FROM WOOD TO PLASTIC

Products: IES, EPS, IEC, WPC

As anyone who has lived in or visited New York City knows, Union Square is a nice upscale neighborhood and the location of some of the finest retail stores in the world. A recent newcomer to this list is Mexx, a European clothing chain purchased by the Liz Claiborne Company, who plans to open more than 250 stores in the US.

The second one to open in the country, this particular Mexx store occupies 2 floors in a very high-rent district. As such, Claiborne representatives were anxious to get all the renovations done as quickly as possible so that the store could open and start generating revenue.

Surface Management, a large and successful flooring contractor of Lodi, NJ was selected to renovate the second floor in preparation for the grand opening. The existing wood flooring needed resurfacing to bring it back to proper elevations and a series of coatings which would provide a pleasing appearance and be able to withstand heavy retail traffic. The specification called for these products to be manufactured by Polymerica, Inc.

As the schedule only allowed several days in which to accomplish all of this, the contractor had to work some long hours to prepare the wood substrate, install an elastomeric membrane, surfacer, an epoxy coating, and a water-borne polyurethane coating to some 4,000 square feet of retail space, all allowing for proper curing in between steps.

Liz Claiborne Company representatives are pleased with the results, which included a custom specified color, flattened to reduced glare.