of making a positive impact on the local community. We are thrilled to provide the school with waste materials that the children can repurpose for their playground activities, promoting imaginative play while fostering a greener environment."

T 01706 238 810 www.interfloor.com Stand B22

Explaining the rationale behind the development, F. Ball Sales Director, Darren Kenyon, said: “We wanted to use the technology available to us to create the optimal smoothing compound for application over underfloor heating systems that are increasingly incorporated into flooring installations as part of new build or refurbishment projects. This means combining suitability for application at greater thicknesses than ordinary smoothing compounds and over an extensive range of subfloors. The F. Ball guarantee assures that the product will perform for the entire lifetime of a flooring installation, as long as the advised subfloor preparation and installation procedures are followed.”

The product is suitable for use over a wide range of absorbent and non-absorbent subfloors, including sand/cement screed, tile backer boards, concrete, plywood, granolithic, terrazzo, epoxy and polyurethane resins, ceramic and quarry tiles, as well as Stopgap waterproof surface membranes. It is walk-on hard from three hours after application and ready to receive floorcoverings in as little as 12 hours. To save further time, it can be pump applied up to 900m2 per day, dependent upon manpower, thickness applied and equipment used. Furthermore, its low-odour, protein-free formulation allows it to be used in biologically sensitive areas and where adjacent areas remain open.

Stopgap 1600 is available in 20kg units, which will achieve coverage of an area approximately 3.7m² applied at a thickness of 3mm. As a watermix smoothing compound, no bottle is required, making transporting the product easier and resulting in less plastic waste beingproduced by the flooring industry.