FFI 103 June 2019

INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibution and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

N° 103, July 2019 - Price: ₏8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

Special: Top French producers focused on export Atelier Passe Partout is a Belgian parquet company, which is managed by Filip Redant and has won the 'Wood Floor of the Year 2019' at NWFA (USA) in the marquetry category

new collection Rigid LVT.

100% waterproof Review: Ligna Hannover (D) The floors of the future (meeting in Antwerp/B)

EPLF celebrates its 25th anniversary (D)

sound

-20 decibels Special: Who has reactive stains

real wood structure

XL planks & tiles www.berryalloc.com

For more than 38 years Floorservice® is the specialist when it comes to treatment, finishing, maintenance and cleaning of wooden floors.

With a wide range of products for manual, professional and industrial application.

LED- Oil and UV-Oil • Nature Protect 2K for an unfinished look • Aging Products Easy maintenance system • VOC-free • Reactive and non reactive Stains Hardwax-Oil 1K & 2K • Industrial & Manual Application • Custom Made Collections

Overmat Industries B.V. | Scharlo 11 | NL-5165 NG Waspik | Netherlands | Tel. +31 (0) 416 31 77 88 | www.overmat.nl | info@overmat.nl

Content INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibu tion and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

Editorial

N° 103, July 2019 - Price: €8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

Special: Top French producers focused on export Atelier Passe Partout is a Belgian parquet company, which is managed by Filip Redant and has won the 'Wood Floor of the Year 2019' at NWFA (USA) in the marquetry category

BerryAlloc offers a wide array of interior solutions for residential and commercial projects, ranging from laminate, vinyl planks and tiles, parquet floors to wall panels. The extensive BerryAlloc product range has a lifetime warranty, is durable and meets current aesthetic and technical requirements: quality, variety of finishes, durability, longevity and ease of installation.

new collection Rigid LVT.

100% waterproof Review: Ligna Hannover (D) The floors of the future (meeting in Antwerp/B)

EPLF celebrates its 25th anniversary (D)

sound

-20 decibels Special: Who has reactive stains

real wood structure

XL planks & tiles www.berryalloc.com

Guided by trends and the latest technological improvements, we strive to inspire and delight our customers. Discover our vinyl planks and tiles or laminate floors with a natural stone or wood look for your living room, bedroom, hallway, bathroom, kitchen or home office. Or choose a

Floor Forum International n° 103 July 2019 Photo BerryAlloc

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Inside news

8 Atelier Passe Partout is a Belgian parquet company, which

is managed by Filip Redant and has won the 'Wood Floor of the Year 2019' at NWFA (USA) in the marquetry category 10 Review Ligna Hannover (D) 12 EPLF celebrates its 25th anniversary (D) 14 Special Adjustable floor support systems for terrace floors 18 Special Who has green chemistry 22 The floors of the future (meeting in Antwerp/B) 24 Special Producers of water resistant skirting boards 28 Special Curing oil/laquers using LED 31 Special Finishing and maintaining products for wooden

exterior walls 36 Special Adhesives for floors in vinyl, PVC and LVT 37 Special Computerisation in the parquet industry 38 Advertorial BerryAlloc (B) 40 Special Producers of distressed floors 46 Special Industrial lacquers 49 Special Wooden terrace floors versus wood composite

terrace floors 51 Industry news 52 Special Who has reactive stains

Spirit Pro – Click Comfort 55 – Country brown

BerryAlloc

parquet floor for an authentic look and feel.

BerryAlloc is sure to have a stunning floor solution for every space.

BerryAlloc is an international company with production plants in different countries. Our vinyl planks & tiles are produced in Wielsbeke (Belgium), laminate – DPL is produced in Menen (Belgium). Next to the production sites in Belgium, we have a company in Lyngdal (Norway) specialized in HPL and Walls while our parquet is produced in Meaulne (France).

We are proud to be a European company.

Let’s talk about Spirit – the new BerryAlloc Rigid LVT collection.

BerryAlloc just launched a new Rigid LVT collection: Spirit. Trendy styles, tasteful designs and simple installation: The Spirit collection features vinyl planks & tiles to suit all tastes, ranging from simplicity to luxury, and from accessible to exclusive. Spirit adds so much more to your home than just a floor alone: a warm and welcoming mood, a powerful statement, and the ability to enjoy your home without worry.

Our low-maintenance, scratch-resistant, 100% waterproof floors give you and your family the freedom to be yourself, in all your splendor. No one can stop you from living life to the full!

Our Spirit floors suit homes located in any geographical area, your floor will retain its stability throughout despite fluctuations in temperature. Even in humid rooms or close to large windows with direct sunlight pouring in, you’ll have no trouble installing our click comfort floor or the glue-down. The innovative technology and aftercare of the planks and tiles ensure that your floor retains an even surface at all times, even after repeated heating and cooling.

Spirit. Is a 100% phthalate-free floor that outperforms the European standard to make a strong statement without compromise. Our A+ certificate speaks for itself.

56 Special Invisible lacquers: who has them ?

59 Special Distressing products 62 Special Hard wax oil 66 Special Producers of hybrid adhesives 69 Special Top French producers focused on export 74 Product news

Editing & advertisements FFI bvba PO BOX 29 9870 Olsene, Belgium Tel: +32 (0)9 385 80 40 Fax: +32 (0)9 385 88 85 sales@media-pact.com www.floor-forum.com Publisher Filip De Ridder

Subscriptions to Floor Forum International: Mail to info@media-pact.com

Lay-out: Be-able Communication www.be-able.be Production: Lowyck - Oostende

Advertising & subscriptions Adriana Dascalu info@media-pact.com Hilde De Ridder floorforum@telenet.be Filip De Ridder sales@media-pact.com Editors: Jean Paul Talbot, Ludwig Janssens, Filip De Ridder Jacques Legros

Translation: Michael Robinson www.glossa.be Floor Forum International is a publication of FFi bvba.

The copyright of Floor Forum International and the articles appearing herein are retained by the publisher. By agreeing to publication of an article in this journal, the author assigns to the publisher the irrevocable and exclusive right under Copyright law to collect charges due from third parties for copying said article and to undertake legal or other action for this purpose.

Editorial and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and Floor Forum International bvba cannot accept any responsibility for any errors.

∂ Inside news Pallmann Xavier Laurence strengthens the Pallmann sales team as of 01.06.2019 New Pallmann consultant in the west of France Mr. Xavier Laurence is the new sales representative for the Pallmann brand. From 1 June he supports the sales team in North-West France.

The 38-year-old has many years of experience in sales and application technology consulting. Through his work as a sales representative for the manufacturer OBBIA, he brings with him experience in the field of building material products and surface finishing of wood.

Loba Loba offers several types of oil systems which contain no solvents. There is Lobasol® HardwaxOil EcoPlus, a one-component penetrating oil based on plants, which is free from Cobalt and butanonoxime. Due to its very low emission, HardwaxOil EcoPlus bears the GEV-EMICODE EC1 Plus.

Moreover, it gives the surface a rich and full-bodied appearance. Lobasol® HS 2K Impact Oil (Color), a natural two-component impregnating oil for high demands, accentuates the natural character of the wood and is perfect for an individual colour design. In addition to its altogether 17 colours, which can be mixed, it can be combined with the waterborne pigment stain PreTone for intense colour effects. Due to its high water resistance it suitable for bathrooms and spa areas. The ergonomic roller application of only one single layer makes it very user-friendly. HS 2K Impact Oil is LOBA’s best-seller in the oil range and can already be fully used after two days.

Lobasol® HS Akzent 100 Oil one-component impregnating oil is ideal for floors with normal use. It effectively protects the surface for

FOR PARQUET FLOORING, CUTTING AND CHIPBOARD!

permanent use in private and public areas. Its good penetration properties preserve the wood but keep it porous and breathable. All these three products are real time-savers, as they can be applied in a one-day-system. With their anti-slip properties and natural components, they comply with BGR 181 (evaluation group R10) / DIN 51130 and are suitable for children’s toys according to DIN EN 71-3.

Merlin Technology A "Made in Austria” world’s first: Non-destructive wood moisture measuring device with double sensor!

This is the key to increased success! Thanks to the HM9 DUO from Merlin Technology, the innovation engine, it’s possible to measure the moisture of narrow to very wide wooden workpieces.

Wood is sensitive. The right material moisture can mean profit or loss, and it’s therefore an absolute must for every serious craftsman.

Featuring top quality and precision, the brand-new HM9 DUO qualifies as a price-performance ratio champ, and with nearly 100,000 measuring devices sold, Merlin Technology has all the right experience in this industry.

Valuable information The HM9 DUO measures non-destructive and is used everywhere, where damage and traces of measuring are unacceptable. Whether narrow or very wide, the moisture in each workpiece is measured exactly using one of the two available sensors. The measurement depths of 8 and 40 mm and the 21 pre-programmed wood groups are especially practical. The HM9 DUO also delivers valuable information about whether or not the indoor climate at the company is suitable. If not, a humidification system from Merlin Technology can be an enormous help.

UNIQUE!

HM9 DUO Non-destructive wood moisture meter

DUAL SENSOR: 2-in-1 device for measuring different depths and narrow specimens Non-destructive capacitive measurement 21 timber groups programmed Easy handling

T: +43 (0) 7752 71 966 | office@merlin-technology.com

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Floor Forum International 103

www.merlin-technology.com

Your specialist in acoustics

Tested (and approved) S801-Technology for over 10 years

170 rue de la Roquette 75011 Paris contact@dinachoc.com - www.dinachoc.com Contact : +33 7 83 02 03 14

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Our commitment to Sustainable Development Recycling is a necessity. That’s why Dinachoc makes every effort to offer you only recycled products. This stimulates the circular economy and looks to the future for everyone.

The premium polymer of choice for your flooring adhesives.

Want to know more?

Get in touch with us! www.kaneka.be

∂ Inside news HARO DISANO – The family keeps on growing DISANO by HARO: Now in tile styles

In the market segment of healthy living design floors, HARO has been one of the pioneers of 100% PVC- and plasticiser-free design flooring for years. For this reason, the company systematically works to expand further and has added six new stone styles in a tile format to the DISANO Smart Aqua series.

Modern, healthy living design floors like the DISANO series by HARO do not use PVC and harmful plasticisers. They combine an authentic look with exceptional comfort qualities. The healthy living feature of DISANO floors has been confirmed by the German environmental seal Blauer Engel (Blue Angel) and the seal of the testing group ECO-Institut.

DISANO design floors are particularly dimensionally stable. As a

Filling technology for wood flooring MACHINED FILLING OF KNOTS IN PARQUET before

CSP Engineering bvba Stenehei 30/10 B-2480 Dessel (Belgium) 6

after

Tel: +32 14 37 77 52 info@csp-engineering.com www.csp-engineering.com

Floor Forum International 103

result, their dimension does not change even when the floor is exposed to strong sunlight. The current debate about rigid core boards as they are known has been old news for HARO for a long time. With the exception of DISANO Project, all DISANO floors have a rigid core, which ensures the necessary certainty during installation.

DISANO Smart Aqua - now available in six trend stone styles as part of the tile format Right in time for the furnishing season, HARO has added trendy stone styles in the tile format 30 cm x 60 cm to its DISANO Smart Aqua series. The great qualities of DISANO can now be combined with the natural look of stone or a modern concrete appearance. This includes wet areas like bathrooms and the kitchen, where the floor can always get wet. The best-selling series among the healthy living DISANO design floors, the DISANO Smart Aqua, is now also available in the following styles: - Modern concrete look (bright/grey) for a puristic look - A sandstone style that produces warm radiance - Marble – the classic option for noble floor styles - Art déco – a pattern that is a real eye-catcher - Chic appearance of classic slate You see a natural ston––e in a tile format. But you feel warmth under your feet and enjoy a soft sensation when you walk. Three of these styles (Concrete Light, Slate Anthracite and Marble) are also available with DISANO Project. In the classic tile format of 2 x 310 x 650 mm (DISANO Project) or 6.5 x 313 x 631 mm (DISANO Smart Aqua), they offer the full range of benefits of a modern, healthy living DISANO design floor.

And with the DISANO Classic Aqua flagship product too, HARO is consistently pursuing the objective of high-quality product positioning. The three new authentic styles ‘Oak Provence Creme’, ‘Oak Provence Nature’ as well as ‘Oak Provence Smoked’ are the spearhead for especially natural looking style surfaces and collectively represent contemporary and absolutely trendy, healthy living floor design. The built-in moisture protection makes it the perfect choice for wet rooms.

8/3 Philosophy for simple sales at the PoS True to the 8/3 philosophy, HARO is offering an additional element for simple sales at the PoS. Eight identical styles are available for DISANO Saphir, DISANO Classic Aqua and DISANO Project. This ultimate versatility places all vendors in the virtually ingenious position of being able to respond flexibly to any customer requirements and thus offer a healthy living DISANO design floor in the same look across different series for all conceivable, individual applications – regardless of whether in the home or for entire apartments in the commercial sector. Selling has never been simpler, more customer-focused and more value-adding for retail.

DISANO design floors – simply furnish more cleverly: - No PVC and, thus, now harmful plasticisers - Winner of the environmental seals issued by Blue Angel and the ECO Institut.

- Durable, warm underfoot, pleasant walking sensation - Suited for wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms - Simple care with clean & green - Five different series with different installation heights - The most beautiful wood and stone styles

∂ Inside news Dalla Riva

Want to become our colleague at Rubio Monocoat?

A sports floor must safeguard athletes from injury and should also allow for top quality sport at the same time. And so, it has to be elastic, but also ensure the correct bounce and adequate grip. In other words, it has to comply with standard EN 14904 for ‘multi-sport surfaces’. Dalla Riva has sports floors for all sports disciplines. Dalla Riva was the only official sports floor supplier for the FIFA FUTSAL WORLD CUP in Colombia in 2016. Dalla Riva sports floors range from floors for small gymnasia to huge sports arenas and floors can be permanent or portable. The best sorts of wood from a sporting technical point of view are oak and Hevea rubber wood. For each project Dalla Riva operates on the basis of the client’s needs and wishes.

Are you in for a new work challenge? Interested to work in a young, dynamic family-owned business in full expansion? Then you are the colleague we’re looking for! At Rubio Monocoat we produce innovative, environmental friendly finishing products to protect and colour wood, for interior, exterior and industrial applications.

Today our products are sold in 82 countries, across all continents. Right now we want to attract a Production Manager, R&D Assistant(s), Assistant accountant and Expert Electromechanics.

Do you recognize yourself in one of these profiles? Then be sure to check out the job descriptions on www.rubiomonocoat.be. You can send your resume and motivation to jobs@rubiomonocoat.com.

D E S I G N® PA R Q U E T Fr a nc e

Custom-made

Quality Parquet

FOR PROFESSIONALS

LOFT PRO

“Every product you need for a perfect floor.”

Tel: +32(0)11 63 64 00 - www.parketkerkhofs.be

OAK PARQUET GRANGE 3 widths Campagne Oak/Sauvage Knots and cracks filled in black 3 widths : 90 / 145 / 220 mm Thick : 16 mm - Top layer : 4,5 mm Natura oiled structured Tongue & Groove - 2 bevels Semi-solid wood flooring (Birch plywood base)

www.designparquet.fr

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Atelier Passe Partout (B)

ATELIER PASSE PARTOUT WINS NWFA WOOD FLOOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2019-The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA ) is pleased to announce that Atelier Passe Partout. Mechelen, Belgium, won the Best Parquetry/lnlay Application category in the NWFA's 2019 Wood Floor of the Year contest. The announcement was made on Thursday, May 2 during the Awards Ceremony at the NWFA Expo in Fort Worth, Texas.

Parquet in marquetry and inlay Atelier Passe Partout won the “Wood Floor of the Year 2019 - Best marquetry/Inlay application” award from the National Wood Flooring Association, USA. The winning parquet floor was both designed and executed by Filip Redant.

Although the parquet only measures 240cm x 240cm, it contains 22 different types of wood and also brass strips. Many of those types of wood, e.g. Flamed Maple, Flamed Ash, Ebony, Mahogany, Rosewood etc., are also used in the construction of musical instruments.

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Some, such as Rio-Rosewood, Cuba-Mahogany, White Ebony, Snakewood, Rosewood etc., are on the CITES list (a list of protected animals and plant species) which means that they can not longer be exported. However existing stocks can still be used. For over 30 years Atelier Passe Partout has had a policy of acquiring exceptional pieces of wood. Thanks to that it still owns a considerable stock.

Apart from these very exclusive types of wood, many “common” types of wood were used, e.g. Teak, native Walnut, American and Brazilian Walnut (Imbua), Cherry, Plane Tree, Satin Wood etc. In this piece of art, the most beautiful and rare types of wood (unfortunately also the most expensive) from all over the world meet each other. This parquet floor is designed as a removable (and thus movable) whole. The pieces of precious wood that make up the design are 9 mm thick and were glued and nailed on a birch plywood of 14 mm.

Each single piece of the design was handcrafted.

Neither CNC, nor laser were used. Hence no two pieces are exactly the same. This aspect, together with the

use of the rare types of wood, sets it apart from the industrially made parquet roses.

After assembling all the parts, the entire panel has been sanded and finished off with oil and an extra layer of wax. Visitors will be able to see the panel at several events where this first rate artisanal company Passe Partout will be present. Amongst others it will be present at the prestigious Yachting Festival in Cannes (France), the world’s biggest yachting fair (September 10-15).

The Wood Floor of the Year Awards were developed to encourage and recognize innovative craftsmanship and design in wood flooring installations. Since the program began in 1990, more than 200 awards have been presented to NWFA member companies throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Russia, Belgium, and Finland.

This year's Wood Floor of the Year Contest yietded 65 entries. All entries in the competition featured flooring installations completed between January and December 2018. A panel of judges comprised of technica! advisory committee members and industry leaders evaluated the individual categories. The NWFA membership voted on all entries to recognize the Members' Choice winner.

For more information about the annual Wood Floor of the Year awards, please visit www.nwfa.org/wfoy.

The National Wood Flooring Association is a not-for-profit trade organization, with more than 3,200 member companies worldwide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring. NWFA members receive the best in educational training, benefits, technica! resources and networking, to advance their professionalism and success. The NWFA is located at 111 Chesterfield lndustrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005, and can be contacted at 800.422.4556 (USA & Canada), 636.519.9663 (local and international), or online at www.nwfa.org.

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Review

Ligna Hannover (D)

LIGNA 2019 REVOLVED AROUND DIGITALISATION VISITORS WERE LOOKING FOR NEW INTEGRATED SYSTEMS The five-day show Ligna 2019 closed with some impressive figures. The leading global show for woodwork, machines, and tools once more gave the timber industry a strong boost and opened the door to future investments. Ingenious solutions for the future took centre stage. Digitalisation and computerisation stole the show. Users have also grasped that now. Ingenious and integrated solutions are ready for both smaller niche sectors and large-scale manufacturers.

The range on offer The range on offer proved once again that Ligna is still the top global platform for launching the latest technological innovations in the timber industry. No fewer than 1,500 exhibitors from 50 countries turned up to present their futuristic solutions. These were solutions to put technological applications in the hands of all players in the industry. The focus was certainly on digitalisation, computerisation, robotics, and revolutionary applications for surface technology. ‘Forms of technology which seemed visionary at the previous Ligna are now a reality,’ Dr Andreas Gruchow of Deutsche Messe said. Some people saw in Ligna 2019 proof that humankind has made huge strides in the field of digital woodwork and that interest in advanced technology is growing all over the world.

from the touch screen operating panel. In other words, more ease of adjustment and use.

CSP Engineering

The visitors There were plenty of them! No fewer than 90,000 visitors came to Hanover from over 100 countries. They were looking for and found solutions in the form of the right technology and applications to help their businesses grow and stay competitive. The fact that 40,000 visitors came from abroad stressed the international character of the show. In particular, there was a noticeable increase in visitors from North America and South-East Asia. Over half of the visitors shared the conviction that the significance of ‘Industry 4.0’ is extremely important. At all events, the testimonials of visitors and exhibitors were highly enthusiastic.

Some exhibitors Boere For the perfect finish on ‘Special’ materials.

Customers see Boere as a leading company when talking about the perfect sanding solution. In the past it was traditional materials: solid wood and veneer which were calibrated and fine finished to perfection. Nowadays ‘special’ materials become more popular. Plastics, composite materials and solid surface require in general intensive machining. Not only need these materials to be calibrated, but usually a high finish is demanded as well. Polishing this material by hand is a very labour intensive process. However, this can be done much easier and cheaper with a wide belt sanding machine. At Ligna Boere showed, among others, the further developed texturing brush machine or aging machine Select X-Line. Before the structuration brushes needed to be adjusted manually, now this is done electromotively and, moreover,

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For the 1st time CSP Engineering exhibited on Ligna. The Belgian machine constructor for wood flooring industry chose for a stand in hall 17, reserved for ‘surface technology’.

Our participation turned out to be the ideal opportunity to meet with relations & new contacts from the wood flooring industry.

The visitors were mostly interested in the recent developments on the filling technology such as the new types of filling machines with the PAR-Filler® Mono for limited capacities and the PAR-Filler® Duplex for industrial productions. Also the recent innovations for packing solutions were considered as a great advantage.

Without any doubt CSP Engineering will be exhibiting again on the next edition of Ligna.

GIARDINA GROUP

Sherwin Williams

A SUCCESSFULL LIGNA FOR GIARDINA GROUP

"A lot of people, much interest: many visits from India and South America, markets in which we are engaged with dedication. Excellent feedback also from the United States, with orders signed during the show ... in short, once again the world has found a meeting point at Ligna“. This is the first reaction by Stefano Mauri, co-owner of Giardina Group with his brother Riccardo, to the 2019 edition of Ligna, which ended last Friday.

Excimer technologies drew a lot of attention on the booth of the Italian leader manufacturer "... this technology will certainly be important in the coming years both in roller and spray coating processes; along with digital printing, a field in which we will be able to deliver more already in the coming weeks, thanks to an important cooperation that has been going on now for some time and will be formalized shortly ”, Mr. Mauri concluded.

It was a pleasure to meet both new and old acquaintances for interesting and fruitful discussions about surface finishing at this year’s LIGNA 2019.

It also got us up to speed about the latest product news from the wood working industry.

Like previous years we showcased our coatings together with some major machine suppliers. We received very positive feedback for our finishing products that was demonstrated. Thanks to the Excimer curing technology we are able to provide surface finishing products with beautiful soft touch surfaces for a luxury feel that provides you with an improved scratch and chemical resistance and an anti-finger print surface. This product solution also offers the possibility to reach a gloss as low as 3-5. Our UV curable Spot repair filler for flooring can fill big and deep knot holes and cracks that allows you to achieve beautiful rustic effects. With a very good adhesion to substrate, elasticity and minimal shrinkage of the filler it will prevent cracking and knots from falling out during production procedure as well as during use of the floor.

Renzo Borgonovo / Figli di Nando Trabattoni

Wintersteiger

Photo credit : ©wintersteiger

“Renzo Borgonovo” and “Figli di Nando Trabattoni” gladly take this opportunity to thank everyone for the excellent turn out of this LIGNA edition, which has brought us to know new wonderful people and pushed us to expand, once again, our horizons and boundaries. A particular thanks to our historical customers, who, while continuing doing business with us, give us a great boost to improve our products and services with their constructive feedbacks, advice, and new requests. Additionally, for the first time in a show, we had our Hot Embossing machine Borgore 800/ITI, electrically heated, running for live demonstrations, fact that had a great impact on the pass-by visitors and surely contributed greatly to the success of our event. This will now surely remain a constant for our future appearances. Thanking everyone once again, we wait you at our next scheduled events: Drema2019 (Imac Sp. Zoo’s stand), WoodEx2019 (Koimpex Grp’s stand), Domotex2020, HolzHandwerk2020, and Xylexpo2020! Wintersteiger presented a firework of innovations at LIGNA.

Wintersteiger displayed no less than 4 new products at LIGNA. In the field of timber repair and cosmetics (TRC), the team presented the TRC 1500 - a new type of fully automated filling machine as well as the TRC Manufactory, an automated machine for performing surface finishing on rustic planks and boards. The third global innovation was a solution for the fully automated stacking of top layers. As for saw blades, Wintersteiger exhibited the new “DSB Prime” thin-cutting band saw blades that promise a significant increase in performance.

Separate saw blade booth in Hall 25.

As one of the largest saw blade manufacturers in Europe, Wintersteiger showed its full range of band saw blades for wood, food, and metal.

Wintersteiger saw blades are specially tailored to their specific application and the material to be cut, delivering optimum results costeffectively and with extremely high quality. New at Ligna were resaw and log band saws with a blade width of up to 260 mm and sharpening service for resaw and log band saws incl. logistics solutions.

