EAT café at the new EA Networks Centre in Ashburton seats up to 100 customers, catering for large sports tournaments as well as regular swimming pool and gym users. Like the fitness areas, the café environment has to be high performance and low maintenance to be able to run efficiently seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Hygienic for food prep areas

Fenta Ceiling Tiles are installed in the café's commercial kitchen and counter service area where hygiene standards are critical. The tiles' hard, high-gloss surface makes them resistant to moisture, bacteria, mould and mildew, keeping them pristine years after installation. When cleaning is required, their smooth, non-scratch surface makes this effortless.

Light-reflective for windowless rooms

The stylish tiles have a high-tech appearance due to their glossy white, light-reflective finish, which is designed to maximise illumination inside artificially lit spaces, a common situation for commercial kitchens. To achieve a high durability, ANZAL use a premium James Hardie fibre cement board finished with patented UltraLight Technology — an eco-friendly, UV curing process.

Low maintenance to lower running costs

Café manager Kim Jamison says the kitchen has to cater for a range of foods "from gourmet burgers to raw foods popular with gym goers. We have a good extraction system to deal with moisture and heat, and the ceiling tiles still look brand new a year after opening. They're amazing — they stay clean and are very low maintenance."

Fire retardant where heat sources are used

In addition to hygiene and light-reflectance, the other key feature required for a kitchen environment is fire safety. The Fenta tiles achieve the maximum New Zealand Building Code Fire Safety Standard, Group 1-S, and also meet the New Zealand requirements for non-sprinkler environments, making them an ideal choice for food prep and commercial kitchen areas.