Special: Top German companies focused on export Advertorial: Lägler (D) Special Colour oil and colour hard wax oil Special Producers of filling machines and the fillers Special Be aware of the hazards of dust and provide maximum dust suction when sanding Special Subfloors INTERNATIONAL trade journal for import, export, distribution and laying of parquet, laminate, cork flooring and related products bona.com/ Discover a world of renovation possibilities, discover the world of Bona. We believe in offering the widest range of lacquers and primers delivering extraordinary flooring results. You can rely on Bona whether your project is a full renovation, protection of newly installed floors or if you’re seeking new design options. We continuously increase demand and make a sustainable difference by inspiring floor owners to renovate and refinish wood floors - rather than ripping out and replacing. A WORLD OF RENOVATION POSSIBILITIES Bona Primers and Lacquers N° 125 September 2022 - Price: €8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept, Nov, Dec) Office of delivery 9099 Ghent X, P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder
Visit our website www.floor-forum.com ! More information : sales@media-pact.com You can consult both the most recent and previously published magazines, read the vacancies and news reports from the sector, and find a summary of the leading national and international trade fairs. Last but not least, you will also find all the answers to your questions regarding applications and the use of machines and products.
Editors: Jan LudwigHoffmanJanssens †
Filip De JacquesRidderLegros
Editorial
For years, Bona has experienced the resource saving benefits of properly maintaining and renovating wood floors. In a recent study, conducted jointly by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Bona, the environmental impact of renovating parquet floors in a life cycle analysis was examined. The findings were compared with producing and install ing new flooring. The environmental effects of renovating rather than replacing are clear. The energy savings are as high as 95% and saves up to 90% in reduced carbon footprint.
dust and provide maximum
Production: Lowyck - Oostende
The possibilities in wood floor renovation have dramatically increased in recent years. Today, there are a great variety of wood floor treatments and styles to consider. From almost ultra-matt to high gloss surfaces, all is possible with lacquers and primers, to trendy colourations, thanks to the overcoatable oils and creating an organic touch bring ing out the authentic wooden feel with brushes.
Lidija Broström
Possibilities for wood floors
8
“Circular mindset exceeds replacement in wooden flooring”
11
Renovation not only offers long-term benefits for the environment, but also cost savings, as well as increased floor hygiene. A renovation of a wood floor works ought to be at least 40% less expensive compared to installing a new floor to replace the existing one. Present-day norms need to be challenged. When viable alternatives are available and there are many benefits to be gained, it is time for a change of attitude. Floor renovation helps cut carbon emissions significantly, reduces the use of resources and contributes to the circular economy.
When it’s time to renovate a floor, there is a lot to be gained by acting with a circular mindset. Today, there is a world of possibilities available when transforming a worn floor and restoring it to its former glory.
of distressing machines 30 Special Sanding machines : endless belt machines 32 Special Outdoor floors: care and maintenance 34 Special Who has colour stains? 36 Special Top German companies focused on export 42 Product news Special: Top German companies focused on Advertorial: Lägler (D) Special Colour oil and colour hard wax oil Special Producers of filling machines and the llers Special Be aware of the hazards of dust and provide when sanding Special Subfloors rely on Bona whether your project is full renovation, protection of newly installed floors or you’re seeking new design options. A WORLD OF RENOVATION POSSIBILITIES Bona Primers and Lacquers Floor Forum International n° 125 September 2022 Photo Bona
23 Advertorial
The future is in floor renovation
when sanding 21 Special
Jean Paul Talbot
Renovate vs. Replace
14 Special
Advertising & subscriptions
Editorial
Filip De floorforum@telenet.beHildeinfo@media-pact.comAdrianasales@media-pact.comRidderDascaluDeRidder
Floor
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Content Subscriptions to Floor Forum International: Mail to info@media-pact.com 4 Inside news 6 Special
Editing & advertisements
12
and the fillers 17 Special
Versailles panels 27 Special
Society is facing change on an unprecedented scale with demands for a rapid shift away from fossil fuels, and it is vital to keep up. The green transition presents numerous challenges, but also brings opportunities for all parties.
Translation: Michael Robinsonwww.glossa.be
A good illustration of this new way of looking at wood floor renovation is Bona Traffic HD Raw. This is a unique solution that brings new possibilities. Bona Traffic HD Raw trans forms existing worn wooden surfaces into raw ultra-matt wood floors in harmony with nature. Regardless from which angle you view the floor, the sheen remains ultra-matt without compromising other characteristics such as great durability in terms of wear, scuff and chemical resistance.
hazards
SVP Global Marketing & Communications, Bona
Publisher Filip De Ridder Lay-out: Be-able Communicationwww.be-able.be
Climate and cost savings
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. and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and Forum International bvba cannot accept any responsibility for any errors. Producers of elastic adhesives Special Colour oil and colour hard wax oil Special UV curing machines for use on site Advertorial Lägler (D) Producers of filling machines Be aware of the of dust suction Subfloors Steico (D) Producers of Producers
26 Special
Floor Forum International is a publication of FFi bvba.
John Wilkinson is the new Brand Manager
The Lindura range comprises 24 château planks (12 naturally oiled and 12 ultra matt lacquered) and 8 ultra matt lacquered herringbone variants. All plank formats in the revised HD 400 collection (effective measurements 2200 x 270 mm and additionally for six of the natu rally oiled colours 2600 x 320 mm) are equipped with AquaStop edge impregnation. The flooring is thus water-resistant for 24 hours and suitable for humid rooms. All surfaces – both ultra matt lacquered and naturally oiled – have also been successfully tested to ensure an anti bacterial effect.
What makes Lindura so special?
Pura exceeds the BREEAM certification requirements, thereby contributing to sus tainable buildings.
FN Neuhofer
Lindura is a natural wood flooring with that special something, because it is sustainable, robust and suitable for everyday use. This is exactly what makes Lindura the wooden floor of the future because its surfaces only require one eighth of the raw wood material used by conventional multi-layered parquet flooring. How it works? With an innovative manufacturing process! The so-called wood powder tech nology is used for the production of Lindura. Wood Powder is a fine powder made from wood fibers and mineral components that is fused with the real wood top layer to form an extremely durable surface. This is how innovative technology turns a natural wooden floor into a
LinduraMEISTER–the answer to wood flooring questions
Floor Forum International 1254 ∂ Inside news
Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news
PALLMANN UK under New Management
Many people who are renovating or building new want a wooden floor covering. No wonder - because nothing brings naturalness and atmos phere into the home as easily as a high-quality wooden floor. At the same time, however, there are also reservations: isn't a wooden floor terribly sensitive and high-maintenance, especially in the kitchen or hallway? And what about availability given the current shortage of wood? Lindura wood flooring from MEISTER will answer many of these questions!
particularly hard-wearing high-tech wood flooring that forgives a lot of stress and is very easy to clean. This applies in particular to the ultra-matt variants. The specially developed, innovative ultra-matt lacquer Duratec Nature moistens every single pore deep down. This makes the floor stain-resistant, resistant to micro-scratches and wear and tear and has an antifootprint effect. At the same time, the floor does not look varnishedon the Linduracontrary!canbeinstalled as a floating floor without any adhesive and is also perfect for use on underfloor heating. Due to the special product structure, the floor has a very low thermal resistance. This means that even with a floating installation, the heat quickly penetrates the floor into the room, which saves energy. In which variants is Lindura available?
LignumDevomatPura, invisible parquet lacquer achieves BREEAM certification!
The family business FN Neuhofer realised its architectural vision on an impressive scale at its location in Zell am Moos!
The value of an idea lies in its implementation
John Wilkinson is the new National Sales and Brand Manager of PALLMANN UK. John joined the company on the 1st June 2022. He brings with him many years of experience in the interior design and flooring industry. His career encom passes many attributes, from Craftsman to Management and he has successfully launched and developed several flooring brands in the UK. Together with the team PALLMANN UK and the support of the entire team of UZIN UTZ UK, he will make sure that the success story of PALLMANN in the UK will continue.
We hope to make a difference in the amount of fossil raw materials used in the market for parquet finishing products.
It is the largest investment in the company's 372-year history, and its implementation in spacious production halls with the latest high-tech equipment, a three-storey office building with an inviting canteen and the representative showroom has now been completed.
"Our vision has now become reality - even earlier than planned," owner and managing director Franz Neuhofer is pleased to report. "This has been made possible by our forward-looking and sustainable actions, our business thinking over many decades and our long-standing, jointly successful partnerships with customers, suppliers and service providers. And, of course, the great commitment of all our employees,
The BREEAM assessment method is currently used in more than 80 countries worldwide.