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EPLF celebrates its 25th anniversary (D)

EPLF 1994 TO 2019 – TH 25 ANNIVERSARY NEW EPLF-EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTED This year’s General Assembly of the EPLF® European Producers of Laminate Flooring Association, taking place at Antwerp/ Belgium on June 5 and 6 on invitation of the Beaulieu/BerryAlloc Group, did not only celebrate the 25th anniversary of the association. Besides numerous political decisions a new executive board had to be elected: Max von Tippelskirch (Swiss Krono Group) is confirmed as president, Ruben Desmet (Unilin) as vice-president, and Eberhard Herrmann (Classen Group) as member of the board. Again Georg Kruse (Windmöller) was chosen as auditor, who was carrying this responsibility since several years already.

Max von Tippelskirch (Swiss Krono Group)- President

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Ruben Desmet (Unilin) - Vice - President

Eberhard Herrmann (Classen Group) - Member of the Board

This year the EPLF celebrates its 25th anniversary.

25 years are reason enough to take the opportunity to analyse the laminate flooring market, fundamentally and objectively: some facts & figures With the production from their European plants, the EPLF members cover a world market share of almost 50% of the approx. one billion m². Their share of the European market (including Turkey) is over 80%. European laminate floorings are now sold in 123 countries. With 18 producers from nine European countries as well as 30 suppliers and test institutes as members, the EPLF is this industry’s most important organisation.

Following the growth from the early 1990s to 2008, global sales levelled at around one billion m² per year and since then they have grown slowly. In the initial years, European production dominated the world market. From around the year 2000, production facilities shot up elsewhere, mainly in China and North America, later in Turkey and in Russia. The growth rates of the European industry reduced and its market share shrank too.

Today the production and export shares are distributed as follows: China accounts for more than a quarter of world production, around one sixth is exported. In Germany, ranked second, the situation is different: Somewhat less than a quarter of world production with around 75 % exported. Turkey ranks third among the manufacturing countries, with approx. 10% of world production and limited exports.

Russia follows with approx. 9% and approx. 20% imports, and finally the USA: 8% of world production is made there with significant imports.

Since 2007, a phenomenon has been developing in Europe: While the production quantity is stabilised through increased exports to more

and more new markets, sales have decreased, especially in Western Europe, in some cases dramatically. This is reflected in the figures for the decade 2007/2017: The sales of the EPLF manufacturers caved in Germany by 40%, in Spain by 24%, in Great Britain by 12%, in France by 9%. The growth in Belgium of around 20%, or in Italy of around 16% fail to compensate for this within Western Europe.

A hypothesis is circulating among the EPLF, which is supported by market research in Germany, France and Poland; which suggests that the substitution pressure in a market tends to increase, the higher the purchase power is. Where does this substitution come from? The astonishing answer: The cannibalisation often takes place within the same firms, i.e. through MMF floorings (LVT) with “identical DNA”. It is found that average MMF floorings are more high-priced than average laminate floorings, but are able to score in terms of surface feel, noise and moisture resistance.

Compared to others, laminate flooring has experienced tremendous development of continuous innovations. The EPLF discusses communication initiatives, above all to rid the latest generation of premium laminate (from 10 mm thick, high abrasion, water resistance, synchronous embossing, V-joint) of some “long-established prejudices”.

The manufacturers have accelerated efforts to improve their product technically in recent years. Negative consumer experiences have evolved into prejudices, they no longer apply to the new generation.

The EPLF is celebrating its anniversary during a period in which it faces major challenges. Market volume, international presence, technical know-how, inventiveness, financial strength and the unique ecological position are outstanding premises for getting a grip on the structural change in the home markets.

More information on www.eplf.com

From left to right: Mr. Herrmann, Ms. F. Saouli COO of Cambre Associates, Mr. P.H. Meyer Managing Director EPLF, Mr. M. van Tippelskirch

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Special

Adjustable floor support systems for terrace floors

THRIVING OUTDOOR LIFE GUIDES THE ACCESSORY MARKET TERRACE AND FLOOR SUPPORTS ARE INTEGRATING GRADUALLY Terrace supports (‘pedestals’ in French) are sophisticated high-tech support pillars for the construction of raised floors. They can be used for the floor of a trade fair stand, a concert stage, a dance floor, etc. The refined aspect of these terrace supports is their versatility. They solve various problems simultaneously. A solution for everything!

The fact that the terrace market is growing has ensured in recent years that the range of terrace supports from more or less one manufacturer has risen to a whole series of manufacturers and suppliers.

Outdoor life is thriving Wooden (and other) terraces, swimming pools, roof gardens, and everything related to outdoor life seem to be inspiring an increasingly large group of clients. The result is that more traders are now selling terraces and accessories and the quality of the products is on the way up.

Terraces The level of fitting terraces is rising all the time. By that, of course, we mean the level of quality. That improvement in quality is because professional fitters now have more technical expertise plus the fact that there is a whole range of high-quality technological accessories and fitting tools. Invisible fastening and synthetic adjustable floor supports undoubtedly contribute to a longer lifespan.

Swimming pools Differences in height will often also have to be eliminated for the integration of a swimming pool into an existing terrace or alongside a terrace. We now know that the swimming pool market is booming.

Fitting a swimming pool into an existing terrace and garden configuration will only rarely be possible without radical changes to the various levels.

Paths and ‘islands’ If we are unable or unwilling to fit a terrace, garden, and swimming pool, and, if necessary, a spot for sunbathers or a platform for the barbecue in one connected whole, we get a spread of places for relaxation in the garden. That often creates a need to connect those places to each other by means of paths and that, in turn, can be done in several different ways.

Roof gardens Land is becoming more scarce and more and more people are building their habitat in an urban context. What we have said above about the garden and terrace (usually) plays out in miniature on scores of roofs and roof platforms in big cities. Floor supports are usually vital for the construction of green roofs and roof gardens.

A good floor support ‘can do anything!’

The fact that the floor supports which we have found on the market are made of synthetics makes them fairly impervious to damp, fluctuating weather conditions, or fluctuations in temperature. Since the floor supports are located under the terrace, they are not affected at all by UV light, something to which synthetics are vulnerable, especially with regard to colour fastness.

Differences in height and slopes The base of the floor supports is usually a wide disc which ensures that the floor support stands firmly on the substrate. Judging by the trademarks from which we have received some technical information, floor supports don’t have to be fixed to the substrate. Since the differences in height to be bridged for terraces or other applications are always different, the terrace supports have to be adjustable in height. Otherwise vendors would have to keep an endless range of different sizes in stock.

Moreover, since this is sometimes merely a question of levelling a mere

www.buzon.eu

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Quick and easy installation

Slope correction up to 5%

Does not harm waterproof membrane

Fast removal of water

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Floor & forum EN.indd 1

ADJUSTABLE PEDESTALS FOR ALL TYPES OF TERRACES 6/11/18 10:34

THE R E VOLU T I O N A RY CON C E P T OF D E C KI NG TO C L I P

AND A S T RU CT U R E 100% M ADE I N F R A NC E

W W W. G R A D C ONC E PT. C OM

00219 Visual Comunicazione – VE

3 or 4% of drainage slope, they also have to be suitable for extremely small differences in levels. Apart from different heights, we also have to be able to absorb different slopes. That means that the upper side of the floor support has to be somewhat pivotable.

What’s on the market?

Burger The TOP LIFT floor support from Grad has revolutionised the level setting of the clipped terrace.

Enjoy the P E D E S TA L L I N E · O U T D O O R R A I S E D FLOORS SUPPORTS H EIG HT F ROM 1 0 TO 1 020 M M FO R T I L E A ND D ECK I NG PE RF EC T SE L F -LE V E L L I NG F L AT NE S S 1 00% REC YC L E D A ND R ECYCLA B L E

R E Q U E S T T H E C O M P L E T E C ATA L O G U E

M A D E I N I T A LY · I M P E R T E K . C O M

Designed, developed, certified, and manufactured under the Grad trademark, this floor support meets the requirements of standard DTU 51.4. It is in polypropylene, 100% made in France, and is made from recycled raw materials. It can be recycled itself and carries a 30-year guarantee. It comprises a system of claws and all you have to do is add up to three pairs of elevation supports to raise the floor support from 35 to 190mm! There is also the Top+ up to 280mm as an option.

Everywhere on the site the height is set precisely and the nut makes it possible to regulate the flatness of the terrace, whilst a slope corrector can offset slopes up to 4%. Thanks to a smooth top surface of at least 300cm², it is not necessary to anchor the supports. It is therefore easy to vary the heights and offset differences in evenness on the floor. The Grad elevation system consists of two sections, namely the Top Lift support as base and the elevation sections. Result: less stock management and more flexibility.

Buzon Pedestal International S.A.

Buzon International S.A. offers a solution for fitting terraces on sloping or uneven surfaces. Buzon designs, produces, and sells floor supports of the screw jack type, which are produced from polypropylene. The supports consist of 80% recycled propylene and 20% talc, so they can be completely recycled. Obviously, the quality of the basic material is important for the durability. Buzon floor supports have undergone scores of tests. Amongst other things, they can withstand temperatures from -30°C to 80°C. That’s why these supports can be found in extremely warm and damp climates (Middle East), but also in bitterly cold regions such as Russia and Poland. These floor supports can be adjusted in height from 3 to 1,120mm. The adjustment is made by

screwing. They can be deployed for beams from 35 to 90mm. The U-PH5 and DPH-PH5 systems can be adjusted up to a half of a per cent. The floor supports can cope with weights of up to 1500kg. The great strength of Buzon, apart from the incomparable quality of the products, is the easy fitting, the safety, and, in particular, their ability to produce and deliver quickly from a supply of several hundred thousand floor supports. Buzon also has non-adjustable floor supports (15mm) with slope corrector.

IMPERTEK INTELLIGENT OUTDOOR WITH PEDESTAL LINE The laying of raised floors becomes easy and ecological PEDESTAL LINE is the complete range of supports and accessories for the creation of outdoor raised floors.

Thanks to the height range from 10 to 1020 mm and an unlimited selection of specific heads for ceramic, stone and decking floors, the system created by Impertek Srl is the most complete on the market, with high quality products completely Made in Italy, from planning to realization with recycled and recyclable material.

Essential tools to expand the design potential of architects and professionals, PEDESTAL LINE products are used on terraces, poolside, walkways on roofs, hanging gardens and buildings in urban spaces.

The latest news of the range is the Rail System, aluminum joists that act as sliding rails with special heads for laying floors with long and tight ceramics of any shape and size, multi-layer laying and decking.

The maximum stability and the perfect levelling guarantee an impeccable final floor, easy and quick to lay.

Find out more about PEDESTAL LINE at www.impertek.com

Solidor Solidor floor supports made from polypropylene are now an established product. They can withstand temperatures from -25°C to + 80°C and have a bearing capacity of up to 1000kg. It is easy to fix the floor support in place once the correct height is set. The base plate has a surface of 300cm².

The system can control heights between 17mm and 1m.

Automatic slope correctors are available to absorb slopes as required (up to 10%). With the ultra-thin aluminium support structure Structusol which Solidor has now launched, the company has raised terraces to new levels. With Structusol, Solidor is certainly living up to its status as an innovative market leader. Solidor has opted for a light, but solid support structure which barely needs 16mm. 2.40m long, these tools are easy to transport and to saw as required. Fitting tiles in various sizes, even in semi-brick pattern, is no problem at all. The open joints of constant width soon drain surplus water. Structusol ensures a long lifespan and a durable base. Tiles can easily be repaired and the system offers easy access for maintenance. It is perfectly possible to relocate the terrace.

Obviously, Structusol includes all the required accessories and fitting tools for every imaginable circumstance and configuration. Well done!

SOLIDOR STRUCTUSOL ALUMINIUM SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTABLE PEDESTALS

Special

Who has green chemistry

HOW GREEN CAN WE GET WITH CHEMISTRY? CHEMICAL CONCEPTS WHERE DURABILITY TAKES CENTRE STAGE Whilst people are quick to use terms like environmental chemistry and ecology in various contexts, the concept of ‘green chemistry’ is of a different order. Green chemistry, also known as durable chemistry, is a basic concept or philosophy in chemical research and chemical technology. It focuses on developing products and processes to minimise the use and creation of harmful compounds. Green chemistry strives consciously to reduce or, preferably, prevent impurities at source.

Pollution Prevention Act In 1990, the Pollution Prevention Act was passed in the United States. This law helped the USA to develop a modus operandi to tackle pollution innovatively i.e. by preventing it. As a basic concept in chemical operations, green chemistry applies to all forms of chemistry: organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry. The scale of a chemical operation is not so important, since the basic principles can be applied to the industrial production process, laboratories, and training institutes and schools.

The important thing is the choices which are made. In this context click chemistry is often called a synthesis style which does justice to the objectives of green chemistry. The aim is to minimise the dangers and have the greatest possible effect on every choice made within the field of chemistry.

The 12 commandments Paul Anastasas, who was working at the time for the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and John C. Warner have formulated 12 basic principles for green chemistry which clarify the basic ideas and make it easier to put them into practice.

1. It is better to prevent waste than to clear it up later.

2. Synthesis routes must be developed so that the maximum quantity of starting substances are built into the end product (i.e. minimise the number of by-products).

3. If possible, synthesis routes should be developed which contain and produce only substances which constitute little or no (toxic or mutagenic) hazard for public health or the environment.

4. Chemicals should be developed so that they are both functional and effective, but also much less hazardous.

5. The use of auxiliary agents (such as solvents) should be rendered as superfluous as possible. If they are used, however, they should yield as few harmful or toxic effects as possible.

6. The energy requirement of the process as a whole should be included and assessed for its economic impact, but especially for its impact on the environment. This impact should be as low as possible in any case. Syntheses are carried out as much as possible at the surrounding temperature and under standard pressure.

7. The basic material should be renewable, if this is technically and economically possible.

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8. Reduce the number of reaction steps and do not use any unnecessary intermediate steps.

9. Catalytic quantities of reagents, which are as selective as possible, are better than stoichiometric reagents.

10. Chemical products should be developed so that they do not remain in the environment at the end of their usage period, but can decompose into harmless residues or basic materials.

11. Analytical methods should be further developed so that chemical processes can be monitored and controlled in situ during the process itself in order to prevent the formation of hazardous substances.

12. Substances and the form in which a substance is used should be chosen to minimise the risk of accidents during the reaction (e.g. emissions of gases, explosion, or fire).

Legislation The REACH programme came into force in Europe in 2007. This programme obligates companies to make their data available to prove that their products are safe. Apart from the aforementioned federal legislation in the USA (the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990), several American states also have green chemistry laws. Laws were passed in California on 29 September 2008 to launch the California Green Chemistry Initiative. Those laws make the testing of various substances an explicit responsibility of the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Emission standards One of the major weapons for reducing the impact of chemical products on the environment is the reduction of emission values i.e. the extent to which those products emit Volatile Organic Compounds before and during their production and after they are used. The EMICODE plays an important part here. The EMICODE is the deposited symbol of the Association for the Control of Emissions in Products for Flooring Installation (GEV). It is the indicator for a classification system which divides up chemical building products into the following three classes for the benefit of floor fitters on the basis of their emission behaviour: EMICODE EC 1 means ‘very low emissions’, EMICODE EC 2 means ‘low emissions’, and EMICODE EC 3 means ‘not low emissions’.

Limits The application of the Construction Products Regulation has brought into force the new European emission standards, which, amongst other things, stipulate that after 28 days the emission level of the total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) all together must not exceed 1,000µg/m³ and the total content of semi-volatile organic compounds (TSVOC) all together must not exceed even 100µg/m³. The share of CMR substances from categories 1A and 1B must not exceed 1µg/m³.

CMR substances are carcinogenic (they cause cancer), mutagenic (they cause changes in hereditary features), or toxic for reproduction (they are harmful to reproduction or to the offspring).

What’s on the market?

Blanchon

prudently selected natural resources and no harmful substances. And so, there is no hint of a need for a safety pictogram. Products contain no CMR components (1A/1B/2) and VOC emissions are lower than required by the 2004/42/EC directive.

Osmo Natural raw materials as basis for an optimal and ecological wood coating

The term green chemistry, often referred to as ‘sustainable or renewable chemistry’, indicates that the principles of sustainable development have reached the world of chemistry. Green chemistry takes account of economic, social, and ecological balance. That definition corresponds largely to Blanchon’s attitude over the past 35 years. Products should be developed to have as little impact as possible on public health and the environment. The REACH legislation helps to monitor this and obviously there are safety data sheets which inform users about any risks and which they can consult before making a purchase. In Europe there is the Ecolabel (which is stricter than many people think) and the classification of products according to their emissions (VOCs). As for packaging, preference should be given to materials with minimal environmental impact. Recycling and transport limitation are other important factors. At Blanchon they don’t use the term ‘ecological’, but they speak about ‘respecting public health and the environment’. The Environment Quality Line (‘Ligne Qualité Environnement®’) has conformed to that philosophy since 2004.

All good things come from nature – under this banner, Osmo has been producing wood coatings based on a combination of oils and waxes for many years. These sustainable ingredients retain the value of wood and produce natural, environmentally friendly and safe coatings. Various certificates are used as reference to check and confirm conformity with legal regulations. These approvals are indicated on individual product labels. In addition, Osmo offer a selection of products that are free of VOCs.

A 100% natural oil for the protection of your wood ...

Briançon

... based on linseed.

Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C, your partner in wood protection Products with natural and non-petrochemical ingredients come into the category of ecological chemistry. At Briançon, they, too, believe that the entire life cycle of a product plays a part. Green products are conceived and developed with expertise on various sorts of wood and with an insight into the needs of the market. They are efficient, easy to use, and sustainable. Such products have as little odour as possible and dry quickly. The aim is still to decorate and protect the interior.

With L’Arbre de Noé, Briançon offers a full ecological range with

available in 40 standard colours

completely VOC-free

protects and colours your wood in one single layer

Optimale bescherming voor uw Floor Forum International 103 terras, beschikbaar in verschillende

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Special

Who has green chemistry

Rubio Monocoat breathes green Rubio Monocoat has always been a pioneer in environmental responsibility. In the development of our oil, we resolutely went for a product that contains 0% VOCs (Volatile Organic Substances), a requirement that was not legally regulated until years later.

Producing high-quality products with attention to the health of both the installer and the end user is one of our key values. At the end of 2018, this engagement was rewarded! Thanks to a highly driven optimisation of both the raw materials and the production process, Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C was the first in the sector to be awarded the Eurofins Goldlabel.

This label not only covers all applicable labels regarding emissions, such as the A+ label, M1, EC1+, etc., it also includes annual quality control checks on our production processes, so that we can guarantee with certainty that we are ready for what the future will bring regarding emission regulation. The new generation of Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is guaranteed to meet any regulations for the coming 10 years! In addition, Rubio Monocoat also strives for a small environmental footprint as a company. It all starts with linseed as the sustainable basis of our oil. Our advanced technology leads to very low consumption (1L Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C = 30-50 m²), which means we need less packaging per project and therefore also less transport (read: CO² emission). Altogether, this gives our company a very small environmental footprint, which is one of the main values of our company.

no general legislation. And so, at Pallmann they always endeavour to comply with the rules of the country of export. If it is possible to use products which do not require a safety label, Pallmann gives preference to those products. That is not always easy to combine with the high demands in terms of product performance. The mono-component Magic Oil 1K Easy is solventless and based on natural and renewable raw materials and thereby lives up to the expectations of a green product.

Plastor

The improvement of the indoor climate is something which the Plastor products must maintain, but without any decline in performance. User health takes centre stage. That’s why they concentrate on existing labels. The Plastor production site is ISO 14001 approved. Over 95% of products are classified as A+ as regards indoor climate quality.

Obviously, the packaging can be recycled. The environmental data sheets state clearly that the products comply with the High Quality Environmental Standard. The EXCELL+ label confirms that the product has been tested for various polluting products and that the analyses show that the product contains no undesirable elements. The products also bear the EC1 R label from the GEV to prove their low emissions.

Tover

Pallmann

Sustainability and innovation serving security are a Tover’s priority; the Company invests considerably and constantly in advanced technologies for an eco-friendly development. With solvent-free adhesives and heavy metal free oils, low VOC content in all lacquers, the formulation tegen slijtage en vlekken of the first isocyanate-free two-component lacquer and a strict respect of all UE norms in terms of safety, Tover concentrates its efforts and involves its staff to develop the best solutions for the safeguard of the Environment with eco-compatible products. However, green chemistry cannot be limited to products and with the installation of a photovoltaic system covering the whole Turin plant roof, Tover shows, producing its own energy, that it is possible to combine efficiency and global care using a renewable energy source!

UITZONDERLIJKE CHEMISCHE WEERST

According to Pallmann, being ‘green’ means satisfying a number of parameters. For instance, raw materials should be purchased in the local region in order to save on transport. Renewable materials are preferable. Good production planning saves time and energy. The longest possible storage life for the products is also a topic because that makes it possible to group bigger orders together. Sadly, there is

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PLAS V33

Thomsit At Thomsit, they define ‘ecological chemistry’ as chemistry which takes as much account as possible of public health and the environment and therefore involves as few health risks as possible. That is all with due regard for the indoor air quality so that it is as harmless as possible for the environment.

There is little genuine legislation, but there are certificates in this field which are important to a greater or lesser extent in the Benelux such as Blue Angel (‘Blauwe Engel’), EMICODE, DUBOkeur, LEED, and BREEAM. The safety label issues a warning for certain risks when the product is used and gives some guidelines on how to handle the product. The safety label is thereby vitally important. The packaging obviously plays a part in the ecological aspect, but it also has to provide sufficient protection for chemical products and ensure the durability of the product. And so, there isn’t always a feasible alternative. At present, Thomsit limits itself to recycled plastic. According to Thomsit, the next step in green chemistry should be a charge on the ‘total footprint’.

Such initiatives already exist, such as the DUBOkeur mark of quality.

Virtually all Thomsit products meet the highest demands (in their category) as regards a safe working environment, a healthy indoor climate, and environmental-friendliness. However, this does not mean that the products display no hazard labels or involve no risks for those who handle them. Generally speaking, dispersion glues or dispersion primer products are the most ‘ecological’.

BELMONT ® The best 2 components lacquer in its class

WOCA

According to WOCA, there are various ways of being ‘ecological’. One way is with an approval for the indoor climate of A+ or EN71-3 or the EU Flower/Nordic Swan, depending on the product category. The classification of the product is important, as is the question as to whether or not the product contains any CMR raw materials. The safety label is there to protect the user and ensure a healthy indoor climate for the end user. Some of the approvals take account of the total footprint, such as the Nordic Swan or the EU Flower, whilst others are geared more to safe use and VOC emissions. Producers are starting to take more account of the issue because the market is also asking for it. Unfortunately, Nordic Swan and EU Flower still don’t have any categories. The products from WOCA in Denmark have an approval rating of A+ or EN71-3 for the indoor climate. The company endeavours to combine safe use with a good and ecological product.

Innovation : CERAMIC BUILD polyurethane waterborne wood floor finish Dedicated very high traffic, particularly in public places Optimum resistance: 3-dimensional chemical structure Fast return to use in 3–5 days Very high build, excellent coverage Gives a beautiful golden colour More info

www.blanchon.com

The floors of the future (meeting in Antwerp/B)

'THE FLOOR COVERING OF THE FUTURE IS HYBRID' Personalising the floor By offering so many choices, you can personalise a floor, and that’s what many consumers want for both residential and commercial floors. And so, manufacturers have to combine a wide choice and mass production with each other. According to Declercq, parquet is ideal for that. 'Think of the finish, range, and colours. You can personalise parquet because it is a traditional product. The more you start to industrialise, the harder personalisation becomes. That’s why we still sell a lot of untreated parquet, both solid wood and multilayer.’

Easy fitting All four parties agree that there will always be a place for professionals, despite the fact that it is getting easier to fit a floor. People don’t have time to fit floors, young people in any case are looking for a new or renovated house where they don’t have to do any work themselves, and people have other concerns on their minds which take priority.

Four representatives of major floor manufacturers and distributors came together on the invitation of Floor Forum International to discuss the future of floors. What are the current technical developments in parquet, how is LVT developing, what’s still possible with laminate, what will products look like in the future and what role will distributors and floor fitters play?

There are hardly any real specialists and areas of speciality any more.

Manufacturers and distributors supply a wide range of products and dealers join in as well, often with some delay. Even products themselves resemble each other more and more. Can end consumers still recognise them? Hans Declercq from Yepp says: 'Originally, we were a parquet manufacturer. If we’d stayed with our core business, we wouldn’t be in existence today. The same applies to retailers.

Twenty years ago, we had to persuade parquet fitters to sell laminate as well. That was partly a psychological battle and that also applies now to LVT; the answer we often get is, 'We’re not selling plastic.’

Our traditional professionals are very conservative. ‘They should see offering a wide assortment as a service.’

