Hardwood flooring supplier Atkinson & Kirby Ltd has said that all of its flooring is certified and legally sourced, after the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed illegal merbau flooring had been used by the company in two residential developments.
EIA had claimed that flooring made from the controversial species has been installed at high-rise developments in Manchester and Birmingham, which were designed for the Beetham Organisation by architect Ian Simpson.
However, Lancashire-based Atkinson & Kirby, which supplied the flooring for all 219 apartments in the 47-storey Manchester block, said that the flooring is legitimate.
“We believe everything we have is legally sourced,” managing director Ray Scott told TTJ. “We check the certification of all of our suppliers, including those in Indonesia.”
Mr Scott added that Atkinson & Kirby, which announced in January that it had secured FSC certification for its hardwood flooring, had taken the decision to stop offering merbau products at the end of last year following the “adverse publicity” relating to the legality of the species, clearing its stocks of merbau and replacing it with FSC-certified jatoba.
