There’s nothing worse than having to work in a cold office or live in student accommodation or a residential care home when the floorcovering doesn’t offer that all important thermal performance – especially at this time of year! Carpet has been proven to offer exceptional thermal performance, but why is this? Basically, if a floorcovering has good insulation properties it will reduce the rate of heat being lost and so make the room feel warmer.
With hard surfaces, such as timber or tile, heat will be lost through the floor quite rapidly. Other materials, such as marble or concrete, are very dense and so require a lot of energy to pass into them to warm up. Carpet, on the other hand has a much lower density, because most of the volume is occupied by air. It, therefore, warms up very quickly to the temperature of your skin, at which point it prevents further heat loss and feels warm.
There have been many trends in floorcoverings for offices, schools and student accommodation over the years, where vinyl and hard floorcoverings have been tried, with mixed results. Some interior designers have specified these floorcoverings because they like the aesthetics but the reality is that living with them day in, day out can be quite a different experience.
Research has shown that many people like the comfort underfoot of a carpet, particularly for an area where they sleep and relax. It is little wonder that carpet is so widely specified for care homes and sheltered accommodation. Older people and those who are less mobile feel the cold more than others and as around 15% of a building’s heat is lost through the floor; it is, therefore, very important that this heat is conserved.
Recently, our tufted carpet Total Care was specified for a development of retirement apartments in Solihull. The company responsible for maintenance of the complex consulted with residents about which floorcoverings they would like. Our tufted carpet was chosen as it offers comfort, durability and is extremely hardwearing. For residential care homes in particular it is important that the floorcovering chosen keeps service users safe and is comfortable, as well as creating that ‘home from home’ feel. It should also meet the 2010 Equality Act, so residents can easily move and be moved around the premises.
At this time of year, temperatures can be below or just above freezing for a large amount of time. Where high quality tufted or fibre bonded carpet is fitted this means that occupants have greater peace of mind that thermal performance is maximised in their building. It also provides a higher degree of comfort, whilst helping to save energy.
We have been working tirelessly this year to ensure your orders are delivered on time and that your carpet is of the quality you have come to expect!
With this in mind, our wonderful bosses have allowed us a few days off over Christmas, so we thought it best to let you know so you can ensure that your orders are placed on time.
The Sales Office will close at 12pm on Friday 22nd December 2017 and will reopen on Tuesday 2nd January 2018. Please ensure all orders required before Christmas are placed by close of business on Friday 15th December 2017.
We have created a handy postcard for you to download, print and pin up in your office to remind other members of staff of our Christmas shutdown period.
Finally, from all at Heckmondwike FB, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Heckmondwike FB, one of the UK’s leading carpet manufacturers, has been shortlisted in trade magazine Tomorrow’s FM’s annual awards for its Supacord fibre bonded carpet range.
The national magazine, which is read by facilities managers across the UK, selects the top 50 companies that manufacture products and services that it feels are worthy of winning the prestigious ‘best product/service title’.
A full list of entries is released in a Guide produced by the magazine in January and readers are invited to vote online for who they believe deserves to win. Three winners then receive a trophy, which is presented in March.
Jeremy Broadhead, Commercial Manager at Heckmondwike FB, said: “We are really pleased to have been shortlisted for this prestigious award. Our Supacord range is very well established and widely specified for education and commercial projects – what really makes it stand out is the 42 different colour choices within the range. We’re really excited to see the results of the online voting!”
Rebekah Thompson, Editor of Tomorrow’s FM magazine, said: “We’d like to congratulate Heckmondwike FB for being shortlisted. We reviewed hundreds of companies’ products and services and it was an easy decision to nominate Supacord. We wish them and all the other shortlisted companies all the best in the final voting stage.”
Used in classrooms for over 40 years, Supacord is considered the number one carpet solution for schools, colleges and universities. It has an A+ BREEAM rating, offers anti-static and anti-slip properties and a reduction in impact noise. Like all Heckmondwike FB’s products, Supacord can be cut on-site without the risk of fraying, allowing individual flooring designs to be created and installed with ease.
Heckmondwike FB carpet tiles are British-made and provide outstanding performance, as well as being backed by a 10 year limited wear warranty, which means they can be specified in complete confidence.
Supacord samples and shade cards are available on request by calling 01924 413637 or via Heckmondwike’s free online sample store.
Heckmondwike FB, one of the UK’s leading commercial fibre bonded carpet manufacturers, has strengthened its market presence with two significant new appointments.