Clients need support Not only has the choice of floor coverings expanded vastly in recent years, but also the scope has widened considerably. For instance, in recent years, thanks to a number of technological innovations, laminate has ‘penetrated’ into the bathroom, parquet into the kitchen, and vinyl even into the shower. According to Steven Meeremans from Unilin, choosing a floor is now a challenging business for consumers.

He says, ‘Both manufacturers and retailers can play an advisory role here. That applies to both the floor covering itself and the accessories’.

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Professionals and manufacturers Declercq believes that professionals are more than just good fitters.

‘You shouldn’t underestimate their qualities as advisers. Think of acoustics, aesthetics, and colour.’ Information on those matters comes first of all from producers and they’re developing all the time, certainly in Belgium. Caryn for USFloors/COREtec® says: 'What Germany is to technology, Belgium is to crafts and deco. Belgium is a mini-showcase for the world. Americans, Russians, and Asians come to Europe to see what’s happening here.’

Belgium and China The problem is that Belgians are too modest. Caryn says: 'West Flemings don’t communicate very often and perhaps we’re too perfectionistic. It has to be 120%.’ Meeremans says: Belgians are workers and they occupy themselves mainly with innovation to take quality and design to the next level whereby we’re probably not proud enough as compared to other nationalities worldwide.'

That’s a problem because making new decors, looking for better techniques, and commercialising it all make production increasingly complex. All parties agree that China is claiming an increasingly greater role. The technical complexity comes from us, but the speed at which others are copying and developing is rapid. Meeremans comments: ’Innovations come from Europe, but Asia copies them at lightning speed.’

A wood look is the priority Declerq believes there is more than technique and optics. ‘We’re creating a shortage of raw materials, so let’s be grateful to recycling, re-use, and cradle to cradle. Feys van BerryAlloc says: 'What about recycling as a business? After all, the base of our LVT is foamed (less material is necessary) and already comprises 30-50% of recycled material.'

That takes the discussion to what is probably the most important question: Where are the various products heading? There’s no unanimous answer to that question. It is clear that the various products are partly ‘merging’. The wood-look is also here to stay. Whether it is a matter of laminate or PVC/vinyl/LVT, wood still remains highly attractive for both commercial and private floors.

◀ Hans Declercq - YEPP

bigger part, such as acoustic features, for instance. Maintenance will be very important. Consumers don’t like polishing, vacuum cleaning, or mopping. Low maintenance floors are the future. But what will floors look like, whether or not they are hybrid? Caryn says: 'If I knew the answer to that, I’d probably be relaxing on a tropical island.’

Steven Meeremans - UNILIN ▶

▼ Philiep Caryn -COREtec®

▲ Filip De Ridder - FLOOR FORUM INTERNATIONAL

▲ Jonas Feys - BerryAlloc

Optimising and printing Laminate has reached its peak and will only remain stable at best in its development and sales. Parquet is retaining its position and PVC/ vinyl/LVT will continue to develop further. Further optimisation is to be expected of each product, but it is not clear which materials will be used for that purpose. Perhaps a combination of raw materials? That really would be hybrid! Ceramics are expected to make up some ground.

Everyone agrees that ceramics have gained a lot of ground, certainly now that digital printing is available, something which, amongst other things, Beaulieu uses for its range of cushion vinyl. It’s also possible to make pliable ceramic panels, something which used to be unthinkable.

▲ Grace Namata - MEDIA-PACT

Participants Hans Declercq, sales & marketing manager at Yepp, Jonas Feys, R&D expert Digital Printing Technologies on behalf of BerryAlloc (Beaulieu International Group), Steven Meeremans, marketing manager of projects at Pergo/Unilin, and Philiep Caryn, communication and marketing specialist on behalf of USFloors/COREtec®.

Tropical island

Steven Meeremans: ‘Made in Europe is still a quality label, even in Asia.’

Hans Declercq: ‘Professionals are still essential.’

Jonas Feys: ‘What about recycling as a business?’

Philiep Caryn: ‘Belgium is the showcase of the world.’

Fitting techniques will change. Think here of magnetic floors, peel and stick, and loose lay. Specific features of the floor will also be playing a

Aribert Guiking, freelance journalist and chief editor of Yataz.nl

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Special

Producers of water resistant skirting boards

THE NEED FOR WATERPROOF SKIRTING BOARDS IS GROWING ALL FLOOR COVERINGS ARE REACHING THE BATHROOM AND KITCHEN

Photo – FN Neuhofer

We often talk about nothing but the 100% match between the floor covering and the chosen skirting boards and profiles. That full harmony is almost always about the look, visual features, and decorative harmony. That is also the reason why digital print is becoming increasingly prominent in this area. What we sometimes forget is that there is a much greater need for a 100% match from a technical perspective than a decorative one. Skirting boards and profiles must have at least the same technical features as the floor covering itself. And so, this also applies to a waterproof floor covering.

Conquest of kitchen and bathroom Most people realise by now that we are surrounded by moisture in various forms from various sources. Moisture resides in and around materials. That also applies to buildings. This isn’t a problem as long as we mean ‘predictable’ moisture. We’ve often shown in the past how the human race has learnt to take account of nature. Building products and building systems are designed and produced so as to ‘bear’ moisture or, rather, to react in accordance with it. If we know that wood can swell as it absorbs moisture, we have two options:

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either prevent moisture or give the wood space to swell. Today, we note that we have to change our perception of ‘predictable moisture’.

Now that some materials have found their way to extra damp rooms, we need to expand our operations on those materials. Wood, laminate, and design floors have all made their way to the bathroom.

Waterproof materials ‘Waterproof’ materials are materials which can withstand the onslaught of water. For instance, some wooden panels such as multiplex or HDF consist of a waterproof design. ‘Watertight’ means that moisture cannot penetrate to the inside of the material. Some materials are more resistant to water than others, that’s for sure.

There is even a difference in the waterproof character between different sorts of wood. Even the way in which the wood is sawn plays a part here. Producers of bamboo and cork laud their materials as more resistant to water than wood. Materials which are composite and where HDF is included in the composition are equipped with waterproof HDF for damp rooms. Moreover, in terms of being waterproof, composites which deploy synthetics are more resistant to water. Building materials produced entirely from synthetics have nothing to fear from water.

What about skirting boards?

It is better for profiles to have the decor, scratch resistance, and gloss of the floor itself. Digital print solves the decorative problem, but making skirting boards from fragments of the floor itself is even better; you then solve all the problems, including that of water resistance.

Indeed, the demand for waterproof skirting boards arises with waterproof flooring. In line with the knowledge that a waterproof material is not enough to guarantee a waterproof system, various forms of technology have arisen for sealing joints watertight. Those systems are also emerging for skirting boards. Indeed, the increase in vinyl and LVT means we also need waterproof skirting boards. To prevent damp from mopping and any moisture from seeping down, the skirting boards and the floor are connected by a transparent lip seal. The flexible lip also improves the transfer of sound from the floor via the skirting board (editor: FN Neuhofer was the pioneer of this technology).

Who offers solutions?

Carl Prinz

Apart from MDF skirting boards, all skirting boards from Carl Prinz are waterproof, and that feature is a result of the material itself, which is

either aluminium or PVC. Carl Prinz skirting boards can be deployed for all floor coverings (parquet, laminate, LVT, carpet, etc.). Some skirting boards are fastened invisibly with clips, whilst others are screwed, glued, or nailed. Some PVC skirting boards are self-adhesive.

Carl Prinz offers three types of skirting boards in aluminium and two types in PVC for the accommodation of wires. The wires are still always accessible. It is possible to insert a strip from the floor covering into some skirting boards (378, 379, 810, and 816) so that the decor is identical.

Depro INNOVATION - Depro introduces: the water-resistant skirting that fits your vinyl flooring perfectly. The innovative feature of this skirting is the plastic insert that protects the skirting against water up to 8mm high. The base of the skirting remains MDF, which makes the skirting an ecological and budget friendly alternative to traditional skirting boards and profiles in full PVC. Skirting boards are covered with an in-house digitally printed laminate matching the flooring perfectly. They can also be provided in a white paintable version. The new skirting has no limitations in size nor model which means that the PVC insert can be integrated in any possible shape of skirting such as height-adjustable skirtings, cover skirtings and other multifunctional shapes. Producer: www.depro-profiles.com - Patent pending.

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Special

Producers of water resistant skirting boards

FN Neuhofer FN Neuhofer has a special portfolio for waterproof skirting boards. The company has developed special skirting boards specifically for use in damp rooms. These skirting boards combine the benefit of their waterproof material with the full decorative match with the floor for which they are intended. The latter point is one of the strengths of FN Neuhofer. That also applies to all accessories. Both the material and the cladding can be waterproof. Foam plastic material can be given a decorative casing, but printing on hard plastic is also possible. These skirting boards are designed for the expansion joints with LVT or for damp rooms. FN Neuhofer has a handy fastening system with clips or with fastening rails. Here, too, cable ducts are possible or certain clips for fixing wires

into the expansion joint. The total range of types is vastly extensive. As a global full-service supplier, FN Neuhofer aims to offer accessories for ALL types of flooring.

Küberit Küberit has an extensive range of profiles for all situations. They include waterproof skirting boards, which are made of anodised aluminium and are therefore permanently waterproof. They can be deployed in combination with just about all floor coverings, such as parquet, laminate, carpet, and other flexible floor coverings. The skirting boards are glued to the wall using a single-component adhesive or fastened using a clip system. You can use some clip systems to house wires.

Mac Lean

acoustic, fast track floor prep system for all resilient floor coverings!

Excellent sound reduction of no less than 21 dB

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• Overcomes many substrate problems UK Toll Free: 0845 603 0906 www.unifloor-underlay.com 26

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Mac Lean sells Selitstyle skirting boards on the Benelux market. The skirting boards are printed directly (digitally) on polystyrene. They are 100% waterproof, so they are not encased, unlike many skirting boards on the market. They are used for the PVC market. You fit them using a ‘back nail’, but, obviously, you can also glue them. The material makes them permanently waterproof. There is room for wires. Besides Polystyrol for the PVC market, Mac Lean also sells MDF for laminate and parquet.

Profilpas All skirting boards from Profilpas in the PVC Line are waterproof. The aluminium skirting boards in the Metal Line are also waterproof. They retain their waterproof character. The PVC Line offers a number of models in PVC foam and a number in PVC foam, covered with PDS film, such as the 8605, 8608, 8612, 8613, and 8614. Both the PVC and the film are waterproof. And so, these are also available without a film. These skirting boards can be deployed in any room whatsoever, even in bathrooms, kitchens, gyms, wellness centres, and all other damp rooms.

by a paint of class AC1 or higher. Stainless steel profiles such as the SKIRTING 40, 60, 80, and 100-150 are waterproof and resistant to fluid. These skirting boards were designed originally for damp rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, but in recent times they have also been ordered for projects such as fitness centres, solaria, or swimming pools. The fastening method depends on the type. The skirting boards can be fastened with screws and screw anchors, adhesive, or silicone.

The SKIRTING, SKIRTING 7016, and SKIRTING 7011 can be applied using adhesive screws, nails, or with a bearer which is screwed into the wall.

Progress Profiles presents several types of cable ducts for various applications.

They are glued to the wall or applied with clips which are specially equipped for that purpose and screwed into the wall. For conducting cables Profilpas presents model 8603 of the PVC Line. These skirting boards are suitable for combination with all existing floor coverings.

Progress Profiles All skirting boards from Progress Profiles in vinyl, stainless steel, or brushed aluminium are waterproof due to the material itself, so the skirting boards also retain their waterproof character. SKIRTING 7016 and 7011 in foam vinyl have outstanding chemical resistance, even when they are personalised with decors on paper, which is protected

www.progressprofiles.com

www.progressprofiles.com

STATE OF THE ART PROFILES

The most practical, fast and flexible system that reaches the desired hight.

PATE NT

ED

PROSUPPORT TUBE SYSTEM

LA SAN MARCO PROFILI SRL Viale Europa 63 - 31010 Soligo, TV - Italy Tel. +39 0438 980106 r.a. - Fax +39 0438 980176 info@lasanmarcoprofili.com - www.lasanmarcoprofili.com

PROSUPPORT TUBE SYSTEM is an adjustable and modular supports system for outdoor floating floors from the height of 29 mm to 1000 mm. The system is composed of 1 base, 2 screws, 1 flange, 2 heads and several pvc pipes to obtain the requested height. Both heads, according to the screw, can be fix or self-levelling.

FIX SIDE

SELFLEVELLING SIDE

P ROFILES & SY STEMS

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Special

Curing oil/laquers using LED

LED LAMPS ARE CONQUERING THE UV MARKET CURING A PARQUET FINISH IS BECOMING FULLY INTEGRATED nail varnish in 15 seconds for the ‘basic’ product and in 60 seconds for colour. Price: 59 euros, two-year guarantee! The first commercial small-scale applications of LED are about 10 years old. It started with the glueing of parts for medical equipment, low-end print applications, or repair of glass-fibre composites. LED light is now used in the graphic industry, electronics, composites, textiles, glass, synthetics, domestic products, and pharmaceutical and other markets. LED drying is a photo-chemical process which transforms a fluid coating into a solid substance. Instead of using heat to cause solvents or water to evaporate, LED energy ensures that a unique and light-sensitive composition of high-quality oils, waxes, resins, and additives cures (‘hardens’) within seconds.

Difference between UV and LED lamps Energy-saving The essential difference from UV drying is the huge energy saving.

Drying with LED light immediately reduces energy consumption by 60%. In contrast to UV lamps, LED lamps do not need to warm up, so production can start at once. Moreover, LED lamps do not spread infrared light which is converted to heat. And so, the wood no longer becomes warm, and this means that roughening and problems with glueing are kept to a minimum. The minimal spread of heat means that the risk of fire during a delay in the production process, for instance, is virtually nil.

Constant quality

Photo – Rubio Monocoat

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Apart from these practical benefits, there is also a huge benefit in quality with the use of LED light as compared to UV light. The LED lamp yields constant quality. Whilst a UV lamp declines in quality in the course of time, light from a LED lamp retains the highest quality throughout the hours of use. You will no longer have problems with a covering layer which has not set completely.

Drying and curing are not entirely the same thing. Drying means basically that water is drained from the product used (e.g. paint, ink, or oil). The new curing techniques operate on a different principle. If a paint consists of monomers together with a photo-initiator, the coating will cure in a few seconds once it is applied and subjected to UV light. Since monomers have low viscosity, there is no need for solvents or dispersions in water. This means that there is no evaporation of solvents or water.

Ecological

Futuristic has become commonplace

In the factory and on site

Something which yesterday still seemed like top class technology solely for industrial settings is now available for the most basic applications.

Here are some examples: In the manicure sector there is a transition in progress from UV lamps to LED lamps in nail varnish dryers. We’re not talking about the costly devices found in large beauty salons, but simple devices for use ‘at home’. Online purchase: LED dryer for

Drying with LED light can be done both in the factory and on site.

Here, too, the benefits are significant. You can use the floor at once instead of several hours later after the oil has set. Sanding, oiling, and drying are no longer a matter of days, but hours! You clear the room in the morning and put everything back in the afternoon on a perfectly finished floor which comes optimally into its own.

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The environment gains maximum benefit from drying with LED light.

For instance, the lamps do not contain mercury or calcium, but certainly just as important is the fact that LED lamps emit energy only in the UVA range. This means that no ozone is emitted. And so, costly suction installations are now a thing of the past. Moreover, LED lamps also have an exceptionally long lifespan of over 10,000 hours, in contrast to UV lamps which can be used for only 800 to 1000 hours.

Chimiver

Favourable price Finally, the total cost price of LED drying compares very favourably to that of UV drying. The oil has a high solid content and therefore has low consumption per square metre. Over time, the low start and maintenance costs further tilt the scales in favour of drying under the influence of LED light.

LED systems are the future for the curing process of coatings. Chimiver, always moving with the time, offers you LED OIL, an efficient and performing product which embraces this technology.

Characteristics of product: It cures instantly under LED light and wood can be walked on immediately.

Very high chemical and wear resistances. Solvent free, no ozone emissions, no unpleasant odour.

What’s on the market?

Blanchon LED curing has been in existence for about a decade and was used originally in the packaging of cosmetics and in graphic applications. The big advantage of LED drying as compared to classic UV lamps is that it saves energy. Blanchon believes that at the moment lots of lamps are too ‘weak’ to be applied to finishes for parquet without compromising on quality. Blanchon offers various oils and lacquers which can be cured with LED lighting in the industry, where LED can be applied gradually. At Blanchon, they are not convinced about applications on site.

Ciranova INDUSTRIAL FINISHES

UV LED OIL

DecoRad® UV Curing Equipment

LED curing started as a hype 2 years ago with quite some media attention. As a reaction, the rest of the sector followed. Viewed from technology, LED curing differs only little from traditional UV curing. The big difference is that with LED you only use a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The actual LED technology mainly uses the 395 nm spectrum, whereas traditional UV lamps (mercury medium-pressure) are using the spectrum of 200 – 420 nm. A much bigger area and reach, and therefore more choice in photo-initiators (the accelerator in the curing process). For LED curing as industrial process we offer our entry-level model LC40 to be placed on your existing oil-line, or our fully independent Linemate to be placed behind the oil-line. In the same high quality we offer mobile equipment for on-site LED curing, such as our Floormate LED and Handmate LED. Of all our customers 95 % is still buying traditional UV equipment. It still is cheaper in purchase, and you can cure all available UV products. Up til now LED curing is in the niche of UV curing. It has a lot of attention, but for a wider use the chemistry is not yet ready.

Floorservice Although this technology has already been deployed successfully in various branches of industry for specific applications, it is still new for the parquet industry. There are lots of positive features in the system and the correct applications, drying techniques, and the development of suitable products is in full swing. The limited company Ciranova-Debal Coatings N.V. is monitoring these developments closely and now has a few industrial pilot schemes of its own in progress. At Ciranova they have every confidence that LED will be the technology of the future and it is well known that there are units for LED curing on-site available on the market. Since both the products and the drying are still developing rapidly, Ciranova prefers to focus on the industrial finish, where, in its view, the parameters are easier to control.

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Alongside our range of Floorservice UV oils, we now added a range of Floorservice LED oils to our collection. This new VOC-free finishing is fully cured by use LED-light, making the floorboards instantly stackable, packable and, if required, ready for follow up treatments like sanding or brushing. This makes it perfectly suited for automated production lines within the flooring industry. Not only do you profit from the increased speed in production; the costs of production and maintenance of your application line are also decreased by using LED technology. Floorservice LED oil is also suited for manual application.

The oil is developed to be cured directly on the installed floor by use of a mobile LED light. The floor is ready for use immediately after curing.

The floor is guaranteed to be hardwearing, resistant to scratches, water and household chemicals. One of Overmat’s specialties:

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Curing oil/laquers using LED

also simply be switched on and off with a constant output. WOCA sees this technology staying mainly in the factory for the moment. For the moment, the investment also seems higher.

The possibility to, together with you, create your personal bespoke collection! Are you interested in Floorservice LED oils but would you rather decide on the colours yourself? It’s possible! We are happy to discuss the possibilities for your own bespoke collection.

Pallmann

LED is certainly nothing new for Pallmann. It has played a part in pre-finished products for several years. LED drying technology can be compared to that of UV drying, but LED drying requires more cooling and therefore more energy, according to Pallmann. The working method varies, but the end quality is comparable. Pallmann does not supply any products or machines geared to LED.

WOCA For WOCA, LED drying has been in existence for two to three years. Only a few players in the parquet industry use it. The working method is the same as with UV drying, but the process is on a completely different wavelength. For the time being, the cost price of both the machines and the material to be cured still seem too high. The advantage is that LED requires less cooling. The lamps are ozone-free. The lamp can

FLOORMATE

GEN6

HANDMATE

UV600

HANDMATE

Rubio Monocoat In 2005, RMC Oil was launched on the market. It was a real revolution at the time due to the unique technology of molecular binding, the application in one coat with a wide choice of colours, and with 0% VOC. In 2017, Rubio Monocoat once again adopted the role of pioneer with the launch of RMC LED Oil. The benefits of LED are quite obvious: considerably less energy consumption, longer lifespan of the lamps, no ozone emissions, and no bad odours. However, it is mainly the fact that wood treated with LED oil, cured instantly with LED light, and therefore ready at once for use or packing saves huge amounts of time for the project market, stair and furniture makers, and industrial finishers. Apart from RMC LED Oil, Rubio Monocoat also offers professional LED dryers for use both on site and in the factory. It is possible to install an optional LED drying unit on an existing industrial finish machine. This can be done very quickly and easily without the need for lots of investment. Since there are no ozone emissions, there is no need for a suction system.

The following machines are available for the demanding parquet floor fitter who wants to move with the times: a professional machine for drying floors and two hand dryers for furniture, skirting boards, and places which are difficult to reach. The investment costs for these machines are minimal, especially when you include the savings in time and money.

UV1800

LED LINECURE

LC40

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Contractors choice for UV CURING

Special

Finishing and maintaining products for wooden exterior walls

WOODEN WALL PROTECTION THROUGH SATURATION PRODUCTS WHICH LEAVE A FILM ARE NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED

Photo – Rubio Monocoat

Durability Class 1 means that types of wood in that class can be used outdoors untreated for 25 years. However, the durability class does not give the lifespan of the wood. For instance, an expertly fitted wooden terrace does not have direct contact with the ground, is regularly protected against the natural effects of the weather, and is given a treatment so that it can withstand the ravages of time. And so, well protected and maintained outdoor wood really can survive its proud owner.

Wood outdoors In this journal we have outlined on several occasions the threats posed by the weather. To sum up, the two biggest threats are the ageing of the wood and the danger of micro-organisms in nature. Ultra-violet light, oxygen, and water together are the cause of ageing and possible wood rot. In a photo-chemical process the sunlight breaks up the dark-coloured lignin, one of the main elements of the wood. The light-coloured cellulose, the other element, is left over on its own. The fact that the colour of the cellulose starts to dominate is visible in the

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Finishing and maintaining products for wooden exterior walls

ageing. What we visibly perceive to be ‘ageing’ is actually a microscopically thin layer of wood which is decomposing. And so, people who like to see wood ‘age’ have to realise that it is an expression of wear and tear. As regards the vermin which can threaten wood, we don’t need to spend much time on that. The fact is that nature is full of little insects.

Wood worm, wood rot, and fungi can represent a serious threat to all outdoor wood.

Protective products Makers promote products which are water vapour permeable, pigmented, and, especially, non-film-forming for both wooden terraces

Photo – Rubio Monocoat

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and wooden wall cladding. Film-forming products could certainly help in the case of wooden walls. After all, wooden wall cladding is not subjected to the same mechanical influences as terrace wood.

Film-forming protection This brings us to the realm of paints. Paints can contain a very high content of resins which cover the structure of the wood completely i.e. the so called film-forming finishes. The use of dark paints is not recommended at all, since solar heat is absorbed in the film. In the summer, this raises the surface temperature considerably (from 60 to 70 °C), resulting in some cases in the separation of the resin in certain

types of wood, cracks in the coat of paint, or splits in the wood. We find fewer resins in the top coats. The wood structure is still visible to some extent with these ‘opaque’ products.

Non-film-forming protection Amongst non-film-forming products we draw a distinction between stains and oils. Stains have a low content of resins and therefore form a thin film with a certain transparency, so that the structure of the wood is still visible. These are the so called non-film-forming or semi-film-forming finishes. The more dark pigments with higher UV resistance they contain, the longer the lifespan that they offer. Natural or modified oils (urethane or acrylic) are transparent products which are more or less coloured, but without pigments. Finishes which are aided by natural and non-modified oil are not recommended at all for outdoor use, since this creates a breeding ground for fungi and algae.

The comfort of the execution Swearing by film-forming products for outdoor uses is ‘a step too far’.

We see several examples in Scandinavia of ‘joyfully painted’ houses which survive for generations. The drawbacks lie in the effects for those who have to apply the treatment. Film-forming protection can usually be applied with a paint sprayer, but in several sessions with thin coats. In the case of renovation, just as with lacquered parquet, the wood has to be sandpapered completely blank in order to be ‘optimal’.

Obviously, there is a risk of film-forming treatments peeling off over time. Those problems don’t arise with oils. An oil treatment is still extremely simple and there is no risk of streaks. Renovation can even be done in patches.

For a few years now, Blanchon has also offered its Environmental Saturator (‘Saturateur Environnement’), which is part of the Environment Quality Line (‘Ligne Qualité Environnement’) and scores well at all points. It can also be applied to exotic wood sorts immediately after the fitting. In this range, too, Blanchon offers its Opaque Environmental Saturator (‘Satureur Opaque Environnement’).

Nowadays, the new anti-UV systems make it possible to apply a finish/ protective coat which preserves the original colour of the wood perfectly. These products work on the basis of new ‘agents’ against UV which ensure that the lignin is not affected by the rays of the sun. The Colourless Anti-UV System (‘Système Anti-UV Incolore’) is a colourless protective system to counteract the effects of sunlight on the wood.

