Dunlomat – Vive la difference!
THERE IS RUBBER MATTING AND THEN THERE IS DUNLOP RUBBER MATTING
There are more manufacturers and traders of rubber matting than ever before on the international market. The vast majority of rubber matting is produced in South East Asia, predominately in China. There are two broad categories of matting – general purpose and specialist applications. This is important to know because more than 95% of matting found on the open market is mass-produced general-purpose, low-grade matting that contains the lowest grade, unregulated raw materials.
As far as the rubber industry is concerned, from a technical point of view, rubber matting is at the bottom of the pile. In the eyes of most, all that it is required to do is lay on the ground. It is therefore regarded purely as a commodity, hence the extremely low selling prices. Sadly, the temptation of these low prices has caused many who actually needed tough, durable matting for specific applications to learn the hard way that the price reflects the quality.
DESIGNED TO BE TOUGH
The difference between general-purpose matting and specialist application matting is quite dramatic. Most of the specialist uses relate to farming. This is where the Dunlomat story began because the Dunlop Conveyor Belting factory is located in the Friesland region of The Netherlands, world-famous for its Frisian cattle. Local farmers needed matting that not only had a good grip but could also withstand heavy livestock and the damage that they could cause with their sharp hooves. At the same time, the matting had to be able to stand the test of time in order to be as cost-effective as possible. Over time, people began to realise that this super-tough matting was ideally suited for other demanding situations. Several years ago, indoor tug of war joined the list of specialist applications. Dunlomat is now the only matting recommended by the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) for indoor competition use.
Les Williams
