Fighting fit with Gerflor

Keeping our reserve troops at a high level of fitness is seen as crucial in the overall defence of this country. The Territorial Army (TA) is a vital cog in the military machine and they train alongside the regular Army providing us with the security we all need.

The Prince William of Gloucester barracks in Grantham were established on the site of the former RAF Spitalgate airbase in October 1976 as the new Central Volunteer Headquarters for the Royal Corps of Transport. It is now a large TA training centre. In the current training year, some 76,000 personnel were accommodated at Grantham and it boasts some outstanding training facilities. It provides phase one training to Army Reserve Recruits. Delivering high levels of fitness training is a key ingredient of any military activity and providing suitable fitness and gymnasium areas is seen as a crucial element of their ongoing training.

When the MOD supply chain company Carillion Amey wanted to upgrade the existing gym at the Prince William of Gloucester barracks they turned to a sports flooring specialist based in Chertsey, Surrey. Reflex Sports would specify some 1800m² of Gerflor’s Connor Maple sports flooring to meet the military requirements. Specialists in sports and performance surfaces, Reflex Sports are a family-owned independent company that specialise in the provision of sports surfaces. With unrivalled knowledge of the sports sector their experienced team offer full specification, supply and installation service to a host of customers. It’s a company that’s flourished into an organisation still run by the original owners alongside a dedicated crew of expert and highly experienced installers.

Richard Darby, Director, Reflex Sports commented, “As a sports specialist we were asked to replace the worn out sprung flooring at the barracks site. It was at the end of its useful life and needed urgent attention. Connor Maple from Gerflor was specified because the client Carillion Amey was looking for a long-lasting, highly durable sports surface”. Richard Darby continued to comment, “The product needed sound environmental accreditation and have a proven track record in facilities where top-level sport is played and where there would be high levels of traffic and usage”

In 2015 International flooring specialist Gerflor announced their acquisition of Connor Sport Court International in a move that subsequently expanded the company’s global market reach and sports product range portfolio. The UK has introduced four systems from the Connor Sports family, providing high quality sports flooring solutions for a myriad of markets. Available now: NeoShok, Rezill Sleeper and Alliance, with stock levels held in France. The fourth available product is the QuickLock portable system, also held in France, it is ideal for temporary use in a multitude of sporting events. All the above systems can be finished in 3 different grades of 57mm x 20mm North American Hard Maple strip.

Richard Darby also added, “the floor is installed over the reflex rubber granulate cradle system, again Connor Maple was specified because of its guaranteed durability and great performance. Due to the age of the building there were moisture issues in the subfloor. These had to be overcome by introducing our specialist Newton DPM system”.

The huge bonus is that all Connor Sports products are sealed and varnished on site which produces a host of advantages in evenness and longevity. It’s a sports flooring solution that’s built to last half a century or more.

Richard Darby further commented, “Connor Maple was fantastic to work with. The machining and kiln drying was spot on with a very good length specification and clean grading. The delivery was on time, presented well and ready for unloading”.

Connor Sports Flooring is the world leader in quality wood flooring systems and has built maple hardwood courts for 14 NBA teams and products for every level of competition throughout the world. Connor is the only member of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association to be ISO 9001:2008 certified (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001:2004 certified (Environmental Management System)

All Connor Sports Floors are approved for all International Levels of Competition by the International Handball Federation, the Badminton World Federation and the World Squash Federation and has been the official technical partner for FIBA since 1997.

Richard Darby finally added, “Gerflor really pulled out all the stops to ensure that the project was completed on time and to the client’s satisfaction. We have had very positive feedback from all of the users of the facility. In fact, moving forwards we are actively working on other specifications for Connor products”.

Learn more about Gerflor solutions; ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 01926 622 600, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.