BREEAM is a certification method for a sustaina bly built environment since 2009. With this method, pro jects can be assessed on integral composition,Thankssustainability.toitsvegetableDevoLignum
LOFT PRO
www.designparquet.com
OAK PRIME-BIS PARQUET Laying
C
site by the middle of next year.
Tongue & groove - bevels parquet plywood base
7,640 m³ concrete = 1,030 concrete mixers
BLANCHON protects durablywww.blanchon.com
M J CM MJ CJ CMJ N Floor Forum International 125 5 ∂ Inside news
In this way, this internationally successful family business is once again proving its efficiency and will continue to offer its customers and partners innovative products of the highest quality and the best ser vice, all at an optimal price-performance ratio.
Total area of the company premises 100,000 m² "Open days" were also held in July to enable the population of the sur rounding communities to have a closer look at this family business.
without whom our international success would not be possible," Neuhofer continues.
2,225 tonnes of cement = 89,000 bags of cement 560,000 kg reinforcing steel
Finishing : Natura oil Section : 16 x 90 x 600 mm
More than 26,000 working hours were required to construct a total area of 14,550 m² in the record-breaking construction period of just one and a half years. In total, 54 million euros will be invested in the
36,700 m³ excavation = 3,600 truckloads
The investment is another milestone in the history of the company, which is now in its 10th generation and 100% family-owned, with the 11th already in the starting blocks.
of a 1 MW photovoltaic system on the roof - covering approx. 1/8 of the company's total electricity consumption.
Semi-solid
with birch
The project in numbers:
38 laminated beams with a span of 37 m each, which were delivered as a Installationwhole.
Chevron
More than 26,000 working hours
Total area of the building project 14,550 m²
Since pictures are worth a thousand words, please find the link to our brand-new construction documentation video on our vision_2025/realising_the_vision_part_4https://www.fnprofile.com/en/videos/fn_construction_documentation_website:
4
Special Producers of elastic adhesives
Blanchon
Elastic adhesives offer huge benefits and not only in the floor industry. We think, for instance, of the transport sector where elastic adhesives and seals are used a lot, both in the production process and in the end product. These glues have all sorts of benefits, such as adhesion on just about all surfaces, but especially the tolerance of any movement. That’s something which is very often vitally important, certainly with a wooden floor.
IF SO, AN ELASTIC ADHESIVE CAN OFFER THE RIGHT SOLUTION
together with elastic distortion. That elastic distortion is then by definition semi-permanent.
Elasticity and parquet adhesive
What’s on the market ?
If you want to join materials to each other, using an elastic adhesive is one of the options. You turn to these products certainly if the intention is to make a strong connection which is designed at the same time to absorb even more movement from elements such as vibrations.
What is elasticity?
Photo – Devo®
What should we choose and when? And so, which is the best one? As is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Both flexible and ‘stiff’ adhesives offer their own solutions for specific expectations. With the choice for (highly) elastic adhesives (which nowadays are divided up into silane and PUR adhesives), the main thing is to check what you want in advance. Do you want to counteract the movements of the wood or do you want to tolerate them to a certain extent? Always remember that a stiff glue has strong physical and mechanical properties, but weak flexibility and strong break resistance. Solid glue can be handy, for instance, for floors with straight edges such as traditional parquet, where you don’t intend to tolerate the movements of the wood.
ARE THERE ‘CONSIDERATIONS’?ANY
Obviously, we are considering adhesives in this article. The explana tion above is intended to make it clear that elasticity is important, but not all-important. During several years of research and trials with new products, producers have arrived at increasingly better compositions so that a number of ‘sub-classes’ have emerged. If we think, for example, of the old solvent and dispersion adhesives, we would now generally have to call them hard-plastic. This means these glues could withstand rather brief and limited forces, but could become distorted in the face of long-term and stronger forces.
If it is likely that the wood will swell and shrink to a great extent (e.g. with major fluctuations in the air humidity), we can use a highly elastic adhesive to ensure that the exerted forces have no direct effect upon the screed. The adhesive then absorbs the movements of the wood and always returns to its initial shape. The drawback is that highly elastic adhesives more or less give you a floating floor.
Can the wood be allowed to move to some extent? If so, you opt for an elastic adhesive. Since fewer forces come into play, such adhesive doesn’t have to be highly resistant. Moreover, elastic adhesives ensure that there is less pressure on the substrate.
Floor Forum International 1256
The quality, versatility, and performance of elastic adhesives are the main reasons why most professionals choose them. Apart from their cost price (somewhat higher than that of PU adhesives), hybridpolymer adhesives (whereby we draw a distinction between MS polymers and silane modified polyurethanes/PU) offer the best price-quality ratio. Blanchon offers three references in the field of polymer hybrids. The first one is the AB 1300, which is very pleasant to use and suitable for all classic adhesive applications (up to 130mm wide). Secondly, they offer the powerful AB 2000. This polymer hybrid
The first thing which we have to do is define precisely what elasticity means. Generally speaking, elasticity is the extent to which a material exerts a counterforce (so called resilience) when the elastic is dis torted (i.e. not permanently) or the extent of distortion in a material when a certain external force is exerted. And so, you can regard a material as elastic if it returns to its original shape once the external force ceases. You should never confuse elasticity with plasticity. Plasticity is distortion or deformation when force such as compres sive strength or tensile strength is exerted. However, in contrast to elastic distortion, plastic distortion is not undone when the exerted force is taken away again. Note: Plastic distortion very often goes
Amongst other things, Devo® presents Devo® Glue MSP 150 1C, a mono-component and semi-elastic hybrid MS polymer adhesive which contains no silicones or isocyanates. It is designed for multilayer stabilised parquet, whilst Devo® Glue MSP 250 1C is the bestseller at Devomat Industries. This glue is suitable for glueing all types of wood (solid wood up to 20cm wide) and is particularly recommended for fitting pre-finished par quet. The glue contains no water or VOCs and spreads excellently. Devo® Glue MSP 250 is a hard-elastic glue (about 70 Shore) with great adhesive strength, it conforms to the standard CSN EN 14293, and it has the EC1-Plus (EC1-R) classification. Devo® Glue MSP250 is packed in bags of 5kg. Devo® also has dualcomponent adhesives in its range. Devo® Glue PU 570 2C is a water less, dual-component, polyurethane epoxy, and semi-elastic parquet glue which is specially for glueing wooden floors onto cement-bound substrates or existing floors (tiles, marble, wooden floors, etc.). Devo® Glue PU 650 2C is also a waterless, dual-component, epoxy-polyure thane parquet adhesive, but this product is hard-elastic.
ADESIVER ELASTIC is a singlecomponent hydro-curing prepoly mer based adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology). This adhesive is classified as "ELASTIC" according to ISO 17178.
Features: ∫ rapid initial adhesion ∫ contains no water or solvents, limits swelling and shrinking in the wood ∫ good adhesion on almost all substrates and wooden materials ∫ spilt material can be removed easily ∫ surface is ready for use after 24 hours ∫ good adhesive back position ∫ suitable for use with floor heating.
Single-componentChimiver adhesive with a silanic DESCRIPTION:termination
Wood is a unique and natural material with properties which require special knowledge to ensure good short and long-term performances. The combination of sorts, thickness, width, and design are essential considerations and you need the most suitable parquet adhesive should for the best possible results. Bona’s range of silane adhesives offers built-in tensile strength and elasticity in various strengths and formulas to rise to every floor challenge.
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For instance, there is Bona R848 parquet adhesive, an elastic mono-component and silane parquet adhesive which complies with ISO 17178 (elastic) for dimensionally stable multilayer parquet. It reduces pressure on the subfloor. The adhesive binds through a chemi cal reaction with moisture in the atmosphere.
To fit requirements.thesitesregularlyandEmfi’s51.2withcomplyyouparquetgluedinFrance,havetoatleasttheDTUstandard.adhesiveskitsareusedonallwhichsatisfyDTU51.2
adhesive is suitable for applications up to 200mm. Finally, there is cordon adhesive, which is indispensable in some cases. Blanchon’s cordon adhesive can boast strong adhesion and does not run when it is applied vertically.
Devo®
Emfi
The benefits of their elastic glues are firstly that they contain very little isocyanate and give off few VOCs (and that with a grading of A+ and EC1 R+) and, secondly, their convenience and versatility. Alternatives to elastic glues include hard glues such as dual-component PU adhesive, but they are not very flexible and have to be mixed before use.
