Our History

In 1982 the British inventor Peter Gibbins was tasked by a large, well known confectioner to develop a special type of floor that wouldn’t erode when exposed to significant quantities of sugar – a problem that the global confectionary company encountered quite frequently.

His success in creating a resin flooring solution that was ideally suited to withstanding the rigorous challenges of the client’s manufacturing facilities led to the formation of Flowcrete - a company which today is able to provide floors for the world’s largest and most complex industrial and commercial locations. This is our history…

• 1982: Peter Gibbins founds Flowcrete after successfully inventing a floor that could survive exposure to large quantities of corrosive sugar.
• 1984: David Greaves joins Flowcrete and the same year the fledgling company secures a major project with NATO to provide infrared reflective coatings.
• 1988: A Penetrating Hardening System for failing floors is developed.
• 1989: A manufacturing facility is opened in the UK and Mark Greaves starts his promising career with Flowcrete.
• 1990: Flowcrete makes its first million in sales.
• 1992: A polyurethane flooring range for the food industry is launched.
• 1993: Flowcrete’s sales team, nicknamed the “Red Army” in reference to the bright red fleet of cars, goes nationwide.
• 1994: The resin specialists win a SMART Award for innovation and are also awarded ISO 9001.
• 1995: The growing company acquires Isocrete Floor Screeds.
• 1996: Deckshield, a range of highly durable car park deck coatings is introduced to the flooring market.
• 1997: Craig Brookes leads Flowcrete’s expansion into the Far East. The first overseas factory is opened in Malaysia and the largest overseas project is undertaken at Hong Kong’s International Airport.
• 1999: Flowcrete completes work at the iconic Millennium Dome.
• 2000: The Isowarm underfloor heating system is launched.
• 2001: Flowcrete Sweden achieves ISO 14001 status.
• 2002: Sweden based Perstorp Construction Chemicals is acquired by Flowcrete.
• 2003: Flowcrete South Africa forms.
• 2004: A busy year! Not only does Flowcrete win Terrazzo Manufacturer of the Year, but also Flowcrete Americas is formed, the K-Master screed installation machine is introduced and a prestigious project at Disneyland Hong Kong is secured.
• 2005: An exclusive global partnership is secured with Polygiene® out of which Flowcrete creates the advanced antimicrobial flooring system Flowfresh. Andrew Gwyther also leads an expansion into the Middle East during the same year that Flowcrete.com and a new group-wide logo are launched.
• 2006: Flowcrete unveils its innovative Flowfast MMA flooring system, which is able to reduce curing time down to only 2 hours. Investors in People awards Flowcrete for its supportive work ethos.
• 2007: Flowcrete begins using environmentally friendly IBCs and is specified in a high-rolling resort in Macau.
• 2008: This year sees a significant milestone in the company’s history, as it becomes part of Ohio-based RPM International Inc., a stock-exchange listed company that specialises in high performance coatings and chemicals. Flowcrete also secures major work at both Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai and Manchester Airport.
• 2009: Major flooring works are completed at the world’s busiest airport, Dubai International and Flowcrete also wins the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
• 2010: Flowcrete’s floors provide a platform for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Soccer City in Johannesburg. In the same year Flowcrete opens an environmentally friendly headquarters in Cheshire, England, which is visited by the Duke of Gloucester. The year got even busier when Mark Greaves won the North West IoD International Director of the Year.
• 2011: Screeds are brought into the 21^st Century with the launch of the Isocrete Green Screeds range. Every system in this collection has been formulated to create a high-quality and environmentally friendly screed layer.
• 2012: Flowcrete celebrates 30 years of highly successful trading!
• 2013: The largest, most visited shopping centre in the world, the Dubai Mall, used over 540,000m² of Flowcrete’s Deckshield car park decking to refurbish its huge parking facility.
• 2014: Flowcrete Americas’ opens a new manufacturing facility that allows it to significantly increase production levels. This move is symptomatic of the company’s entrepreneurial expansion plans, for which it was awarded RPM’s 2014 Connections Creating Value Award.
• 2015: The ultra-hygienic Flowfresh range achieves HACCP International certification thanks to its ability to create a food-safe floor area.
• 2017: Elmico, a pioneering polyurea waterproofing system manufacturer joins the Flowcrete Group. In other news, Flowcrete UK scoops both an Investors in People Award and achieves ISO 14001:2015 status at its manufacturing headquarters.