Simon Clark, Sika Flooring Product Manager talks about FeRFA. FeRFA, the Resin Flooring Association, represents a wide range of leading manufacturers – including Sika – as well as contractors and other associated companies involved in resin flooring systems. For more than 45 years it’s been the recognised voice of the resin flooring industry, taking a leading role in developing global standards.

FeRFA is a superb trade association because it is so active. One of its earliest accomplishments was to create a framework that put the various flooring systems on the market into some sort of context. Their classification system, which runs from one to eight and categorises floors according to durability and product type, enables contractors and specifiers to compare products on a like-for-like basis, helping to simplify the specification process.

For instance, if a client has two manufacturers pitching a floor to them, all they’d need to ask is, ‘what FeRFA rating would this floor be’? If one says ‘four’ and the other says ‘three’, it then becomes clear different systems are being pitched. Ultimately, the FeRFA guide demystifies the specification process by cutting-through product marketing. If a contractor recommends a type of floor, you can see for yourself why it’s being specified.

This provides customers with an estimated figure – giving them the reassurance of an educated ‘guarantee’ in terms of number of years the system should last for. And this figure then allows Sika’s own flooring guarantees, something I believe is unique to UK manufacturers within the industry and potentially over and above the guidance, to be seen in context.