Bona R848T is another variant with a thicker viscosity.
Pack: bucket: 15kg adhesive sausages: 600ml – 1800ml – 2810ml – 5400ml.
Recommended for gluing of pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grit, ceramic or marble-chip floor tiles,etc. it's also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto underfloor heating and cooling system. ADESIVER ELASTIC has very good acoustic insulation characteristics. EC1 PLUS certified, it also meets the certifi cation LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
Bona
Of course, there has to be more to naturalness. In these times when time is money, a quick finish is crucial. In other words, products must be as easy to use as possible. That, too, turns out to be a huge advantage.
A good product is also one that contains as few, and preferably no, harmful products as possible. Here, too, a great deal of work has been done, so that it can now be said that only products with 100% renewable raw materials are supplied. In this context, Mr Hochstein refers to the company's philosophy.
"We only need two coats and in exceptional cases three. If you compare that to a lacquer, you do much better than the classic five layers or more. You can even apply it in one layer, but we don't recommend that because then the quality is not guaranteed and you mainly risk not having enough resistance against moisture, spilt liquids like red wine, and so on. If you want good resistance, it is better to apply two or three times."
Special Colour oil and colour hard wax oil
Naturalness and ease of use
"There is a lot of demand for coloured hardwax oil and coloured oil. This applies to stairs, furniture and wooden floors," says the CEO of this company that was founded in 1952. "The question that follows almost automatically is why this is so. If you ask me, you simply have to look at how much the market demands naturalness today. End users want natural surfaces and these oils are an excellent response to that."
Tassilo Hochstein (CEO/Managing Director Heidelberg Coatings Dr. Rentzsch GmbH-D)
When we put this question to a specialist like Blanchon, they gave us a straightforward answer: There are actually very few limits to the use, although there are some circumstances which compel parquet floor fitters to consider some aspects seriously. We list some of them briefly for you.
"Also the nature of the colour has its influence on the finish. The darker the colour, the more likely you will have to apply three coats. The explanation for this is simple, as a manufacturer you cannot put enough pigments in the transparent layer. So it is better to apply the colour twice, followed by a final transparent layer. Sometimes, by the way, the floor is delivered finished, but then you have to apply oil one more time after installation, after you have treated everything with a maintenance product."
THE CONDITIONS AND THE MAINTENANCE LARGELY DETERMINE THE RIGHT CHOICE
Floor Forum International 1258
LIMITS TO THEIR USE?
How far can you go with colour oil and coloured hard wax oil? In the past, we’ve seen that oil and hard wax oil belong almost by definition on wood sorts with a light colour, but what exactly are the limits to the use of colour oil and hard wax?
"The focus of Prolignum's product development is on combining the latest technologies with traditional ecological raw materials. The development started with Pro-Natura Oil, which distinguishes itself from other wood oils by a number of innovative properties. Thanks to the high level of product innovation, our Prolignum products offer the highest quality with simple application and economical consumption. After the success of the oil we continued to work on an extensive range for the entire interior."
How popular are colour oils and colour hardwax oils these days? That was our main question to Tassilo Hochstein, CEO/Managing Director of the German Heidelberg Coatings specialist Dr. Rentzsch GmbH. Mr Hochstein, who heads this company based in the town of the same name in the north-west of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, doesn't have to think for long: colour is on the rise, if possible even more so than before.
Sustainability and renewable resources
"Popularity of colour oils and colour hardwax oils is still on the rise"
It’sfloors.almost
self-explanatory, but we repeat it again: ‘Rendering’ on white-based colours on exotic sorts is not advisable because they already have a naturally strong colour. If we consider colour oil and colour hard wax somewhat more generally in line with these pale colours, you can say that the main hindrance to their use lies in the fact that not only can these products be quite pricy, but also the maintenance becomes more cumbersome and probably more expensive. However, we mustn’t cause misunderstandings here. Certainly the often bio-based hard wax oil has several major assets: easy application, fast and easy maintenance (that’s certainly important to end users), and optimised resistance. Moreover, hard wax oil offers a wide choice of finish and decorative possibilities.
What’s on the market ? Blanchon Further information and registration at marketing@heidelbergcoatings.comwww.heidelbergcoatings.comLED-curingwithreactiveoilsoils&naturalwoodeffectsThelatestsurfacetechnologyandcurrentcoatingtrends 09. + 10. NOVEMBER PARQUET DAYS SOESTLocation:Ingenieursbureau & Handelsonderneming B.V Wormerveer, Netherlands SAVE THE DATE .. the brand for surface design.
New developments
What we certainly can say in this context is that some shades might have only limited resistance to coloured chemical ‘aggressors’. We’re referring here to specific items such as Ketchup, soft drinks, certain sorts of alcohol, spices, etc. Such sensitive shades include all forms of white, very light grey shades, or mocha. It really isn’t advisable to use those colours, certainly on high-traffic
Chemical ‘aggressors’
We then asked our interviewee about an important issue. In his view, what are the latest developments in the field of coloured oil and hard wax? In this context Blanchon points out that various producers are making great efforts in research and development so that both professional and private users can be given the most natural finishes. Specifically as regards their own company, they point out that the Blanchon Group saw the value of doing their own research and development a long time ago. Back in 1984, they made a clear top priority of safeguarding the environment and human health. That has yielded the production of various bio-based finish products for wood. Almost 20 years ago, 2004 to be precise, this resulted in the development of a special ecological oil. Today, this same oil is still greatly appreciated both in terms of its quality and its performances on the floor.
Maintenance requirements
What we see is that, when these circumstances arise, it is necessary to take care if a client wants a parquet floor in a specific colour on a delicate wood sort. Moreover, if we’re talking about a place with (very) high traffic, the chosen colouring method will require the necessary attention. Here’s a typical example. A client has opted for a mild parquet in rustic oak and wants to see it brushed and oiled and polished in anthracite grey (which is very popular in the catering sector). All this is certainly feasible, but the client must remember that regular maintenance is a must in order to keep the floor looking good. The frequency and nature of that maintenance should then be geared carefully to the specific use to which the floor will be subjected during its later years.
Oil Bee is part of the Chimiver's corporate social responsibility pro gramme, indeed a % of the revenues are intended to support "BeeLife European Beekeeping Coordination" activities.
Bona
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 abso lutely 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.
rapidly. The product is odourless during the application and drying and offers a splendid and highly matt surface which can be used again in under two hours of drying time and has been awarded the European Eco Label. It should also be noted that this Ecological Oil holds an F.D.E.S. This means it can be part of the A.C.V. of the building within the HQE® approach. Since 2020, ‘ Huile Environnement Blanchon’ has had a formula based on biological raw materials in accordance with EN16640.
Oil Bee is a product containing vegetable and synthetic oils and high quality European beeswax, which gives the wood a natural and uniform appearance, giving excellent water repellency, hardness and softness to the touch. The product complies with EN 71-3, is suitable for toys and the contact with the hardened film is safe for people, children and animals.
High resistance oil-wax mixture for wood DESCRIPTION:
Bona has a full range of solutions for oiling coloured floors white, light-grey, old-grey, from light to dark, or from dark to light (such as a whitewash effect). Bona Parquet Oil is available in 1K and 2K versions. The 2K version is a vegetable oil and comprises 19 colours, which are geared to the popular shades. It is the ideal finish for sometimes troublesome wood sorts such as kambala, afzelia, and walnut. It can also be used on smoked oak and steamed beech. Bona Craft Oil 2K provides a particularly fresh, waterproof, and stain-proof surface and is ready for use after a drying time from just eight (8) hours (Neutral) to 12 hours (Colour Oil). Combining this with Bona Nordic Tone and Bona Rich Tone Grey stains makes it possible to obtain even more colour effects. If necessary, Bona Craft Oil 2K can be lacquered over with one of the Bona Traffic parquet lacquers for ultimate and easier protection.
Devo®
Floor Forum International 12510 Special Colour oil and colour hard wax oil
Devo® presents DevoNatural® Hardwax Oil in colourless and whitewashed white. DevoNatural® Hardwax 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® Hardwax 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 furni ture. Special features: Parquet, and wood in general, stays elastic with DevoNatural® Hardwax Oil and the oil film ensures greater resistance to wear and stains. Maintenance products, such as DevoNatural® Hardwax Oil Cleaner and DevoNatural® Hardwax Oil Renewer, keep your floor in ideal condition and extend its lifespan considerably.
protect wooden flooring
ColourOsmoand
Chimiver has developed a new product named Oil Bee that, thanks to its high coverage and excellent penetrating power, is recommended for all wooden surfaces.
