Neil Nixon visits the Milton Keynes home of HTC, a company pioneering an eco-friendly floor maintenance system.
HTC is a company with a long and distinguished history, although it has only been present in the UK for the last 14 months. It started out life as a natural stone and concrete grinding company - an area it remains very strong in - but its main push as it establishes itself in the UK market will be DCS - the Diamond Cleaning System.The DCS division of HTC in the UK is being headed by Andrew Baird who has joined the company from the Cleaning Pad Co., the company that distributed HTC’s Twister products in the UK prior to the arrival of the parent company. DCS - the Diamond Cleaning System - is a means of mechanically cleaning, restoring and maintaining floors using microscopic diamonds through two methods - Twister and Hybrid - both part of the eco friendly cleaning revolution.
Twister comprises floor pads prepared with literally billions of microscopic diamonds which clean and polish a floor mechanically, eradicating the need for using chemicals. Twister can be used on most floor surfaces including terrazzo, natural stone, concrete, vinyl, plastic, ceramic and resin (Epoxy and Acrylic), and can also be used on wood and wood laminate floors.
"Twister is the tool that transforms your dull, worn floors into clean, glossy and brightly polished floors," said Andrew Baird. "Twister has unique advantages that benefit both the cleaning company and the floor owner." More later. Hybrid is the latest HTC innovation designed for floor restoration. "The Hybrid system gives new life to damaged and heavily worn natural stone and terrazzo floors,” explained Baird. ”Easy to use and environmentally friendly, it gives you an opportunity to restore floors by removing stains, scratches and the 'orange peel' effect using only ordinary cleaning machines and water."
Twister
Twister can be used on any hard floor type with no change of cleaning method or cleaning equipment needed. This, combined with the removal of periodic maintenance and the longer life of the Twister pads compared to traditional products, reduces both cost and cleaning time. “Twister is also a cost-effective choice as it eliminates the use of chemicals,” said Baird. “Additionally, the Twister method is the only totally environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemical-based cleaning. Twister is so effective that there is no need for layers of wax or polish.”
With the Twister Universal system the floor is prepared first by using the white, yellow and green pads with just water and is then maintained with just the green pad. The Twister pads fit all types of machines and are available in a number of sizes (4” up to 28”).
The Diamond Cleaning System has four methods by which it can be employed, each suited to different floor conditions: DCS Twister Standard, DCS Twister Intensive, DCS Twister Extreme and DCS Hybrid.
DCS Twister Standard is a three step process that is performed during a normal cleaning routine. For the best results each Twister step normally requires 2-3 weeks of operating. Use Twister White pads during daily maintenance until a clean and uniform surface appears. Change to Twister Yellow pads to increase the lustre until a brilliant shine appears.
Continue the process with Twister Green pads and the appearance of the floor will be maintained - without the use of chemicals or other enhancement products.
DCS Twister Intensive is exactly the same as Twister Standard but with each step being run through for 6-10 consecutive passes. This method is performed outside the standard cleaning routine with the aim of immediately improving the floor. Depending on the efficiency of the machine being used and the initial condition of the floor, this process can often be completed in one day.
DCS Twister Extreme is the ultimate method for creating an extreme level of shine. The floor is polished with a high-speed machine and Twister Green pad.
DCS Hybrid is a combination of light grinding and the Twister method and will refurbish a worn stone floor with major scratches or ‘orange peel’ effect. Start with the Hybrid Brown disc, followed by the Hybrid Blue disc for light grinding of the stone surface. The surface should be treated until the floor has a uniform appearance. Follow up with either the Twister Standard or Intensive process until the floor reaches a condition where it can simply be maintained with a Twister Green pad.
“This is such a simple process that fits right in with a normal cleaning regime, using existing cleaning machines,” explained Andrew Baird. “The only thing the operator has to remember is that these are one sided pads so they need to be installed the right way down! The health and safety benefits are also important - all chemicals can be removed from the site, as can the strip, seal and polish products. This makes the system very popular with building owners and employers.
“The system is cost effective too. The pads themselves represent value for money - their cost in use is at least as good as anything else on the market. We have calculated that our pads last approximately three times longer than standard floor pads and don’t forget, no chemical is used.”
Entering an established market is no easy task, so HTC has invested a considerable amount of money in developing a training academy, enabling new users to quickly develop the skills to offer a start to finish solution for the care of hard floors. This is already beginning to pay off, and the company is working closely with contractors, building owners and manufacturers of floor machines to ensure the Twister and Hybrid systems are being used widely and effectively throughout the country. Indeed, ISS has recently signed a global agreement with HTC to become the company’s preferred pad supplier, and Hako and NSS have both recently become Twister Certified partners.
“Innovation is at the heart of this company,” concluded Baird. “This ensures that our entire product range is constantly being reviewed and improved. We have recently introduced a system to ensure users recognise when a pad has worn to the point where it requires replacement. We have also developed a range of Twister edging tools for attention to detail in difficult to reach areas.
“Our focus on our customers is second to none, and we look forward to welcoming customers to our facility in Milton Keynes and to helping the UK cleaning industry maintain hard floors easily, without the need for chemicals, and without the need for regular periodic maintenance.”
The HTC story will continue to unfold, particularly as more products and systems are launched onto the UK market in the future. One such system - Superfloor - is a concrete flooring solution that is highly polished then maintained using the Twister method. C&M will be covering this innovation in a future issue.
Web:
www.htc-twister.com