When you scale up a project, everything gets amplified. A bigger flooring job means greater economies of scale and usually a better profit margin – but it also means that small flaws in your operational processes can quickly become big headaches.
Small flooring contractors have the agility to deal with annoying issues like an adhesive that flashes off too fast or too slow – they can easily switch up the way they work to accommodate different conditions. Their people (assuming they’re more than a one-man band) are moving from job to job regularly, performing different tasks and moving from place to place – so occupational health issues like repetitive strains are less common.
If you’re a big contractor working on large scale, commercial flooring jobs – things like hospitals, schools, warehouses and public sector facilities – these small niggles can become big roadblocks in terms of the productivity and profitability of your operations.
On commercial jobs, time is money, so anything that reduces efficiency will also increase costs. Switching from conventional roller and bucket applications to Gekko’s spray adhesive system is a simple way to ensure your large-scale flooring job runs smoothly, efficiently AND safely. Here’s a look at why Gekko is perfectly adapted for the needs of commercial flooring contractors:
Cost-effective
Gekko’s 22-litre canister systems provide up to 800m2 of coverage depending on the adhesive you’re using. The canisters are designed to empty fully, which means you use every last drop of adhesive, while our precise, adjustable spray gun tips ensure you don’t waste time, product and money on overspray. No more wrestling with messy, wasteful buckets of adhesive that start going off the minute they’re opened – just efficient performance, from the first spray to the last.
Rapid, mess-free application
Roller and bucket adhesives are notoriously time-consuming to apply because you have to keep moving that adhesive around to get an even coat weight. When you use a Gekko canister, the coat weight and spray pattern is already set before you start applying, so (once you’ve perfected your technique) you’ll never need to go back over the same area again.
Gekko allows you to achieve large-scale coverage in record time so you can complete commercial jobs, particularly carpet tiles, faster than you ever thought possible. And there’s no mess – no splashes and drips, no rollers to worry about. Simply give the spray gun a clean after use and store for the next job. Find out more about setting up and caring for Gekko canisters here.
Reliable performance
Manual application systems mean that how fast or slow an adhesive flashes off can depend significantly on the coat weight. Gekko sprays deliver consistent application and precise flash-off times so there’s no guesswork involved. Our carpet tackifiers deliver a permanently tacky, repositionable substrate that enables you to work flexibly for a seamless result on every job, even the really big ones.
Ergonomic in use
Occupational health is a big concern for commercial flooring contractors. Flooring is a physical job and it’s your responsibility to ensure your workforce is safeguarded from the risks as much as possible. As an alternative to roller and bucket applications, Gekko is a much more ergonomic solution. Our canisters can be mounted on a trolley for ease of transportation while our hose and wand systems mean you can apply the adhesive quickly and easily with no need to bend or reach.
Safeguard your team
Respiratory health is a hot topic right across the flooring industry these days – and for good reason. For years the focus has been on adhesive performance with little consideration for what was actually in the formulations, and how those chemicals might impact on human health. At Gekko, we’re on a mission to educate and innovate – helping our customers to understand the risks of solvents like dichloromethane, and developing alternatives that empower flooring contractors to safeguard their health of their teams, without compromising on performance. Our range of DCM-free adhesives currently includes surface tackifiers and contact adhesives suitable for a wide range of flooring jobs. Our G57 adhesive also has an EC1+ certification for indoor air emissions.
Service you can rely on
As a commercial flooring contractor, you need a secure supply chain for your adhesives, and a service you can trust. Gekko delivers both – with guaranteed stock levels in our UK warehouses ensuring you can always get your hands on your preferred adhesives, a nationwide distributor network, and our Fast22 service – which means you can order canisters at your local trade counter one day, and collect them in store the next. Our experience customer service team and dedicated technical department are on hand to offer guidance and support on any issues you may have, including compliance and safety ratings for all our products.
For further information about Gekko adhesives, get in touch – or click to locate your nearest stockist.