With this colloquium we want to again bring together everyone who is involved in the industrial floors sector in a professional capacity, namely

• Contractors who as practical specialists speak to their skilled workers every day on site and implement the requirements of the planners under a wide range of site conditions;
• Clients who as industrial engineers make incredibly varied demands on floors as a means of production (as if it were one of their machines);
• Planners who translate the requirements of the Client into verifiable invitations to tender and who strive to find qualified contractors who have suitably trained specialist staff at their disposal;
• Formulators who purchase the best (and most inexpensive) raw materials from industrial chemicals and cement manufacturers in order to develop (often using mineral-based fillers and fibres) more or less foolproof materials which can be successfully used by unqualified workers and DIY enthusiasts;
• Manufacturers of raw materials (industrial chemicals and cements) who investigate the many substances resulting from fundamental research to see whether they offer formulators and contractors special benefits and whether they can be sold profitably on the market;
• Materials testers who through independent monitoring ensure that materials are supplied in uniform quality according to the agreed specifications;
• and finally independent experts who are alas frequently not consulted until there is a claim and who then ensure that the person responsible is brought before the courts. It would be better to involve these experts as special consultants already during the planning stage.