Whilst protection from UV light is associated traditionally with the addition of pigments, this system is therefore colourless. There is a new type of protection in the form of Cladding Oil (‘Huile Bardage’), which provides some colour, but leaves the wood grain visible. Finally, there are the new glazers Tech Wood and Lasure Tous Bois Environnement, which are based on a new generation of resins and designed for all wood sorts.

Briançon

What’s on the market?

Blanchon

Briançon believes that wall claddings in horse chestnut, oak, douglas, and meleze can be left untreated perfectly well. A treatment can be applied to counteract the natural ageing. The best products for that are azures, paints, or saturation products. It might be necessary to repeat such treatments, depending on the level of exposure to the weather. Briançon presents Special Outdoor Oil for Terrace Wood (‘Huile Extérieur Spéciale Terrasse Bois’). This is an impregnation and protective product for all sorts of wood (native, exotic, coniferous, and deciduous trees). It is excellent for new wood. Azure Impregnator (‘Lasure Imprégnante’) is also a wood protection product for outdoors with UV protection. It is waterproof, odourless, and fast-drying and provides protection deep down.

Chimiver Blanchon believes that some wood sorts such as red cedar, douglas, and meleze can be left untreated. Other wood sorts require a treatment to make them suitably durable. Applying a protective coat is usually designed to preserve the original colour of the wood. Before the new generation products existed, ‘saturation’ was the only possible means of protection. Blanchon has a double range here. Blanchon Wood Saturator (‘Satureur Bois’) is a saturator based on the traditional composition based on oil with or without any colour: Saturator (‘Saturateur’) and Saturator Monocouche (‘Saturateur Monocouche’).

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SUNDECK WOOD OIL Impregnator for outdoor wooden floors LIOS Sundeck Wood Oil is an outdoor wood impregnator particularly recommended for the treatment of outdoor wooden floors (swimming pool edges, verandas, walkways), window and door frames, fences and canopies made of wood. It contains natural and synthetic oils, with the addition of UV ray absorbers and special anti-ageing ingredients against the wood decay. It doesn't crack. Also available in LIGHT version, which doesn't alterate the natural colour of wood, particularly indicated for the

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Finishing and maintaining products for wooden exterior walls

treatment of south-american species (i.e. IPĂˆ Lapacho, Tobaco etc.) and other similar types of outdoor woods painted in autoclave (usually green colour). Doesn't degrade rubbers and expansion joints. It is recommended anyway to make some tests before application.

SUNDECK SOAP Nourishing soap Sundeck Soap is a nourishing detergent to clean outdoor wooden floors. If used regularly, it keep the natural wood look, avoiding the wood decay caused by adverse weather conditions. It efficiently removes dirt, traces of chlorine, salt, etc.

Plastor

Wood no longer requires any treatment as soon as it meets the demands of class 3b (naturally durable). However, like all other sorts of wood, this wood will also turn grey over time under the influence of sunlight. And so, the treatment is an aesthetic decision: some people choose to let the wood age naturally, whilst others want to preserve the original colour of the wood. To treat these sorts of wood, you need a saturation product which leaves no film and does not peel off. For the saturation of all wood sorts, Plastor presents the PUR-T Deck Saturator. This is absolutely ideal for noble wood sorts such as cedar, meleze, and douglas. The product is made on the basis of natural oils, it penetrates deeply into the wood, and it makes the wood waterproof.

Reinforced with an anti-UV element, PUR-T Deck also protects the wood from ageing. The wood structure comes out nicely thanks to the matt finish.

Rubio Monocoat

Optimal protection for your garden deck with Osmo Decking-Oils, available in various colours. www.osmo.de/en

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Rubio Monocoat as a producer is an absolute supporter of oil. It looks much more natural, it provides durable protection, and it doesn’t peel off. Moreover, it also requires little maintenance. Amongst other things, Rubio Monocoat presents the Rubio Monocoat Hybrid Wood Protector, which colours and protects in one single coat. Thanks to its innovative

technology, this oil is suitable for colouring and protecting all types of wood both in and outdoors. The easy application and maintenance help to make this product user-friendly. It is available in 12 modern natural wood colours and eight popular colours. The product contains no solvents, no water, and no VOCs. Rubio® Monocoat Sunprimer HWP is a water-based primer with UV-preventive operation which can be applied optionally to vertical outdoor wood as a pre-treatment for a finish with RMC Hybrid Wood Protector. RMC Sunprimer HWP, which is always applied in the same colour as the RMC Hybrid Wood Protector, guarantees a deep penetration of the colour pigments and in this way creates an even more intense colour. However, wood is also attractive when it ages naturally. For all fans of an aged and grey look, the Rubio® laboratory has developed ‘Rubio® WoodCream’, a revolutionary cream which ages vertical wood and makes it waterproof. Rubio® WoodCream is available in seven shades of grey which give the wood a weathered grey look. There is also a transparent version available, which allows the wood to age naturally, but protects it and makes it waterproof. The cream structure makes the product easy to apply, certainly on vertical wood. Rubio® WoodCream is absolutely ideal for soft wood sorts.

Tover Outdoor wood (cladding, window frames, shutters, fences, etc) needs to be protected against atmospheric agents it is permanently submitted to; sun, rain, frost, also mould and moss speed up its deterioration and ageing process. Tover offers a water-based impregnation product: Xilocolor available in transparent and coloured waxy version (wooden

colours, white, black and green). You can apply it with a brush or by spray in two coats. It does not become yellow over time and with respect to solvent-based products, it is much easier to renew as it does not peel.

Just wash carefully the surface and apply a new coat. Xilocolor is a long-lasting impregnating stain, particularly significant feature for wooden huts and houses. Anyway, it is possible to increase the product resistance applying a water-based protection lacquer: Xilolak, available in mat and glossy version.

The specialist for fastening technology

NEW to our product range

Façadeclip for Rhombus profiles For use with the most common façade profiles System consisting of

Façadeclip Rhombus Starter

Façadeclip Rhombus

Advantages • Optimised rear ventilation by constructive timber protection • Invisible fastening • Formation of fixed points and sliding points • Easy installation • Weather-resistant

YEARS of quality

E.u.r.o.Tec GmbH • Unter dem Hofe 5 • D-58099 Hagen Tel. 0049 (0) 2331 62 45-0 • Fax 0049 (0) 2331 62 45-200 • email: info@eurotec.team

For more information

www.eurotec.team35 Floor Forum visit our websiteInternational 103

Special

Adhesives for floors in vinyl, PVC and LVT

FLEXIBLE FLOORS NEED FLEXIBLE GLUE OTHER POINTS FOR ATTENTION THAN FOR GLUEING PARQUET Levelling The levelling agents for a parquet floor need great compressive strength. They can sometimes also be necessary with an LVT/PVC floor if, for instance, it is a hospital floor (heavy hospital beds and such like). In other cases less compressive strength will suffice, so the levelling agent is of a different type. Depending on the final floor covering, there are various levelling agents available with diverse compressive strengths (C25-C30 etc.) and bend strengths (F6-F7 etc).

The subfloor We have often said that a perfectly level subfloor is necessary for an attractive and durable end result. Unevenness or differences in levels will invariably show up in the final floor. The extent to which that happens varies partly due to the hardness or density of the floor. Slight unevenness in the screed will generally not show up with laminate or parquet. In that case a flexible subfloor will suffice with or without an integrated damp screen. However, with flexible flooring it is essential to remove that slight unevenness by means of a hard subfloor.

What about adhesives?

Photo – Devo®

There are some fitting instructions and points for attention which differ ‘radically’ for flexible flooring from those for parquet. From the preparation of the substrate to the necessary accessories for the finish, there are specific products and rules for these types of flooring. The levelling agent is such a point for glued floors, whilst with floating floors the subfloor (or intermediate floor) requires extra attention. As regards adhesives themselves, dispersion adhesives are at the top of the list.

36

As we have already said, adhesives for PVC, linoleum, and vinyl meet different demands than adhesives for wood. These floors have a more smooth and closed structure than wood, which has open pores. This means that they don’t really absorb the water in the adhesive and therefore semi-wet or almost dry glueing is needed. Moreover, these materials swell and shrink a lot less than wood, which makes other demands in terms of elasticity. The adhesive and the subfloors come under much less pressure (fewer sideways tensile forces) than with wooden floors. Nevertheless, the adhesive has to be strong enough to make a durable connection. That is why some producers add fibres to reinforce the dispersion. Another difference with parquet adhesive is the viscosity. LVT adhesives have much lower viscosity because they have to be applied in thin layers, often with a roller or tiny notched trowel. This is in contrast to a parquet adhesive where the standing time of the adhesive grooves is essential.

We can summarise this as follows:

General rule Dispersion adhesives, together with a number of PU adhesives, are generally promoted as ‘the adhesive par excellence’ for flexible flooring.

Perfect screed and/or hard intermediate floor

The exception

Flexible floors, depending on their shape, can be fully glued onto the screed or fitted floating with the use of a subfloor. In both cases the ‘total absence’ of even the slightest unevenness is absolutely essential.

Moreover, the floor has to be fitted onto a substrate which is obviously not ‘compressible’.

Cork tiles or rolls are also flexible floors, but they are glued differently. For cork we use a contact adhesive, which is applied on both sides. The adhesive bonding comes about by applying adhesive to the substrata (surfaces) first of all.

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Special

Computerisation in the parquet industry

COMPUTERISATION IN THE PARQUET INDUSTRY JUST ABOUT ALL FACETS OF PRODUCTION CAN BE COMPUTERISED in several variants for various processing speeds and are suitable for long and short work pieces, with a rough or smooth surface. Retrieval systems are applied to planing machines, sawing machines, packing lines, and such like with lower processing speeds. The operator at the installation entrance feeds the machine feed and stacks the (retrieved) processed products.

Parquet production The actual production line includes all operations which are necessary for producing parquet floors from raw wood or panels. The structure of a production line obviously depends on the type of parquet being produced. It is obvious that a production line for the production of 6 and 9mm traditional parquet will be less complex than, for instance, that for three-layer engineered floors. The main operations are: planing and scraping, milling, glueing the different parts, applying the finishes, drying technology, measuring, labelling, registering, packing, and stacking.

Photo – CSP Engineering

Lots of companies have computerised their production process to enable them to work ‘ better’ with the same number of workers. For example, computerisation ensures that employees can work along the conveyor in much better conditions. All attention is paid to ‘ergonomics’ and that fits in perfectly with the philosophy of ‘ health and safety at work’. If workers have to bend down to put a plank on the conveyor belt, that most certainly puts a strain on their backs and possibly their knees as well. A computerised process takes over stressful functions and the whole process is obviously much faster.

From feed to discharge From the feed of raw planks to the discharge of pre-finished parquet, all packed and ready. That is more or less what you can computerise in parquet production.

Feed and discharge The raw material has to be fed to the production line and retrieved at the end of the circuit. The feed table is put in line at the machine supply point. The work pieces are laid manually on a diagonally placed set of chains or belts, lined up automatically against a length stop, and then fed adjacently into the machine one by one. Feed tables are available

Visit www.floor-forum.com

An example from the market CarottEngineering

CarottEngineering is a new player in the parquet industry, but, with over 20 years of experience in engineering and machine construction, the company is certainly not new. In recent years, they have specialised more in processing and handling wooden floorboards. They have done various projects for players such as Heywood, Bart Beugt, and Beterhout. The company excels in customised work and client-oriented solutions in glueing multiplanks and handling, transporting, stacking, and unloading floorboards. Furthermore, they also build chippers (including EASYLOX® Profiler) and are currently working on the development of a highly compact and fully automatic machine for filling holes and splits. This machine is easy to operate and will be launched soon on the market. It has the advantage that the planks don’t have to dry afterwards. You can read more about this in the September edition of this journal.

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Advertorial

BerryAlloc (B)

BERRYALLOC LAUNCHES ‘SPIRIT’: ITS NEW COLLECTION OF VINYL PLANKS AND TILES CAREFREE ENJOYMENT OF YOUR FLOOR! of three sub-collections: HOME, PRO & XL, each of which features its own designs, colours and dimensions.

Why choose Spirit?

Live carefree Time spent cleaning is time lost that could have been spent doing something fun with your family.

Accidents happen quickly, especially with children or pets around, but SPIRIT floors are more than up to the task. Muddy feet, sharp nails, a spilt drink or bits of food trodden into your flooring? No problem! A Spirit floor is easy to maintain, has been specially treated to withstand scratches and also has outstanding acoustic properties. The Click Comfort planks absorb sound thanks to the innovative integrated sub-flooring, dampening the sound of walking by 20 dB. This is carefree living, in peace and quiet.

All about stability Spirit is a floor for warm southern as well as cold northern climates. The floor remains stable with fluctuations in temperature, regardless of which room it has been laid in – even in damp environments or rooms with large windows that let in direct sunlight.

The innovative technology and post-treatment of the planks guarantee an even floor, even after frequent heating up and cooling down. This makes Spirit a perfect choice in combination with underfloor heating and cooling.

Easy installation, also on top of existing flooring

BerryAlloc offers an extensive collection of flooring solutions, from laminate to hardwood floors and vinyl planks. We develop innovative collections, in line with the latest trends and technological advancements. What all BerryAlloc collections have in common are high quality, ease of use and an excellent aesthetic.

Last year saw the launch of a new series of laminate flooring. This year, BerryAlloc will be pulling out all the stops with SPIRIT: a new and impressive collection of vinyl planks and tiles. Spirit is composed

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With Spirit, it is not necessary to remove the existing floor during renovations, as it can simply be laid on top. This saves a great deal of work, dust and cleaning up afterwards. Tiles, wood or concrete?

Spirit can be installed on top of every type of sub-floor, even if there are minor irregularities. And at record pace, too.

A Spirit floor means fast and easy installation. Your floor will be laid in no time at all thanks to the convenient 2G and/or 5G click system, or the self-adhesive sub-flooring if you opt for the glue-down variant.

You can also glue the planks or tiles directly onto your existing floor.

There is no need for a saw when installing Spirit Click; a Stanley knife is all you need to work dust-free, quickly and securely. With the immediate result of an attractive interior.

100% Waterproof Spirit is a 100% water-resistant floor, guaranteed to remain perfectly stable and free from warping. It is perfect for the bathroom or the kitchen, and you can even lay it in your cellar. It will remain perfectly stable and guarantees long-term user comfort. Finish your floor with water-resistant skirting in a matching colour and you can be absolutely assured of a water-resistant floor.

Unique sizes: think BIG! The Spirit XL line features planks 183cm long. These long planks will make your rooms look larger and give your interior a luxurious edge.

Or how about Spirit tiles, with their unique dimensions? Our 60cm by 90cm tiles will bring an element of stylish timelessness into your house, and the high-quality finish guarantees many years of living pleasure.

Just like real wood When designing the collection a great deal of attention was paid to the natural grain structure of the wood. In the SPIRIT PRO and XL collections the print you see and the texture you feel are perfectly aligned. As a result, it can be quite difficult to distinguish a Spirit plank floor from genuine hardwood! Each visible wood grain can be felt in your floor, and this makes all the difference when creating an authentic interior. Spirit delivers the authentic look and feel of natural materials, coupled with the convenience and robustness of vinyl flooring.

BerryAlloc - with heart and soul The Spirit Collection has a vinyl floor for everyone. From simplicity to luxury, from accessible to exclusive. With Spirit you will be bringing more than just a floor into your home. Spirit means making a statement, while benefitting from cosy warmth and carefree enjoyment of your home. The low-maintenance and scratchproof floors will give you the freedom to be completely yourself. Live life to the full? Of course!

Choose BerryAlloc. Choose Spirit. With heart and soul. www.berryalloc.com

Spirit Pro – Click Comfort 55 – Cement light grey

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Special

Producers of distressed floors

DISTRESSED AS A FULLY INTEGRATED ‘FINISH’ IF ALL TYPES OF FLOOR FOLLOW, YOU CAN’T CALL IT A TREND ANY MORE How do we distress?

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to give new wooden flooring a distressed look (i.e. making it look older), namely mechanical distressing and chemical distressing. Usually, a combination of both is used. With so called ‘damaging’, we artificially apply traces of years of use or, and with old processing techniques, we give the impression that a floor was produced way back in the past.

We can ‘damage’ a floor by lashing, beating, or scourging it. By brushing the floor or scraping it by hand, we create the impression that a floor comes from the days when those techniques were used.

Colours from the floor can also give the impression that the wood is old. This can be done with colour products such as stains, for instance, but also via the now well known process of ‘chemical smoking’ using (formerly) ammonia. Several chemical producers offer special distressing products which can also be used on site, something which is very attractive in the case of renovation (see elsewhere in this edition).

What do we use to distress?

Photo – Di Legno

Why make a floor look older? The answer to that question is quite simple, namely there is no more old wood! Or, to be more precise, the availability of old wood from cloisters and castles, old train carriages, old and weathered mooring posts, cheese boards, and such like has diminished to such an extent that the price is equally out of reach, except for the happy few. However, demand is still just as high for all the aforementioned reasons. Meeting that demand requires a good dose of creativity plus technology. The hint of the past appears in all types of flooring. Incredible, isn’t it?

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Elsewhere in this edition we consider in more detail the products which are used for distressing. For mechanical distressing there are scores of mechanical options which can be incorporated into the production line. At present, however, there are also lighter machines for carrying out operations on the site. For beating there are modern beating machines.

The principle is simple: The planks are put into a drum which is full of bolts, nails, and such like. By rotating the drum, we cause the loosely flying objects in the drum to apply damage haphazardly which makes the floor look older.

Brushing is done in a structure brushing machine which can be integrated perfectly well into the production line. These machines are available in various widths and can be equipped with different brushes. There are several materials for the brushes such as bronze or nylon with silicon carbide. Another way to give planks an aged look is the ripsaw machine which leaves the original saw motions visible. These are merely a few examples of distressing machines. Manufacturers continue to innovate and, obviously, they also do tailored work for clients.

What do we distress?

Distressed floors have grown into a segment. The distressed look of wooden floors is now a generally appreciated phenomenon. This

is proved by the fact that parquet manufacturers offer it in virtually all their floor types, both in solid wood and multilayer floors, and also in the ‘old fitting patterns’. Those patterns in a distressed version exude the atmosphere of bygone days even more. The fact that laminate manufacturers are also creating decors of distressed (oak!) floors is also a sign of the times. Nowadays, we are seeing the emergence of distressed in each type of floor technology where ‘print’ is used. The fact that there is such a thing as embossing is obviously a nice bonus in that respect. And so, this is also possible in LVT, PVC, and such like. Vintage is appearing everywhere, in all types, and in diverse collections. An interesting finding is the fact that distressed floors are appreciated regardless of the interior. They are making themselves at home in both classic or even nostalgic interiors and in hypermodern, rigid, and minimalist homes. And so, there is no doubt that floor fitters ‘must’ offer distressed floors to avoid missing out on a good bite of the cherry.

What’s on the market ?

Alsapan - Parqueterie Berrichonne Alsapan - Parqueterie Berrichonne offers a full assortment in distressed floors. In order to meet all requests, they offer widths from 90 to 220mm in two and three-layer (HDF) and on CP. The top layers are 2.5 and 3.5mm. Solid wood floors are also available in 14mm. Alsapan - Parqueterie Berrichonne applies its own formula in the field of distressing. This is a combination of scraping the edges and applying saw and plane marks to create as it were a 3D effect to put the nature of the wood in relief. The historical uniqueness is preserved by the

distressed varnished finish. The distressing procedure came about after extensive tests and it does not use chemical agents. To preserve the unique features of oak, certainly for distressing, Alsapan Parqueterie Berrichonne works exclusively with this most noble of all wood sorts. On oak it is also possible to offer a distressed finish using reactive products.

UniqUe by natUre

Every floor is custom made For commercial & residential use Sustainable produced in The Netherlands Easy maintenance

www.chapelparket.com

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Special

Producers of distressed floors

Boen

Boen makes engineered floors. Distressed floors are sold under the name Castle and Chaletion in oak with a top layer of about 3.5mm and Chalet wooden floors with a top layer of about 4.5mm. Boen certainly sees ‘distressed’ as a trend, and not just amongst green clients. Key words in this trend are ‘nostalgia’, ‘natural’, ‘handwork and expertise’, ‘back to basics’, ‘authenticity’, and ‘less is more’. It combines new design and old techniques in response to today’s pervasive technology.

Handwork and durability are key concepts. Boen does not use distressing machines to produce untreated surfaces with flaws.

Instead they look for wood with natural flaws (cracks and gnarls) and they make a smooth surface to highlight the flaws with black filler.

Obviously, oak also takes centre stage in this process.

Di Legno Di Legno offers solid wood floors and two and three-layer floors in a range of finishes. All Di Legno floors are distressed using its own technique, which sets natural wood processes in motion to yield a beautifully weathered and uniquely coloured product with an exceptional patina.

Oak is the only sort of wood which Di Legno uses for distressing. They use French and German oak. Di Legno is the sector’s leading pioneer in patinating and ageing parquet floors. With its unique production process, Di Legno transforms new oak wood into parquet with an aged character. Di Legno sees distressed as a growing trend which is becoming more and more integrated into modern rigid interiors.

Decospan/Cabbani

Chêne de l’est®

Chêne de l’est offers a wide range of solid wood and multilayer floors. In solid wood, the company from Eastern France offers parquet 14 and 21mm long and 70 and 190mm wide. In multilayer floors, they have TOP 4 (140 or 220mm wide), TOP 6 (140 or 170mm wide), TOP 2.7 (140mm wide), and XXL in widths of 250 and 350mm. The floorboards are finished ready for fitting. Obviously, Chêne de l’est also provides maintenance products and instructions to preserve and protect the beauty of the floorboards. They offer distressed finishes for all uses, both public and private. Distressed floors are still extremely popular, especially in herringbone and Hungarian point. The distressing technique used by Chêne de l’est yields a naturally aged look. Obviously, oak is their preferred wood sort.

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Decospan/Cabbani offers engineered floors with HDF and multiplex birch as a base and veneer with an HDF base. From 2020, the company will again offer solid wood and Pine-core. Distressed finishes are available in the engineered floors with a multiplex birch base.

Distressed is also a trend here, but they have noticed that the tendency is more towards light distressing rather than the radical damage found in import floors. In particular, people appreciate most the light distressing of bevelled edges. Decospan/Cabbani still distresses those bevelled edges manually. Here, brushes have completely replaced the traditional beating machine. As regards distressing machines on site, they have seen that these are difficult to use in practice. There are still places such as the corners where the job has to be done manually.

Decospan/Cabbani uses mainly oak, but walnut, softwood, and such like lend themselves ideally to distressing. It’s only the techniques which change.

Design Parquet

Esta Parket

Design Parquet sells multilayer parquet for 60% and solid oak parquet and exotic wood sorts for 40%.

The best-seller is the multilayer Loft Pro Chêne in exotic wood.

Distressing is possible with all types of parquet from the range.

English bond, herringbone, Hungarian point, anything is possible.

Design Parquet is a specialist in customised work. They pay prominent attention here to broken edges and distressing. Oak accounts for the lion’s share (99%) of the products.

Esta Parket produces both two and three-layer parquet. In both cases the company has a variety of finishes up its sleeve. They often use brushing as a finish, but that isn’t really regarded as distressed.

Brushing heavily and deeply can sometimes lead to problems with a finish, so it is not recommended for all designs. At Esta Parket they achieve various distressing effects using embossing rollers. That type of surface treatment is regarded as a niche. They are not retail products; they attract attention from customers, but they are seldom purchased.

Wood is a passion and demands real craftsmanship.

At Di Legno we create and make wooden floors our own way, and push our craftsmanship to its limits.

Time and time again. +32 89 62 91 00 - info@dilegno.be - www.dilegno.comFloor Forum

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Special

Producers of distressed floors

The Italian firm Trabattoni supplies diverse rollers. They have noticed here that most belt sanding machines provide various accessories for distressing effects (e.g. scraping or saw marks). However, Esta Parket feels there isn’t enough interest in it.

Lamett

Houtbedrijf Kerkhofs

HOUTBEDRIJF

KERKHOFS Specialist in custom work!

Houtbedrijf Kerkhofs offers a very wide and complete range of parquet floors, mosaic floors, 6.2 and 9mm floors (strips, herringbone, and Hungarian point), 15mm, and 20mm (all its own production).

Furthermore, the company also offers a wide range of engineered parquet floors in both strips, wide planks, herringbone, Hungarian point, and style panels. Houtbedrijf Kerkhofs never shirks a challenge.