OILChimiverBEE
DecoRad Systems in the Netherlands develops and manufactures portable UV-curing equipment for the professional market.
The explanation lies in the technology
This portable UV equipment is compatible with all UV coatings and -finishes on the market today.
On-site UV puts you in control.
Transmitter and receiver
CONDITIONS ON SITE ARE OFTEN NOT IDEAL FOR USING LED
Some time ago, an interviewee made the following observation: ‘With UV you shoot with hail, whilst LED is the perfect sniper. On site it’s best to shoot with hail’. What he meant was: Traditional UV transmits on various wavelengths and they reach the appropriate receivers, whilst with LED there is only one type of transmitter and receiver.
Over the years, the popularity of UV on-site has increased as it has become more and more known. The coatings/finishes have been improved, but also the UV equipment. The era of pioneering is definitely over. So for projects with a certain time pressure, UV on-site is the solution, speed in combination with top quality. NEW FOR 2022 FLOORCURE PUSH-ALONG FOR ALL WATERBASED FINISHES.
The UV concept is available for various substrates: from vinyl, PVC and linoleum to concrete, wood and even metal. With always the same result, floors return quickly to factory quality.
Do all these things mean that no one uses LED to cure on site? Not at all, but it does seem that this technology will have to be refined considerably, and at the moment it is also rather expensive. In other spheres of life LED may be revolutionary as a replacement for tradi tional UV, but is that the case on site? No, not really.
The DecoRad range also includes portable UV-LED equipment to cure hardwax LED oil’s on hardwood floors. We are continuously improving LED performance, we do this in a smart way without the end product becoming too expensive.
Special UV curing machines for use on site
DecoRad Systems
ALL POWER TO UV CURING, AT LEAST FOR NOW
Floor Forum International 125 11Visit www.floor-forum.com
Photo – Blanchon
To know why LED curing is not immediately recommended, we have to look at the technology of UV and LED. What it comes down to is that you have a transmitter (the UV lamp) and the chemistry as the receiver. Both have to be harmonised properly with each other to create the required curing. The big problem with LED lies in the conditions. The most common wavelength is so close to daylight that you have to create ideal conditions if you want to avoid unwanted reactions. These conditions form a disadvantage for LED, which is much more suitable for finishing parquet in the factory where you can exert much more control over all the factors involved.
Should we still use UV curing machines on site or is it better for us all to switch to LED? That’s a question which many people in our trade are asking. There is no generally accepted answer, but it does seem safe to say that finishing on site with LED is still a rather burdensome chore and that traditional UV curing is therefore still preferable.
Finallyhe goes into well-deserved retirement. His son Eusebius, an authenic Worker and his right hand in the com pany for over 15 years, must now carry on without him. Without him, but not without the HUMMEL! It may have lost some of its shine over the years, and it may have suffered one or two scratches. But... it still runs like on the first day!
1994 AD
1969 AD
THE HUMMEL A FAITHFUL COMPANION
Floor Forum International 12512 Advertorial Lägler
Eusebius still has all his teeth, but his once proud head of hair has now completely taken flight and made way for his face.
2019 AD
But... the HUMMEL is still in use!
The first HUMMEL sees the light of day in Frauenzimmern. Frederick Worker, a master parquet layer, is one of the first to test the belt sander, revolutionary at the time. The HUMMEL does not take long to convince him of its qualities. Just a few days later, Frederick Worker happily welcomes it into the family circle. From now on, it is his constant companion on all construction sites. It reliably performs the work, tirelessly sanding day after day and never lets him down.
Grandpa Frederick, its first companion, passed away a few years ago. He could, despite a very caring wife, unfortunately not be repaired anymore in the end.
It is summer. Henry meanwhile continues to run the family business with all his passion. He has already started early this morning with the renovation of an old oak floor. Eusebius is also there today. Because sometimes, when he feels like it, he accompanies Henry, an authenic Worker, to the construction site. Although he has been retired for a few years, he still can't quite let go of this work. He always enjoyed it too much to look at his finished work, a wooden floor sanded, oiled or varnished, in all its beauty at the end of the working day. Always a great feeling. Well done!
1994 AD
25 years have now passed and tens of thousands of square meters of wooden floors have been sanded since then. Frederick Worker now has a grandson, but no more teeth!
2022 AD
Because Eusebius followed his father's advice and always took care of the machine like a treasure.
Frederick has had it serviced and updated regularly over the years. No matter what spare part he needed, everything was always available and quickly delivered by the Lägler company.
Other things become more important... Eusebius hands over the company to his son Henry.
The first HUMMEL sees the light of day.
25 years have now passed. (D)
Then as now, Grandpa Frederick's HUMMEL accompanies again! For sure it is also... an authentic worker!
Beautiful wood surfaces are created, to the delight of Frederick and his customers. The HUMMEL proves to be a truly good investment! The company is thriving, also thanks to the efficiency, quality and reliability of his HUMMEL.
How time flies! Fifty years have passed since the HUMMEL began its service with the Worker family.
1969 AD
...let's wait and see!
2022 AD Henry meanwhile continues to run the family business with all his passion.
- all necessary spare parts are in stock and can be delivered promptly!
2044 AD
- it can always be brought up to the latest technical standard!
Instead of ever shorter product cycles with only minor changes, Lägler has focused on long-lasting and sustainable products, from the very beginning.
...let's wait and see!
The possible correspondence with real people was not intended and is purely coincidental. But the history has surely happened exactly or similarly many times before! The purchase of a HUMMEL is an acquisition for life and often lasts for several lifetimes, provided it is well cared for.
2044 AD
Moral of the story
Floor Forum International 125 13
2019 AD
LÄGLER - Making the best better! For more information visit us on www.laegler.de
How time flies! Fifty years have passed since the HUMMEL began its service with the Worker family.
No matter how old a HUMMEL is, - it can almost always be repaired! - well maintained it can last for generations!
Floor Forum International 12514
Earlier in the discussion, the speakers indicated that Wintersteiger focuses on both smaller and larger customers. How does one go about doing that in practice?
Among the numerous woodworking machines are state-of-the-art filling machines for the parquet world, for both small and very large applications. More specifically, these are TRC machines (short for Timber Repair & Cosmetics), for semi and fully automatic repair of wood surfaces. We have an exchange of views with Markus Weissenbrunner and Johannes Schachinger, respectively Head of Strategic Product Development Woodtech and Area Sales Manager Benelux Woodtech.
As a machinery and plant engineering group, the Austrian Wintersteiger AG acquired a global leading position in providing innovative solutions for customers in technically demanding niche markets. It does this in four divisions: Seedmech, Sports, Metals and Woodtech (et al.parquet, furniture and panels).
Markus Weissenbrunner and Johannes Schachinger (Wintersteiger AG -A)
FILLING MACHINES RENDER HUMAN EFFORT LARGELY SUPERFLUOUS
In addition to being the world market leader in the Sports and Seedmech divisions, the company is also the global number one in Woodtech, the division that interests us most. Under the umbrella term 'World of Woodtech', five product areas for the wood industry are included: precision thin cutting and surface refinement of wood, saw blades developed and produced in-house, mobile and stationary sawmill technology, automation solutions, as well as sawing solutions for a range of materials, including lightweight materials.
TRC Easy and TRC Automatic
For small and large, all over the world
"The automation of the filling process has numerous advantages"
BETTER THAN THE HUMAN EYE
"I would add that we also have a 3rd technology: The Woodpatch for repairing defects in wood with real-wood-patches. But that is not intended for the flooring industry, rather the panel industry," adds Johannes Schachinger, who in the same breath points out that quite a few large flooring manufacturers are customers of Wintersteiger: "In the Netherlands you have, for example, Veno. Elsewhere in Europe there are big names like Hamberger, Admonter, Bauwerk/Boen, Meisterwerke, Scheucher,... Outside Europe, Canadian Preverco is a good reference."
