In July 2010, The University of South Wales (USW) in Treforest had the foresight to install 923 m2 of Taraflex® Performance vinyl sports flooring in ‘Maple’ and ‘Blue’ from international flooring specialist Gerflor. This high-quality installation was also partnered with a Gerflor Taraflex® Combisport system for a new building located at their Sports Park. It was a vision that would prove to yield fantastic results for the next eleven years.
USW has a strong sporting background, an excellent reputation for sport degrees, and impressive facilities for their students to study and train in. At USW they have some of the best facilities in the UK, offering clubs, courses, and qualifications.
The USW Sport Park is a purpose-built site, designed to train and develop students to their highest potential. Their largest campus hosts FitZone with facilities and programmes that cater for top-class elite performers and students who want to want to keep fit and healthy. It would provide a perfect environment where Gerflor’s Taraflex® Performance vinyl sports flooring could flourish and shine!
Carl Mahoney, Sports Duty Officer, Operations at The University of South Wales commented, “The project was part of the new development around a new indoor building located at the sports park to cater for our students and key partners as well as local sports clubs. The Gerflor Taraflex sports floor was for our main sports hall.”
In 2010 when the project was being specified the choice of flooring product would be high on the agenda of the locally nominated supplier and installer.
CS Flooring Solutions is the trading name of the commercial side of Carpet Services (Cardiff) Ltd which was founded in 1963. The commercial business sector is important to the company where everyone is united in maintaining the company ideals of customer service, value for money, and supplying top quality products.
Anthony Mynett, Director, Carpet Services (Cardiff) Ltd commented,” With this sports facility being situated within working distance of our base at Treforest my lasting memory was the delight to have been awarded the flooring package on this new development. Part of our remit was supplying the Gerflor Taraflex Combisport system which was a relatively new product range to us at the time. However, with the support of the Gerflor technical team the installation was fairly straight forward.”
Carl Mahoney went on to add, “It’s very clear to me that the Taraflex floor was specified at the time of the installation due to its reputation for durability and injury prevention.”
With a complete range of shock absorption P1/P2/P3, Taraflex® sports floorings from Gerflor provide the right solution every time and optimal safety for users. The combination of D-Max™/D-Max™+, CXP™HD foam ensures that Taraflex® sports floorings are durable and high-performing. Taraflex® also meets the EN 14904 Standard which is the minimum performance requirements to be met by indoor sports floors. Its objective is to draw attention to the necessity of installing safe, comfortable floors that reduce the risk of injuries.
On maintenance and performance Carl Mahoney said, “The Taraflex sports floor is performing exceptionally well as we have rigorously followed the cleaning guidelines supplied by Gerflor. The Taraflex sports floor is in excellent condition and our users comment on the surface and how supportive it is for a host of activities. We have international players using our site, and a vast range of sports from Boccia, Korfball, Futsal, Hockey Netball and Volleyball.”
Taraflex® sports flooring has been fitted at every Olympic Games since 1976. Approved by many National and International governing bodies as a world class sports surface, it is also widely installed within the education, community, leisure, health, and fitness sectors. Taraflex® is ideal for new build projects and refurbishments and is extremely durable and cost effective to maintain. Over 6 million children everyday enjoy the benefits of Taraflex® sports flooring as it delivers a versatile range that can be used for various multi-specialist applications.
Taraflex® Performance is available in 17 colours and 3 wood-effect designs as standard with an addition of 110 solid colour options available. It offers a P2 category shock absorbency of 35% to 45%. and is also treated with the Triple Action Protecsol® surface treatment so that no polish is ever required for the lifetime of the floor.
The Taraflex® Combisport system is ideal for installations requiring a low-profile floor for a vast range of new build and renovation projects. The patented sprung floor undercarriage system comprises tongue and groove panels with pre-adhered shock absorbent rubber crumb strips. The recycled rubber strips have a unique wave shape to ensure optimum ball bounce, together with producing no dead spots. Extremely durable the panels have tongue and groove joints which ensure an even, flat floor helping to deliver rapid installation. The high-quality plywood surface is flexible and designed to provide optimum energy return over the full life of the product.
Tony Thorne, Gerflor Sales & Specification Manager, South Wales said, “I was delighted to see how good the sports floor still looks over ten years from its initial installation. The savings the floor has provided in cleaning and maintenance costs compared to other sports floors has meant that the floor has paid for itself over that time period.” Tony Thorne also added, “When you combine that with the positive feedback received from the Centres Users and Management then choosing Taraflex sports flooring is f a no-brainer”.
Carl Mahoney ended by commenting, “I have been extremely impressed by how few injuries we have had with the Taraflex sports floor. Having twenty years’ experience in the leisure industry and dealing with regular sporting injuries on the old styles of sports hall floors, I would certainly choose Gerflor’s Taraflex, as operationally it is also significantly easier to maintain compared to hard wood flooring.”
Anthony Mynett concluded, “Since completing the project over ten years ago the flooring is still showing its outstanding durability and providing consistent performance, this is a huge testament to Gerflor.”
As can be seen with the USW installation in 2010, Taraflex® technology delivers long-lasting high-performance of the products for the lifetime of the floors…a massive boon when long-term planning and budgeting are perceived as being two key considerations for sports flooring specifiers.
Learn more about Gerflor solutions, ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 03332 412901, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.