Nyheder

The 2 Alfix levelling compounds Alfix PlaneMix 20 and Alfix PlaneMix 50 proudly celebrate their 20th birthday

With the message:” The same outstanding properties – every time”, Alfix introduced two high-quality levelling compounds for straightening and levelling subfloors – the optimal products for the installation of ceramic tiles and other top floorings.

In the following, head of R&D, Frank Pingel, elaborates on the background to expand the range of products, which at the beginning of the new millennium mainly consisted of tanking products, tile adhesives and grouts:

” During the late 90’s, we observed a steadily climbing demand for self-levelling compounds from the tile fixers. A growing focus on even and smooth subfloors combined with a tendency towards large-sized tiles required thorough levelling of floors prior to tile fixing and other floorings. A growing demand for levelling compounds lead our owner and managing director, Torben C. Toft, to ask us at the lab whether we would be able to develop and produce fast-setting self-levelling and smoothing compounds. And the answer was: “Yes”, obviously. After intense product development, the two first levelling compounds PlaneMix 20 and PlaneMix 50 saw the light of the day in 2001”.

The products have become a natural part of the Scandinavian building trade, and since 2001 they have levelled approx. 5,000,000m² subfloors in total. And today, PlaneMix 20 and 50 are still among the best-selling products in the PlaneMix-range, which now counts a number of highly-specialized screeding mortars and levelling compounds. For more details read here!

Design floors
Recent years have seen a rise in demand for designer floors, also known as New Yorker floors or industrial looking floors – for domestic and industrial use as well as shop fitting.

Designer floors are seamless cement-based floors without the need for any actual top-flooring. The floors are made with a cement-based levelling compound, such as PlaneMix 20 or PlaneMix 50, and finished with the surface treatment Alfix TopCoat Design.

Martin J Olesen has been an Alfix employee since May 2018, and as from November 2019 he has worked as stores manager at the factory in Kolding. We have asked him about his working day, and we have particularly talked about elements that characterize a remarkably good day at work according to Martin.

-Initially, could you give a brief description of your department?
My department, being the picking stock, counts in all 6 employees. We are about to employ yet another stock worker as order volumes increase.

-Which tasks are you in charge of as stock manager?
My duty is to manage and assign tasks, activate orders and see to it that our stocks tally. I work in close co-operation with the orders office as to when orders are ready for collection or shipment – or in case our customers have special requirements. We always do our very best to meet the requests of our customers.

-Could you highlight other of your functions?
Together, we ensure that all picking locations are filled; we pick items or products, stock pallets, load trucks and move pallets between the various buildings on the plant premises.

How would you describe a particularly good day at work?
That would be a busy day with plenty of orders where we manage to meet every requirement of every customer - within working hours.

Martin is 32 years old, lives in Kolding with his girl friend and their two little girls. In his spare time he focuses on family, friends and sports.

In this housing association in Aalborg, the Alfix system used pleases both the property manager as well as the residents.

The system contains of 3 layers in all: Initially, a slurry contact coat of Alfix PlaneMix 50 levelling compound and PlaneMix Primer. Followed by a levelling layer of PlaneMix 50 and finally, the application of Alfix TopCoat Design, which will close the surface with a matt, transparent and protective finish.

The owner really appreciates the result when interviewed a year after completion of the new flooring.
The basement floor is much easier to vacuum and clean compared to the previous rough and porous concrete floor.

The property management has thus been saved for many hours of extra work. And added to this, the Alfix industrial flooring appears friendlier and brighter – a considerable lift in terms of function and design to the daily delight of the many users of the basement facilities.

We have asked the experienced Alfix employee (skilled bricklayer and tile fixer) about his working life during the corona pandemic:

How would you briefly describe the last year in terms of work?
When corona hit the country in March last year, everybody in the building trade got extremely busy. We got many calls from our builders' merchant customers as many of their customers were sent home, and luckily many of the home send chose to renovate and refurbish their homes, which gave us a lot of work. The retailers introduced several understandable restrictions, and these restrictions prevented us from visiting them – they focused on their own customers. And hence, work routines changed for us suppliers. We visited and still visit building sites as often as possible and requested, just as we are at disposal when projects should be facilitated or commenced.

Which part of your job has been the most difficult?
Definitely that it has been impossible to visit our many good customers and thereby uphold daily talks and maintain relations. I miss the close and regular contact with the customers.

Which part would you describe as being positive?
That many tasks can be solved by phone or pc. Teams meetings will become a natural part of work life, I think. Much can be discussed and decided effectively during a couple of on-line hours and so eliminate the need for internal meetings involving a long drive to the company premises in Kolding.

Could you suggest any corona-conditioned changes that you would like to uphold when work life hopefully turn more normal at some future time?
Definitely Teams meetings. I have been teaching vocational schools over Teams and in spite of my limited IT-means, on-line lecturing has been a success beyond expectation. But I would, nevertheless, prefer to meet with customers and craftsmen face-to-face as soon as possible. Physical appearance adds a dynamic dimension.

What do you look forward to with a view to the trade and your work for Alfix?
Denmark re-opening! I look forward to the returning of daily life so that I may again visit customers – see my many colleagues – and uphold and expand the contact to our builders' merchants and craftsmen.