IOBAC attracts attention with magnetic flooring technology
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July 2, 2019
Building Products was recently given a glimpse of ‘the future of flooring, today’ on a visit to flooring technology company IOBAC.
The company offers a range of technologies, including a ‘hassle-free’, magnetised flooring system, built around four core principles which comprise speed of installation, flexibility, operational benefits and sustainability.
With the trend for flexible, loose-lay options a key driver in the flooring sector according to Paul Woolvine, the company’s CEO, IOBAC offers the attractive proposition of holding tiles securely in place, while also providing that sought-after flexibility and greater design freedom. Paul said: “We are seeing a huge uptake in the understanding that you can do more with your floor if you make it flexible.
“We’ve invented a loose-lay system which [thanks to the magnetic surface tile] is attached right across the surface of the floor. If you just loose-lay [a traditional tile], you have to tackify it so is stays down at the corners, whereas the IOBAC system does [stay down at the corners] without having to do that.”
IOBAC’s magnetic flooring system can reduce installation time and labour costs thanks to the use of a fast-cure resin comprised of 3m Scotchkote and a special IOBAC additive, creating a paramagnetic compound and metalising any floor once the resin is applied.
This allows any IOBAC approved floor covering with a magnetic backing to be applied – and removed – as required, without the involvement of adhesive.
As a result, surface tiles can be switched or swapped out quickly and easily with no specialist training required. As well as reducing ongoing maintenance costs, the removable element of the tiles also amounts to tax benefits for the end-user.
The lack of adhesive means top-surface tiles are uncontaminated and can be removed and re-used or recycled, while the odourless IOBAC resin contains extremely low levels of harmful VOCs.
As well as its magnetic system, the IOBAC portfolio includes ‘intelligent’ flooring, with modular sensors to track floor traffic; heated flooring and walling and heat producing paint as a modern alternative to bulky storage heaters and radiators; conductive, dissipative flooring and MagTabs, which enable a quick, dry-laid process for raised metal access floors.