Lincoln Chillman has been appointed to the role of Area Manager for West London, Tunbridge Wells, Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset and Jason McKelvey has been promoted to the role of Works Manager, following 12 years as Quality Control Inspector.
Lincoln has been in the flooring industry for over 20 years which includes working in flooring wholesale, retail, contracting and manufacturing. His objective is to raise awareness of Heckmondwike FB floor finishes within the region in which he operates, building on the company’s reputation for excellence in fibre bonded carpet.
Jason aims to enhance quality and production efficiency, to further improve customer satisfaction. His role involves running the production and despatch on site for both Heckmondwike FB and Playrite, the company’s sports surfaces business.
Commercial Manager Jeremy Broadhead explains: “Lincoln and Jason have almost 35 years’ experience in the carpet industry between them. Their extensive experience and understanding of the flooring industry will help us to reinforce our offer to the market, backed up by industry leading quality, production and delivery.”
Heckmondwike FB has recently revealed its new company branding, a new brochure and a re-designed website. The company’s powerful new strapline – ‘Heckmondwike – Makers of Fibre Bonded Carpets’ – demonstrates its unique heritage, celebrating 50 years of fibre bonded carpet manufacture for the education, commercial and health sectors.
The company’s refreshed contemporary image reflects a new design-led approach, which is reflected in its new shade card suite and corporate marketing literature and collateral.
Why carpets are a good option – now and forever!
You may have noticed that we’ve recently rebranded our company, with a new logo and strapline – ‘Makers of Fibre Bonded Carpets’. The reason we did this was to reinforce messages around our history, longevity and commitment to manufacturing fibre bonded carpet, here in the UK.
The branding exercise has also given us the opportunity to review our marketing messages and to ensure that we are clearly communicating to flooring contractors the benefits of fibre bonded carpet.With so many different flooring options out there, we think there’s a great opportunity to look at why carpet has stood the test of time and why it continues to be one of the UK’s most popular flooring choices.
History of floor coverings
As far back as 6000 BC there is evidence of goats and sheep being sheared for wool and hair and it being spun and woven into a material that was used for a number of purposes, including as clothing and as a floor covering. Dating from around 1480 BC the ancient Egyptians used handlooms to make rugs. In 1000 AD Marco Polo confirmed rug making was taking place in the Middle Eastern countries that he passed through.
In the Industrial Revolution in England, textile inventions were introduced by Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton which included weaving wool for many purposes, including soft flooring.
Over the years, there have been many developments in man-made fibres, loom widths and machine efficiencies bringing carpet within reach of the mass market.
Fast forward to the modern era and carpet is still as popular as ever in the UK for use in many different applications. Carpet design continues to be influenced by social and economic factors and fashion. Some of the most important reasons that contractors and specifiers choose carpet are for its thermal and acoustic performance. This has led to fibre bonded carpet being specified widely in public buildings, student accommodation, retail outlets, sheltered housing and offices. People like the soft, comfortable feel underfoot, which cannot be rivalled by any other floor covering. Carpet also has benefits in terms of reducing slips, trips and falls. Many of our entrance carpets enable grit and moisture to be removed from footwear, so it doesn’t cause damage to internal floor coverings and lowers the risk of accidents to visitors or occupants.
Design trends
There will always be popular trends in floor coverings and carpet is extremely versatile in being able to ‘move with the times’. For example, the planked look is being widely specified for both public and private sector buildings, including offices and student accommodation. Also, there is a trend for plain carpet that is intermingled with subtle elements of colour, as seen in our Array range.
Even though carpet manufacture has been around for thousands of years, it keeps on evolving. Recent innovations include, for example, the introduction of machines that enable bespoke logos and designs to be integrated within a carpet. Many schools, as well as private and public buildings are specifying this type of carpet to enhance and reinforce their branding in their entrance areas.
It’s worth considering why carpet is still one of the most popular floor coverings for so many different applications. Whilst more competitively-priced materials may deliver short term gains, there are few that can match a carpet’s aesthetics, comfort, acoustics and thermal performance.
Heckmondwike FB is entering an exciting new era with new branding, new shade cards, a new brochure and a re-designed website.
With a powerful new strapline – ‘Heckmondwike – Makers of Fibre Bonded Carpets’ – the company is demonstrating its unique heritage, celebrating 50 years of fibre bonded carpet manufacture for the education, commercial and health sectors.
