Creating a new technical training centre where apprentices can flourish.

The back story

With their original training academy in Goole rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, Stoneacre Motor Group are established uniquely in the motor industry. They are leaders in providing learning opportunities to support and inspire lifelong careers.

With an unused showroom and workshop identified in their Doncaster Ford site, the Academy was given the green light to create a new Technical Training Centre. This new facility will support their automotive apprentices and staff development needs. Since its launch in 2015, the academy has enrolled 100s of apprentices in various roles such as business admin, bodyshop, sales, marketing, finance, and technicians.

Due to increasing demand for their apprenticeships, Gary Towell (Group After Sales and Curriculum Trainer) needed the new site up and running as quickly as possible.

Quality facilities under time constraints

Tight deadlines are often the norm for most projects, and maintaining high quality standards is always essential. With 4 vehicle ramps already installed in the new Academy site, the walls were freshly painted, but a worn concrete floor posed a big challenge.

Gary and his colleagues researched resin, floor paint and industrial floor tiles as options to cover the bare concrete floor, with Ecotile being selected as the best solution for their needs.

Whilst being a training centre, the facility will still be subjected to the same rigours as a commercial workshop. So durability of the floor covering was also a major consideration. Needing to offer protection to expensive tools from accidental drops was a requirement. As was reducing wear and damage to the subfloor from repeated vehicle and foot traffic, along with long term protection from spillages. Ecotile’s interlocking floor tiles provide the answer to all of these issues that are regularly seen in commercial garage workshop environments.

How we achieved together

From Gary’s initial enquiry, the Ecotile team instantly picked up the project (as we do for all our customer projects). After conducting a full fact-find to understand the requirements and challenges Gary and Stoneacre were facing, sample tiles were despatched to allow the Stoneacre team to test and review.

Key elements of the Ecotile solution were highlighted by Gary as being critical in their decision. He was impressed by the quality of the tiles and the ability to install them without any drying time, which would speed up the Academy’s completion and enable apprentices to start their training sooner.

Within 5 days of receiving the purchase order, David Holder (Ecotile Business Development Manager) was on site to meet Gary and conduct a full installation survey prior to fitting the floor.

Feeling the benefits

As soon as the tiles were installed, they were ready to be used, and the latest Stoneacre Academy Technical Training Centre was ready to welcome its new apprentices. The vehicle workshop environment, with its state-of-the-art equipment, will also offer increased comfort for its users. Creating a barrier to the cold, bare concrete floor, Ecotile interlocking floor tiles provide both insulation and added comfort. Leaving the students to focus full time on their learning, without minds wandering from being uncomfortable underfoot when stood for extended periods

How we brought the vision to life

Stoneacre Motor Group pride themselves on creating the best facilities with the latest equipment. And to Gary and the Academy team, this also includes creating the best environment for their students to thrive in.

Using Ecotile flooring has helped achieve this, with a tough, durable industrial floor covering providing increased comfort, a smart looking environment with an accelerated rate of boarding new apprentices. Installing Ecotile has helped set up this new training centre and achieve all their aims.