"After pre-cleaning the knotholes and cracks comes the filling work, and that's where you find our filling machines, which are primarily aimed at the furniture and panel and parquet manufacturer, not the installer," explains Markus Weissenbrunner. "We offer two types of technology in this respect: filling process with thermoplastic and organic filling material. With thermoplastic filling, thermoplastic polymers in a molten state are injected by high pressure into the wood defect with a maximum of precision and in the calculated quantity. These are immediately cooled down by a cooling plate in the same process step, which makes processing possible. For organic filling, we work with a mineral and water-based one-component filler developed especially for machine use. It is suitable for all common processing methods and surface coatings in parquet production. The time for further processing depends on the damaged area and thus on the applied volume of filler. This application is also often used by parquet manufacturers who only use natural raw materials in their floors.
Markus Weissenbrunner: "We have a very broad and also modular product portfolio of TRC machines or systems. TRC Easy includes entry-level manual machines that are chosen by customers to ensure consistently high quality wood repairs. The automatic machines and systems are divided into various products, which are compared with each other for their capacity, the filling material technology used and the dimensions of parts. Because we go to great lengths to diversify the machines and build them modularly, we can serve
Special Producers of filling machines and the fillers
TRC WOOD COSMETICS
Photo – Wintersteiger
damage & www.wintersteiger.com/trcFortreatment!surfacemoreinformation:WINTERSTEIGER AG A-4910 Ried, Dimmelstraße 9
The TRC concept stands for „wood cosmetics“ in unprecedented quality, with enormous potential for Pre-cleaning,economization.repair, and design of wooden surfaces can be fully automated with the TRC Preclean, TRC 1500, and TRC Manufactory trio of solutions. Whether semi-automatic or fully automatic, WINTERSTEIGER has in terms of „defects repair & timber cosmetics“ the appropriate solution! on
Tel.: +43 7752 919-0, woodtech@wintersteiger.at
Focused
anyone, from very small to very large capacities. The great advantage, of course, is that we can adapt our machines/ systems to individual requirements and thus optimally integrate them into the customer's process."
Johannes Schachinger: "Another interesting thing is that you use the filling material optimally. You never use too much or too little and thus save money. A great advantage is the possibility to even fill out floor boards or top layers before gluing them to the boards. You fill the imperfections beforehand and not afterwards!"
TRC Preclean
"This modular machine is particularly interesting in terms of reducing labour costs. Until recently, unprocessed floor sections had to be pre-cleaned manually before defects were repaired. This is no longer the case because TRC Preclean works with the aid of a scanner developed in-house that scans defects. It then evaluates the data and processes these areas so that the end result looks natural."
Markus Weissenbrunner would like to conclude with a closer look at the scanner developed by Wintersteiger itself. He explains how this scanner, which was named 'Faulty Spot Eye', detects damaged spots, along with the detection of the exact extent and structure of the damage: "Faulty Spot Eye is an essential component of any fully automated TRC system. It has the necessary visibility and guarantees highly accurate detection of all types of defects. It works quickly and accurately in 2D and 3D mode and evaluates images in milliseconds. The repair units then approach the detected damaged areas and fill them in at high speed. Only the damaged area with the required amount of filling material is addressed."
When asked about recent developments, Mr Weissenbrunner immediately refers to TRC Preclean, which automates the precleaning of wooden cracks and faults.
The trend here is to render manual work as superfluous as possible. It all starts with an examination of the raw planks. These are scanned with increasingly refined sensors and cameras and the software then calculates where special wood filler is needed and how much. This scanning certainly works more precisely than a human eye because it also exposes literally invisible shortcomings in the wood. The ‘gaps’ are filled using diverse methods, but manufacturers strive mainly for the highest possible production capacity with a minimum of operators plus a high degree of ecological awareness.
CSP Engineering
CSP Engineering developed PAR-Filler ®, a unique filling machine, spe cifically built for the parquet industry, which optimizes your production process in many ways.
The PAR-Filler® Series currently consists of three models. PAR-Filler Mono, equipped with 1 applicator, is well suited for small to medi um-sized productions. PAR-Filler Duo, with its 2 applicators in line, is very suitable for medium production capacities. PAR-Filler Duplex, the most powerful, has two filling lines, which work independently and can fill wooden floorboards of the same or different product qualities and/ or colors. Beside these 3 models we have developed the technology to fill wide to very wide panels. Don’t hesitate to contact us for your specific solution.
The exact details of the filling process would make a long story, but in short you can say that the machine injects wood filler paste into the flawed areas in the spots determined in advance. The injecting is done under pressure whereby the software has calculated precisely and in advance how much pressure and how much filler paste are needed.
A single operator can control and monitor the PAR-Filler ® and receives targeted training and all necessary tools from CSP. The supply and removal of planks and floors are crucial in the entire production process. That is why we increasingly offer automation with our filling machines that provides this for a smooth running of the whole process. Cosmetiwood® is a wood filler developed for the PAR-Filler®, but now used for so many more purposes.
Professional wood filler that behaves like wood It’s a water-based wood filler with a drying time of 24-48h Perfect adhesion to the wood, no shrinking Beautiful absorption of colors & oils Excellent sanding properties
The latter yields vast benefits as compared to a manual operation. This process avoids any surplus, since you know in advance exactly how much product is necessary. That’s precisely one of the conditions for ecological awareness in enterprise.
Floor Forum International 12516 Special Producers of filling machines and the fillers
Wooden floorboards are seldom perfect, if ever, so you have two choices. You either just accept those shortcomings or you eliminate them. If you opt for the latter, filling machines offer an option. Parquet makers use these machines very often on their production lines to eliminate gnarls or cracks in wood.
Such machines are fairly popular, as is evident from the testimony of Wintersteiger. Filling machines are very often deployed on full produc tion lines covering the entire process from the bare plank to packing the elements and preparing them for shipment.
Contact us for your ideal formula! +32(0)14 37 77 52 / info@csp-engineering.com
Ecological awareness
It has fantastic properties, is available in 9 standard colors and is ready to Coloruse. can be changed quickly in the machine and the loss of filler is minimal.Easyto use and apply manually
Floor Forum International 125 17Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ Special Be
"In 2007 I took over 90% of the shares, since 2020 all the shares are mine. Currently, we have ten employees, 70% of production goes to exports worldwide and we expect sales of 1.8 million euros this year," Mr Kirchner continues. "Since I took over in 2007, I have always stood for important investments in high-quality production, research and development. The set up of a global sales network was the second part of the restructuring strategy. At the moment, you can find us almost anywhere in the world, including Australia and the USA, where we have our own company in Syracuse.”
“To get back to the dust containment issue, all the FG sanding machines and edgers can be connected to a dust extraction system. FG presents here a solution composed by an efficient and sturdy cyclonic pre-separator made of sheet steel, that eliminates 95 % of the dust and a heavy duty vacuum cleaner class M with an impressive suction pressure of 410 mbar and a special pocket filter. This system is specially designed for use with machines that sand very fine wood. The current problem of constipated filters is avoided by using the new pocket filter with 26 pockets."
Friedrich Kirchner took over part of the shares of a partner in 2007, who has since retired.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
"The most important thing we have learned is that we operate in a traditional world," we hear. "Craftsmen are generally conservative and have clear requirements for their machines: they must be simple and reliable and you must be able to maintain them yourself. We respond to this by marketing machines with a clear morphology.”
"After changing our headquarters to the bomb proof Saxony in the second world war, the nationalisation in 1972, the reprivatisation and a return to the former owners in 1990 after the Wall fell, the name has been FG Maschinenbau GmbH since 1996," explains Mr Kirchner. "FG has been producing professional parquet sanders mainly for the COMECON–markets since 1950. Precise manufacturing, the use of high-quality components and strict quality control and testing today ensure that every sander is and will be a machine for everyday use, a true partner of the craftsman."
At the beck and call of the craftsman The dossier is specifically about the dangers of dust. Floortec responds to the control of dust with both traditional and innovative machines. This is at the beck and call of every professional.
When it comes to fight the dangers of dust in the workplace, German company FG Floortec, based in Bischofswerda (Saxony), is more and more a global reference. The company has a long history: for the origins of FG we have to go back to Berlin, more specifically to 1918, when the company was founded under the then name of Fritz Gross Elektromotorenwerk. This was a company specialising in the construction of electric motors.
