PLASTIC Extruders (Plastex) of the UK, a world-leading tensional strapping, vinyl matting and flexible profile extruder, is coming to The Big 5 to expand its presence in the region following the completion of its recent project in Kuwait.

The company manufactures an extensive range of matting and flooring solutions for all work, education and leisure environments, including anti-slip products, anti-fatigue, barefoot and entrance matting, multi-purpose floor coverings, cushioned mats, roof walkway mattings, anti-static mats, and matting for a soft landing.

Plastex’s Heronrib matting was chosen for a project at a leading hotel in Kuwait. “This product was chosen to provide a safe and hygienic access to the plunge pool, the sauna, steam and shower area at the Spa Aquatonic, the newly launched international spa for health and beauty treatments by the Crowne Plaza in Kuwait,” says a spokesman for the company.

Heronrib is marketed by K4 in Kuwait, which also distributes Plastex matting and flooring products in the country.

“As the management of the Crowne Plaza was looking for an easy-to-clean and slip-resistant matting solution that would allow guests to safely enter the spa whilst being hygienic for barefoot use, K4 General Trading and Contracting Company suggested Heronrib matting,” says Sandeep John, sales manager at K4.

“The ease of cleaning and the slip-resistant properties of the Heronrib matting were the primary reasons this mat was chosen, coupled with its hygienic and drainage attributes, which are particularly important in wet and barefoot environments such as spas,” he says.

Heronrib is manufactured from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and tested to DIN 51097 (Class C). It features an open grid and channelled underbars to allow for effective drainage, an embossed surface that makes it slip-resistant in wet conditions and is impregnated anti-fungal and anti-microbial additives to avoid the risk of infections when used barefoot.

Cleaning the matting only requires brushing/vacuuming and a cleaning fluid before rinsing it with clean water. The installation is also very simple, as it is supplied in rolls that can be laid out quickly and cut on site around obstacles, if needed.

Heronrib is supplied in 10-m-long rolls and in widths of 50, 100 and 122 cm, and is available in different standard colours including Oxford Blue, Ocean Blue, Charcoal Grey, Forest Green and Mulberry Red – the latter not being colourfast in direct sunlight.

Manufacturing over 1 million km per year, Plastex is the UK’s largest trade-only supplier of tensional polypropylene (PP) and polyester strapping.

Its two facilities – one in Fort Payne, Alabama, US, and the other in Wickford, Essex, UK – have a combined capacity of 4,000 tonnes per year of PP and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and 1,500 tonnes of PVC per year, which comes to approximately 300,000 sq m per year. About 60 per cent of the UK’s factory production is exported to more than 50 countries, throughout the world.

Plastex can be visited at Stand 2E71 at The Big 5 show.