Heckmondwike FB’s refreshed contemporary image reflects a new design-led approach, which is reflected in its new shade card suite and corporate marketing literature and collateral.
The company’s shade cards are extremely popular with interior designers, architects, schools and flooring contractors. Recently released are shade cards for Heckmondwike FB’s Supacord, Broadrib, Hobnail, Wellington Velour, Iron Duke and Entrance ranges. All ranges have been used extensively across educational settings and other environments for over 50 years and their exciting new look will make it even easier for contractors, specifiers and end-users to select the correct carpet to suit their needs.
A new 20 page brochure presents the revitalised Fibre Bonded and Entrance ranges, clearly demonstrating the company’s comprehensive choice of colours and designs.
In addition to the new literature, there are a number of colours that have been added to Heckmondwike FB’s Hobnail, Iron Duke and Wellington ranges, to make them even more versatile for use in different environments and sectors.
The new website, which is due for launch in October, has been designed with a new contemporary and uncluttered look. The website features all Heckmondwike FB’s ranges, with high quality installation and product photography, plus NBS specifications, BIM models, downloadable literature, notable case studies and installation and maintenance advice.
Jeremy Broadhead, Commercial Manager at Heckmondwike FB, said: “We are really excited to be launching our new identity and support literature and website. Design is becoming increasingly important in the choice of carpet, rather than it being a purely functional purchase and this is reflected in our literature and in our extended choice of colours in certain ranges. With our new website, brochure and shade cards, we are making it even easier for the specifier or buyer to make the right choice for them.”
Heckmondwike’s Fibre Bonded carpets are renowned for their durability, but also for their low maintenance properties and the fact that they will not ravel or fray – great in high-traffic areas. The company’s carpet is widely specified for education, public sector and commercial environments.
Lots of schools have their own library but not many have one in a former bus!
Thanks to Heckmondwike, one of UK’s leading carpet manufacturers, St Andrew’s School, Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, now has hard-wearing, aesthetically pleasing Pure Care carpet in its new library bus, creating an environment perfect for pupils to enjoy reading.
The static library bus at St Andrew’s School, was gifted to the school by a parent who works for Moving People Ltd and refurbished by B&G Sears Ltd of Blackburn. The school wanted to create an interesting library bus interior that was hard-wearing, bright and easy to maintain.
Headteacher Mrs Wilkinson said: “We are so lucky to have this fantastic resource where the children can enjoy reading to their friends or with an adult. The shape of the bus is excellent for a whole class to sit around the edges and the addition of the colourful, hardwearing carpet makes the whole space so lively and fun. Just as it should be in a school!”
Michelle Burton, Sales Manager from flooring contractor Rishton Flooring, who managed the carpet installation for the bus said: “This was such an unusual and fun project, but the challenges for the flooring solution were considerable; high footfall, environmental contamination (mud/grass etc.) and fluctuations in temperature all meant that the carpet had to be very durable. But given that the bus was also a learning environment for young children, the school wanted a flooring solution that was colourful, contemporary and soft underfoot.”
Heckmondwike’s Pure Care offered the durability and visual appeal needed for this project. Available in 8 colours, Pure Care also offers high stain resistance and still feels comfortable, essential with young children. St Andrew’s was also keen to reflect its school colours in its choice of flooring for the library bus, so Pure Care in ‘Sapphire’ was the perfect choice.
Flooring design plays an important role in creating stimulating learning environments, which is why it is so important to find a hard-wearing carpet that can withstand the demanding school environment and retain its appearance for many years.
Pure Care and Total Care are Heckmondwike’s tufted carpet solutions; they are ideally suited to educational establishments, whether in classrooms, corridors or school office areas. Available in different pile weights, both types of carpet feature a fully impervious backing, are highly resistant to staining and cleaning products. They are also manufactured to meet all relevant flammability tests and offer antistatic properties.
Another popular carpet for schools is Supacord. Available in a choice of 42 colours and renowned for being able to withstand heavy wear and tear, it retains its aesthetics and performance properties for many years. Schools are also choosing colourful carpet for their entrance areas too and some schools also opt to have their school branding, colours and/or ethos integrated within their entrance area carpet to add impact and reinforce the values of the school, as soon as pupils or visitors walk through the door.
Sample cards are available on request by calling 01924 413637 or by using Heckmondwike’s online sample form.