"We should not forget, that wood dust is allergenic and therefore harmful to health. That's why we aim for maximal dust extraction, by supplying a sturdy and reliable technology easy to use. The craftsman often is alone on the worksite, or has only a few collaborators. Big vacuum cleaners are difficult to move and to transport. Therefore, we work on making the material very easy to manipulate, not too big and not too heavy. We found the solution in dust extractor and pre-separator mounted on a trolley, that the parquet installer pulls behind him and that is very handy when used on the job site. On a small, barely 80 cm high trolley with 4 wheels, 2 frontals of them swiveling and with brakes, we placed a dust extractor and a cyclonic separator. We made the whole thing foldable, so that everything can be easily stored in the car or van of the professional. The latter also falls under the central policy of our company: make life as easy as possible for the professionals on site, but never forget the simplicity, reliability and manageability of your products." aware of the hazards of dust and provide maximum dust suction when sanding
Friedrich Kirchner (FG Floortec - FG Maschinenbau GmbH - D)
"Aiming for efficient dust extraction today is a must"
LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO WOOD DUST IS A GREATLY UNDERESTIMATED HEALTH HAZARD
For anyone who still has any doubts, working with wood can certainly damage your health. We’re not talking about the wood itself, but long-term exposure to wood dust. To ensure that you as a parquet floor fitter don’t become the umpteenth cancer victim, it is necessary to take a number of preventive measures. Obviously, you all immediately think of dust suction on machines if any sanding is needed. However, whilst it is obviously essential to provide proper dust suction on and/or near this machine, we mustn’t forget that several other measures are also necessary.
Floor Forum International 12518
Photo – FG Floortec
Of course, we would also like to hear from this specialist how he sees the future of dust extraction technology. Mr Kirchner is clear about this: dust extraction is becoming the standard as people are more conscious about their health. Looking on the evolution of sanding machines, there is a clear trend towards multidisc machines and this has consequences for dust extraction:
Exposure to dust might appear reasonably harmless at first sight, but nothing could be further from the truth. For instance, the bare figures state that over three quarters of all nasal cavity and sinus cancers are found in people from the wood industry. In fact, the number of cases in this professional category could even be up to 1,000 times higher than for the general population. That gives us reason enough to let a new article on tackling dust see the light of day.
"This is also related to the evolution of the people who are active in the market. There are less and less trained professionals who can handle the rather complicated machines with belts, which can cause considerable damage to modern parquet when used badly. That is why I see the evolution towards multidisc machines, especially because they are less aggressive. There are also new abrasives, for example diamond-based, which work very efficiently and are much less complicated to use. In fact, the multidisc represents the democratisation of sanding and offers machines that are suitable for people who are less expert in wooden floors."
“The consequences: multidisc machines cannot use the classic suction system used on belt sanders, with a highspeed fan and fabric dust bag. There is simply no means to make this system run, because the motor is turning slow and the abrasives too. The machines must be connected with an efficient dust containment to reduce the dust emission. FG has optimized the dust containment on their multidisc machine and with the FG DUSTREK created a dust containment unit on wheels. This is a perfect instrument to control dust emission on the flooring worksite.”
Special Be aware of the hazards of dust and provide maximum dust suction when sanding
Future belongs to the multidisc
"Those multidiscs have other advantages. For example, there is less work on the edges. With belt sanders you always have to take into account a certain dimension around which one has to move, but a multidisc gets to within 1cm of the wall. We made comparisons between belt sanders and multidiscs and got aware, that the multidisc is even faster. When using diamond tools for coarse sanding, the time for belt changing is about zero and this makes a big gain of time.”
Generally, you need to remember that danger lurks everywhere. In particular, be aware that it’s mainly activities with high dust emissions from hardwood sorts which are harmful. We’re talking here about sawing, planing, milling, and drilling in wood sorts such as oak, beech, chestnut, cherry, acacia, palisander, mahogany (acajou), or teak. Don’t be unduly worried if you are exposed to those sorts only sporadically, but do take precautions if you are in contact daily with wood dust.
Some other measures are less obvious. However, that doesn’t make them any less important. Here are some more tips to help you protect yourself
Make sure that your tools are kept in good order and properly maintained. The choice of tool contributes largely to the reduction of wood dust. For instance, a sharp saw with lots of teeth disperses less dust than a model with only a few teeth.
Vacuum the workshop frequently and thoroughly. The sooner the dust is cleaned up, the less the risk of someone inhaling it. Use a suitable vacuum cleaner to do this i.e. one which removes the dust in one go and does not disperse it further.
Clean the workshop thoroughly at least once per week and vacuum hazardous machines every day. Cleaning by means of sweeping or compressed air isn’t a good idea because this disperses the dust back into the air.
Hardwood dust is dangerous
Tackle dust in the workshop where woodwork is carried out and limit direct exposure (partly by investing in good dust suction and Wearventilation).asuitable dust mask for dusty work where the dust isn’t extracted perfectly (think here of sawing, drilling, and sanding hard wood sorts).
Preventive measures
Alwaysfully:use dust suction, even with the latest hand tools such as manual sanding machines. Don’t forget to maintain the dust filters properly and clean them on time.
Remember that respiratory protection is no more than a temporary solution. A basic face mask or dust mask cannot be regarded as adequate protection because it won’t protect you from small wood dust particles. High-quality respiratory protection, such as a mask with a P2 filter, is obligatory for dusty work, clearing away, and cleaning.
Sources: the cancer web site allesoverkanker.be and the dust web site houtstofnadenken.nl.
What kinds of things could you do to avoid inhaling wood dust? Here are some preventive measures:
Don’t disregard various signs e.g. a blocked nose on one side without obvious reasons which lasts longer than two weeks, nosebleeds which start without you bumping your nose, loss of smell, or blood when you blow your nose. If you recognise any of these signs, contact your industrial physician or doctor. If necessary, he/she can refer you to a nose, throat, or ear specialist for further examination. The main thing to remember is that early detection of nasal and sinus cancer can mean the difference between potential recovery or not.
Floor Forum International 125 19 IndustrialASPIRATORvacuum cleaner Power 1450 W Suction pressure 400 mbar. Efficient pocket filter. Dust bin stainless steel 30 ltrs. CyclonicDUSTIN separator of lacquered sheet Groundedsteel.stainless steel dust bin 50 ltrs. against electrostatic charging. TrolleyDUSTREKwith vacuum cleaner and cyclonic separator as before. Foldable,for easy stowing in a van or a car. Fight the dust on sanding jobs. With the efficient dust containment tools of FG FLOORTEC. FG Maschinenbau GmbH, Neustaedter Str. 5a, 01877 Bischofswerda - Germany, www.fg-floortec.de
Special Be aware of the hazards of dust and provide maximum dust suction when sanding
Innovative floors for creative interiors
Hardened ash SMEDSTORP
SMEDSTORP is a hardened ash floor in the select sorting finished with a grey matt lacquered surface.
20
See the entire collection of colors at www.bjelin.com
Wide planks in Hardened wood
ExcellentBona indoor air quality with the Bona DCS
Some indoor rooms require excellent air purity and air quality, especially in private homes, crèches, hos pitals, museums, and art galleries. The Bona Dust Care System (DCS) absorbs all the dust into its system and the inno vative two-step cyclone system and the separate filter ensure that the air remains absolutely pure. After a wooden floor has been sanded, micro scopic dust particles can hang around in the room for several days. These dust particles can cause irritations and allergic reactions. That’s why Bona advises you to sand dust-free. This also has advantages in the area of the floor finish (lacquering or oiling). Since the sanding dust cannot settle, the finish can be applied to a cleaner surface and this eliminates irregularities and dull shades on the floor. The DCS70 can be connected easily to your sanding machine.
Main features: ∫ Licensed two-step cyclone separation and a unique filter system ∫ HEPA filter which provides 99.99% clean air – Dust category class H ∫ Completely closed system – a unique seamless bag
means that no dust can escape when the dust bag is changed ∫ Dustfree sanding means greater client satisfaction and fewer bad smells.
We all agree that wood dust is harmful to health. Nowadays, every professional connects his parquet sander to a dust extractor. But often a dust extractor is chosen that is not suitable for this application. Even if the vacuum cleaner is equipped with a good filter and has a very low dust emission, this does not make it suitable for use with every sanding machine! Parquet sanders are some of the most demanding machines when it comes to dust extraction. They require a very fine filter level in order to retain the miniscule wood dust. A large container capacity combined with a very high air flow is a must. The air flow of the vacuum cleaner must be higher than the air flow generated by the sander, or an overpressure will be created in the hoses, resulting in loss of air and dust. This is only possible with a dust extractor with 3 motors. Our Devo® Dustmaster has all the features to meet the high requirements for dust-free working in the parquet industry. Working truly dust-free is more pleasant for the professional, healthier, and it increases the quality of the finish.
