Shaw Contract takes the lead with IOBAC MagTabs® warranty extension

• Enables easy reuse of floors and supports sustainable design
• Flooring becomes an asset in a circular economy

Shaw Contract, the leading commercial flooring manufacturer, has announced a 15-year warranty on its UK-made carpet tiles when installed with IOBAC MagTabs®. That covers tile installation on a second.

Shaw Contract is the only flooring manufacturer to offer such a warranty in conjunction with IOBAC's MagTabs®. The warranty matches Shaw Contract's current 15-year warranty on carpet tiles.

Important to the industry is the announcement that this warranty extension covers the reuse of tiles initially installed with MagTabs®. This means that carpet tiles can be moved to another room after inspection and approval by Shaw Contract knowing that they will continue to be covered under the warranty.

To support this important move, Shaw Contract is ensuring that IOBAC MagTabs® is also part of its In Stock UK program. This makes it the only manufacturer currently doing so. This enables rapid delivery for projects with a quick turnaround time.

Director of business development Andrew Jackson explains, "Using the non-adhesive MagTabs® installation method on metal raised access floors reduces and even prevents contamination of the subfloor and tiles. Users benefit because the flooring - the carpet tiles - can be lifted and installed in another room or building, and reused with little cost. Now the MagTabs warranty runs concurrently with the carpet tile warranty."

"Importantly, there is also a benefit in terms of carbon emissions, as there is no encapsulated carbon linked to the second location. And with an average carpet tile replacement cycle of five years, this really extends the usable life of the product."

"The use of MagTabs® also benefits developers and building owners by protecting the subfloor/raised access floor from contaminants. General flooring solutions can add value."

Last year, Shaw Contract EMEA announced IOBAC MagTabs® as the preferred adhesive-free installation method for its extensive carpet tile collections in the EMEA region. Through this move, Shaw Contract and IOBAC are taking another step toward a circular economy and encouraging supply chain collaboration to achieve this goal.

Design and sustainability advantages

Ian Spreadborough, co-founder and director of IOBAC UK Ltd, responds as follows: "Prescribers are quickly realizing the significant impact the installation method can have on the reuse of floor coverings. By choosing a reversible glue-free fastening mechanism such as MagTabs®, both the subfloor and the flooring remain free of contamination and are easily given a second life.

"Shaw Contract's introduction of a warranty is a huge step forward in the industry to enable reuse of flooring. Now specifiers and customers have the practical assurance that Shaw Contract products will perform as well in their second life as they did in their first."

These innovative, Award Winning MagTabs® allow a wide variety of floor coverings to be applied to metal raised access floors without adhesives.

Shaw Contract has prepared an RIBA-accredited CPD seminar to share knowledge about non-adhesive options for floor covering installation. It does so under the header, "An alternative solution to non-adhesive flooring in the workplace.

A robust option that allows for easy reuse

The way floors are installed greatly affects the ease with which total flooring systems can be reused or recycled. Adhesive-free installation facilitates floor reuse because it ensures that both the floor covering and subfloor remain clean and contaminant-free upon removal. In contrast, floor coverings installed with adhesives may end up in the landfill after one-time use because adhesive residue and contaminants hinder recyclability.

MagTabs® are magnetic on one side and self-adhesive on the other. This allows floor tiles to be removed cleanly and easily for reuse or recycling. At the same time, the subfloor remains free of contamination and is immediately ready for the next floor installation. Excessive subfloor remediation costs are eliminated.

Note: When moving tiles to a second location, Shaw Contract recommends using new MagTabs® on the second installation.