the floors of the latitude Sports Club in Peabody, Massachusetts,
reflect its concern with aesthetics and functionality
“We understand what’s going on, and, when we
can, we try to make the deal more attractive by
trimming our margins and offering better pricing.”
the flooring into a piece of equipment that you can move or a replacement situation, and you can’t protect a floor bet-
or sell to somebody else,” explains Swartz. And removable ter,” he attests. Mats are particularly useful when dealing
floors, notes Chase, are often eligible to be leased through with problem areas. “If you’ve got carpeting or wood that’s
commercial leasing companies—not generally the case starting to wear, put in area matting—that works well. It’s
with permanent or glued flooring. not only functional, but also looks good,” he suggests.
Even as they’re developing new cost-effective products, As the cost of rubber increases, larger clubs may enjoy
manufacturers are counseling clubs to buy only what their savings that reflect the size of their purchases. “There’s
needs require. One way to cut costs on rubber flooring with- discount in quantity,” says Chris Poirier, the general man-
out sacrificing performance, recommends Scott MacRury, ager of Perform Better, an equipment, programming, and
the director of sales for Mondo America, Inc., of Laval, Mon- consulting firm based in Cranston, Rhode Island.
treal, Canada, is to simply trim its thickness—from 10-mm Finally, the experts suggest, one of the best ways for a
rubber, the traditional thickness for a weight room, to 6 club to hold down costs is to take great care of the flooring
mm. “The cost varies substantially, but durability isn’t it already has. Poirier, for instance, advises clubs to move
affected at all,” he says. “The shock absorption layer has their equipment into different positions periodically. “Pivot
been reduced, but unless weights are being dropped all the or rotate it so that a particular piece of equipment isn’t
time, clubs don’t need a 10-mm floor.” always wearing away at the same spot. Change the flow
Mondo has also recently introduced a new item, FORZA to the area.”
(“strength” in Italian), which has a virgin-rubber wear “Refinishing your wood floors or making cosmetic
layer and offers a more economical alternative to some of repairs is certainly less expensive than renovating
its other flooring products. or expanding. That sort of conscientious attention also
Rubber mats can serve as a low-cost flooring fix on either conveys, both to prospects and members, that you care
a short- or long-term basis, points out Ronald Erkes, a about the experience they have in your club.”
spokesperson for Linear Rubber Products, Inc., of Kenosha, With flooring, as with most other things in life, necessity
Wisconsin. “They’re a lot less expensive than carpeting or clearly remains the mother of invention. —|
wood floors, whether you’re talking about a new installation – Jean Suffin,
jrsuffin@yahoo.com
www.ihrsa.org | JANUARY 2010 | Club Business International
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