Customised work is their speciality. Houtbedrijf Kerkhofs offers both solid wood and semi-solid wood distressed floors as well as diverse s of style panels. Those distressed floors are still in demand. They distress floors here every week, especially herringbone floors. Distressing by means of beating the parquet is the most common method. A brushed floor has a different appearance to a distressed floor. With a brushed parquet floor, the grains are generally more visible, since the soft wood is brushed away. Here, too, the most popular sort of wood is oak.

The Lamett range consists mainly of engineered (three-layer or multilayer) parquet. The firm also has some solid wood collections. The Farm, Albi, and Carcassonne collections include distressed finishes.

These collections are three-layer oak parquet. This year, Lamett has also launched the Carcassonne distressed collection. Carcassonne has a distinctive look. The wide and long planks combine with nicely weathered gnarls and cracks which are deliberately left open. They treat all planks manually. The top layers are dried outside on shelves for

SLAVONIAN OAK

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several weeks. Open gnarls and open cracks and no visible (dark) filler all combine to make this floor rustic and subtle at the same time.

The original saw mill cuts are visible. The most popular distressing technique is manual distressing whereby planks are brushed and scraped. Lamett also uses specific rustic top layers which come originally from oak which is 200 years old. The selections are made on the basis of the size of the gnarls and cracks. They do not use the classic drum machine. The distressed collections are brushed to obtain a distressed effect. Lamett uses only European oak.

distinctive real-wood features, including black knots, closed or partially opened knots, subtle nuances and discoloration, splits and sapwood).

A deep brushing on the plank will bring to those oiled floors a lustrous finish that catches the light and creates soft reflections. Origine floors are easily recognizable thanks to their distressed bevels. Available in Diva 139 & 184mm wide (engineered wood flooring) and Sonate 140mm (solid wood flooring). Discover our full range of aged wooden floors at panaget.com.

Original Chapel Parket

Original Chapel Parket has been known for years as the founder of distressed and ready-to-use parquet floors and offers a wide range of solid, engineered and 3-layer full oak floors. In our Basilica Collection, the floors are distressed according to the traditional aging method.

This is done with a drum technique that creates an irregular surface distressing with a natural appearance. In addition to the traditional surface distressing techniques, Original Chapel Parket goes even further with other surface techniques to give oak floors a characterful, weathered or reclaimed appearance while preserving the natural beauty of the wood. This way each Chapel Parket Collection has its own unique appearance! The most unique exclusive floors in the Original Chapel Parquet Minster Collection show life as it is: raw and unpredictable. The unique weathered appearance is the result of an intense coloring process from various treatments. The special production process enhances the natural texture of the wood, resulting in an extraordinary floor! The Minster Collection is available in 11 colors that beautifully emphasize the grain of the wood. For the distressing of floors, oak is the most suitable type of wood, the number of treatments can vary from 1 to more than 10 treatments to achieve the desired appearance. Distressing of floors is a real specialty of Original Chapel Parket where our floors have been finding their way to the customer for both commercial and residential applications for many years.

Visit our website for more information: www.chapelparket.com

ORIGINE BY PANAGET At Panaget, we love floors with character. Our Origine collection is designed to highlight the distinctive French oak-wood features, making your floor as unique as you are. Whether it is a country house or an urban contemporary apartment refurbishment, our Origine raw material will perfectly suit your home. Get ready for a brand-new sensory experience. Inspired by yesteryear floors, Origine oak floors are made from a carefully selected rustic grade. In that way, the planks show

Connected to nature

100% French oak

Made in France

French Oak Zenitude Bois ottÊ, Diva 184

www.panaget.com Floor Forum International 103

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Special

Industrial lacquers

COATING CONTRACTORS NOW OFFER MORE SERVICES MORE SPECIALITIES IN PRODUCTION ARE BEING OUTSOURCED

Photo – Mapo Group

Outsourcing services and parts of production processes is becoming more and more common. The principle of outsourcing arose from the realisation that for some operations it is better (and often cheaper) to ask someone else to do them. This can be inspired by financial reasons, but it may also be a matter of expertise. Coating contractors are constantly expanding their sphere of work in terms of both tasks and target groups.

What do they do?

Specifically for parquet, operations which are outsourced take place between the time when rough floorboards leave the production line and the time when they appear in the store or showroom.

Mechanical and chemical interventions Some traders outsource sandpapering, planing, and milling, but probably the operation most in demand is that of mechanical distressing. Beating, lashing, brushing, and exclusive operations such as hand-scraping are all possible. The most common chemical operation is undoubtedly distressing by means of a smoke treatment using ammonia.

Applying a finish Applying a finish to wooden floors has long been a speciality of so called ‘coating contractors’. They have also followed the technical

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developments in the chemical industry closely and for all sorts of finishes. The emergence of UV technology has enabled them to expand their capacity considerably and reduce delivery periods. Most companies offer lacquer, oil, and hard wax as well as colours.

Getting products ready for sale Generally less common, but emerging strongly is the offer of help with the absolute end phase of the cycle i.e. labelling, measuring, registering, and packing. Fitting instructions and other communication meant for end users are added by machine. This means that parquet floors are ‘ready for the stores’ when they leave the ‘coating contractors’.

For whom do they do it?

We’ve already said that the term ‘coating contractor’ has long since failed to do justice to what they actually do. These companies offer just about every possible finish (e.g. lacquer, oil, or hard wax oil) as well as pre-colouring or distressing by means of smoking or applying mechanical damages via beating or lashing.

Parquet manufacturers The clients are parquet producers who are increasingly faced with smaller jobs ‘tailored to the client’. Those parquet producers can hardly invest in the necessary equipment for distressing just 100m² of parquet. By contrast, coating contractor companies work for several clients, so that investment is worthwhile for them.

Parquet floor fitters Another group of clients are parquet floor fitters who want to have a number of ‘operations’ (e.g. colouring or distressing) carried out in advance. They see the benefits of pre-finished, but like to stick to their own formula. Coating contractors apply that formula at the floor fitter’s request and according to the latter’s instructions.

Via wholesale Parquet floor fitters who stick to their own formula, but still want to offer pre-finished, can call upon the services of an external company to do the finish for them (wholly or in part). This can be done directly, but generally it is more attractive to do so via wholesale because that enables floor fitters to benefit from the bulk discount which the wholesaler can stipulate with its supplier.

Mapo Belgium: One of Europe’s biggest industrial coating contractors which finishes parquet, panelling, terraces, wall cladding, skirting boards, PVC, and composite materials.

Mapo Russia: Industrial coating contractor and finisher of parquet.

Vepola: Major manual sprayer, liquid lacquer treatments on metal, wood, PVC, and composite.

Mapo Print: Digital print technology with lacquer protection on wooden panels.

In the Mapo Group you deal with four companies, and we share our knowledge internally so that we can take on just about any request for a finish.

Miva Parket

Who does what?

Mapo Group

For over 35 years, the Mapo Group has been the benchmark in the industrial finish of wood products. They were there at the start as pioneers. They, together with their partners, set up everything which is now regarded as self-explanatory in the finish sector. Thanks to this pioneer spirit, the Mapo Group always takes up a leading role. Take, for instance, the new series of finishes on PDL parquet based on the most popular trend colours on oak. The Mapo Group comprises four companies:

Miva Parket has stepped up a gear in innovation. They are now able to burn wall cladding and multi-layer and solid parquet without overheating the top coat/bearer or the glueing. Their fire tunnel is designed so that the planks are no more than warm to the touch as they emerge from the tunnel. Apart from this unique innovation, they can also offer you two new subtle forms of distressing. Over the years, they have refined old traditional finish methods such as smoking,

FOR THE FINISHING OF YOUR WOOD, PVC and METAL PRODUCTS flooring - ceiling - outside cladding - profiles * decorative - durable - ageing roller coater/curtain coater/spraying/vacuum application – ALSO PRINTING!

MAPO BELGIUM N.V. – B-3530 Houthalen-Helchteren - T +32 11 60 54 93 - info@mapo.be

Visit our websites: www.mapo.be – www.mapoprint.com – www.vepola.be

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Special

Industrial lacquers

distressing, chemical treating, lye-staining, oiling, and lacquering in such a way that they can offer them to you ready for fitting and at a very affordable price for both parquet and wall cladding. In recent years, they have invested heavily in research and development. And so, they are proud to present their various ‘driftwood collections’. The wood is weathered strongly in order to give it an authentic look. These driftwood finishes can be combined with burning and/or their various distressing techniques. Give your eyes a feast on our latest collections on our revamped web site.

Timfin®

for Flanders and customers can choose where to take lacquering work.

Lakkerij Verdonck & Topfin offer a range of finishes: stains, varnishes, and wet lacquers for veneer and solid wood, MDF, glass, synthetics, and metal. The main customers are furniture makers, interior builders, cabinet makers, glass traders, parquet floor fitters, and parquet agents. Their main speciality is lacquering glass, bronze, and other metal techniques, high-gloss, and interior doors à la carte. A main activity is natural varnishing in matt to high-gloss, colour lacquer, polished high-gloss lacquer, structure lacquer, brushing technique, and priming. All this is based on the sample or range of colour. The company finishes every possible interior application according to the customer’s wishes with the utmost care and expertise. Outdoor cabinet work, too, is within their range. With modern spray cabins, mixing laboratories, and a fully computerised spray robot, Topfin and Lakkerij Verdonck can cope with both separate items and series. Finishing the ‘pre-finish’ of parquet floors (solid wood/semi-solid wood/veneer) can be done for professionals and DIY enthusiasts. The flexible industrial lacquering line ensures an ‘à la carte’ finish. Oiling, staining, varnishing, lacquering, and brushing are all perfectly possible. They take orders from 1 to 1000m². They offer proper service and flexibility.

LDF Industrie

Timfin® colours and protects your wood! The company started with four modern collections, which are affordable, timeless, and real Timfin® quality. You can see them on bit.ly/timfin-collections. Yet that’s not all.

Our colourist is now working on three new collections, which will be available after the summer. Weathered look and smoked tints are the theme of the new collections. Come along for a ‘sneak preview’. Are you a parquet fitter, an interior designer, or a carpenter? Timfin® has the right range of versatile colours for you with maximum protection and a clear price. Visit our showroom with your customer. We will also give you free advice. Be sure to ask for a log-on for our Timfin Customer App. You can use this to follow up your orders, see quotations, view colour samples, and even place your orders. It’s so quick and easy! Timfin® is based in Aalter (B) and is easily accessible on the Lakeland industrial estate. You will find more information on our updated web site timfin.be or you can follow us on Instagram: bit.ly/timfin_be.

Topfin/Lakkerij Verdonck

Topfin is part of a group which includes Lakkerij Verdonck from Lokeren (B). Having branches at these two locations means greater coverage

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The company LDF (Ligne de Finition Industrie) is located near the French border and in the vicinity of Kortrijk in Belgium. It specialises in the treatment and finish of multilayer parquet, solid parquet, and covers. LDF has a large production plant and warehouse (6,000m²) for its customers. They are equipped with production lines for all quantities: - A lacquering line for finishes with UV varnish - A lacquering line for finishes with varnish on site - Two oiling lines for oxidative oil finishes, wax-oil finishes, etc.

- A UV oiling line - And, finally, a soaping line.

LDF offers all techniques for ageing, brushing, strong or very strong brushing, broken edges, distressing, old wood, sawn effect, corrugated, mass structured, antique, … These are combined with the application of colours, reactive colours, smoked and protected by oxidative impregnation oil or UV oil or UV varnish with roller and drapes from Blanchon or varnish on site. LDF also applies high-traffic varnish and diamond with very high resistance. And so, LDF offers its customers plenty of looks. LDF always listens to its customers, offers them excellent service, and responds rapidly.

E-mail: ldfindustrie@wanadoo.fr

Special

Wooden terrace floors versus wood composite terrace floors

WOOD AND WOODY TERRACES ARE IN FASHION BENIGN CLIMATE STIMULATES OUTDOOR LIFE thermal treatment procedures: thermowood, heated wood, and perdure. The modification of wood is designed to give soft and less durable types of wood a longer lifespan. In other words, modification raises the wood to the equivalent of a higher class in the durability table (classes 1-5).

Accoya® Since the start of the 20th century, research has been carried out on the acetylation of wood to make it more resistant to wood rot and fungi. The benefits include an improvement in dimensional stability, increase in surface hardness, and no decrease in other mechanical features as a result of the treatment. Since 2007, there has been a commercial product on the market under the name of ‘Accoya®’. This is made at Accsys Technologies in Arnhem, so it is a Dutch product.

Wood composite

Photo – Plastivan/DUOFUSE®

For a long time, consumers had a certain reserve towards wooden terraces. The image of rather aged planks nailed onto a set of beams still bears the marks of ‘the ravages of time’. Some cracks here and there, slightly distorted planks here and there, splinters, and creaky spots. Anyone looking for a new wooden terrace can hardly evade that image.

Today, however, wooden terraces exude long life. They inspire confidence and, to be honest, that’s ‘something new’. The alternatives are doing just as well.

What is the choice?

Tropical hardwood sorts

Wood composite consists of wood fibres, polyethylene with high density, UV stabilisers, pigments, and various additives to optimise mechanical qualities. Usually, these are recycled wood fibres and wood scraps and recycled polyethylene. And so, in many respects wood composite is an ecologically responsible alternative to tropical hardwood. Basically, there is no need to fell any trees and the wood residues can just as easily bear the FSC label. The production method is a form of extrusion. The end result of the ingenious production process should be a material which can easily compete with wood sorts from durability class 1. Since the production of wood composite started in about 1997, we still have to wait another three years to see if that really is the case.

Imitation wood For some time now, there have also been products which are presented as alternatives for wooden terrace floors, but they do not include any form of wood. They are synthetic products based on plastic or synthetic foam. Obviously, they do not suffer at all at the hands of the weather, fungi, or other enemies of real wood.

Bamboo composite

The suitability of hardwood for use in outdoor floors, as we’ve often explained, is determined via a generally recognised and accepted division of wood sorts into five classes. Those classes have been established experimentally. Tests have been carried out to see how long wood sorts could ‘survive’ outdoors when left untreated. Wood sorts in class 1 retain their beauty for 25 years. And so, for terrace boards we use those wood sorts in category 1 and some from category 1-2.

Category 1 includes robinia, belinga, chestnut, massaranduba, padauk, teak, merbau, afrormosia, ipe, etc.

Bamboo appears to be a perfect alternative to terraces in tropical wood sorts. It has proved its qualities over the last few years and is mainly a remedy against deforestation. Composite is an outstanding solution for anyone looking for a tiled terrace with the look of wood, little or no maintenance, and stable colours. Bamboo composite is harder than other composites, is more stable, and swells and shrinks less. A solid bamboo terrace must be thermally treated in order to avoid fungi. The glueing is extremely important in order to prevent premature delamination. In the case of composite the composition is bamboo powder and recycled synthetics. Obviously, the ecological aspect is a top argument, apart from the stability.

Thermally treated wood

Arguments are the same

Thermally treated wood provides us with the first alternative to durable tropical wood sorts. In previous editions we have outlined the various

All materials are comparable in terms of quality. The best wood sorts are on offer and composites are technically so highly developed that

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Wooden terrace floors versus wood composite terrace floors

they are ‘up to scratch’ as regards strength and durability. From a decorative point of view, it is hard to distinguish several composites from ‘real’ wood. We can certainly use the term ‘ecological’ both with real wood and composites, something to which clients are becoming increasingly sensitive. Wood generally comes from sustainably managed forests, but the same applies to the wood fibres in composites and those from residual waste. Synthetics are usually made from recycled raw materials. In both cases the maintenance is simple and technical extras such as anti-slip are possible. Then there’s the price. As regards quality composites, the prices are gradually becoming comparable to those of better wood sorts.

various finish sides. From this season onwards, there is a new colour (wenge brown) available, a brown-grey shade which is very popular.

The fact that floor fitters are also getting more and more requests to fit terraces is because indoor floors are also going outdoors as regards look and feel. Gardens are getting smaller, yet people are paying more attention to outdoor life and, therefore, the design of the garden.

Whilst in the past people had just one terrace, they often now also have a mini-lounge. People often opt for wood or wood composite, especially for that area.

A specialist Plastivan/DUOFUSE® The most commonly used sorts of hard wood for terraces are ipe and padauk, but wood composite is becoming increasingly popular due to its durability and the scarcity of hardwood. Wood composite is somewhat cheaper than hardwood sorts in class 1 such as ipe and padauk. Wood composite is a durable and ecological alternative to hardwood. It is made from a mixture of wood dust and PVC. And so, it helps to protect and maintain tropical rain forests. There is also no need for a treatment afterwards with oils, harmful protective agents, pesticides, and such like. The estimated lifespan exceeds that of conventional wood and it can be fully recycled afterwards. Plastivan has an extensive range of (PEFC certified) of wood composite terrace planks and garden fences under the DUOFUSE® trademark. The terrace planks are available in solid wood or hollow version and in each case also with

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Slat wall system

More information on www.duofuse.com PLASTIVAN nv – Wantestraat 3, B-8780 Oostrozebeke +32 56 66 75 51 – info@plastivan.com

∂ Industry news Classen Group

Loba

Joint marketing venture between the Classen Group and Scholz & Partner to promote an innovative ceramic tile laying system: dry tiling The Classen Group, based in Kaisersesch, and the consulting firm Scholz & Partner, from Hösbach, are collaborating to market dry tiling technology for the adhesive-free and floating laying of ceramic tiles.

The dry tiling technology is based on the European patent EP 2345776 and US patent US 9,169,396, which are also the basis for licensing to manufacturers and marketers of ceramic tiles and floor coverings.

This patented laying technique is much faster than the traditional method, and now enables users to lay ceramic tiles and natural stone flooring as floating flooring without the use of adhesive so that, in additional to conventional tilers, flooring layers, painters, carpenters and dry wall builders for example are now also qualified to install tiles.

Karl-Heinz Scholz from Scholz & Partner said: “This innovative installation system represents a similar potential in terms of simplifying and speeding up the process of installing ceramic tiles as laminate and design flooring click systems did over 20 years ago." Scholz & Partner has been developing products for the construction industry for many years and has launched them on the market with innovative manufacturers. Numerous renowned flooring and building material manufacturers today work with the product ideas and patents from this consulting company, which specialises in mineral floor and wall systems. Classen is a specialist in the manufacture of floating floor coverings using click systems and has an extensive portfolio of patents which are marketed worldwide in cooperation with, among others, the innovative Dutch developer I4F. With approximately 70-80 million m² of laminate and designer flooring sold worldwide, Classen is also one of the market leaders in the European flooring industry.

Further information: www.scholzandpartner.com/innovation

One of Loba’s most popular colouring pre-treatments is Lobasol® Pre Tone. This waterbased pigment stain is suitable for all types of wood. Pre Tone is available in the colours black, brown, and white and, since recently, in the new colours steel and mocha. Pre Tone can be used in combination with HS 2K ImpactOil (Color). If a lacquered surface is preferred, Pre Tone can be combined with the oil-based primer Lobadur® HS 2K Intensive (Color) A.T., which must be top-coated with a Lobadur® lacquer system. This application combines the beautiful look of an oiled floor with the low maintenance of a lacquered surface. PreTone and HS 2K Intensive A.T. have been developed for pre-treating new or renovated floors on site. It is also possible to apply these products in the floor fitter’s workshop before a floor is fitted. Pre Tone can be used either to colour the wood or to intensify the top-layer of oil. Amazing results and even two-color effects can be created by the combination of Pre Tone and LOBASOL® HS 2K Impact Oil Color.

Soudal launches new website

SPAČVA When choosing oak solid flooring for your home there is always a question of grade and surface finish. Which grade and surface finish to combine depends on your taste. There are no rules about it. But you have to know what you want to show when choosing your surface finish. Darker tones and brushing are perfect to create the effect of rustic atmosphere. Brushing will emphasize unique structure of each bord of solid flooring. It also gives more character and color appears more vivid. It will have stronger appearance. Surface finishes withouth brushing gives more sophisticated look. On oiled surface finish, you will still see natural structure of oak, but much softer. Spačva understands the need of modern interiors. Trying to give options for classic but also modern homes we created a big range of surface finishes. From light to darker colors, with or withouth brushing. Each color will create different interior style. Because of sophisticated look that oak solid flooring gives, it is easy to combine with the rest of the interior. Long lasting beauty, tradition and unqie structure easilliy makes oak solid flooring perfect choice for each home.

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Soudal today launched the completely new website www.soudal.com.

Thanks to the website, customers, professionals and DIY-ers will now have easy access to all the necessary product information about the more than 1,000 products that the company markets in Belgium. Soudal has a total of more than 12,000 SKUs and sells its products in 138 countries worldwide. This global dimension and the large number of products and (packaging and language) variants mean a huge amount of product information, which is now brought together in a clear and easily navigable manner. Luc Thys, Group Director Marketing and R&D at Soudal: “Given the exponential growth that we have been experiencing for some years, both in terms of countries and products, it used to be impossible to make everything available online in all languages. Our website used to be available in only ten languages. The new website is fully integrated with the Soudal SAP system to ensure that all possible information on colors, packaging, technical data sheets, pack shots, etc. is available with a simple click of the mouse.” Professional users and customers can log in, after which they can download all the information for their customers. End users of the DIY section can easily find additional information on the use and areas of application. Luc Thys: “Every day, we receive questions from DIY-ers about our products. What should be used where, and how? We now have a large number of handy videos available online especially for them, which explain how to use the products.” For the time being, www. soudal.com will only be available in the two languages of Soudal's home country Belgium, i.e. Dutch and French. However, over the next 24 months, some 30 additional languages will be added.

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Who has reactive stains

TANNIN DETERMINES THE FINAL COLOUR OF A REACTIVE STAIN THE ULTIMATE WAY TO A PARQUET FLOOR Applying colour to wood does not detract from the look of the wood in any way whatsoever. On the contrary, some sorts of wood are enriched slightly by a touch of colour, especially oak which takes on extra added value even though it exudes enough class on its own. We can add colour in various ways; we can apply it before we apply the actual finish. We call that ‘pre-colouring’. With colour oil, we add the colouring together with the finish. Reactive staining has a special place of its own.

What is staining?

Staining is the application of a transparent or covering coat to protect the fibres of a material such as wood from weather and wind and give the surface a nice exterior. In contrast to varnish or lacquer, commonly known as paint, a stain penetrates the wood partially. Stains which are suitable for outdoors usually regulate the moisture and often provide UV protection. There are also stains which provide solely colour, but no protection. There are types of stains based on water, oil, and alcohol.

Transparent stains use various colours to give a suggestion of different sorts of wood.

Stains for parquet In the case of stains for parquet we speak of pre-colouring because the actual protection still has to be applied after the colouring. By staining parquet, we can give the wood any colour as required, anything is possible, from black and blue-grey to white. The stain penetrates deeply into the wood, gives a nice contrast, and thereby highlights the specific wood structure. A stain is often a traditional wood ennobling product based on natural flax oil. This wood stain is ideal for colouring wooden, parquet, and plank floors for both ordinary and noble wood sorts.

Colours are legion Stains appear in a huge range of colours. In the past, most stains were available in wood colours. And so, it was possible, for instance, to give a cheap pine floor the look of oak by means of a dark oak colour. Today, the colouring agents appear in a range of trendy colours. Each wood sort can be given a different look through the application of certain colours.

Imitating other wood sorts By applying a red tint, for instance, you get the effect of American red oak. By colouring light wood sorts extremely dark, you give them the allures of certain tropical wood sorts. You have to be a real connoisseur to tell the difference between (almost) black-coloured oak and, for instance, wenge or to distinguish oak from panga panga. In that respect coloured (cheaper) wood sorts can act as a substitute for often unaffordable tropical hardwood sorts which it can match in terms of hardness.

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What do reactive stains do?

When you apply an ordinary stain to a garden fence or wooden plank, presumably you get the colour which you have chosen. Reactive staining is something special in that respect. When a reactive stain is applied, the stain enters into a reaction with the tannin to create a colouring in the stained wood. Since the colouring takes place in the cell wall of the wood, it is very intense. The final colour is affected by the amount of tannin in the wood. And so, this is the way to obtain a unique floor covering. The tannin in wood is never identical in two different trees. Even if producers present about a dozen colours, the end result will always depend on the tannin. An example of a reactive stain is the lye stain offered by several trademarks. This gives you a similar effect to classic ‘leaching’. On oak in particular, you get the look of a distressed floor.

What’s on the market ?

Blanchon Ever since time immemorial, anyone who has made wood their trade has looked for ways to modify the colour or shade. In the last thirty years, modern chemistry has yielded water-based colourings or pigments that can stand up better to the effects of light.

Blanchon supplies a full range for colouring, decorating, and distressing parquet and woodwork with two ranges of tints, one distressing range and several reactive products. Aquateinte 2K is a water-based colouring for parquet. There are six wood colours and another six shades ranging from pure white to deep black. For small surfaces there is Wood Shade (‘Teinte à Bois’; 12 wood shades in white, black, and five shades of grey). Wood Ager (‘Vieillisseur Bois’) has 10 varieties, with five shades of grey. Blanchon also has various Reactors (‘Réactifs’) and Patinas (‘Patines’). Note: Only oil both decorates and protects. And so, all colours still need a protective coat. A good example is the combination of Wood Ager (‘Vieillisseur Bois’) and Colour Wax Oil (‘Huile-Cire teintée’). These colours can be applied both on site and in the factory.

