Author Archives: francescruz

During the last few years, I’ve been looking for new properties on top layer materials for safety surfacing as for example changing colour rubber granules using new synthetic materials. This could add some new and creative applications with a lot of educational and play value to the current safety surfacing used at Playgrounds. I failedContinue reading “Colour changing materials for rubber flooring”

When I talk to many of my colleagues at CONICA and with contacts in our business segment, I very often ask them if the problems in the supply chain persist and if they expect them to be solved during this year 2022. The unanimous answer is Yes for the first question and No Idea forContinue reading “Supply Chain expectations in 2022”

One of my LinkedIn contacts shared an interesting article from IPUR (Rigid Polyurethane Industry Association in Spain). This association was founded in 2003, under the mission of promoting this product in thermal isolation applications. The document was about recycling polyurethane. If you are one of my frequent readers, you already know my concerns about environmentalContinue reading “Advantages of recycled Polyurethane”

A Tire Export Ban took effect on December 1, 2021 in Australia that now faces a challenge about what to do with the 70,000 tons of tires it used to export each year. Similar import or export bans have been approved at different countries and this makes end-of-life tires a potentially valuable local resource forContinue reading “Thousands of tons of opportunities for end-of-life tires after Import/Export Bans at some Countries”

In part of the Northern Hemisphere we are still several weeks away from being able to start the high season for the installation of wetpour flooring. In southern Europe, on the other hand, they can be carried out throughout the year, except in some environments with a high altitude above sea level and same happensContinue reading “Weather and rubber wetpour”

One of my readers sent me a message to ask about a phenomenon he has been facing with some EPDM products, that we could call RAINBOW EFFECT or irisdesence, appearing after 2-3 days or more, exposed to light, after installation. Properties or function is not affected. It’s only a visual light diffraction with an unwantedContinue reading “Rainbow effects on top layer of rubber flooring”

I’m coming back from a mini-Christmas vacation where I was able to spend some time reading and enjoying family time. Wish a happy 2022 for all of you. In one of my readings I was astonished with an article from Vineeth Venugopal on MEDIUM that was a summary of a more detailed one from KitContinue reading “Tires and other rubber pieces manufactured from a flower?”

Normally, the last days of the year are terribly hectic. It seems that the world is ending and a lot of matters that looked paralyzed, suddenly wake up or must be urgently ended. Does it have to do with budget closings? I do not know, I have suffered this in all sectors and markets whereContinue reading “My last article of this year 2021”

We, at CONICA, have all types of customers for playground and fitness flooring applications: flooring installers, play equipment manufacturers, construction companies and area manager or owners, but this article is destinated to those of my readers who are installers of rubber flooring for playgrounds and leisure applications. Perhaps you have already decided about this issueContinue reading “Only Rubber flooring or offering a wider service?”

This was the title of an interesting and inspiring debate that I read on a Twitter post from CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council). CEFIC is an organization that involves large, medium and small chemical companies across Europe. The debate celebrated on 29 October 2021, was about future of chemistry and how it can help societyContinue reading “Are Chemists Going To Save The World?”

One of my previous articles was about what was needed for an inclusive playground and in terms of our safety surfacing, accessibility is the most important functionality to achieve inclusivity. Any user must be able to move and approach the different equipment and areas. The article was referring to indoor or outdoor dry playgrounds butContinue reading “Safety surfacing and inclusivity applied to water play areas”

In one of my previous articles in this blog I was writing about several safety surfacing alternatives for playgrounds whenever the available budget is not enough to use my preferred wetpour option and one of the alternatives I mentioned was rubber tiles. One of the frequent readers of my blog after reading it, explained meContinue reading “About innovations during COVID disruption”

These last few days after FSB’s return trip to Cologne it has been impossible to get the time to write anything on my blog.This year’s FSB fair, although logically smaller and with fewer visitors due to COVID, has been a fantastic week. After a long period of no international trips and no face-to-face contact, beingContinue reading “My views on FSB 2021”

Before starting to work in the playground and safety flooring business, I worked for several years in a company specialized in accessibility and universal design founded by my dear friend Francesc Aragall.My friend was one of the key people to implement the accessibility improvements in the city of Barcelona facing the 1992 Olympic Games andContinue reading “Accessibility of the surfacing for playgrounds and leisure spaces”

Next Monday I will be unable to post on this blog as I usually do. I’ll try to post something at the end of this week. Reason for this is that, from 25th to 29th October, I will be travelling to or from Köln (Germany) and attending our visitors and customers in our CONICA boothContinue reading “Finally a Face-to-Face week is coming”

Today is a semi-festive day in Spain in preparation of tomorrow bank holiday and I was looking for the topic on which to write my weekly article.While reading various articles that at some time I found interesting and kept for future reference I found one from Evan Scott published in the Tyre & Rubber RecyclingContinue reading “About tyres and Rubber recycling”