Devo® DustMaster
"The ideal underlay has to take a lot of factors into account”
MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE
Ingo Spindler and Marc Van de Perre (Steico - D)
Ingo Spindler: "A subfloor has to be able to cope with a lot. This includes compensating for selective unevennesses, a significant reduction in impact noise, protection against breaking of the click connection, a high degree of variability due to graduated thicknesses, improvement of the noise in rooms, durability through a stable fibre structure and harmlessness to the building biology. And as Marc has already pointed out, the wood had better come from sustainably managed forests. Our underlay meets all these
"Lookingrequirements."atthe
unevenness first, the professional knows that a subfloor on which floor covering is laid is usually not perfectly smooth, but has protruding edges and corners in many places. Our underlay prevents these from touching each other, overloading the floor and pushing it upwards, which makes the installation of the floor safer. In terms of impact sound, you have to look at the sound one floor below. Here we reduce impact noise up to 21 dB, which is a very effective insulation measure at a low installation height."
The original one-man company now has about 2,000 employees, 150 of whom work at the head office with its own R&D department in Feldkirchen (Munich). Steico has production sites in Czarnków (Poland), Czarna Woda (Poland), Casteljaloux (France) and a site that is currently under construction in Gromadka (Poland).
What does an ideal underlay need to address, we want to know. And how does one achieve all that with the Steico underlay?
Special Subfloors
Marc Van de Perre: "Thanks to the high compressive strength of 15 t/m², our STEICOunderfloor prevents thin click connections from breaking when the joints are loaded. Yet the underfloor boards are elastic enough to withstand falling objects. What's more, falling objects are cushioned and no great damage is done to the floor's surface. And to come back to the sustainable wood: because the
Floor Forum International 125 21Visit www.floor-forum.com
We talk to Head of Business Development Ingo Spindler and Key Account Marc Van de Perre specifically about STEICOunderfloor, the special, ecological subfloor for laminate and parquet floors made from wood fibres, which is produced completely glue-free in a 'wet' "process.
The ideal underlay
Steico was founded in 1986 in Germany as a trading company for wood based products. The company went through numerous growth phases and developed into a manufacturer of a complete timber construction system. In 2011 Steico transformed from a German to a European stock company. Today it is the world market leader for ecological wood fibre insulation materials, complemented by its own integrated wood construction system.
STEICOunderfloor
Before we start, however, I must emphasise that our company occupies a special position in the market," states Ingo Spindler. "We are the only manufacturer that can offer complete systems with both structural products and insulation. The whole product is not just about production, it also involves an enormous amount of technical know-how because you always have to provide customers with the most complete information possible. In short: we bring a solution to the market that is not only very technical, but also requires maximum support for the customers."
DEFINE THE MAIN FEATURES AND FOLLOW THE NECESSARY STEPS
"Ecological building also includes the floor and what is underneath," Marc Van de Perre adds. "We at Steico supply a subfloor with impact sound insulation and thermal insulation made from wood fibres for each floor construction. These are ideal for hard floor coverings with click connections, multi-layer prefinished parquet and laminate. The wood used for this comes from sustainably managed forests, with either FSC ® or PEFC ® certification."
Marc Van de Perre: "Durability through a stable fibre structure may sound complicated, but it's not. Moreover, it is very important because a raw material such as wood also derives its stability from its fibre structure. Our product has a compact fibre cross-link without any binding agents and is permanently resistant to dynamic and static loads."
Obviously, airborne sound is important as well. Airborne sound is a designation for the sound which is caused by footsteps in the same room. Here, Unifloor points out the importance of knowing how much air there is in a subfloor. It is absolutely essential to keep air out because subfloors containing a lot of air yield loud noises from footsteps as opposed to subfloors containing little air.
How does the company approach this? It also seems worthwhile to consider the basis on which a choice can be made. Firstly, they say that the first job is to define the main features for choosing a subfloor. They point out that the chosen flooring and existing screed are also important here.
During the conversation, it also emerged that Steico is in the process of building a new factory. Can Ingo Spindler tell us more about it?
is the heat resistance factor. If you want a floor heating system to work properly, then the subfloor must allow the heat to pass through as easily as possible. Various aspects mean that the heat resistance has to be as low as possible and therefore maximum requirements are set for the combination of the subfloor with flooring.
How do you choose? No single system provides a universal solution, but it’s worth taking the trouble to look on the web site at the five-step
"And finally, to clarify what we mean by building biology: as with many other of our products, the underlay has also been thoroughly tested for its health effects in building applications by the renowned Institut für Baubiologie in Rosenheim. We are very proud that the product was found to be completely harmless and that the institute even recommended it!”
"This will be our first factory that is being built completely from scratch, this time we are not taking over an existing plant. We bought a greenfield in Poland near the German border in 2020 and are now running our biggest investment programme ever there. Insulation materials will be produced on this site. The start-up is planned for the beginning of 2023 and the construction work is already in full swing. This is an investment of around EUR 100 million, which will significantly increase our current annual capacity of 4 million cubic metres of insulation materials, including the underlay. To put this current volume into perspective: the annual volume already corresponds to 53,000 insulated houses...".
wood we use for the production of this underlay - like all other Steico products, by the way - comes exclusively from sustainable forestry, the CO2 bound in the wood fibres remains bound in the long term, too."
Ingo Spindler then explains how a high level of variability is achieved through graduated thicknesses. According to him, the big advantage here is that Steico's underlay is available in various heights, respectively 3, 4, 5 and 7 mm: "This way, the floor layer can react to different height levels from room to room and create a consistently even floor surface without tripping hazards. In a world where renovation is becoming so important, this is extremely important."
Floor Forum International 12522 Special Subfloors
Finally,subfloor.there
Floor choice menu
With stability, you consider the fact that the subfloor forms the base of a floor construction. Here you have to take account of subfloors which are too soft. Indeed, they cause too much movement in the flooring, and that has consequences. They point out here that manufacturers have to set minimum requirements for the impressionability of the
Graduated thicknesses
We can divide the features into four parts, namely impact sound, airborne sound, stability, and heat resistance. Nowadays, impact sound is certainly a vital factor. We all live closer together nowadays and, cer tainly in flats, reducing nuisance for neighbours downstairs is essential. This manufacturer has to cope with rules for flats in the Netherlands to lower impact sound by at least 10dB ΔLlin.
- STEICOsilent+ : Wood fibre underlay boards of 10 mm thickness, with an impact sound improvement of 10 dB in ΔLlin and certified by TÜV Rheinland, which is especially important for the Dutch market.
Building a new factory
To conclude, Marc Van de Perre points out 2 other specific underlay products in the Steico range:
- STEICOsilent pro: 7 mm woodfibre subfloor boards with a hardened top layer giving the boards an extremely high compressive strength.
Finding the right subfloor is no easy task. Specialist Unifloor BV has been well aware of that for many years. This Dutch company specialises in the development and production of sound-reducing and levelling subfloors for commercial or domestic use. To do that, they respond to various materials and circumstances: PVC, linoleum, Marmoleum, wood, cork, laminate, carpet, floor heating, or floor cooling. They always offer a suitable subfloor.
"Another strength is how much the sound in the room is improved. In rooms where STEICOunderfloor is installed, the walking sound changes significantly, it sounds quieter and deeper. What happens is that the floor resonates more 'highly' and even more pleasantly."
Impact sound, airborne sound, stability, and heat resistance
ECOLOGICAL UNDERLAY FOR PREFABRICATED PARQUET AND LAMINATE FLOORING
Advertorial Steico (D)
STEICO is positioned as a system provider for ecological residential con struction and is the only manufacturer in the industry to offer an integrated wooden construction system in which insulation material and construction components supplement each other. The Munich-based company’s products are used in new construction and when renovating roofs, walls, ceilings, floors and facades. STEICO’s products allow the construction of futureproof, healthy buildings with a particularly high quality of living and a healthy atmosphere. STEICO’s products offer reliable protection against cold, heat and also noise, and they permanently improve the building’s energy efficiency.
STEICO develops, produces and markets ecological construction products made of renewable raw materials. STEICO is the market leader worldwide for wood fibre insulation materials.
www.steico.comSTEICOunderfloor
is suitable for underfloor heating. Its high raw density and compressive strength of 15 tons/square meter also prevents the thin click joints of the floor covering from breaking under high loads. At the same time, however, it shows its elas ticity - falling objects are cushioned and the surface of the floor covering remains largely undamaged.
