Page 20 - History-of-flooringLR

A history of Altro

Altro has now been in business for more than 100 years and boasts a Altro shares its heritage with the Bauhaus design school, which was
heritage of innovation including inventing safety flooring, developing also founded in 1919 and is based in Dessau just a few hundred
a hygienic walls system and creating the world’s first adhesive-free metres from Altro’s German site.
safety floor. Founded in 1919 by a small group of individuals with a
big idea, the company currently has more than 900 employees Some highlights from Altro’s 103-year history
globally.
1919
Richard Kahn is Altro’s CEO, and the third generation to lead this The Adamite Company formed on 30 April 1919. The company was
Hertfordshire-based family company that has offices across Europe, named Adamite to position it near the beginning in trade directories.
the Americas and Asia Pacific. ‘One successful innovation could be Originally its business was sales of Daimler and Rolls-Royce motor
luck; repeated success needs a little help,’ he explains. ‘We’ve always vehicles
known that speaking with, listening to and partnering with
customers, end users, contractors, engineers and designers is the
key to getting what we do right. It’s allowed us to be bold and to
explore design and functional possibilities, without losing sight of
who we’re doing it for.’
Altro’s first safety floor was installed in 1950 in a church hall in
Nottingham. That same flooring is still in place and when last tested
still rates PTV≥40, meaning it has kept users safe for over 70 years.
Altro has continued to turn creative thinking into practical real-world
solutions that can transform everyday spaces into environments that
improve the wellbeing of everyone who uses them. Innovations
include developing sparkle-free safety flooring which has
transformed design for dementia and Altro XpressLay: the world’s
first adhesive-free and fully recyclable safety flooring.
Sustainability has long been a priority for Altro. It was the first
manufacturer to produce ortho-phthalate-free safety floors, back in
1954. Altro safety flooring is free from harmful substances like lead,
cadium and formaldehyde, and contains bioplasticiser from a
renewable source. Altro continues to work hard to reduce the
company’s carbon footprint.
Altro, 1940s factory

20 The History of Flooring