Metsa Wood

WalkSure, Finnforest’s low slip deck board, is currently being trialled by Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire for an eight-month period to help provide a safer environment for its visitors. The award-winning attraction was looking for a product, which would offer a safe, durable and attractive surface for areas with high pedestrian traffic.

Drayton Manor attracts around 1.4 million visitors per year. Over the last few years, the theme park has introduced a number of ramps, which lead up to the rides. For these ramps in particular, the theme park was looking for a decking solution, which would not only be safe in both wet and dry conditions but also one that boasted exceptional durability and could therefore deal with the high number of visitors.

Over the years, the theme park had tried a number of solutions including stone and mixing grit with paint but had found that these options did not meet their exacting requirements. With this, the theme park was introduced to Finnforest’s WalkSure as a solution and the product is currently being trialled by the park on one of its ramped areas.

WalkSure combines EPDM rubber with pressure treated softwood in a single deck board resulting in a safe low slip surface in both wet and dry conditions; the product is independently tested to BS 7976 part 2 to conform to UK slip resistance guidelines and also carries DeckMark Plus certification, providing high quality reassurance under the requirements of the Timber Decking Association (TDA).

The precision-finished deck board is manufactured using only the highest quality, slow grown joinery grade timber, which is sourced from certified forests. The board is kiln dried and pressure treated, which increases durability. The result is a product that is easy to maintain and ideal for high traffic areas. In addition, it also helps to reduce noise levels.

Daryl Bartles, Carpenter at Drayton Manor commented: “Over the past few years, we have struggled to find a solution which is both safe for our visitors and long lasting particularly with the high footfall that our park experiences. We have been trialling WalkSure and so far the product has proved to be very successful. Once the trial is complete, we are hoping to expand the WalkSure decking out to a number of other ramped areas throughout the park.”

WalkSure offers an attractive colour alternative to traditional deck boards and is available in a number of different finishes. Its versatility makes it the ideal low slip floor covering for a great number of applications across a broad variety of sectors. For example, retail, hospitality, leisure, education and industrial in both public and private projects. Most recently, Finnforest’s WalkSure has also been installed at AquaGem, an Essex-based professional swim school, as well as across a number of public areas at Edinburgh Zoo. It has also been installed at one of the UK's largest retail shopping centres. In addition, for that extra piece of mind, WalkSure also comes with a 15-year guarantee.

For more information and to locate your nearest stockist visit www.finnforest.co.uk or call 0800 004444.