Altro

Altro is a world-leading innovator and manufacturer renowned for its high-performance safety and hygienic flooring solutions. As the inventors of safety flooring, Altro has built an unparalleled reputation for quality, durability, and sustained slip resistance, making their products the preferred choice for demanding commercial and public environments across the UK and globally. Their sheet vinyl ranges are specifically engineered to meet stringent safety and hygiene standards.

Designed to perform in challenging conditions, Altro flooring excels in areas where safety underfoot and ease of cleaning are paramount. From busy healthcare corridors and school classrooms to commercial kitchens and wet environments like showers and changing rooms, Altro provides reliable, long-lasting surfaces that contribute to safer, healthier spaces. Explore our range of Altro sheet vinyl to find the perfect solution for your project’s specific needs.

Altro Aquarius Altro Classic 25 Altro Contrax Altro Pisces Altro Reliance 25 Altro Stronghold 30 Altro Suprema Altro Walkway 20 Altro Wood Altro XpressLay

Further reading

Altro stands as a pioneer in the flooring industry, having invented safety flooring over 70 years ago. This legacy of innovation continues today, with Altro consistently developing advanced flooring solutions that prioritise safety, hygiene, and durability for a vast range of applications. Their commitment is to create environments that enhance user well-being, particularly in sectors like healthcare, education, hospitality, leisure, transport, and food production.

The core principle behind Altro safety flooring is its unique construction, incorporating aggregates like silicon carbide and aluminium oxide throughout the wear layer. This ensures that slip resistance is maintained for the entire life of the floor, even as it wears, significantly reducing the risk of slips and falls – a critical factor in high-traffic public and commercial spaces. This sustained slip resistance meets or exceeds stringent UK and European safety standards, providing peace of mind for specifiers and end-users alike.

Hygiene is another cornerstone of the Altro offering. Their sheet vinyl flooring is impervious to water and, when installed correctly with hot-welded seams, creates a continuous, sealed surface. This prevents the ingress of dirt and moisture, inhibiting bacterial growth and making it exceptionally easy to clean and maintain. Many ranges feature Altro Easyclean technology, a superior PUR (polyurethane reinforcement) coating that further enhances cleanability and resistance to staining and chemicals. This makes Altro ideal for environments where hygiene is non-negotiable, such as hospitals, care homes, kitchens, and laboratories.

Grosvenor Flooring stocks a comprehensive selection of Altro sheet vinyl ranges, each tailored to specific requirements. For instance, Altro Aquarius and Altro Pisces are specifically designed for wet environments, offering excellent slip resistance for both bare feet and shoes in showers, changing rooms, and pool surrounds. Altro Stronghold 30 provides the highest level of slip resistance (PTV ≥55) and is engineered to cope with grease, oils, and fats, making it the ultimate choice for demanding commercial kitchens. Ranges like Altro Walkway 20 offer versatile, hard-wearing solutions for general circulation areas, while Altro Classic 25 and Altro Reliance 25 provide heavy-duty performance for the toughest environments. For projects requiring aesthetic flair without compromising safety, Altro Suprema offers a broader colour palette, and Altro Wood provides realistic wood visuals with inherent safety features. Altro XpressLay offers an innovative adhesive-free installation option, saving time and allowing installation over existing floors or damp subfloors.

Choosing Altro flooring represents an investment in long-term performance and safety. Its exceptional durability, resistance to wear and tear, and low maintenance requirements contribute to reduced life-cycle costs compared to less robust flooring types. Coupled with Altro’s commitment to sustainability, including recyclable content and responsible manufacturing processes, it’s a choice that delivers on safety, hygiene, performance, and environmental consideration for any commercial or specialist flooring project.

Altro Sheet Vinyl Buying Guide

Altro flooring is a specialist solution designed for safety and hygiene. This guide helps you determine if it’s the right choice for your specific needs:

Room usage / Location: Altro excels in commercial, public, and specialist areas. Think healthcare (hospitals, clinics, care homes), education (schools, universities), hospitality (kitchens, canteens, bars), leisure (changing rooms, showers, pool surrounds), transport, retail, and industrial settings. While technically usable in homes (e.g., wet rooms, utility areas), its primary design focus is non-domestic.
Lifestyle: Ideal for environments with high foot traffic, demanding use, stringent hygiene requirements, and where slip resistance is critical for safety (public liability, staff welfare). Suitable for areas prone to spills, moisture, or needing frequent, rigorous cleaning.
Budget: Altro is a premium safety flooring product. The initial cost per square metre is higher than standard domestic vinyl or some commercial alternatives. However, its exceptional durability and low maintenance needs often result in lower life-cycle costs, making it a sound long-term investment for commercial applications.
Durability & Maintenance: Exceptional durability is a key feature. Altro floors are designed to withstand heavy use, impacts, and wear for many years. The integral aggregates ensure slip resistance lasts the floor’s lifetime. Maintenance is straightforward; regular cleaning using appropriate methods and Altro’s recommended cleaners keeps the floor hygienic and performing optimally thanks to technologies like Altro Easyclean PUR.
Material Type Pros & Cons:
- Pros: Market-leading sustained slip resistance, excellent hygiene properties (impervious, easy to clean), extremely durable, resistant to chemicals and stains, wide range of specialist products for specific needs (wet areas, kitchens), long guarantees often available.
- Cons: Requires professional installation including hot welding for optimal performance, higher initial purchase cost, aesthetic may be perceived as more functional than decorative for some areas (though ranges like Suprema and Wood offer more design options), can feel hard underfoot compared to carpet.
Aesthetics & Style: While function often dictates form, Altro offers considerable choice. Ranges come in various colours, from subtle neutrals to bright primaries. Some feature decorative chips (Suprema) or realistic wood-grain effects (Altro Wood) to combine safety with appealing visuals. However, the primary focus remains safety and performance.
Comfort & Sound: Altro sheet vinyl provides a firm, stable surface underfoot. It doesn’t offer the softness of carpet. Some ranges may have specific acoustic properties to help reduce noise transfer, which can be beneficial in multi-level buildings like hospitals or schools – check specific product data sheets.
Underfloor Heating: Most Altro sheet vinyl ranges are suitable for use with underfloor heating systems, provided the surface temperature does not exceed 27°C. Always confirm compatibility for the specific Altro product chosen and follow installation guidelines.
Installation: Professional installation is essential for Altro flooring to ensure safety, hygiene integrity, and longevity. This typically involves careful subfloor preparation, correct adhesive application (except for XpressLay), and heat welding seams to create a continuous, impervious surface. Adhesive-free options like Altro XpressLay can speed up installation and are suitable for specific scenarios.
Sustainability: Altro is committed to sustainability, incorporating recycled content into products where possible and operating recycling schemes like Recofloor (in the UK) for vinyl offcuts. They continually work to reduce the environmental impact of their manufacturing processes and products.

Frequently Asked Questions about Altro Flooring

What makes Altro flooring so slip-resistant?: Altro safety flooring achieves its high slip resistance through the inclusion of hard-wearing aggregates, such as silicon carbide and aluminium oxide, distributed throughout the entire wear layer of the vinyl. This ensures that even as the floor surface naturally wears over time, fresh aggregate particles are exposed, maintaining consistent slip resistance for the product’s lifespan. This is known as ‘sustained slip resistance’.
Where is Altro flooring typically used?: Altro flooring is primarily designed for commercial and public environments where safety, hygiene, and durability are critical. Common applications include hospitals, care homes, schools, universities, commercial kitchens, canteens, leisure centres (showers, changing rooms, pool surrounds), retail spaces, public transport, laboratories, and industrial settings. Specific ranges cater to the unique demands of these areas, such as wet environments or areas with grease contamination.
Is Altro flooring difficult to clean and maintain?: No, Altro flooring is designed for easy cleaning and maintenance, crucial for hygienic environments. Most ranges feature Altro Easyclean technology (a PUR coating) which enhances cleanability and resistance to dirt pick-up and staining. When installed correctly with welded seams, the impervious surface prevents dirt and bacteria from harbouring. Regular cleaning with appropriate methods (mechanical or manual) and recommended cleaning solutions maintains its appearance and hygienic properties effectively.
Can Altro flooring be installed over existing floors?: Generally, traditional Altro sheet vinyl requires a properly prepared, smooth, and sound subfloor for adhesive bonding. However, Altro offers the innovative Altro XpressLay range, which is an adhesive-free safety floor. It can often be laid directly over existing sound floor coverings, including vinyl tiles, or directly onto damp subfloors (up to 97% RH), significantly reducing preparation time and disruption.