Independent testing certifies AcroMat’s Lifetime Performance Warranty guarantee that our 100-1 Series, 100-Cleanroom Series, and 100-ESD Series anti-fatigue mats will never curl, preventing a dangerous trip hazard for mat users.
Even a slight lift of your anti-fatigue mat borders can turn a strategic ergonomic solution into a dangerous trip and fall hazard. In fact, in our survey of 100+ safety and production leaders, curling was the No. 1 anti-fatigue mat complaint they received from employees.
This is why we back every AcroMat 100-1, 100-Cleanroom, and 100-ESD Series anti-fatigue mat with our Lifetime Performance Warranty. This warranty guarantees AcroMat anti-fatigue mats will never curl. And now, independent third-party research by OSHA-Accredited lab, CSA Group, has verified this promise with objective data.
Short on time? Find a brief summary and infographic of these test results and other OSHA-accredited, third-party lab testing data here.
1. The Test: Simulating 5 Years of Use
The Organization: Independent testing conducted by CSA Group, a not-for-profit leader in North American Standards as well as Testing, Inspection and Certification – including 3,000+ published codes and standards. CSA Group is formally recognized and accredited by OSHA, AMECA, ANSI, ASSE, BSI, CEC, MSHA, EPA, IAS, MaP, NSAI, RVIA, and SCC.
The Goal: Evaluate how AcroMat’s 100-1 Series industrial anti-fatigue mat, 100-Cleanroom Series anti-fatigue mat, and 100-ESD Series anti-fatigue mat, each made from molded, closed cell, nitrile rubber foam, holds up to long-term environmental stress – specifically, whether the edges remain flat or curl over long-term wear and use. Throughout the remainder of this article, this mat series will be referred to as the 100-Series anti-fatigue mats.
The Competition: The AcroMat 100-Series anti-fatigue mats were tested alongside one of the most commonly use diamond-plate mat designs in the world – an extruded PVC foam mat with a vinyl diamond-plate surface and waterfall edge.
The AcroMat 100-1 Series mat (middle) is made from molded, closed cell, nitrile rubber. The AcroMat 100-ESD Series and 100-Cleanroom Series mats are also constructed from molded nitrile, indicating that the curl testing data applies to all 100-Series mats.
To simulate 5 years of aging, CSA Group placed three samples of each anti-fatigue mat in a controlled environmental chamber at 80°C and 80% relative humidity – replicating heat, chemical, and moisture exposure. This accelerated aging process is based on the Arrhenius Equation, a standard scientific approach used to predict material longevity and time-to-fail.
At intervals representing 1, 2, 4, and 5 years of simulated aging, the mats were visually inspected for edge curling – a key indicator of degradation and dimensional instability.
Screenshot from the final report: Break down and explanation of the simulated aging process, intervals, and measuring period.
Photos provided by CSA Group: Showing the accelerated aging process using the Arrhenius Method. Each anti-fatigue mat sample was aged over 26 days – simulating 5 years of heavy industrial use. Red blocks are covering up another mat style as part of separate test.
2. The Results: AcroMat Remained Completely Flat
CSA Group’s findings were decisive. The AcroMat 100-Series anti-fatigue mats showed zero sign of edge curling at any internal. After 5 years of simulated aging, the borders remained as flat and flush as the day they were made. Conversely, the diamond-plate mat began curling before the simulated 1-year mark and continued to worsen over time.
Directly from CSA Group's final report:
"AcroMat Series 100-1 samples did not exhibit any edge curling at any point during the accelerated aging protocol. Competitor sample exhibited edge curling beginning at the simulated 1-year interval and continued to degrade over time."
Screenshot from the final report: After the equivalent of 5 years of harsh environmental stress, the AcroMat 100-1 Series mat edges remained completely flat. The diamond-plate mat showed signs of curling after 1 year and worsened as the test wore on.
Photos provided by CSA Group: Showing the AcroMat 100-Series mat laying flat after 5 years of simulated stress, next to the diamond-plate mat which curled after 1 year of use. Notably, the diamond-plate mat has also delaminated, another durability issue.
Additional Curl Test
Curling borders affect more than just foot traffic. Chairs, carts, standing forklifts, manufacturing settings have all kinds of wheeled traffic going back and forth every day. Even the slightest border lift can trip over carts, knock over valuable products, and/or injure your people.
To further validate AcroMat's curl resistance and durability, CSA Group rolled unweighted and weighted chairs on/off our mats 25,000 times over 7 days – measuring the borders at 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, and 25,000 intervals following ISO 4918 standard. According to CSA Group's final report, the borders showed no sign of curling and the seams remained intact:
"The chair condition showed little to no observable change throughout testing ... The bond between the black mat and the yellow border remained intact with no signs of separation."
Photos provided by CSA Group: Left photo shows the two chairs prepared for the rolling test. Right photo shows results after 25,000 on/off transitions: No curling.
