Often overlooked, properly chosen walls and floors can have a huge impact on safety, hygiene, and overall operational efficiency. Details such as non-slip floors and easy-to-clean walls provide food service operations with a more comfortable and safer back-of-house environment, while promoting post-pandemic cleanliness standards and minimizing the risk of slips and falls. can do. injury.
“We are not willing to compromise when it comes to safety,” said Kevin Bourassa, Altro's Hospitality Market Segment Manager. Family-run company founded in 1919 altro has provided first-class flooring and wall solutions to all types of businesses, including commercial kitchens around the world. Since Altro invented safety flooring 60 years ago, this concept has translated into a wide range of comprehensive, safety-focused flooring and wall panel solutions.
One of the most important developments made by Altro is the anti-slip floor, which provides operators with peace of mind against slip and fall accidents. “The texture of epoxy-painted floors is subject to wear,” says Richard Finnegan, marketing manager at Altro. “But with Altro floors, the entire product maintains its slip resistance even after years of wear and tear.”
This is possible through the use of vinyl and advanced composite materials. Vinyl is an extremely durable and water-resistant material, making it ideal for humid backyard environments. Additionally, Altro's composite materials have hygienic properties that resist bacterial and mold growth, making them equally advantageous in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, and food service.
Due to the long lifespan of Altro products, it is especially important that they are clean. “Once you install a properly installed floor, it will last 10 to 15 years,” Bourassa said, explaining the benefits of investing in Altro. He went on to say that one of his customers has had the same floor for over 20 years and it remains clean and non-slip.
Some may think that a high-quality, non-slip floor is unlikely to match the aesthetic of a particular business. However, Altro works closely with architects and designers to balance the two and offer customers a range of timeless options. Part of the process of balancing both includes a user testing phase that gathers feedback from users, architects, and designers to ensure both an appealing aesthetic and the effectiveness of the safety features.
Although the company's benefits are many, switching to Altro may not be an easy decision for many businesses due to the inconvenience of new floors that cannot be closed for long periods of time during flooring installation. This problem is solved with our adhesive-free flooring line, which meets both safety and efficiency standards that Altro is passionate about achieving.
“We invented adhesive-free safety sheet vinyl flooring more than 10 years ago, and it has come a long way,” said Finnegan. “You don't need to glue anything. Instead, tape the perimeter. You don't have to wait for the adhesive to cure and you can walk on the floor immediately after installation. This saves installation time. It is a solution for light to medium kitchen problems that can be significantly shortened, rebuilt, and kept up and running during installation.'' Non-slip, adhesive-free flooring is also available. Achieve efficiency and safety at the same time.
In addition to a range of carefully designed flooring solutions, Altro also offers wall coverings to businesses. The company's Altro Tegulis wall panel solutions offer endless possibilities for wall design, including subway tiles, mosaic tiles, and custom brand logos and images. The wall panels are made of smooth PVC and durable vinyl material, impact resistant and very easy to clean. It's also non-porous, so bacteria won't build up like regular tiles.
For both floor and wall solutions, Altro provides customers with a simple cleaning guide that explains how to maintain cleanliness. “There are some special cleaning products for floors that we recommend because they can get a lot of abuse in the kitchen,” Bourassa said.
When it comes to installation, Altro works with recommended installers who know the company's products inside and out. “The kitchen is a lot of work,” Bourassa says. “But we know a lot of qualified instructors. They know what they're doing.” We also have a technical support team for customers who have questions or doubts about the product. We are prepared.
Altro emphasizes that “the devil is in the details,” and their product line emphasizes just that. Even small details like flooring and wall materials can cause problems if they are not chosen efficiently and thoughtfully. While the company's product line includes options for aesthetically pleasing solutions, the core of each is safety and cleanliness, making them the best choice for safe and sanitary food service environments.
For more information about Altro's floor and wall solutions, contact Kevin Bourassa at kbourassa@altro.com or visit Altro's website at www.altro.com/us.
