THE TOWN of Kirkcaldy was once synonymous worldwide with the production of linoleum, but the advent of laminate flooring and the fashion for polished boards led the industry into almost terminal decline.

Now the once ubiquitous floor covering is enjoying an unlikely revival after a team of Dutch scientists proved that it helps to prevent the spread of MRSA, the hospital superbug.

Forbo-Nairn, the Fife town’s last remaining producer of linoleum, has seen a 13% rise in sales in the past six months thanks to orders from hospitals and health clinics.

Next month Gordon Brown, the chancellor and local MP, will open a new £5.7m section of the huge “stoves” in which the linoleum is cooked at high temperatures.

Linoleum — derived from the Latin linum, meaning flax, and oleum, meaning oil — was invented in England in 1863 by Frederick Walton. Its production was perfected by Michael Nairn, a flooring manufacturer in Kirkcaldy, where it thrived until recently.

It is made by oxidising linseed oil to form a thick mixture called linoleum cement, which is cooled and mixed with pine resin and wood flour to form sheets on a jute backing.

Researchers at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute in Zeist, Holland, discovered that linoleum has the ability to destroy or inhibit the growth of two strains of MRSA. The effect is thought to be due to the antibacterial properties in the linseed oil used to make the lino.

The findings have given a boost to a once-thriving industry that has been running down for the past 50 years.

The British Allergy Foundation has awarded its seal of approval to the product, confirming that dust mites, which can exacerbate breathing problems such as asthma, cannot live or breed on the surface of linoleum.

The Forbo-Nairn product,whose brand name is Marmoleum, has been fitted in wards at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh; the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children; Ninewells hospital in Dundee; the Queen Margaret hospital, Dunfermline; and the Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy. Ormskirk and Southport hospitals, which also use the flooring, have attained the highest standards of hygiene in northwest England as well as the lowest recorded incidence of MRSA infection.

“There is no doubt about the qualities of linoleum as a weapon in the fight against MRSA and we are keen to co-operate in investigating its wider use in our hospitals,” said a spokesman for the hospitals. Derek Byrne, Forbo-Nairn’s managing director, said: “Put simply, MRSA cannot live, thrive or breed on our floors.”

Linoleum also wins points on environmental grounds since its raw materials are all naturally renewable and biodegradable.

“Usually MRSA is associated exclusively with bad news, so it is great that something so positive has come from the battle against it. We need all the help we can to keep this industry going in Kirkcaldy. The fact that linoleum prevents the spread of MRSA has certainly been a key part of our recent resurgence and that is really good news for all concerned,” said Byrne.

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