FORBO Flooring Systems are one of the most well-known floorcovering manufacturers in the flooring industry. They have four factories in the UK, including: Telford, where it manufactures its Nuway entrance flooring systems, Bamber Bridge in Preston which manufactures the company’s Tessera carpet tile ranges, Kirkcaldy, which is the only Marmoleum factory in the country and in Ripley, the company houses its famous Flotex, a hybrid product that’s flocked but still works as a resilient, waterproof covering, in the format of sheet, tile and plank. The company also has three factories in Holland. One based in Assendelft near Amsterdam, which is the world’s largest Marmoleum factory. It also hosts its central warehouse on the premises, housing all its products. The second factory in Holland is where all the company’s vinyl is made, including its safety vinyl that’s utilised where there’s a risk of the floor becoming contaminated. The third factory is where its Coral textile entrance systems are made.

On the 22 April, CFJ was invited to go on a tour of Forbo’s Marmoleum factory in Kirkcaldy. Karen Wilding, marketing communications manager explains how the product is made along with Colin Rushford, customer analyst, who led the tour of the factory. Karen says: ‘The main component of our linoleum product, Marmoleum, is linseed oil, which is combined with pine rosin sustainably tapped from trees. The materials are mixed to make what is known as linoleum cement, giving a spongey texture to the product. It’s then mixed with wood flour which is a recycled waste product from the paper industry, giving it a chalky texture. This is then mixed with different colour pigments to help create each product colourway. We have over 300 colourways in our collection, so it provides plenty of design options. It then goes through a process known as calendaring which is where the product is pressed as it’s fed through heavy duty rollers. The product is to be made into sheet, it’s calendared onto natural hessian and if it’s to be made into tiles, it is placed onto a polyester backing because it’s more dimensionally stable. After it has been pressed, it’s hung up in chambers and left for four-six weeks to oxidise. When it comes out, it gets a water-based finishing coat of lacquer. The process hasn’t changed very much over the last 150 years.’

Karen adds: ‘The product is climate positive. Meaning the amount of carbon dioxide created during the manufacturing process is more than cancelled out by the natural raw materials used to make the product. At the point of leaving the factory, for every square metre of Marmoleum produced, 0.663kg of carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. I believe this is what’s driving the specification today and making it become a more popular floorcovering, because people are looking for truly sustainable products. If Marmoleum is installed correctly and is properly maintained and looked after, it will last decades, so you don’t have to constantly rip it up and replace. And thanks to the linseed oil, it’s naturally an antibacterial floorcovering, making it a suitable option for schools, hospitals and healthcare.’

Aside from the factory tour, CFJ was invited to attend Forbo’s intermediate two-day training course, run by FITA. Training seems to be one of the key issues the industry is continuously facing. However, over the last three years there have been several developments of new training provisions across the country, including in Loughborough at FITA, and in Derwentside College in the North. This will provide more opportunities and more apprentices, alongside increased intakes from Floorskills, CP Assessments, Floortrain and other providers. The CFA also created its Future Fitter campaign which provides opportunities for those in the flooring industry to engage with the future of floorlayers. Manufacturers are also creating opportunities by adapting to offer courses on the fitting of their products. For example, with Forbo, even though the company have been working with the likes of FITA since 2018, with training courses being delivered from its Kirkcaldy site, it’s only recently that they have teamed up to offer Forbo specific product courses. This has culminated in a two-day course is intended for flooring fitters to learn how to install Forbo’s own Marmoleum floor coverings.

The course that ran from 22-23 of April saw six apprentice floorlayers from well-known Scottish flooring contractor, Veitchi, all of whom are at different stages of their apprenticehips, brush up their skills on how to fit Forbo’s Marmoleum. The floorlayers involved were; David Fraser, Simon Fraser, Lewis Hunt, John McGregor, Greg Scott and Kaleb MacMenamin, and the instructor was local flooring fitter Derek Newall, director at DnA Contract Flooring Limited. Derek has been in the industry over 30 years and has been a FITA Training Consultant for two years as well as running his own company locally. He also carries out various other courses on behalf of FITA at its HQ in Loughborough and Kirkcaldy, and has a history of working at Forbo, so his knowledge of installing its Marmoleum is paramount, making him the perfect candidate to teach other floorlayers about the product.

The first day of the course began with Derek giving an introduction on his background in the industry and an in-depth analysis of Marmoleum including how it is manufactured and fitted, and a general overview of the course. This was a classroom-based introduction that provided a framework to ensure the course content was delivered within the criteria set out in FITA’s published syllabus. It provided an opportunity for delegates to introduce themselves, explaining why they were attending the course. ‘The FITA Way’ was then addressed to the attendees ensuring that British Standards were met throughout the course.

The topics covered were subfloor materials such as solid and wooden platforms, which
were discussed at length looking at characteristics, common problems, and the recommended approaches on how to manage them. Moisture was also a key element that was elaborated on, highlighting its importances and how to address it through the use of various moisture equipment.
Approaches to product installation and processes were also taught to the attendees including the applications of smoothing compounds and DPMs. The practical element of the course was then introduced which aimed to teach the attendees on the various stages that are involved in fitting Marmoleum. These involved demonstrations shown by Derek, followed by the attendees having a go at it themselves. This included the elements of the fitting of plywood in detail, and later, the application of Marmoleum which prepared their working space for the following day, where they learned how to cap and cove.

Day two followed with showing the attendees the cove forming of Marmoleum on practice boards as well as welding corners. This involved demonstrating the correct way to cut and form the Marmoleum to the coving, including internal and external corners with encouragement. Guidance, tips and assistance were given, allowing the delegates to gain confidence while learning.

David Fraser, who has just completed his apprenticeship and attended the Marmoleum course, was asked why this specific course was important to the industry. He said: ‘I feel on behalf of my company and those who are in my position, who’ve taken four years out as an apprentice, don’t necessarily get the opportunity to do specific courses such as linoleum products. I think these courses can be beneficial because as you’re doing your apprenticeship, you’re always learning, you’re never a complete article. It’s also good to learn off somebody with plenty of experience such as Derek. Everyone has a different opinion and it’s good to adopt different ways of doing things. Now I’m qualified, I’m still going to continue with Veitchi and progress further. Veitchi has been really good for me personally, in terms of learning and taking me on as an apprentice.’

Shaun Wadsworth, training manager of FITA and the CFA, who also attended and oversaw the training course, was asked about the importance of the marmoleum course. He responded: ‘In the current climate where sustainability is focussed on the circularity of flooring, it’s pivotal for the future in terms of making courses in these types of floorcoverings, while working with manufacturers like
Forbo. We need to make sure we support manufacturers like Forbo when they want to create courses tailored its product whilst at the same time ensure industry know it’s being delivered by FITA. We also need to ensure that the correct standards are being met and fitters are learning to
fit the product properly.’

Shaun was then asked how he felt about being able to deliver the Marmoleum course in collaboration with Forbo. He said: ’It’s fantastic to have a company like Forbo to work directly with FITA.

Forbo have been long-time supporters of FITA and training in general, as are many
manufacturers. You can see how much the company support it from observing their
training centre on-site and for FITA to be able to use it to teach courses, is a brilliant way to teach the industry, especially in Scotland. It wouldn’t be the course it is if Forbo didn’t support it.’

Karen Wilding, marketing communications manager, said: ‘Training is an integral part of our industry, and we believe that by working with organisations such as FITA and the CFA, we can help to improve the quality of work delivered by flooring contractors and support the growing demand for sustainable linoleum floors.
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www.forbo.co.uk