Ciranova As market leader in reactive stains/lye stains, Ciranova has several ranges of reactive stains. The lye stain NT (New Technology) is the latest range of lye stains and it deploys the latest technology in the field of chemicals and colouring agents. There are eight new colours (four smoked colours and four shades of grey which can be mixed with each other and provide a natural look with an accompanying natural protection).

Lye stain is a water-based reactive distressing stain, which is particularly suitable for distressing wood sorts which contain tannic acid, such as oak and pine.

Lye stain provides unique finishes, but is suitable for indoor use only.

Aquavintage 2C is a water-based reactive stain for distressing wood simply and quickly. Aquavintage 2C is a positive stain which highlights the wood grain and gives the wood depth and a warm and unique

The DevoNatural range of professional parquet floor products meets the highest standards when it comes to treating parquet floors.

It is all about quality without compromise, developing products using the best raw materials and cutting-edge technologies.

DevoNatural is available in original colours and contemporary finishes, which are fully in harmony with the latest trends in interior design.

You want to play on your parquet floor ?

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texture. Finally, Vintage is a water-based reactive stain to give oak a weathered ‘vintage’ look. Reactive stains need time to react to the basic substances of the wood. And so, here we tend to use the term reaction time instead of drying time. Ciranova reactive stains have a minimum reaction time of six hours, but, generally speaking, Ciranova recommends leaving the stains overnight before applying an oil or a varnish finish.

Chimiver Old West effect series (LUNA - GIOVE - TERRA - VENERE)

The R&D laboratory in CHIMIVER has developed a new ad innovative range of reacting solutions for ageing your wood: OLD WEST EFFETTO RANGE is a one-coat reacting solution which enhance the texture of natural wood giving an aged and weathered look. The product is water-based and is working by reacting with tannin contained in some woods such as oak and chestnut.

The use of OLD WEST allows to obtain a large variety of effects imitating the old weathered woods. OLD WEST is different from classical stains or dyes which are coloring the wood hiding its grain structure; OLD WEST enhances the natural beauty of wood standing out color differences into the wood grain.

The OLD WEST reacting solutions are clear and pigments free; the natural wood color is changed through the reaction of the solution with the tannin or resins contained in the wood.

Consider that the final results can change based on: - Quantity of product - Possible dilution of product - Reacting solution overlap - Humidity and temperature during working and drying.

- Drying conditions in between the coats - Wood preparation (sanding, scraping, brushing etc..)

- Application method - Tannin and resin content - Country of origin of the wood - Chemical nature (water or solvent-based) of the fixing prymer

DevoNatural® Reactive 300-600-1200 is a reactive distressing product with a smoked effect for ‘oak’ parquet and wooden floors, doors, windows, furniture, etc. The product is an ecological mix of hexa hydrates and does not contain any harmful or irritating substances or ammonia!

Reactive 300-600-1200 can be applied only to oak! DevoNatural® Reactive is a distressing product which is available in three concentrations, namely 400, 600, and 1200. The higher the figure, the stronger the reactive distressing. On oak wood DevoNatural® Reactive

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Who has reactive stains

finish, they recommend Hesse Oil Primer. According to Hesse, the market for these products is fairly stable. The aforementioned products can be used either on site or in the workshop. If floor fitters have a finish line available (with or without UV), Hesse can suggest specific structures. Drying time depends on the type of product, but, on average, they suggest 12 to 16 hours. Colouring solely with oil limits options, but obviously it depends on what the end customer wants. For instance, with oil, you have more of a white-washed effect (the grain is highlighted).

Osmo Colour and protect wooden flooring

gives the wood a naturally aged look. The effect can vary, depending on the area of growth, the sort of oak, and the diversity of the oak wood. The tannic acid content of the oak determines the colour effect!

Hesse The wide product range from Osmo offers numerous possibilities to colour wooden flooring. First Osmo Oil Stain offers the choice between a transparent or intense colour. The treated wood is protected optimally with two coats of a clear Osmo Polyx®-Oil. As a second possibility, one of seven colours from the Osmo Polyx®-Oil Tints range can be chosen.

For this two coats are necessary. As another option Osmo Wood Wax Finish can be selected – it is absolutely essential to apply a second coat with clear Polyx®-Oil, which is available in various sheens. All of the products mentioned are based on natural oils and waxes.

Plastor

In the Hesse Old Country and Vintage colour range we find some charming reactive distressing stains which react to the content of substances and oak. If the customer prefers to look for a smoother colouring, the company recommends the Hesse WPB Parquet Stain range. If the customer wants an oil colouring with a varnish as a

Colour Floors Shade is a colouring which enables you to colour parquet durably in the depth. The product is suitable for all types of parquet. It is available in 15 different and intense colours. These colours can be mixed with each other so that you really can personalise your design.

The product is easy to apply without streaks, even on big surfaces. One litre will colour about 15m². This market is thriving because more and more people (and institutions) want to give their old floors a new lease of life without removing the ‘old’ aspect. These colour products can be deployed in the factory or on site. For finishing with a water-based product, there has to be a drying time of 24 hours, whilst for a solvent-based finish that is two to three hours. At all events, the

®

The wood filler range for wood industry ■ Economical powder 1kg = 1.3kg of paste ■ Ready-to-use, fast drying ■ Depth of filling 20mm ■ Special formulas for planed and brushed wood ■ 8 standards colors or counter-typing on demand ■ Package from 5 to 310kg, in buckets or in barrels ■ Manual or automatic application 54

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TE WA R

BA ED S

Call a specialist

+33 5 61 98 40 88 www.briancon-production.com

INDUSTRY

coloured floors must be given a protective finish.

Plastor also offers a concentrated shade (‘concentré de teinte’), a colour additive which can be used to colour solvent-based lacquers.

All finishes are suitable.

Other colour products from Plastor include colour finishes such as Decoprotect hard wax and Colour Floors Opaque varnish.

Rubio Monocoat RMC PRE-AGING Get the look of a reactive stain, without the disadvantages.

A new floor with an aged look. It is a flooring trend that is very popular right now. In addition to effectively smoking and smoking wood, there are many reactive products to provide a weathered or aged look to the wood.

Rubio Monocoat Pre-Aging is a high-quality, non-reactive pre-treatment that creates the look of reactive stains, but without the drawbacks.

Rubio Monocoat Pre-Aging is available in 10 standard colours, ranging from a lighter to a darker smoked look, including the warm, green/ brown undertones that are so popular. All colours can be mixed with each other, so that the client can get exactly what he wants. The result is a stable, deep colour with subtle accents, that are easy to reproduce. The product is pH-neutral, as opposed to reactive pre-colours and is applicable to virtually all wood types, including those without tannins. Because Rubio Monocoat Pre-Aging is a pre-treatment, you have to combine it with one of our Rubio Monocoat finishing product for maximum protection.

To protect the surface you can overcoat them with an oil as well as a lacquer. Tover: products serving Design.

WOCA

WOCA has an extensive range of colour options in stains or oils.

According to WOCA, the market has now reached a peak, but it could be bigger if there were fewer wood colours. The products can be applied in the factory or on site. For application on site, however, you have to work ‘wet-on-wet’. The drying times vary from three to eight hours, depending on the quantity and the temperature. Stains offer more colour options and give a more natural look. The stains can be finished with all the normal finishes. When applying lacquer, you must allow for a drying time of 24 hours.

Get the look of a reactive stain, without the disadvantages

10 standard shades

Tover Tover can provide an easy pre-colouring system to grant an aged aspect to new wood. Water-based reactive agents creating a grey, smoked, black or bleached effect, i.e.

Bosch Vej, Ciair, Fossil, Antique thanks to the reaction with wood tannin: a mere acceleration of the material oxidizing process! They are particularly suitable on oak and softwoods.

Applicable to virtually all wood types

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No overlaps

Stable colour that is easy to reproduce

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Invisible lacquers: who has them ?

INVISIBLE LACQUERS ARE WIDELY APPRECIATED THE SOLE AVERSION TO LACQUER HAS GONE Wooden floor finishes are sometimes divided up into those which form a film and those which don’t. As regards the latter, parquet lacquer stands somewhat ‘alone’, although hard wax oil also gives the floor a slender top coat. The finishes which leave no film are polishing wax, oil, hard wax, and hard wax oil. They all have the advantage of local repairs. They have in common the fact that ‘maintaining’ the floor also means ‘ feeding’ it. In particular, their extremely low gloss has given them the lead over lacquer, at least until recently!

Application

When does something ‘shine’?

What’s on the market?

Something shines when it is very glossy, and the underlying structure is no longer fully recognisable. That has often been a drawback of parquet lacquer. The lacquer gloss rendered the wood structure invisible.

Gloss appears if the surface of a material is so smooth that the relief is smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Gloss is measured by recording the reflection of a ray of light falling on the material. The rule for recording the reflection is as follows: The angle of incidence is the angle of reflection. Gloss depends heavily on the angle from which we view a material. If observers look straight at an object, they will hardly see any gloss at all, but if they look almost parallel along the material, they will see some gloss. Gloss is expressed in a percentage. For instance, high-gloss paint has a gloss of over 85%, semi-gloss paint about 70%, silky gloss 30%, and matt from 0 to 15%.

Matting agent Each lacquer is more or less glossy, depending partly on the used resin, which forms one of the main ingredients. Polyurethane is the gloss champion, but all varnishes are glossy without a matting agent. The dosage of the AdM (matting additive) in the lacquer and the quality thereof have consequences for both the quality and application of the lacquer. A matt surface is relatively rough (at micro-level) and therefore more sensitive to scratches. A matt surface is also more likely to attract dirt because of that roughness. A matt surface wears out sooner due to its greater vulnerability to scratches and dirt and therefore it needs renovating sooner than a glossy (i.e. smooth) surface. Traders have applied all sorts of additions and subterfuges to the formula to eliminate or reduce the aforementioned negative aspects of lacquers. These subterfuges and additions are often the reason why a matt lacquer is more expensive than a glossy one.

Also invisible: oil + lacquer Although matt and ultra-matt lacquers which dispel the drawback of the ‘shiny’ floor have been in existence for many years, many people still swear by the natural look of oil. This is probably due to a certain ignorance, and that relates partly to the advisory role which parquet floor fitters have to play. Nowadays, telling clients about the existence of oil-lacquer systems is certainly part of that advisory task. After all, oil-lacquer systems provide a conclusive answer to many often unjustified objections or myths.

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An oil-lacquer system means that applying the oil is the first job. And so, we are going to impregnate or ‘saturate’ the floor as outlined above.

This gives the floor all the features of an oiled floor, including the visual ones. According to a certain procedure and after a certain drying time (both depend on the producer’s guidelines), we then apply a lacquer as the final finish. Obviously, the oil and lacquer which are used are completely in harmony with each other. Once the coat of lacquer is applied, the floor has the benefits of a lacquered floor with the look of oiled parquet.

Blanchon Each lacquer is more or less glossy, depending partly on the deployed resin, which is one of the main ingredients.

Polyurethane is the gloss champion, but, in fact, all varnishes are glossy unless they have a matting agent. The dosage of the AdM (matting additives) in the lacquer and the quality thereof have consequences for both the quality and the application of the lacquer. Obviously, the creation of a lacquer which is invisible and also easy to apply comes at a price. Indeed, it requires high-quality additives, which are therefore expensive.

At Blanchon the star product is Intensive in its ‘Natural Effect’ (3%!), followed by the ‘Invisible Effect’ (12%), and ‘Ultra-matt’ (8%). In 2019, Blanchon has supplemented its technical and commercial range with Iceberg, a waterborne hybrid PU varnish (in one and two components) with 4% gloss, something which easily puts it within the range of invisible lacquers. This varnish yields an attractive look on light wood sorts and adds a Scandinavian touch. The surface feels extremely soft.

Chimiver Chimiver present ECOWOOD" Two-component water-based polyurethane lacquer with natural antireflection effect for wooden floors

ECOWOOD 2K is a two-component water-based polyurethane lacquer with natural wood look effect. The use of special resins gives to the flooring an extremely matt, natural and anti-reflection effect. Thanks to its special formulation ECOWOOD 2K is also suitable for coating light and dark wood species. ECOWOOD 2K has also excellent chemical and physical characteristics and is suitable for heavy traffic floors.

Nature Protect 2K With Floorservice Nature Protect 2K the wood gets an unfinished look. But you do benefit the best protection possible. Just like you're used to with the products of Floorservice.

Nature Protect 2K is easy to apply and will allow for the wood to maintain its natural colour and look. You will create an unfinished look without the normal building of layers on the wood surface.

You do however benefit from the high grade of protection known from the Floorservice products.

To maintain the floor finished with Nature Protect 2K, we recommend Nature Care.

Ciranova Ciranova leads innovation in both on-site and pre-finished floors in natural and almost invisible oiled appearances. For Ciranova such a finish isn’t proven unless it enhances the natural character of the wood in pale, coloured and distressed finishes. In the Ciranova product range for on-site finishing, we have Oculto and Fortico 2C Natural(which may or may not be combined with UN1CO), two products which are ideal for on-site application. For Industrial Finishers, Ciranova Industrial offers a customised UV oil system for bespoke finishing solutions tailored to the clients needs. Intensive research, close co-operation with suppliers and development using innovative raw materials have given rise to sophisticated preparations which provide an answer both in 1C (Oculto) and in 2C (Fortico) to the classic problems resulting from matting agents.

Hesse There is no legislation for ‘invisible lacquer’, but it seems fairly logical that the more matt the lacquer, the more it can be regarded as ‘invisible’. In this regard Hesse presents a dull matt varnish (gloss 0-3%). At present, ‘invisible lacquers’ (at Hesse Pura Natura HDE 52-0) are being applied a lot.

They equate to the look of oil, but they provide more

DevoNatural® Apart from the standard matt lacquers, namely DevoNatural ®Passage Matt, Finish Matt Oiled Aspect, and Transit Matt, Devomat also has the following ultra-matt and invisible varnishes in its assortment: DevoNatural® Passage Ultramatt and DevoNatural® Transit Plus Pure. At present, the invisible and matt lacquers are the most popular in the range of varnishes. The use of a greater quantity of matting agent normally has an influence on durability. However, DevoNatural® makes use of a new generation matting agent, which reduces this effect considerably. This, in combination with the conscious choice of superior quality in raw materials, means that the invisible DevoNatural® lacquers score better in the field of durability than most other similar lacquers on the market.

2K InvisibleProtect Two-component waterborne surface protection

Feel the difference!

Experience the look and structure of natural wood

Floorservice Within the Floorservice range we offer two invisible lacquers: Nature Protect 2K and Nature Sealer.

Nature Sealer Floorservice Nature Sealer is a colourless primer for all indoor- parquet and -plank flooring and can be finished with Floorservice Hardwax-oil FF or Floorservice Nature Protect 2K. By using Floorservice Hardwaxoil FF 1% White, you’ll create an untreated effect on vastly all wood species.

BGR 181

Loba GmbH & Co. KG Emissionsgeprüftes Bauprodukt nach DIBt-Grundsätzen Z-157.10-192

LOBA – Your partner for surface finishing and care

www.loba.de/en

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Invisible lacquers: who has them ?

durable protection. Varnish requires less intensive maintenance. What is true, however, is that a dull matt varnish finish is more susceptible to glowing (e.g. in places where there is a chair). This can be suppressed by cleaning the surface with Hesse Protect cleaner. This contains a carnauba wax which can counteract that effect. The benefit of a dull matt coat of varnish is that you don’t usually see any flaws in the sandpapering and rolling. What you can see is overlapping, but you get this mostly if the product isn’t applied generously. Some technical details: intermediate drying time is about four hours, the floor can be stepped on cautiously after eight hours, and it sets fully after seven days. All this obviously requires the correct parameters: temperature around 20° and a relative air humidity of 55-65%.

Loba LOBADUR® 2K Invisible Protect A.T. represents the latest generation of wood and parquet finishes and combines both the power and the low-maintenance of a waterborne lacquer with the look of an untreated floor. Only two coats are enough to give the floor solid protection from scratches, chemicals, and wear and tear.

The special mix of high-quality ingredients ensures that there is no visible film on the floor and protects the original intensity of the colour.

LOBADUR® 2K Invisible Protect A.T. preserves the attractive natural appearance of the floor, i.e. the charm and sturdy look of untreated wood. That is precisely why Loba uses the term ‘surface protection’ rather than ‘lacquer’. An amazing feature of LOBADUR® 2K Invisible Protect A.T. is that it creates an ultra-matt effect and prevents heel marks as well as polishing. Besides, the ‘surface protection’ is safe to walk on, due to its anti-slip properties as per BGR 181 and DIN 51130 (R9). With its very low emission, it holds the EMICODE® EC1 PLUS. For a perfect result, Loba recommends the LOBATOOL Deluxe 120 roller. A pre-treatment with LOBADUR WS Easy Prime can also be useful with demanding wood species. LOBADUR® 2K Invisible Protect A.T. can be walked on gently after 24 hours. The surface is ready for full use after five days.

Plastor Plastor varnish provides excellent protection for wooden joinery outdoors and noble wood elements such as doors, gates, windows, etc. Plastor has introduced ‘mer montagne’ (sea mountain) varnish which is equipped with anti-UV and guarantees outdoor wood a long lifespan. However, this varnish can also be used indoors. Thanks to five available shades, all decorative wishes are possible. The gloss is 0.95-1.05, so the product is ‘invisible’.

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Pallmann The degree of gloss depends on the binding agent used.

After all, that stays on the surface and therefore determines the gloss, depending on the ingredients used. A lot of lacquers are glossy by nature, so it is necessary to add matting agents.

The scratch resistance of the floor is not necessarily linked to the gloss. What we can say is that a matt floor ‘displays’ fewer scratches, but that is purely a visual observation.

It’s the same story with durability; since a matt lacquer shows fewer scratches, it’s often renovated much later. At Pallmann it’s the Pall-X Pure with its extra matt surface which gives the impression of being untreated and which nevertheless provides excellent protection.

Tover Once again Tover is a forerunner offering several innovative solutions to keep the most natural untreated look to new wooden floors or for renovations. With our 2-component Essenza and our single-component isocyanate-free Uniqua Natur, extra-matt water-based lacquers, the coating is imperceptible especially on oak and light woods.

The surface looks raw but is highly protected as both are long-lasting finishes and perfectly suitable for very heavy traffic.

WOCA An invisible finish is currently a hot item in the parquet world for both oil and lacquer finishes. The top products are WOCA Invisible 2K Finish and WOCA Invisible Primer & Invisible Oil. WOCA Invisible 2K Finish is a superior dual-component lacquer specially developed for lacquering/varnishing untreated wooden floors. The lacquer is based on the development of a new polyurethane binding agent and the finish provides a striking, unique, and soft effect in combination with an ultra-matt/invisible finish. WOCA’s aim was to develop a lacquer with an invisible and soft look. WOCA Invisible 2K Finish is an unrivalled dual-component lacquer developed on the basis of a new polyurethane binding agent. Apart from the invisible look, this also gives wooden floors a unique ‘raw-feel effect’, something which has never previously been applied in combination with lacquers. WOCA Invisible 2K Finish has a self-mattifying effect. WOCA has developed new technology which prevents the matt finish from gleaming in places where there is a lot of contact, such as under chairs.

Special

Distressing products

CHEMICAL DISTRESSING IS STILL IN FASHION AS A SUPPLEMENT OR ALTERNATIVE TO MECHANICAL OPERATIONS Elsewhere in this edition we consider the success of distressed as an established ‘ finish’ and, in particular, mechanical means to make floors look older. However, that aim can also be achieved using certain products, not least colours. A dark colour can indicate lengthy use of wood in diverse applications. As we have already said in this edition, the most successful distressing treatments are a combination of both techniques. Which products do we need and where do we find them?

What difference does the colour make?

The association of old wooden floors with dark-coloured wood does have some basis. It is the result of a physical/chemical process.

Wood which is darker than its original colour has undergone scores of developments over the years. Damp and temperature play a part there.

And so, dark wood can be found in old floors, but also in floors from old houses or even different applications.

The colour of the wood In the past, houses were not heated uniformly as they are today. That meant that the moisture content was well above 55%. The tannic acid in the wood turns dark when it comes into contact with water, so light yellow or honey-coloured wood is never antique. Why is all this important? Anyone who wants to restore a wooden or parquet floor to its former beauty has to find out whether or not it is an antique floor. An antique floor cannot be renovated, but it is restored. Indeed, the renovation of wooden floors almost always involves ‘sandpapering’ them.

If we sandpaper an antique floor, we remove all its natural defects and therefore take away all its riches. Other possible former purposes of the wood from which the floor was produced can also affect the colour. For instance, wood which once served as a ‘marine bollard’ is dark in colour with sometimes a semblance of blue.

The quality of the wood A popular way to obtain a wooden or parquet floor from genuinely old wood is to make new floorboards from old beams or planks. Over a century ago, wood was left longer to dry naturally than is the case today. Moreover, the wood continued to dry naturally during use. After a century of use, the wood has hardened and acquired its appreciated and ‘weathered’ look. By standing up to the ravages of time, the wood has adequately proved its quality and durability. In this case the origin of the old beams has an effect on the look of the final floor and the sources where old wood can be extracted sometimes seem inexhaustible.

Colour distressing As we’ve already said, mechanical distressing techniques are usually combined with chemical distressing. For instance, a hand-scraped floor is usually even ‘more authentic’ in combination with smoking or colour distressing. With colour distressing we use special pigments or

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colour oils to give the impression that our new parquet floor is an old floor. White and grey shades are extremely popular in that respect. We speak of white wash or even super white wash. In the latter case the floor is lightly brushed first. When we apply a white wash, we get a matt and slightly chalky floor. Extremely dark colours can also contribute to an old look. We obtain dark colours by ‘smoking’ the wood. Smoking wooden floors is one of the most common and attractive distressing techniques. Smoking is a process which creates a reaction with the tannin in the wood. A lot of wood sorts contain either no tannin or not enough of it to generate an aged colour. Oak, however, does satisfy this requirement, especially in the form of European oak and American oak.

Russian or Chinese oak contains a lot less tannin and can therefore be only lightly smoked at best.

Who offers solutions?

Blanchon The range of distressing products such as powders, synthetic or positive shades, pigments in powder form, and scores of chemical agents for wood is endless. And so, professionals look for the quickest, easiest, and most economical solution.

Blanchon offers floor fitters two ranges of wood shades. One (1K) of these is based on colouring agents, whilst the other one (2K) is based on pigments. Moreover, there is also a reactive stain for distressing. All these products provide decoration, but they do not protect. The durability in the lifespan of these products varies, depending on whether they are ‘colouring agents’ or ‘pigments’. The latter are less sensitive to UV light.

Chimiver OLD WEST The R&D laboratory in CHIMIVER has developed a new ad innovative range of reacting solutions for ageing your wood: OLD WEST. The use of OLD WEST allows to obtain a large variety of effects imitating the old weathered woods. OLD WEST is different from classical stains or dyes which are coloring the wood hiding its grain structure; OLD WEST enhances the natural beauty of wood standing out color differences into the wood grain.

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Distressing products

and chalet builders. Their structure brushes, ginning brushes, and finish brushes are found on all portable machines, milling machines, kits, and lines of all trademarks (ACM, ASCOT, BOSCH, CEFLA, COSTA, COSMA, ECOLINE, EGA, EMC, FLEX, FESTOOL, HOUFEQ, KUNDIG, MAKITA, MAKOR, MARTIN, QUICK WOOD, SARMAX, VIET, and VG). Their industrial brushes are installed and implemented with training everywhere in Europe. Do not hesitate to contact them with your questions via e-mail: contact@cardotech.com The OLD WEST reacting solutions are clear and pigments free; the natural wood color is changed through the reaction of the solution with the tannin or resins contained in the wood.

Consider that the final results can change based on: - Quantity of product - Possible dilution of product - Reacting solution overlap - Humidity and temperature during working and drying.

- Drying conditions in between the coats - Wood preparation (sanding, scraping, brushing etc..)

- Application method - Tannin and resin content - Country of origin of the wood - Chemical nature (water or solvent-based) of the fixing prymer

Cardotech

DevoNatural® Reactive 300-600-1200 is a reactive distressing product with a smoked effect for ‘oak’ parquet and wooden floors, doors, windows, furniture, etc.

The product is an ecological mix of hexa hydrates and does not contain any harmful or irritating substances or ammonia! Reactive 300-600-1200 can be applied only to oak!

