A ground-breaking resin flooring company which uses recycled plastic in its installations has opened its new premises in Loughborough today - a move which will future proof the firm for many years to come.
Leicestershire based Abacus Flooring Solutions has tripled the size of its unit by moving from its current site in Coalville to new 3,000 sq ft premises in Belton Road, Loughborough
Investing over £50K on renovations alone, the team has also purchased its first forklift, which will be driven by project manager Beth Rogers who aced her driving exams earlier this month to gain top marks.
The six-week renovation project has seen the team create a unit within a unit, adding a canteen, cloakroom, new kitchen and toilets, racking and new signage to the building, all in a bid to create a long-term home for the future of the business.
Established in 2020 by Nick Megson, Abacus Flooring Solutions has grown rapidly to a £1m-plus turnover company last year - and current forecasts indicate that it will break the £2m barrier by the end of this year.
The company’s runaway success is largely the result of a ‘world-first’ innovation developed by Nick called Abaplas.
Abaplas is a resin flooring system that uses 100 percent recycled waste plastic as a bulking material instead of the traditionally used silica sand, which is damaging to human health and the environment.
The firm’s expansion will also trigger the launch of a new umbrella company called Abacus Materials Ltd, which will consolidate the trading and handling of all recycled plastics and resin flooring systems.
Managing Director, Nick Megson said: “Opening our new premises today was truly overwhelming. The support we have received - especially from Charnwood Borough Council has been brilliant and although we have been working twelve-hour days to get the premises ready for our grand opening party, we are delighted with the end result. The feeling of pride we all hold is immeasurable."
To mark the occasion, the team held a grand opening party earlier today, which was attended by 100 people. The guest list included representatives from The Chamber of Commerce, the Innovation Centre at Loughborough University, Jane Hunt MP for Loughborough, The Mayor of Charnwood; Councillor Margaret Smidowicz and scores of customers, suppliers and charities supported by the firm. The guests were entertained by a local singer, and catering and champagne was laid on by local suppliers.
Nick continued: “After winning multiple awards, mostly as a result of the Abaplas invention, we are now making great strides in the global market as well as here in the UK. People have quickly caught on to the fact that Abaplas is hugely sustainable; it cuts the carbon emissions produced by the heavy mining of silica sand as well as preventing vast quantities of waste plastic ending up in landfill or the world’s oceans. Sports stadiums have been a huge customer for us this year, and we expect this to continue."
Nick, from the firm which has racked up nine international and regional industry awards in 2023, adding to another eight awards it picked up since it launched, said: “We’re the only company in the world doing this. It’s more important now than ever to protect our planet so I will not rest until I’ve shared our innovation with the rest of the world.
"This new unit is the ideal base from which to execute this plan and we are extremely excited about what the future holds for us all."
For more information, visit www. abacusflooringsolutions.co.uk