CM/Spotlight: hard floor care case study Expanded Technologies Protecting Floors In All Environments Expanded Technologies’ Floor Savers help a Wisconsin high school keep the peace and quiet while reducing necessary floor maintenance. A A newly remodeled science, tech-nology, engineering and math (STEM) classroom was a source of pride for Union Grove Union Free High School in Union Grove, Wisconsin. That is, until they noticed the brand new flooring was being torn up by the tables and chairs. Eight coats of wax weren’t enough to protect the floors. “It took just two months for the students to go through the wax and begin scratching the floors,” says Kurt Jorgensen, director of opera-tions for the school. Refinishing the floors more often wasn’t a viable option, especially for the budget conscious school. Floor refinishing is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that is always com-pleted over breaks and holidays because it is so disruptive to student schedules. An Internet search for a solution led Jorgenson to Expanded Technologies. Bret Bushey, vice president of sales for Expanded Technologies, evaluated the situation and recommended CasterTire™ Floor Savers ® for the chairs. CasterTires convert damaging, hard plastic casters into soft, quiet, floor-saving wheels. Ever since, things just haven’t been the same. Reduced Wear And Noise “We installed the CasterTires at the begin-ning of December and, after two months, it’s hard to see any wear to the floor,” notes Jorgensen. But, it wasn’t just Jorgensen who was pleased with the casters; the teachers also noticed a big difference. Suddenly, there was much less noise to contend with in the classroom. “The teachers are as happy as could be about it,” Jorgensen adds. “By cushioning the rollers with the CasterTires, the rooms are much qui-eter. Without the CasterTires, we would have had to re-wax the floor two to three maybe four times during the school year. Now, when you roll the chairs, there is no grinding. They have a bit of cushion and roll easily.” Success in the STEM lab led Jorgensen to call upon Expanded Technologies to help with a similar problem in the school cafeteria. With thousands of students visit-ing the cafeteria every day, there was constant noise and excessive wear to the floor. For the fix, Expanded Technologies installed Slip-Over™ Floor Savers ® to protect the floor from damage. The Slip-Over consists of a rein-forced felt bottom and a vinyl sleeve that encases the existing chair or table glide. “We put the Slip-Over Floor Savers on the chairs, and the difference was night and day,” says Jorgensen. “I am very happy with the products.” Expanded Technologies’ products saved Union Grove $6 per square foot in floor care maintenance Easy Installation Working with Expanded Technologies has been a positive experience for Jorgenson. “Bret Bushey showed me the products and how to install the CasterTires and Slip-Overs. He took measurements and set me up with a distributor I was already using. Everything worked out great,” exclaims Jorgensen. Now that he knows what Expanded Technologies can do, Jorgenson is look-ing at other solutions for cabinets and desk pads. “It is amazing how these small prod-ucts can make such a huge difference,” Jorgensen concludes. CM Product Information no. 153 This content was provided by Expanded Technologies as part of a paid advertisement. For more information, please contact Expanded Technologies directly at (888) 654-7720 or www.ExpandedTechnologies.com. 26 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • April 2013
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