DevoNatural® Reactive is a distressing product which is available in three concentrations, namely 400, 600, and 1200. The higher the figure, the stronger the reactive distressing. On oak wood DevoNatural® Reactive gives the wood a naturally aged look. The effect can vary, depending on the area of growth, the sort of oak, and the diversity of the oak wood.

The tannic acid content of the oak determines the colour effect!

Floorservice

CARDOTECH is a French manufacturer of technical and industrial brushes for the wood sector. The factory is located in the region of Burgundy in Saint Hélène, between Lyon and Dijon. CARDOTECH, which has a brush factory which was opened in 1889, has operated in the wood sector for over 20 years. The company is one of Europe’s leaders in the sector and aims to sell its technical and industrial brushes to chainsaw operators, planers, joiners-furniture makers, and carpenters

Within the Floorservice Prime Design Line range we offer two aging products: Prime Weathered Black and Prime Weathered Grey.

Both provide a natural weathered appearance. The Prime Weathered products are suitable for both industrial and manual application.

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Prime Weathered Black Developed to give oak a special weathered and almost black appearance.

Prime Weathered Grey Developed to create that typical aged and greyish effect on oak wood.

The possibilities are countless and this, combined with a top coat of either colour within our range of Floorservice Hardwax-oil Classic, Pro or Profiline, leads to various creative and commercially interesting colour options.

Hesse ‘Distressing’ can be achieved by means of chemical reactive stains (these react to the content of oak substances), but if the customer wants a somewhat more ‘stable’ form of distressing, Hesse looks within the Vintage Colour range. The advantage of chemical products is that the result is often more attractive, but the risk of not being able to maintain this desired effect in a stable manner is also the drawback. Hesse offers products to soak in lye, bleach, and distress. Chemical distressing (if the products are finished afterwards) can no longer be repeated. You can only repeat the finish (e.g. oil, varnish, or bees wax) after the passage of time. Removing the distressing effect is not so simple. If it is a multilayer parquet with a top layer of at least 4mm, it can be sandpapered again and treated. If the top layer is thinner, the reaction will most likely have penetrated too deeply into the wood.

the colours can be mixed into the variant the client wants. There is also a range of grey shades that can be mixed together. The result is a deep, stable colour with subtle accents. Stain-resistance is excellent after the final treatment and protection with Rubio Monocoat oil. Rubio Monocoat Pre-Aging can be used on virtually all wood types – including wood that does not contain tannins – and also colour the hard pieces of the wood and the sapwood, without overlaps during the application.

Ask for samples today and test it for yourself.

Tover With Belle Epoque water-based stain, Tover is offering the opportunity to pre-colour any wood species in a stable, constant and homogeneous way, both on site and industrially. This product naturally provides a uniform and flawless aged look to the floor. Available in 19 miscible shades, from browns, smoked and sand to greys and black, It can be overcoated both with Tover oils for endless two-tones effects and with any lacquer. Also using water-based reactive stains i.e. Bosch Vej, Ciair, Fossil, Antique you can get distressed grey, smoked, black or bleached effects on woods rich of tannin. With Tover, transform your wood floor!

Plastor Plastor offers Decoprotect for distressing. Decoprotect is available in eight shades and gives the wood a warm look. These oils penetrate deeply into the wood without leaving a film and without stressing the wood fibres. The eight shades make it possible to give parquet a more or less distressed look. The end result is also affected by the number of coats; the more coats which are applied, the more you get a satin gloss.

Decoprotect is ready for use and is applied in thin coats with a roller.

RUBIO MONOCOAT PRE-AGING At Rubio® Monocoat we closely follow and enjoy responding to the various trends in our sector. Rubio Monocoat Pre-Aging is a high-quality, non-reactive water-based pre-treatment that is available in 10 standard colours. The colours range from a lighter to darker, smoked look, and

NEW Pre-Aging

Non-reactive pretreatment to give new wood an old look › › › ›

10 standard shades easy to reproduce no overlaps excellent stain resistance after treatment with our Rubio Monocoat oil › applicable to virtually all wood types

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Hard wax oil

HARD WAX OIL HAS WON OVER HEARTS COMPLETELY EVEN THOUGH OIL/LACQUER SYSTEMS OFFER AN EXTRA OPTION Local repairs Probably one of the main benefits of hard wax oil is that, as with an oiled floor, it is possible to treat the floor locally, either by treating some high-traffic zones more intensely or repairing damaged parts locally. We cannot do that with a classic lacquer where the top coat forms one unbroken film.

If there is any damage, you can only repair it ‘expertly’ by treating the whole floor again from the bare wood.

Colour is king

Photo – Floorservice

It might be typical of the floor industry that new products and systems appear on the market as regularly as clockwork, often on the basis of new technology. What’s so unusual about that? Answer: In this industry new products and systems very rarely replace something else. They usually emerge as additions, so the product choices just keep on growing. In other words, if current oil/lacquer systems are causing a stir, floor fitters won’t suddenly abandon hard wax oil. Its assets are too good for that.

Benefits of hard wax oil Strong, but open A floor treated with hard wax oil repels water and dirt as a result of its saturation. Moreover, the wax ingredients form a hard layer. As was the case in times past, this layer gets harder over the years and is maintained in accordance with the floor. The surface is very hard and that gives the floor high wear and scratch resistance. In contrast to a lacquer, hard wax oil does not leave a covering film over the wood, so the floor can still breathe. Since the layer of wax remains elastic, it cannot crack.

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A hard wax oil floor looks like old castle or cloister floors. You can compare the gloss with the oak polished furniture in grandma’s day. Silk matt, slightly reflective, smooth. The protective coat of wax in the oil does the same to the wood as beeswax did in bygone days. Nowadays, we’re seeing how strongly producers are committing themselves to the use of colour. It is clear that they want to reconcile the look of yesteryear with the needs of the modern interior, with due regard for current colour trends. In recent years, several makers have put the stress on extending the range of colours.

Beware of the ‘tropics’ Various makers have warned against using hard wax oil on a number of mainly tropical hard wood sorts. Indeed, differences in absorption and drying may occur with some closed and/or oily types of wood such as wenge, merbau, ipe, etc. It is always best to test these types of wood first before you apply hard wax oil. One coat will usually suffice for testing. Obviously, this warning doesn’t mean that hard wax oil isn’t suitable for tropical sorts of wood, but a test in advance should make this clear.

Low maintenance The film on the floor with hard wax oil gets stronger over the years as the floor is maintained. That maintenance is quite easy. Standard cleaning means vacuum cleaning followed by mopping with a well wrung cloth. A detergent is added to the water. For maintaining and feeding the floor, producers offer maintenance wax or oil. Some trademarks prescribe maintenance shortly after the treatment.

What’s on the market?

Adesiv Adesiv presents WB Oil, a colourant with modified vegetable oils for impregnating wooden floors indoors. Paviolio WB 2 can be painted over with a waterborne dual-component varnish. The product itself is a monocomponent product with outstanding colouring properties and high penetration power. The finish can be applied in one work session. The product is suitable for all types of wood. Obviously, the floor has to be clean and dry (between 8 and 12%) and sandpapered with a grain of a maximum of 150. The sandpapering has to be done perfectly because Paviolio 25WB only serves to highlight the smallest shortcoming. And so, the product can be applied to all types of wood, but comes most fully into its own on types such as oak, larch, and cherry.

Blanchon Blanchon Hard Wax Oil (‘Huile-cire dure’) offers both floor fitters and end users nothing but benefits.

Assets include easy application and quick and easy maintenance.

Moreover, Blanchon Hard Wax Oil also offers endless possibilities for finishes (shades, wood tones, and colour variations). In ‘natural silk matt’ and ‘natural ultra-matt’, Blanchon offers primarily Easy Oil™, which yields a very attractive result in two coats with no sandpapering. Apart from the traditional hard wax oil Easy Oil™, Blanchon also presents Hard Wax Oil high solid (‘Huile-cire dure high solid’). This hard wax oil impregnates, colours, and protects a parquet floor in one single operation. The hard wax oil feeds the wood and protects it in the depth. It dries rapidly with hardly any nasty smells, thanks to its composition (it is very rich in natural and renewable raw materials). This year, they are offering 41 colours (20 of which are shades of grey and one metallic colour). Thanks to the addition of a pre-dosed hardener (20%), the drying and hardening take just a few hours. This system is highly recommended for high-traffic rooms, such as business premises, museums, catering establishments, etc. A new Blanchon item is the Hard Wax Oil SD (‘Huile-Cire dure SD’ - Superior Density), which offers outstanding resistance and can be applied in a single day (two coats/eight hours drying time).

There are 36 deep and powerful colours. Finally, Blanchon also offers a Maintenance Oil (‘Huile d’entretien’) for maintaining all floors finished with oil or wax oil, including floors oiled in the factory. Worth knowing: The new ‘ultra-matt’ yields exceptional results when it is applied in thin coats along the length of the strips.

Briançon The main extra benefits offered by hard wax oil as opposed to conventional oil are the silky feel and the look.

Briançon offers a hard wax oil in the L’Arbre de Noé range.

Obviously, this product is based on natural resources. It is applied with a roller or spatula. The two finishes are ‘colourless matt’ and ‘oak’.

This hard wax oil is designed specially to bring out the best in noble wood sorts. Amongst other things, the oil contains water, soya, modified wax, transparent iron oxide, and hydroxyethylcellulose.

Bona Bona Hard Wax Oil yields a comfortable and natural surface through a mixture of setting natural oils and waxes.

It makes the surface waterproof and dirt-proof and is suitable for untreated hardwood floors and other wooden floors which are subjected to normal to heavy traffic. Hard Wax Oil also requires less maintenance. As regards cost price, the hard wax oil is comparable to a high solid oil. Bona Hard Wax Oil is available in three degrees of gloss. The composition contains no cobalt or ketoximes. The product is applied with a roller, brush, or polishing machine. Bona Hard Wax Oil does not contain pigments. If colour is required, you need to apply one or two coats of Bona Craft Oil first.

Ciranova

Ciranova has various hard wax oils in its range. TITAN hard wax oil is an innovative oil which is suitable for finishing wooden floors and furniture.

TITAN hard wax oil gives excellent filling and strong natural protection and ensures that the wood has strong chemical and mechanical resistance.

TITAN hard wax oil has a long open time, so it is ideal for applying with a roller. Magic hard wax oil is modified parquet oil with excellent durability. It ensures good filling, natural colour, and very high chemical and mechanical resistance. The oil is extremely matt and does not glisten. Its resistance can be further strengthened by adding a UA hardener. UN1CO is the new

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Hard wax oil

generation single-coat oil which uses renewable natural oils. The special technology means you only need one coat. Adding the hardener ensures fast drying and excellent chemical resistance. It is available in 16 colours.

OCULTO is an ecological and water-based PU-impregnation oil for parquet and wooden furniture. The wood retains its original untreated look and is invisible. OCULTO contains a UV absorber and has anti-slip properties.

TITAN hard wax oil is presently available only in colourless in various degrees of gloss: MATT, Silk, and Satin. You can apply TITAN in two coats or as a top coat over the coloured (Magic) hard wax oil and UN1CO. Magic hard wax oil is available in eight colours and UN1CO in 16 colours.

this, the Floorservice Hardwax-oils also meet anti-slip standard R9. Also available in the Floorservice range is our Hardwax-oil 2K. This VOC-free finishing product cures very fast; ensuring the floor to be fully operational in no time. Depending on the application method of choice it can be applied as a one-coat or as a two-coat system. Also available as Color Hardwax-oil 2K in 14 different colours.

Chimiver LIOS HARD WAX BIOIL 3D Hard wax oil for wooden floors LIOS HARD WAX BOIL 3D is a product based on natural oils ad waxes that gives to the treated wood a warm and smooth look, typical of natural oil finishes. Its excellent impregnating power makes it ideal for direct treament of wood; the second coat protects and gives depth enhancing the wood grain.

DevoNatural® Devomat presents DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil in colourless and whitewashed white.

DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil can be applied to both commercial floors and high-traffic domestic floors. The product is easy to apply and kneads simply into open wood pores. Once the product is dry, it forms a strong seal to ward off dirt and fluid. DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil can be applied to all sorts of wood (e.g. parquet, wooden floors, cork, furniture, wooden walls, etc.) and also to porous stone floors such as terracotta. Since the product is waterproof, it can also be used on bathroom parquet and furniture.

Special features: Parquet, and wood in general, stays elastic with DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil and the oil film ensures greater resistance to wear and stains. Maintenance products, such as the detergent DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil Cleaner and the renewer DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil Renewer, keep your floor in ideal condition and extend its lifespan considerably.

Floorservice The different types and colours of Floorservice Hardwax-oil penetrate deep into the wood, without blocking the pores. This allows the wood to keep breathing and retains its natural structure, because no top layer is formed.

Every floor that is finished with Floorservice Hardwax-oil is guaranteed to be highly resistant to wear and is also water resistant. Besides that the floor is protected against saliva and sweat and make the floor child friendly because they meet the requirements for children’s toys. In addition to

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Hesse The term hard wax oil is not an officially defined concept. Therefore, it is quite possible that different suppliers will explain the term hard wax oil differently. At Hesse they regard a hard wax oil as an oil which also dries well in thicker coats. That’s why hard wax oil can also be applied with rollers and does not necessarily have to be polished. However, this does not exclude polishing, which is certainly still possible. With conventional oil it is always necessary to remove or polish off the surplus, a chore which obviously takes time. At Hesse there is no regular difference in price. Hesse presents Hesse Resin Oil OE 82-X. This product is applied with a brush or roller. Hesse offers hard wax oil only in transparent. If colouring is required, it is possible to use a stain or a coloured impregnation oil first.

Loba Eco-friendly, Efficient, Ergonomic: LOBASOL® HardwaxOil EcoPlus LOBA’s popular one-component HardwaxOil EcoPlus accentuates the beauty of the wood. Due to its natural formula, it is particularly eco-friendly. As a one-day-system, it is extremely easy to use and saves real time.

HardwaxOil EcoPlus is based on vegetable oil and is solvent free with 100 percent solids. It shows very good penetration properties, which preserve the wood while keeping its pores open and breathable. The high-solid hardwaxoil intensifies the structure and grain of the wood, gives the floor an even, full-bodied appearance and makes it highly resistant to dirt and water. It is extremely economical to use in a safe and simple roller application. One single treatment is sufficient for residential and light commercial use. For heavy wear areas, an additional trowel application is recommended. The high-solid oil can be walked on after 12 hours and is usable after 24 hours. Suitable for virtually all types of European and exotic timber, the easy allrounder by LOBA is the first choice for families: it is free from cobalt and butanonoxime and is suitable for children’s toys, as the requirements of DIN EN 71-3 are met. It bears the GEV-EMICODE EC1 Plus for “very low emission.” Its anti-slip properties, as per BGR 181 and DIN 51130 (R10), effectively prevent accidents. With the perfectly natural look and feel of the treated floor and its eco-friendly ingredients, HardwaxOil EcoPlus creates a healthy and welcoming atmosphere – for all lovers of nature.

Osmo Polyx®-Oil: natural protection for wood More than 30 years ago, Osmo Holz und Color GmbH & Co. KG developed in its own facilities a new product: Polyx®-Oil Original 3032.

The wood finish is based on natural oils and waxes and offers durable protection for wooden flooring and furniture. The product revolutionized the surface treatment of wood all over the world. The advantages of the natural wood finish: the oil penetrates into the wood protecting it from inside, and the wax forms a stable, abrasion-resistant protective layer on the wood surface. The wood can absorb and release moisture and the finish will not crack, peel or flake. It exhibits good resistance to moisture and is easy to care. The microporous surface is resistant to wear, moisture and stains, and it is durable and extremely hard-wearing. When dry, it is resistant to saliva and perspiration and, therefore, suitable for children’s toys. In addition, spots repairs are possible. Polyx®-Oil is available in four different gloss levels: satin (3032), matt (3062), semi-matt (3065) and gloss (3011). One litre covers approx.

24 m² with one coat.

Pallmann In comparison with conventional oil, a hard wax oil can be deployed in extremely high-traffic rooms thanks to its high resistance to mechanical and chemical impact. Hard wax oil dries quickly and is easy to maintain. Applying it with a roller is also really easy.

Pallmann presents its solvent mono-component hard wax oil Pallmann Hard Wax Oil and the solventless mono-component hard wax oil Pallmann Eco Oil 1K. This is available in the colour variations Pure, White, and Neutral. Pallmann Eco Oil 1K is easy to apply with a roller in two coats. Polishing is not necessary and sandpapering is possible after a drying time of two hours. The hard wax oil is suitable for all floor coverings for both high and low traffic and can be deployed under floor heating. Pallmann Eco Oil 1K bears the Emicode EC1 Plus label. Pallmann recommends using Eco Oil Care for periodic maintenance.

Plastor Plastor believes that a hard wax oil offers natural protection which respects the wood. Hard wax oil is resistant to stains and general usage.

Everyone will find something to their taste, thanks to the many available shades. The hard wax oil offered by Plastor is Decoprotect Hard Wax Oil. It is composed of natural oils and provides durable

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protection for the wood, even against stains and dirt. Decoprotect is available in eight shades. Decoprotect gives the wood a warm look. These oils penetrate deeply into the wood without leaving a film and without highlighting the wood fibres. Decoprotect is ready for use and is applied in thin coats using a roller.

Rubio Monocoat

Rubio Monocoat offers a full range of hard wax oils for both manual and industrial application. For use on site they promote Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C, which they sell in 40 standard colours. This oil can also be used as a finish on an industrial line. In making the oil, they opted resolutely for a product with 0% VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), a requirement which was not enacted in law until some years later. They’ve now highlighted this commitment by becoming the first company in the sector to achieve the Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold label. This is an umbrella label for all current emission labels such as the A+ label, M1, EC1+, BREEAM, and many others. For specific finishes with a UV unit, there is Rubio Monocoat Oil UV R2. There is also Rubio Monocoat FR Oil System for projects which must meet specific fire safety criteria. This is the only oil system with a European Bfl-s1 classification (floors) in line with standards EN13501-1, EN ISO 9239-1, and ISO. The oil in the system is a modified version of RMC Oil Plus 2C oil. The outstanding new product of the future is certainly RMC LED Oil, which dries instantly with LED lighting. The benefits of LED are quite obvious: much lower energy consumption, a longer lifespan for the lamps, no ozone emissions, and no bad odours. However, it is mainly the fact that wood treated with oil, cured instantly with LED light, and therefore instantly ready for use or packing means a huge time-saving for the project market, stair and furniture makers, and industrial finishers. RMC LED Oil can be applied either on site or in the factory.

Tover Tover offers several solutions when your request is finishing with hard wax oil: L’Olio 100%! A solvent-free oil based on natural waxes and essential oils suitable for high protection. It makes sure you get an excellent resistance to wear and spots with a sole coat. Moreover, it can be easily maintained and renewed. It complies with the DIN-EN 71-3 norm, you can use it on toys, furniture and surfaces in contact with food. It ensures a natural, matt and soft aspect and is available neutral and in 30 standard colours. Or Maxi is a hard wax modified oil applicable by spray or roller in two coats for a smooth rich look; you can choose it transparent in glossy, semiglossy, matt and extra-matt versions, it is also available coloured and perfectly suitable for high traffic areas.

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Producers of hybrid adhesives

HYBRID ADHESIVES THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE? ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS TO MAKE ONE TOP CLASS PRODUCT If there is one segment within the culinary world to which you can compare the development of glues, it has to be the noble trade of ‘patisserie’. Patisserie needs to be balanced.

Slightly too much or too little of something or other and the recipe goes astray. You make top class cakes with top class ingredients, that’s for sure e.g. the best type of flour, the right grains of sugar, aromatics, fruits, and cream.

Hybrid adhesives are the cream of the crop when it comes to adhesives. They combine ‘ in a flexible manner’ the best of various forms of technology which have long proved their worth.

stronger continuous layer of glue. Since these adhesives draw less water, there is little chance of discolouration, for instance, of cherry.

That is also why there is much less risk of nervous wood sorts bending on non-absorbent to slightly absorbent substrates.

The most popular parquet adhesives

An overview

Parquet floor fitters have profited in recent decades from the labours of researchers and scientists and producers who have managed to convert scientific findings to suitable products and systems. A lot has happened in recent years, certainly in the range of parquet glues.

Nevertheless, whilst new alternatives have emerged and have been picked up on the market, more proven and mature systems have often simply continued to exist. Today, we can more or less say that dispersion adhesives, PU adhesives, and silane adhesives constitute the three most popular groups.

Hybrid adhesives Hybrid adhesives combine the strong features of various forms of technology to obtain specific features. Amongst other things, silane adhesives can have a silicone or a polyurethane as a backbone with one or more functional silane groups which cross-link during the reaction process. Combinations of technology based on polyurethane and silicones are often called STPU adhesives. They contain no isocyanates.

According to most makers, these hybrid adhesives are gaining ground.

That also applies to professional buyers. Professionals have access to other product groups than private clients, usually as a result of safety and hygiene legislation. Floor fitters appreciate these glues mainly because they are easy to spread and highly versatile. They are particularly gaining ground on elastic adhesives.

Some assets It is clear that if you take good features from various product groups, the end result will certainly present some strong assets.

No hazardous substances The fact that these glues contain no hazardous substances benefits the floor fitter’s health and is also helpful as regards the legislation.

Indeed, there is no hazard for the user. And so, the packaging does not indicate any hazard symbols.

Qualitative glueing These adhesives guarantee qualitative glueing on smooth bases without a primer. The adhesive mass does not blister, so it forms a

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Spreadability These glues spread at least as well as, if not better than, most other adhesives. Each of the makers apply their own expertise here. In recent years, a lot of work has been done on the spreadability so that these adhesives spread very easily. The open time is half an hour in many cases and the shelf life is now easily 12 months.

Blanchon Current forms of technology used in hybrid adhesives include vinyl adhesives, epoxy-polyurethane, polyurethanes (one and two components), and hybrid polymers. Here are some major assets of these adhesives: They are versatile, mono-component and therefore convenient to use, flexible, durable, and perfect for glueing wide floorboards.

Moreover, they are only moderately sensitive to residual moisture in the screed and retain the same consistency in all seasons. At Blanchon their three references here are hybrid polymers. AB 1300 is very comfortable during work and will suffice for all classic glueing up to 130mm wide. AB 2000 can be used for glueing up to 200mm. Finally, there is the indispensable sausage glue, which does not flow when used vertically. Worth knowing: Each year, Blanchon organises its Technical Days (‘Journées Techniques’) for parquet floor fitters.

Chimiver ADESIVER ELASTIC Single-component adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology) ADESIVER ELASTIC is a single-component hydro-curing prepolymer based adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology).

Recommended for gluing of pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grit, ceramic or marble-chip floor tiles, etc.

Also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto underfloor heating and cooling system. ADESIVER ELASTIC has very good acoustic insulation characteristics. CERTIFIED EC1, Ü-Mark of Conformity.

ADESIVER ELASTIC can contribute to the achievement of QI CREDIT 4.1

according to the parameters of the GEV dated 03 March 2009, because it meets the certification LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

UNISIL Anallergic single-component adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology) UNISIL is a prepolymer based, single-component hydrocuring adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology).

Recommended for gluing pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grit, tiles, ceramic or marble-chip floor, etc. Also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto underfloor heating and cooling system. CERTIFICATES: EC1; ATTESTATION CCAEnvironmentally Compatible Product (Certificate issued by Department BEST - Politecnico of Milan CCA Registration No. 20163); Sound Reduction (CSI Test Report No. 0056/DC/ACU/06); Heat conductivity (CSI Test Report No. 0020/DC/TTS/06).

UNISIL can contribute to the achievement of QI CREDIT 4.1 according to the parameters of the GEV dated 03 March 2009, because it meets the certification LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Devo®

Devo® does organise monthly workshops and training sessions to keep parquet professionals informed about these new forms of technology.

Training sessions take place every Friday afternoon. Themes like substrate preparation and glueing, sandpapering parquet, and DevoNatural® finish techniques follow each other in succession and are repeated each month.

Pallmann

Amongst other things, Pallmann presents its mono-component STP adhesive Pallmann P5. This adhesive combines the elasticity of a polyurethane glue with the benefits of the state-of-the-art STP technology. The glue is extremely easy to apply without any risk of swelling, since it doesn’t contain any water. Pallmann P5 is suitable for floors in just about all wood sorts, including exotic sorts. This adhesive contains no solvents. Pallmann P5 has an excellent filling capacity and a long open time. Adhesive residue can be removed easily. Pallmann P6 is a new high-tech, elastic, and mono-component STP adhesive, which conforms to DIN 14 293 and is designed for glueing parquet. The glue combines the strength of dual-component adhesives with the comfort of a mono-component adhesive. Pallmann organises regular training sessions for professionals at its head office in Würzburg (Germany), but also in other countries.