The UK’s leading manufacturer of fibre bonded flooring, Heckmondwike FB, and Forth Valley College in Scotland, are celebrating their achievement in being shortlisted for an exciting Education Buildings Scotland award. The shortlisting is for the ‘Inspiring Learning Spaces’ award in recognition of the flooring solution at Forth Valley College’s flagship Stirling campus.
This new award recognises the project team that has successfully delivered either a new build or refurbishment project in a Scottish learning environment. The award has attracted a host of prestigious project entries and the final presentation event will take place on 21 November at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh.
Andrew Lawson, Associate Principal and Executive Director – HR ＆ Operational Effectiveness at Forth Valley College , said: “A great deal of creative thinking and hard work went into developing these new learning spaces at our Stirling Campus and we are delighted to have this recognised by this nomination in the inaugural Education Buildings Scotland Awards. This is the start of a journey to ensure all our main campus sites offer flexible spaces for our staff and students and I would like to thank the excellent efforts of my colleagues involved in the project and the contractors who worked on this project, especially Heckmondwike.
Heckmondwike’s Array carpet tile range features a mid-width rib design and a charcoal background enhanced with a subtle linear pattern. The range comprises 12 colour options including Peacock, Blue, Black, Red, Lime, Purple, Magenta, Copper, Emerald, Marble, Violet and Fuchsia.
The Array range is often used in conjunction with Heckmondwike’s popular Broadrib range, as it has been at Forth Valley College. The combination of Array and Broadrib provides natural bordering to a room or zoning for a space, allowing for endless design possibilities.
Like all Heckmondwike’s products, Array can be cut on-site without the risk of fraying, allowing individual flooring designs to be created and installed with ease and as with the rest of Heckmondwike collection, Array carpet tiles offer antistatic and anti-slip properties and excellent acoustic and thermal performance.
Heckmondwike carpet tiles are British-made and provide outstanding performance, as well as being backed by a 10 year limited wear warranty, which means they can be specified in complete confidence.
Sample cards are available on request by calling 01924 413637 or by using Heckmondwike FB’s free online sample service.
Healthcare represents a particularly demanding sector of the market for manufacturers as carpets suitable for care homes, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and sheltered housing must be resilient and easy to clean. The cleaning aspect is critical in care homes and sheltered housing settings, where elderly or infirm residents are particularly vulnerable to infections. But can care home carpets really be hard-wearing, low-maintenance and attractive? We think they can.
Safety first
The very first word when it comes to flooring in a care environment must be ‘safety’. Our go to ranges for the healthcare sector are our Pure Care and Total Care carpets, which are manufactured to meet all relevant flammability tests and offer antistatic properties, making them a great choice for residential care homes and sheltered housing.
Some floor coverings can become slippery when moisture enters a building on people’s shoes or via wheelchairs or other walking aids. It is important to reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls by selecting the right entrance product; our entrance and transition area carpets and carpet tile products like Vanquisher and Hippo are extremely robust and ideally suited to high usage areas.
Hard-wearing
Longevity is undeniably an important consideration when it comes to any carpet, but especially so in a busy care facility, where it must be able to withstand heavy footfall and the inevitable wear and tear that comes with the demands of the environment.
The answer is the Pure Care and Total Care ranges from Heckmondwike FB. Both types of carpet are ideally suited to care environments, whether that be in communal areas, corridors or bedrooms. Their impervious backing makes them highly resistant to staining and bleach and they are extremely durable and super hard-wearing.
Low-maintenance
It’s important to remember that if not properly maintained, all carpets, no matter how hard-wearing, can quickly become damaged and lose both their performance and aesthetic qualities. It’s particularly important from a maintenance perspective to choose the right carpet product for entrance areas. Vanquisher, with its alternative rib and velour surface pattern, is an ideal entrance and transitional area carpet that also offers thermal and acoustic properties, is low maintenance and protects internal carpets from outside soiling and moisture.
Our range of specialist entrance tiles and mats are extremely versatile and robust, they act as interceptors for dirt and grit and protect internal flooring from wear and tear and ultimately, from damage. Our mats can also feature bespoke logos and designs for care homes and healthcare environments that are DDA approved. Available in 20 different colour options and in bespoke sizes, our versatile entrance tiles and mats look the part and help to maintain the aesthetic appeal of your interior carpets for longer.
