For Forbo Flooring Systems, 2013 is a year of celebration to commemorate the most original and sustainable floor covering ever: linoleum. Invented and patented by Frederick Walton in 1863, he started production in Staines, Middlesex. 150 years on and Forbo’s own brand of linoleum; Marmoleum®, is the world market leader in this specific resilient flooring category, with manufacturing plants in Assendelft, Netherlands and in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
It is a floor covering with a great heritage and the way in which it is created still reflects the authentic craftsmanship that was used 150 years ago. Forbo’s Marmoleum contains 97% natural raw materials, 72% of which are rapidly renewable, and a 43% recycled content. It is for this reason that linoleum remains an ingenious invention and a very popular choice today.
The richness of its colour bank, its sustainable nature and ease of maintenance ensures that it is loved by architects, designers, contractors and end-users, who have specified the floor covering in offices, education, healthcare, retail chains, leisure and hospitality outlets all over the world. Indeed, Marmoleum is one of the truly versatile floor coverings of today, popular for its authenticity, tactility and natural look and feel. Besides floor covering, linoleum is also used for pin boards and furniture finishing.
Forbo’s Marmoleum is a world of colour and design that is available in many different forms and styles - reflecting the very latest trends, developed in close cooperation with leading architects and designers worldwide. There are over 350 colours and more then 12 visual effects comprising marbled, patterned, linear and solid, offering designers and architects the freedom to create inspiring flooring schemes for today and into the future.
To this day linoleum remains the most sustainable floorcovering available, manufactured predominantly from harvestable, renewable natural raw materials. The production technology may have evolved, creating an efficient production process utilising green energy, yet the basic natural raw materials remain the same.
What’s more, Forbo’s Marmoleum has been externally assessed based on strict environmental criteria, helping to identify true environmental credentials, and this is an area where linoleum scores very highly. Marmoleum has 11 independently awarded Eco-labels, including the Swan Mark and the Nature Plus Label, and performs exceptionally well in an independent Life Cycle Assessment.
In addition to its outstanding environmental performance, Marmoleum is approved by Allergy UK for reducing exposure to indoor allergens and has been independently proven to fight MRSA and other Hospital Acquired Infections.
To celebrate the 150 years of linoleum, Forbo will launch Next Generation Marmoleum, an ultra performing floor with Topshield 2, a double layer water-based finish. The range will see the Linear, Patterned and Solid design options expanded, to sit alongside the more recognised and widely used Marbled decoration.