Related: ASTM Testing: AcroMat 3X More Resilient Than Competitor Mats
3. Why Curling is a Safety Risk
Curling anti-fatigue mat borders is a highly common and serious workplace safety concern. OSHA identifies slip, trip, and fall injuries as the No. 2 most common workplace injury, often linked to uneven and inconsistent flooring. When an anti-fatigue mat curls, the raised lip catches shoes, carts, and other equipment. This can result in a serious injury, missed time, lost productivity, worker’s compensation, as well as broken trust and morale.
Footage sent to AcroMat by safety team: This employee in a distribution center tripped over a curling anti-fatigue mat border, broke her wrist, and missed several weeks of work.
The good news is, the National Safety Council identifies slips, trips, and falls as the No. 1 most preventable workplace injury. Anti-fatigue mats that lay flat without curling support injury prevention by providing a consistent and spatially aware on/off transition for fast-moving operators and other professionals who spend long hours on their feet.
Prevention in this area improves productivity by empowering employees to focus on the work rather than being hesitant with every step, elevates morale and trust by making sure employees get home from work as healthy as when they arrived, and makes sure your mats last longer which reduces total cost of ownership.
4. AcroMat Built for Prevention
The AcroMat 100-Series anti-fatigue mats are designed from the inside out to prevent curling – starting with a molded, closed cell 5/8 in. construction that locks the mat’s geometry in place. The nitrile material is impervious to liquids and chemical resistant, preventing issues like absorption, bloating, and shrinking that often contribute to curling.
The 20-degree, ADA-Compliant yellow borders on the AcroMat 100-1 Series anti-fatigue mat pictured below are likewise made from molded nitrile rubber. This impervious material combined with AcroMat’s proprietary cut-and-bond border design ensure our mats lay and permanently remain flat on the ground.
Left: AcroMat 100-1 Series mat, guaranteed to never curl. Picture captured from turbocharger manufacturing facility. Right: Traditional diamond-plate mat with waterfall design curling within 1 year of use. Picture captured from helicopter manufacturing facility.
The traditional diamond-plate mat tested by CSA Group was made using the highly common waterfall design. This approach includes a PVC foam pad glued underneath a vinyl diamond-plate surface. The “waterfall” aspect comes from how the vinyl surface is extended 2-3 inches beyond the pad.
When the open cell, porous PVC foam pad is met with harsh products like oils, the pad begins to absorb and buckle, causing the waterfall borders to raise off the ground like bacon on a fryer. This is what happened during CSA Group’s curl testing, and also what you see happening in the photo above inside a helicopter manufacturing facility.
Closer look at the diamond-plate waterfall edge design, showing the diamond-tread surface extending beyond a PVC foam pad.
5. A Warranty That Means Something
AcroMat is the only anti-fatigue mat provider in the world to protect against curling with a Lifetime Performance Warranty. This includes full-replacement warranty protections.
Unfortunately, other mat providers consider curling "wear and tear" and thus don’t warranty this dangerous issue. Without definitive protection against curling, if it happens, whether in 6 days, 6 weeks or 6 months, your only option is to endure the safety hazard or replace your mats. Neither are sustainable or effective long-term solutions.
CSA Group's 5-year aging and curl testing process confirms AcroMat’s lifetime warranty promise that our mats will never curl.
At AcroMat, we stand behind our 100-1 Series, 100-Cleanroom Series, and 100-ESD Series mats with a Lifetime Performance Warranty. The AcroMat warranty guarantees:
- The edges of your mat will NEVER curl.
- The mat will NEVER sink, flatten, or lose its ergonomic cushion.
- The bonds will NOT split, weaken, or come apart.
We couple our warranty with a guarantee against defects in material and workmanship and 60-day moneyback guarantee. The goal with our warranty is to make sure we are accountable to every mat we make, and make sure our customers are protected without compromise. CSA Group’s research backs up our lifetime warranty with scientific data.
The combination of rigorous laboratory testing, real-world case studies, a lifetime warranty, and our offer of a free sample mat before buying positions the AcroMat 100-1 Series anti-fatigue mat as a product you can invest in with confidence.
Curl Test Summary:
Conducted by: CSA Group – Cleveland, OH
Method: Accelerated aging based on the Arrhenius method
Conditions: 80°C / 80% relative humidity
Duration: Equivalent of 1-5 years simulated aging
Result: AcroMat 100-1 Series, 100-Cleanroom Series,and 100-ESD Series anti-fatigue mats showed zero edge curl after 5+ years. The competitor mat curled at the 1-year mark. The AcroMat 100-Series mat are made from molded, closed cell, nitrile rubber foam – the same material use to construct our NitriTuf Diamond Series mat borders.
About the Author: Rich Ward
Rich leads the AcroMat marketing team, sits on the company's leadership team, supports R&D, and is the architect behind the AcroMat brand. His focus is on providing clear, honest, and highly researched information to help our customers make confident buying decisions. You’ll often find Rich on industrial podcasts, LinkedIn, and other channels sharing the anti-fatigue mat insight and practical tips he learns from constantly researching and testing our products as well as meeting with customers on-site.
