TOOLSIE Persaud Limited (TPL), in association with MAPEI Americas, hosted a one-day seminar on Floor Coatings at its Georgetown location at Lombard and Sussex Streets last Friday.

Representatives from MAPEI Americas conducted the lectures and demonstrations of the products, which were introduced to Guyana for the first time.

During the morning session, Mike Daniels of Technical Support briefed the gathering on the know-how regarding the application of floor coatings. He also talked about the company’s products and their standards.

Roger Taylor, Sales Manager of MAPEI Corporation for Belize, Suriname and Guyana, said that MAPEI is an Italian/European company which uses American technology and has laboratories all over the world, the closest of which is in Florida.

The company uses electron microscopes, and has lots of technology (machines) which detect colours for grout by means of the latest equipment, Taylor said.

He said the company’s focus is on floor coatings, tiling adhesives, and concrete restoration products (CRP) for repair, using different types of cement to make it stronger than usual.

Taylor said that among the company’s various products are tiling adhesives for all types of tiles, and water-proofers for showers, water tanks etc.

He declared that MAPEI products make tiles stick better, and said the company is here to work with TPL to introduce some of its products with the intention to see how installers are using it for building. Taylor said the company would stand by its products and offer back-up services, with guaranteed services which include warranties of up to 15 years duration.

He said MAPEI has a variety of products that are adhesive, and that within recent times he has been impressed with the change in the building landscape, wherein office buildings are different.

From small business to global leader

Several decades ago, young businessman Rodolfo Squinzi set out to carve his niche in the building industry, and founded MAPEI as a small family business in Milan, Italy.

It was his vision to fill what he perceived as a void in the local construction industry by manufacturing interior and exterior paints and masonry repair products for commercial buildings, hospitals and airports.

MAPEI opened its doors on February 12, 1937 with a three-person workforce. Under Mr. Squinzi’s guidance, MAPEI expanded its manufacturing to adhesives for laying floors and floor coverings.
The company’s first adhesives were for linoleum, and this was followed by setting materials for ceramic tile, stone, carpet, PVC and wood. Specialization became a hallmark of MAPEI.

Always forward-thinking, Mr. Squinzi made it a personal mission to identify trends in the building and flooring industry, and to stay a step ahead of those trends by bringing to market innovative products that immediately met the new-found demands.

As the flooring industry grew, especially the Italian ceramic tile market, MAPEI recognized a need for setting materials that would make tile installation faster and more secure.

MAPEI then started to develop products that provided customers with time saving processes, more reliable installations, and better yields.

(By Michel Outridge)