Rubio Monocoat

According to Devo®, a hybrid adhesive is an adhesive for which two or more forms of binding/setting technology are used. The combination which is used a lot at the moment, and to which one refers with this term, is the hybrid binding of MS polymer and silane. Obviously, other hybrid bindings are also possible. The term hybrid adhesive is sometimes used wrongly as a positive or negative indication of quality, whilst hybrid adhesives are not per se better or worse than other sorts.

Devomat presents three MS polymer adhesives, namely Devo® Glue MSP 150 1C (semi-elastic), Devo® Glue MSP 200 1C (soft elastic), and Devo® Glue MSP 250 1C (hard elastic). Devo® Glue MSP250 is packed in 5kg bags. That means you can work cleanly without spills. You apply the amount of adhesive needed at the time, whilst the rest stays in the bag. This aluminium bag also ensures a longer shelf life. The open time of Devo® Glue MSP250 is 50-80mins. until a skin forms, and that is a long open time. The rapid technological progress and the changing market mean that in-depth knowledge is still limited in this area.

An adhesive is a hybrid adhesive if it combines various forms of technology in a single product. With the introduction of Rubio® EasyBond, Rubio Monocoat has managed to combine all the benefits of various forms of technology in one product. Rubio® EasyBond is a new generation 1-component parquet adhesive, which is based on modified silane polymer technology. Some benefits: Rubio® EasyBond is a hard-elastic durable adhesive which contains no softeners; the glue can be deployed universally and forms a worthy alternative to dual-component PU adhesives; sandpapering is possible after 12 hours; the glue has a high adhesion capacity and spreading rate; it complies with all standards and tests (including the ISO 17178).

Is it ecological? The Rubio® EasyBond parquet glue contains no solvents and is therefore not harmful to the environment. Moreover, it also contains no isocyanates, so there is only a minimal risk of skin

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allergies. Adhesive residue can simply be removed from the bucket once it has set, so the empty bucket can be recycled perfectly well. Any questions? At Rubio Monocoat they are not only committed to quality, but also attach great importance to effective service. Experts are only too happy to offer floor fitters and customers advice and practical tips when they start work on site. Furthermore, the Rubio Academy is perfectly equipped for product training sessions tailored to everyone’s needs and wishes.

Tover Tover chose Kaneka MS polymer resin for the production of its silane adhesives in 2008. This technology has got many advantages to lay wooden floorings: the adhesive is single-pack with a high coverage, suitable on any subfloor including heating, cooling systems, ceramic tiles and metallic supports.

Solvent and isocyanate free, with no symbol of risk, it complies with the UNI EN 14293 norm regarding elastic adhesives. Moreover it is easy to clean from prefinished floors and has a long working time. Tovcol MS is available in pails, bags, sausages and cartridges and usable to lay engineered

wood of any sizes and species and solid wood till 200 mm wide. Tovcol MS Start is the perfect adhesive for engineered boards of any dimensions. Tover MS adhesives: 11 years of success!

Thomsit A hybrid adhesive is a combination of various forms of adhesive technology. Standard combinations include MS polymer with PU. These adhesives are gaining ground due to their benefits, but their high price is limiting the speed of that advance somewhat. Major benefits include the easy spreading such as that of an MS polymer adhesive, the strength of the glue such as that of a PU adhesive, and the fact that they do not display any hazard symbols. They are also very comfortable to use: ready for use at once, easy to spread with a good adhesive groove, an open time of about 25 minutes, and a shelf life of about nine months. Parquet floor fitters are aware of these adhesives, but they’re not rushing to change their choice because they are satisfied with what they already use. Thomsit can provide training in Hamm (Germany) at the production location or at the customer’s premises.

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Top French producers focused on export

OVER HALF A MILLION FRENCH PEOPLE WORK WITH WOOD FRANCE IS A PARQUET LAND FOR PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION Economically, since the euro crisis, France has faced an almost constant struggle to recover from recession and its results have been mixed. At present, it is the ‘yellow vests’ which are obstructing the road towards a healthy budget. The president has had to make some concessions, sometimes to the annoyance of the European Commission.

Despite all that, France still has one of the biggest economies on the planet. As regards our sector, France is obviously still a powerhouse in the field of wood. Obviously, we refer here to French oak. That won’t surprise you, will it?

The French economy then and now The French economy is the seventh biggest in the world. With an expected gross domestic product of 2420 billion euros in 2017, France is amongst the biggest global economies (measured in American dollars). France is also the third biggest economy in Europe after Germany and the United Kingdom. France’s income distribution is not as unequal as that of other economies. Moreover, France has fewer people under the poverty line, a mere six per cent. That figure is one of the lowest in the major industrial countries and compares very favourably to the percentages for the United Kingdom (18%) and the United States (15%).

The current budget deficit The budget deficit of France in 2019 is likely to be about 3.2% instead of the previously forecast 2.8%. That is the result of concessions

by President Macron to the protesting ‘yellow vests’. It puts the French budget deficit above the European norm of 3%. The French national debt of 101% is well above the 60% of GDP permitted by European Union agreements. Since the concessions have not yet been incorporated into the official budget plans, the Commission is yet to react officially. However, the European Commission has hinted that it would permit the higher deficit for one year, provided that the French government does implement all its reform plans. This is not the first time that France has broken the rules. The euro crisis also hit France hard. France did not meet budget agreements. It was not until 2017 that the French government managed to bring the deficit below three per cent. As a result, France evaded the penal procedure for budget deficit offenders, which the Commission had threatened to implement after prior warnings.

After the crisis The French economy had seemed fairly resilient in the first part of the euro crisis. In 2009, the deficit shot up because several billions has to be made available to save the banks, but that seemed temporary. By the end of 2012, it had become clear that France could not withstand the crisis. In November of that year, the IMF asked the French government to come up with a drastic reform plan to curb the budget deficit and the national debt. At the end of 2014, the European Commission threatened France with penal measures if the country failed to put its budget in order by 2015. This came after repeated requests for France to curb its budget deficit. The Commission did not carry out its threat,

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but it did further intensify its supervision. A combination of various factors ensured that the French economy performed poorly. French exports were low due to high wage costs and loss of competitive strength. Very little money was invested in research and innovation.

All this hindered economic growth. Furthermore, France had to cope with high unemployment figures. Those figures fluctuated around 10% between 2010 and 2016.

Steady growth The half-yearly European figures from 2016 confirmed France’s difficult economic situation. Although the French economy recovered gradually, growth was still below the euro zone average. According to the European Commission, economic recovery would only be possible if France became more competitive and improved confidence within business. Despite measures to strengthen the economy, it grew by a mere 1% in 2017. Once again, the Commission threatened to implement the penal procedure. The half-yearly European figures from 2017 showed that the French budget deficit in 2017 would fall to exactly 3%, with a good chance of it ending up a little higher. France was given an extension until the end of 2017 to meet the required demands. France managed to get its deficit below 3% and the new budget seemed adequate. In June 2018, the penal procedure ceased.

France: forests, wood, and parquet The annual turnover of the French construction industry is about 137 billion euros. Over one and a half million people work in the construction industry. Opportunities in construction, combined with government efforts to stimulate ‘sustainable’ construction and especially the use of wood in construction, have given the wood industry a solid boost.

A treasury of wood The woods and forests in France cover about 15 million hectares. That represents 29% of the total surface area of French territory. In recent decades, about 74 hectares have been added each year. Until a few years ago, deciduous trees accounted for about 70% of the forest. We are talking here mainly about oak and beech. As regards coniferous trees, pine and spruce are extremely popular. The state-owned forests (about 1,750.000 hectares) are managed by the National Forest Office (Office National des Fôrets or ONF for short), whilst forests owned by local authorities cover about 2,700,000 hectares. The other 10,600,000 hectares are spread between some 3.5 million private owners. Each year, French forests yield a good 53 million cubic metres of wood.

Wood industry It is obvious that France possesses huge stocks of wood. Moreover, the country has more than 2000 saw mills, small ones included.

The French government stimulates the use of wood in construction with all sorts of favourable taxation and permit measures. Apart from the direct use of wood in the construction industry, the French

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government also stimulates the use of wood as a source of energy.

The fact that France can apply its wood strategy fairly flexibly is partly because over 70% of it is in the hands of private owners, who can count on a great deal of government support for their operations. About 550,000 people work in the French forestry and wood industries.

Parquet production and consumption

for 8.06% of all European parquet production. In order of importance France is behind Poland, Germany, Sweden, and Austria. The total production in Europe (FEP) in 2016 was 65,604,000m². Parquet consumption in Europe in 2016 rose by 1.77% to 77,014,520m². France’s share of all FEP consumption is 10.63%. France is still in second place behind Germany, which heads the list with no less than 23.65% of the total consumption.

France is in fifth place in the ranking of European countries which produce parquet (FEP members). In 2017, the country accounted

ALSAPAN

Alsapan was formed in 1972 as a manufacturer of furniture kits. The company has supplied IKEA since 1985. In 1995, the company started with laminate production, firstly as EPI and, since the appointment of the founder’s granddaughter as chairman in 2014, under the name of Alsapan. The company is based in Marlenheim in Alsace. Flooring and furniture kits account for 90% of turnover. Since 1995, their flooring has developed increasingly into decorative and qualitative products, including Herringbone patterns, small strips, various sizes, and structured surfaces. In 2018, Alsapan had a turnover of 240 million euros, 100 million for flooring. The firm employs 820 people, 170 of them in flooring. Annual capacity is six million kits, 12 million square metres of flooring, and two million standard work tops. Since 2015, Alsapan has produced laminate in herringbone and, since 2018, flexible vinyl floors. Since the start of 2019, the firm has been producing parquet after taking over Parqueterie Berrichonne. The company sells its products in over 60 countries worldwide. +33 (0) 3 88 49 43 00 - info@alsapan.fr - www.alsapan.com

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ALSAPAN PARQUETERIE BERRICHONNE

Parqueterie Berrichonne was formed in 1947. Today, the company is part of the French group Alsapan. The firm has manufactured parquet for 70 years, but has specialised in multilayer parquet since 2000. Parqueterie Berrichonne is strongly driven by innovation within the world of parquet, something which finds expression in progressive forms of technology such as click systems (even on herringbone), thermally treated wood, and integrated sound insulation (Soft Sound). The company presents no fewer than 2400 parquet floors. In 2018, the firm achieved a turnover of nine million euros, growth of 14% as compared to 2017. 35 people work in the production plant in Ardentes and the company produces 350,000m² of parquet per annum. The capacity is 600,000m².

Obviously, the major event in 2018-19 has been the admission to the Alsapan Group. +33 (0) 3 88 49 43 00 - info@alsapan.fr - www.alsapan.com

BLANCHON

Blanchon was formed in 1832. In 1950, the company developed the very first parquet varnish and, in 1986, received the Blue Angel (‘Ange Bleu’) certificate for the first waterborne lacquer. For over 40 years, Blanchon has supplied professionals all over the world in the wood and parquet sector with high-performance finish products, which stand out for innovative character and respect for people and their surrounds. Blanchon profiles itself as a producer of ‘technical lacquers’. They highlight lacquers and oils for parquet in the Environment Quality Line (‘Ligne Qualité Environnement’). Blanchon employs 500 people and their annual capacity is 26,000 tonnes. New products for 2019 include the Renovation Lacquer (‘Vitrificateur de Rénovation’), Iceberg™, and Easy Oil™. As regards ambitions abroad, Blanchon is aiming first of all to consolidate its position in Europe; it is strong in Belgium and Italy and advancing towards the north and east (Poland). They also trade in Southern Europe (Spain) and the United States, where Blanchon regularly makes new contacts. +33 (0) 4 72 89 06 06 - vlepais@blanchon.com - www.blanchon.com

CARDOTECH

Cardotech is a French manufacturer of industrial brushes and is located in Sante-Hélène, which is 130km north of Lyon and about 200km from Geneva. The company can trace its history back five generations to 1886. Cardotech is ISO 90001 approved (2015 version). The company exports over 25% of its products to Asia, America, and the rest of Europe. Its speciality is the development and production of industrial brushes in accordance with precise specifications for diverse sectors. For woodwork they produce brushes for structuring and finishing. In 2018, turnover was 2.3 million euros, an increase of 45% in just eight years. The company employs 18 people. New items for 2018-19 include structure brushes for old wood which do not eliminate the colour. +33 (0) 3 85 94 16 41 - contact@cardotech.com www.cardotech.com

BRIANÇON

BURGER

Briançon was formed in 1984, but the family business tradition goes back much further. Indeed, Camille Briançon produced adhesives from skins in his similarly named companies (Ets) back in 1855 in the Aveyron region. Today, the company is based in Noé, on the banks of the River Garonne, in an extremely modern factory. It is a hightech company, but still with the exceptional dynamism found only in SMEs. Amongst other things, Briançon has a modern laboratory where they work on product quality and where product developments are geared to the high demands of the industry. The factory itself covers a surface area of over 2000m² and is subdivided into six separate departments. The company has exported its products ever since the start of its existence and has offices in over 40 countries. Fillers and repair products are the speciality with the WOOD MASTIC® range. The best-seller is WOOD MASTIC EN PATE (paste). Briançon employs 15 people and has an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes. This year, they are producing a new mastic for industrial applications. +33 (0) 5 61 98 40 88 - info@briancon-production.com www.briancon-production.com

With over 30 years of experience and a network of almost 100 partners spread all over France consisting of specialists in various sorts of outdoor construction, Grad has fitted over 1,200,000m² of terrace floors with clips. Their turnover in 2018 was 11 million euros.

The sixth generation of the Burger family group from Alsace continues to build on this know-how and drive for innovation and henceforth is offering all products and concepts necessary for tackling the house and garden. Grad terraces mean a revolution in fitting on site.

The terrace is clipped, from the structure to the walking surface, and this makes it possible to have a completely invisible fitting. The investment in injection presses and lines for clipping rails in one’s own production room ensures a structure (floor supports and accessories, rails, and clips) which is 100% made in France. The company Burger continues to devise and create via the Grad trademark. It can rely on the know-how of men and women in the company who are always highly motivated to take on new challenges. +33 (0) 3 89 58 45 05 - mkormann@burger.fr - www.burger.fr

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CENTRE BOIS MASSIF

Centre Bois Massif has grown constantly since its formation in 1991 and is now the leader in online sales of French solid parquet via parquet-chene-massif.com. In 2018, they acquired Impexwood and called it Parqueterie de France. The company specialises in producing solid and multilayer parquet, traditional, distressed, structured, untreated, lacquered, or oiled and in the production of solid wood panels. Their speciality is solid parquet in 14 and 20mm. Turnover in 2018 was 4.8 million euros. The company employs 30 people and annual capacity is 80,000m². New this year is the personalisation of solid and multilayer parquet via numeric print. Printing is possible with 1800 DPI. Personal creations are possible via dechainez-vous.com.

They export to the USA, the Middle East, and Australia. +33 (0)2 48 60 66 07 - info@centre-bois-massif.com www.parquet-chene-massif.com

PANAGET

PANAGET, 90 YEARS OF FRENCH EXPERTISE 90 years ago, in 1929, Panaget has begun manufacturing wood flooring in Bourgbarré, near Rennes in Britanny, France. Over the decades, its passion for wood and industrial manufacture grew together, without ever compromising its artisanal expertise. Now and in the future, the company will work hard to retain its position as the leading French manufacturer of wooden floor. Panaget has made the choice of nature, the choice of the French oak, noble and elegant. Sometimes sober and refined, sometimes punctuated by soft singularities, the oak signs natural and authentic interiors, connecting warmth and comfort. For many years, Panaget as a company claims its willingness of being an actor for the sustainable development.

It goes even further by subscribing in a CSR approach that defends societal and environmental values. This will be shown by putting the work and the local supply forth, optimizing its resources management throughout the manufacturing process, the low emissions (A+ certification) products offer, or the waste recycling. Moreover, Panaget is really careful regarding its raw material buying which allow the company to have a very good carbon footprint. +33 (0) 2 99 05 77 88 - charlene.houguet@panaget.com www.panaget.com

CHÊNE DE L’EST® DESIGN PARQUET

Chêne de l’est® makes parquet, solid wood floors, and multi-layer parquet (ready for fitting). They control the full production process from tree to parquet in their own workshop. The company was formed in 1960 by Joseph Bach, a joiner by trade. Chêne de l’est® has always been run by the Bach family and is now led by Joseph Bach’s children Raymond, Gabriel, Jean-Michel, and Brigitte Eva. Chêne de l’est® has a wide range of parquet, solid wood floors, and multi-layer parquet (ready for fitting). All floors are designed and produced at one of four sites in France. 150 people work at Chêne de l’est®. Whilst there are some new items for 2019. Discover them in our new space of prescription in Paris. The opportunity for you to present our ranges of parquets and show our excellent know-how. A place of inspiration and meeting for you, for the architects and interiors designers. Address : MANUFACTURE GALLERY PARIS, 56 rue Chapon 75003 Paris, reserved for the professional and by appointment only. +33 (0) 3 87 28 57 04 - eb@chenedelest.com - www.chenedelest.eu

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Design Parquet was formed in 1997 in Vitré, France.

Its activity was to make ‘customised’ parquet. They soon launched Navylam, a parquet floor for bathrooms with a unique and simple fitting system and a 10-year guarantee.

The launch of exotic parquet completed the range. Design Parquet sells multilayer parquet for 60% and solid oak parquet and exotic wood sorts for 40%. The best-seller is the multilayer Loft Pro Chêne in exotic wood. The company employs 47 people and annual capacity is 500,000m². With a view to the future, Design Parquet follows prevailing trends and new lifestyles. New products include Vendôme (Hungarian point in oak) and l’Opéra en Grange (oak parquet of the Campagne/Sauvage type). As regards markets, Design Parquet looks mainly to Europe. + 33 (0) 2 99 49 66 66 - y.panaget@designparquet.fr www.designparquet.fr

PARQUETERIE DE FRANCE

DINACHOC - THE EXPERT IN ACOUSTICS

In 2018, the Centre Bois Massif group took over the French parquet manufacturer Impexwood, which was formed in 1991. The company specialises in the manufacture of solid and multilayer parquet (traditional, distressed, structured, lacquered, or oiled). Solid parquet floors are 14 or 20mm as is Duopark. Turnover in 2018 exceeded three million euros. The company employs 19 people and has a capacity of 120,000m². In 2019 they have introduced the new finish CENTURY and a new range of DUOPARK. They are interested in exporting to the United States, the Middle East, and Australia. +33 (0) 2 47 46 07 07 - sdeschaumes@parqueteriedefrance.com

Dinachoc has been the specialist par excellence in acoustic insulation for over 10 years. The company sells technology systems which have been tested and approved by scores of customers. Apart from the acoustic comfort features which customers expect, Dinachoc also shows great ecological concern by opting for recycled materials. This is how Dinachoc takes account of the future of the planet. The best-seller is the acoustic subfloor Dinachoc S801 (100% rubber). Turnover in 2018 was seven million euros. The company employs nine people. This year, they are launching some brand-new technology with the ACOUSTIQUE high-performance subfloor. +33 (0) 1 47 00 25 10 - contact@premibel.fr www.premibel-parquet.com

DECOSPAN/CABBANI

REPEX FLOOR

Over 35 years ago, Gérard Cabannes saw his dream come true with the formation of his veneer company amidst the Bordeaux vineyards.

The company enjoyed huge success. From 2000, Benoit and Julien Cabannes, the second generation, started on the production of parquet, in particular parquet ‘à la carte’. Clients themselves can, as it were, create their own floors. The company took huge strides in no time at all. After working together with the Decospan group for over 25 years and due to the complementarity of the production sites, the brothers decided to join the Decospan group. In 2016, they launched the CABBANI trademark. Wooden flooring production is still the core business even today. Designer 14H is the best-seller, but design floors are starting to prevail. In 2018, turnover was nine million euros.

The company employs 45 people and annual capacity is 300,000m².

Recently, they have modernised the factory completely. Neighbouring countries are major markets, but there is also a growing interest from the United States, Latin America, and Asia. +32 (0) 56 52 88 49 - info@cabbani.com - www.cabbani.com

Repex Floor was founded in 1946, and since then develops a range of parquet Sanders. With the Raclex brand, the company has imposed his heavy Belt Sanders on the french market and in neighbouring European countries. It has also launched an Edger 'the original' which is still today the reference in its markets. In 2011, with as imperative the improvement of working conditions, for example to allow the workers sanding without being exposed to carcinogenic wood dusts, Repex Floor designs the "Cyclone", a Sander respecting standards relating to the emissions of dust (certified by the BG Bau in Germany).

In 2017, the company is launching the "Repex 4 D", a powerful and heavy Sander (with additional weights Optional), perfectly versatile, to be used on the wood on concrete, marble floors , stone, etc...

With this range, and its strong historical reputation of reliability and power, Repex Floor is now developing its sales in all the european markets. +33 (0) 1 46 80 03 92 - philippe.ecran@repex.fr - www.repex.fr

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∂ Product news ADESIV For glueing flexible floor coverings Adesiv presents Adetac S, a universal single-component acrylic glue of very high quality and with an EC1 certificate. This glue is suitable for glueing all sorts of vinyl, rubber, PVC, linoleum, and textile onto both absorbent and non-absorbent substrates. In contrast to wooden floors, these floors swell and shrink a lot less, so there is no need for elastic glues. If the condition of the screed requires it (e.g. powdery or loose), it will be necessary to apply a primer. It is usually also advisable to use a self-levelling levelling agent to be sure of getting a perfectly level floor.

The 2K PU glue Pelpren PL6-G is recommended for glueing PVC and rubber both in and outdoors.

ALMA BY GIORIO - MODELLO TRECCIA The Geometrici collection stands out for its innovative shapes. Treccia is the new lead, characterised by a design, both original, yet classical, where the nature in wood meets design, creating a dynamic and extremely elegant parquet. Each piece is handmade by expert craftsmen, allowing it to be completely bespoke.

Treccia symbolises the bond of love. Passion, complicity and dreams intertwined perfectly. Wood, fragrance and emotion embedded impeccably together. It has already conquered our hearts ad we are certain Treccia will find a place also in yours.

DEVO® There are permanent and removable adhesives for LVT. The most commonly used compound is a polymer-acrylate bonding. Glueing LVT also makes no extra demands of an adhesive. Permanent dual-component adhesives have a similar base and do not differ much from parquet adhesives.

Removable acrylate adhesives are not used for parquet. They don’t have enough tensile strength and cannot be combined with most primers. This is a completely different technology. Generally speaking, we can say that LVT adhesives differ mainly as regards viscosity. Their viscosity is much lower because they have to be applied in a thin layer, often using a roller or notched trowel. This is in contrast to a parquet glue where the standing time of the adhesive grooves is of crucial significance.

Devo® Glue VNR150 spreads very easily and is usually applied with a roller. The floorboards are glued using a roller (for a removable fitting on a porous and smooth base). Floorboards are not fitted until the colour of the applied glue changes from milky-white to transparent (this takes 5 to 10 minutes).

LOBA Loba presents LOBACURE WS Rush A.T., the new generation one-component UV-curing finish.

This waterborne polyurethane finish provides an extremely low VOC (below 0.3%). Due to instant curing, it prevents waiting times and sales downtimes. This makes WS Rush A.T. the perfect partner for projects in hotels, restaurants, bars, shops etc. with highest demands concerning curing time and robustness. Being cured by a special machine with UV lamp, the lacquer dries instantly, so the floor can be used at once. In addition, the overall durability of WS Rush A.T. is superior to standard varnishes.It offers exceptional scratch resistance, great elasticity and outstanding chemical resistance. Therefore, it is even suitable for extremely heavy wear. Loba does not offer any machines but recommends appliances from DecoRad®.

TOVER Tover offers a wide range of water-based glues for the bonding of resilient floors like LVT - a really trendy material, linoleum, textile, rubber, cork on any type of supports: absorbent or non-absorbent and on under heating. Tovcol RP and Tovcol MPL are two universal acrylic solvent-free adhesives to be used both in horizontal and vertical position with an excellent adhesion peel and a high coverage.

Tover is also proposing a pressure sensitive adhesive with permanent tack which enables to lay a floor and remove it after a long period without damages: Tovcol Tackifast. The range has expanded with Tovcol LVT Fibre+ the new fibre-reinforced adhesive for LVT tiles, with no waiting time. Tover: innovative, easy and safe!

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Flo

INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibu tion and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

N° 99, December 2018 - Price: €8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

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INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibu tion and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

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Our magazine, that is distributed all over the world, targets professionals from the floor coverings sector and the wooden façade claddings. Floor Forum International, that from its start focussed on parquet floors both indoor and outdoor, every year aims at informing its readers about the newest trends and novelties. In it, among other things, you read all about trends and innovations for parquet floors, and this in all kind of wood species, vinyl, LVT, PVC, wooden façade claddings, glues, varnishes, subfloors, deckings,…

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