Attractive
An aesthetically pleasing, well-designed and maintained environment can have a positive impact on the mental well-being of both residents and staff. With a comprehensive choice of eight colours in the Pure Care and Total Care ranges, there’s something to suit every healthcare and sheltered housing requirement.
Aesthetics also has an important role to play in caring for people with dementia who may have difficulty with everyday tasks and activities. Dementia presents the designers of care homes with many challenges and floor design is particularly important in creating zoning and colour coding to provide visual prompts to assist those experiencing cognitive decline.
All our carpets are made to the quality standards our customers have come to expect from Heckmondwike FB over the last 50 years. The Pure Care and Total Care ranges also come in four metre widths, making these carpets very easy to fit with low installation costs.
The third edition of the “What Workers Want” survey, a joint publication from the British Council for Offices (BCO) and Savills, found that neglecting office design can have a negative effect on employer’s well-being and performance. A total of 25% of employees surveyed would be willing to commute an extra 30 minutes to work in the perfect office. This highlights not only the opportunity for occupiers to expand their potential labour pool but shows that employee loyalty increases if businesses fit out the office to their staff requirements.
Absenteeism among the existing staff could also notably decrease when a fit for purpose office is provided, while productivity would be on the up. This notion receives support from the 2015 guidelines of The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which stress the link between employee well-being and work output. UK businesses are losing 6.9 days a year per employee due to the absenteeism trend, which could be a contributing factor to the UK’s productivity being 27, 30 and 35 percentage points lower than in France, the US and Germany in 2015. The latest Stoddart Review research has revealed that an effective workplace can improve business productivity by 3.5%, which could add up to £70 billion to the UK economy, according to economist Duncan Weldon.
NICE’s recommendations suggest making employee health and well-being a core priority for top management to establish the link between employee productivity and health. But this is no easy feat, as ever denser office spaces pose a challenge for employers to provide an environment that promotes well-being. For example, standing desks, natural lighting, temperature, and air quality all have a bearing on staff health. Furthermore, open-plan offices are still the dominant choice of occupiers, but only 45% of respondents were satisfied with the noise levels in their office. Studies have found that poorly managed acoustics in open plan offices can have a negative effect on occupant comfort, causing changes in heart rate, breathing, and brain waves. Julian Treasure, author of Sound Business and chairman of the Sound Agency explains: “There is also a lot of research to demonstrate that noise in offices changes people’s behaviour- it makes them less helpful, more frustrated, absenteeism goes up and so does the rate of sickness.”
The occupants’ emotions and cognition are also affected and productivity can be degraded by up to two thirds when performing knowledge tasks within audible distance of other people’s conversations. A cost-effective and visually pleasing solution to decrease noise in an open plan office is to install carpets. Carpet is a sound reducer, offering an excellent solution in tackling the loud noises in the office. Some manufacturers offer carpet tiles that can reduce sound and impact noise by up to 30dB.
Generally, flooring is often one of the final features to be deliberated when it comes to building design and construction but does play a vital role when creating a future-proof, flexible office environment. When planning for a holistic appearance that takes employee health and productivity into consideration, it is important that all building elements are considered at the design stage to ensure that they integrate and work well together. As a result, the increased awareness of the role our surroundings play in supporting our health and wellbeing has resulted in architects, designers and manufacturers using design to respond to our human wants and needs. Biophilic design especially has become increasingly popular, as our sense of wellbeing is intrinsically linked to nature.
The Human Spaces report, published in 2015, showed that perceptions of wellbeing increased by up to 15% when occupants worked in surroundings that incorporate natural elements. Contact with nature and design elements which mimic natural materials have been shown to positively impact health, job performance and concentration, and to reduce anxiety and stress. Recent interior design trends utilise a mix of different textures, as well as the application of materials with aesthetics that lend themselves to the creation of a biophilic-inspired environment.
Carpet manufacturers, such as Heckmondwike, have released decors that cater specifically for creating a biophilic workspace. The blue and green tones of the Array, Night Sky, Montage and Constellation collections are calming and create a peaceful environment, promoting wellbeing. Meanwhile, Heckmondwike’s Broadrib ‘plank’ carpet tiles offer stunning aesthetics and excellent durability performance, making them popular for office environments. Authentic timber decors with the properties of wider rib structure provide the required biophilic aesthetic but are significantly easier to maintain than the genuine article and offer cost efficiency.
Instead of waiting another ten years until your lease expires, contact Heckmondwike to discuss how your office and employees can benefit from a carpet upgrade.