FLOWCRETE Middle East, a leading manufacturer of seamless resin floor and wall coating materials, traffic deck coating systems and cementitious screeds that have gained popularity throughout the region, has just launched a new creative flooring line known as Expressions.

Innovated from polyurethane chemistry, the Expressions range features three new systems in a total of 20 new colourways offering a choice between solid and multi-dimensional marbled colour tones or alternatively a striking galvanised metallic effect to offer the highest artistic design finish on the surface of the floor.

 “Each system is intricately hand applied by an approved applicator network, using a number of creative techniques, to deliver a one-of-a-kind surface that can never be fully recreated,” says a spokesman for Flowcrete.

“The Expressions flooring range evokes cosmopolitan sophistication and artistic expression to create floors that are consistently inconsistent but which artfully interplay a raw industrial aesthetic with a soft and welcoming feel,” he says.

The product is among the latest systems offered by Flowcrete, whose resin-based systems have been specified on large-scale, high-traffic commercial buildings as well as high-pressure industrial facilities in the region.

Elaborating on seamless resin-based floor and wall coatings, which have been a popular material choice in a range of industrial and manufacturing settings since the 1960s, he says that these systems were born out of a heightened requirement for more robust, easily maintained and hygienic surfaces. Resin flooring was considered the most cost-effective solution when all of the product benefits were weighed up over its entire lifespan, according to the spokesman.

“Today industrial resin flooring systems are smarter than ever before, with a vast array of systems benefitting from the latest technological advancements. This includes floors designed to perform to rigorous standards in a range of arduous environments – such as hygienic systems in the food industry, corrosion protection coatings and linings for areas of secondary containment, chemical- and oil-resistant finishes in engineering or automotive workshops as well as antistatic systems in sensitive small component or electronic environments,” he says.

The spokesman continues: “This new breed of industrial flooring is benefitting from features including fast-track application, antimicrobial additives and a heightened sense of sustainability in terms of both material make-up and lifecycle performance as well as a wider range of colour and design options to uplift industrial working environments as well as provide greater scope for colour zoning and instructional markings.”

At the other end of the scale, new innovations have seen resin materials emerge as a firm favourite in commercial environments. Decorative resin finishes including seamless epoxy terrazzo, decorative stone carpets and vibrantly coloured self-levelling systems are increasingly being specified in retail, education and entertainment venues, a result of aesthetic and environmental benefits now being able to compete with the materials’ strong performance.

Flowcrete system applied at Ducab.

Large-scale commercial buildings such as shopping malls, airports, colleges, hospitals or other public spaces are subject to heavy footfall throughout the year. A correctly specified resin flooring system is able to protect the surface from any resulting damage. Unlike floor tiles, resin materials can be laid seamlessly throughout the development, creating a clean barrier that positively assists floor care and maintenance routines.

With a strong portfolio of flooring products including epoxy, polyurethane and MMA (methyl methacrylate flooring) resin floor finishes, deck coatings, seamless terrazzo, cementitious screeds and bonded stone systems, Flowcrete Middle East can provide the correct solution to meet a wide range of service conditions and aesthetic requirements.

With sales representation across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, Flowcrete Middle East is well placed to serve industrial and commercial clients across the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and North Africa. Forming part of Flowcrete Group, an organisation with manufacturing and sales centres across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia, Flowcrete Middle East offers local clients the backing of a major multinational manufacturing group.

“Specialist resin flooring systems from Flowcrete Middle East have already proved a popular choice for clients and architects working within large-scale, high-traffic commercial buildings as well as high-pressure industrial facilities on account of the materials’ high durability and extensive design options,” the spokesman states.

Flowcrete Middle East has completed work at a number of iconic sites across the region including Dubai International Airport, Dubai Cricket Stadium and Times Square Mall as well as for blue-chip clients including Ducab, Miele and Toyota. Not to be forgotten, deck coating systems for use on basement, intermediate and exposed levels of multi-storey car-parking facilities are too rising in popularity as architects and facilities managers’ search for new ways to protect the internal structure of these high-traffic environments.

The company has provided a wealth of resin materials to the impressive car-park structures that have sprung up across the Gulf over the last 15 years. Recently, this included the installation of over half a million sq m of the company’s Deckshield traffic deck coating systems for use at The Dubai Mall’s expansive parking facilities.

With more than 14,000 spaces, spread over three car parks – two of which boast 10 levels – the mall also claims the accolade for having the most expansive car-parking facilities in the Mena region.

“In order to cope with the constant stream of incoming and outgoing vehicular traffic, the parking structure required a robust flooring material able to cope with numerous operational and service demands including structural movement, thermal variations, abrasion and wear as well as fuel and oil spillage,” says the spokesman.

Flowcrete’s award-wining Deckshield polyurethane deck coating system was specified for all levels of the multi-storey structure following the early failure of an alternative competitor material soon after the mall opened, he points out.

He says Flowcrete faced several challenges throughout this renovation project. A key requirement of The Dubai Mall centred on the site remaining operational throughout the installation period – eliminating any possibility of simultaneously closing down the entire car-park.

“At the same time, it was imperative the new materials be laid as swiftly and diligently as possible in order to avoid inconveniencing customers and visitors. This need was heightened by the fast approaching Eid Al Fitr holiday – one of the busiest shopping periods of the year,” the spokesman concludes.