STEICOunderfloor
For further information visit www.steico.com
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STEICOunderfloor is ecological in more ways than one: its wood fibre portion binds carbon dioxide. Like all wood used for STEICO products the raw material for STEICOunderfloor comes entirely from sustainable forestry with FSC or PEFC certification. Examined by the Institute for Building Biology Rosenheim (IBR) it is classified as "harmless from a building biology point of view" and is recom mended for living areas.
The trend is to build with ecological materials, this also applies to the floor area and what is laid underneath: laying underlays and impact sound insulation. STEICO offers ecologically high-quality products at a good price-performance ratio.
STEICOunderfloor is ideal for rigid floor coverings with click connections: Prefabricated parquet and laminate flooring. It evens out punctual irregularities and prevents protruding corners and edges from touching, overloading and lifting the floor covering.
Since STEICOunderfloor is available in thicknesses of 3, 4, 5 and 7 milimeters, it is possible to react to height differences from room to room and to create a continuous floor surface without tripping hazards. In the rooms where STEICOunderfloor is installed, stepping on the floor sounds "better". This is because the noise of walking changes: it sounds quieter, deeper and more pleasant. In the rooms on the floor below, the impact sound is dampened by up to 19 dB.
About STEICO
Photo – Steico
floor choice menu. In the first step the manufacturer lists the types of substrate and offers a choice of a fixed sand-cement floor, a wooden base floor, and a floating covering floor. In the next step you choose the type of floor, then the sort of floor, and then the usage application. In the last step, based on your four previously entered selection criteria, you then see which products the company has on offer to help you bring about the ideal finish.
A subfloor of bound cork and rubber granulate. It is used as a subfloor for parquet, laminate, and other floors. The material has a sound insulation effect.
sound (three ticks), but is much better for impact sound (five ticks). It also has high stability (four ticks) and can be used with traditional floor heating, but not with electric heating. In turn, Jumpax Nature scored better for airborne sound (four ticks), less for impact sound (three ticks), and superbly for stability (five ticks). Apparently, it’s not suitable for use with floor heating. If you as a professional require more information, you can click below on the screen for more detailed information.
BONABonaU300
∫ Easy to fit ∫ improves general comfort considerably ∫ low flammability ∫ low VOC content.
– Sound insulation subfloor
Floor Forum International 12524 Special Subfloors
Basis: fine PU foam and cork granulate of recycled rubber, polyure thane binding agent.
Since words relate, but examples demonstrate, we tried the choice menu ourselves. We started with the popular floating covering floor. After that, we opted for vinyl, and that gave us a choice in the next step between springy vinyl and project vinyl. Project vinyl seemed suitable, so we clicked on it. For the penultimate step we had to choose a specific application for the floor and subfloor. We opted for airborne sound reduction. The result? The firm pointed us to Jumpax HD and Jumpax Nature respectively. Moreover, the system gave clear visual information about strengths and weaknesses for each product. In the case of Jumpax HD, for instance, the product scores well on airborne
Tensile strength: about 0.8N/mm².
Temperature range: -30° to 80°C heat transfer coefficient: 0.04m²K/W for 3mm.
Thickness: 2, 3, and 5mm (± 0.3mm).
Colour: brown (cork), black/grey/beige/brown (PU foam).
MULTISPACER PROLEVELING SYSTEM PROLEVELING WEDGE SYSTEM The only one with 2 elements Save 3 pieces on intersections Completley visible joint PATENTED 14243261407796 EP 2573296 B1 EP 2952652 A1 PATENTED Turn RemoveLaying Protection cap Remover Complete Transparency for a perfect installation. Tighten Remove Space and removeLay PATENTED PATENTED Progress Profiles SpA Azienda certificata UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 Erhältlich bei www.progressprofiles.com
BONA U310
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Strain at fracture: about 30%.
EMICODE: EC1 Plus Thickness: about 550 kg/m³.
which the insulation underlay can offset. Think, too, of sound insulation. Insulation subfloors have various acoustic values, depending on the material and thickness. It’s important to decide whether you want good impact sound insulation or good airborne sound. When you choose a subfloor it’s essential to take account of the type of floor which is being fitted. For instance, is it laminate, parquet, or LVT/rigid and does the job involve floor heating? You will find more information about this in the Parkettfreund catalogue.
Suitable substrates: (including with floor heating) ∫ heated or unheated covering floors ∫ covering floor elements, chipboard, or multiplex ∫ concrete ∫ asphalt ∫ other expertly prepared substrates.
Bona U310 is a glued fleece which reduces tension and is used for glued wooden floors and for laminate floors. It resolves problems with technically doubtful substrates. Thanks to its great tear strength, the fleece reduces the pressure from the subfloor so that the top layer is not affected. Easy to cut and fit, damp-proof, actively breathable, and only 1mm thick.
Flammability resistance: Efl (EN 13501).
Parkettfreund
The main concern for professionals is to ensure that the insulation underlay is very easy to fit. Light underlays are not easy to fit, as XPS rolls tend to curl up during the fitting and return to their original shape. All heavy underlays, especially Parkettfreund PUR underlays, lie flat and smooth on the floor. You should take account of the fitting height and don’t forget that thinner subfloors usually have less heat resistance. Always remove all old floors if it is a renovation. The floor should be sandpapered or levelled, depending on the amount of unevenness
T 00 M info@parketkerkhofs.be A Ambachtslaan 1013, 3990 Peer me
In recent years, we’ve noticed that style panels have gained in popu larity. At Kerkhofs Parket they’ve seen a growing demand and they’ve received several attractive assignments for this specific product. These are usually for business projects, such as in hotels, bars, restaurants, and other public areas. There has also been a growing demand for style panels by private clients with bigger budgets. People like to create a traditional atmosphere in combination with a modern twist. Whenever they receive a specific request for these style panels, they draw up designs first of all. After client approval, their highly qualified factory team starts on the production. Kerkhofs Parket is very flexible in its offer of style panels. They are made in various sizes, patterns, and wood sorts. Material can be smoked, brushed, or distressed before the panels are assembled. Finishes such as stains, oils, or lacquers are applied on site. Kerkhofs Parket produces high-quality style panels with great precision and care.
Scan
Everyone should know that the Versailles design is related directly to the hunting lodge of Versailles, south of Paris, which was built just under 400 years ago. In 1624, Louis XIII built a previously modest property there, but his successor, the Sun King Louis XIV, turned it into a fairytale palace, complete with floors made of specially constructed wooden panels of exactly one metre long and one metre wide. The renowned Versailles Panel was born.
WHAT MAKES VERSAILLES OR CHANTILLY DESIGNS WHAT THEY ARE?
Chantilly
Two specialists have their say Design Parquet
+32 11 63 64
Apart from differences in sizes, a Versailles panel will always be assem bled in the same way. For as long as Versailles Palace is in existence, and the history of this panel is closely connected to it, the reference name will always be the same. Once the intertwined diagonal design changes, the item is certainly no longer a Versailles panel. At Design Parquet they offer it in solid wood or in multiplex, but they also create other designs, such as the Norman panel or the Aremberg. Thanks to their history and look, patterned panels are always attractive. They often sell them on sites for companies, shops, or hotels, but they also get requests from private individuals who want to bring a touch of the past into their interiors. The panels are tailor-made to order. You have a choice of various sizes (‘classic’ or customised), sorts, and finishes. At Design Parquet they have specialised teams of carpenters who enable the company to produce panels to order, because this requires experience and know-how. Oak is undoubtedly the wood sort which is used most. On the other hand, the great strength of Design Parquet is their ability to offer and produce customised panels. And so, they can work with most sorts of wood.
TWO PATTERNS EXAMINED
Special Producers of Versailles panels
When we talk about the Versailles design, the Chantilly design often gets mentioned as well. That’s no surprise, since Chantilly is also connected with the renowned Versailles Castle.
To be precise, you have to say that a classic Versailles Panel consists of a diagonal wickerwork, which is framed by a square edge with parquet strips. The one metre square panels are separated by three strips (8cm) which come together in a corner to form a point. At present, the panels are available in several other sizes and they can be adapted to the room in which they are fitted.
You can define the Chantilly design as a rather more intricate variant which is fitted not only on floors. Think of the use of clothing, for instance. The design comprises several smaller panels which also form a wickerwork. This is in panels in Versailles Castle, but it can also be stretched out over the width of the floor.
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From quality in product, to quality in approach.
We’ve often talked about Versailles and Chantilly design floors, but what actually are they? It’s high time to define once again what we mean when we mention these design floors. For the origin of both floors we go back a few centuries in time to the pomp and splendour of Versailles Castle.
Versailles
Kerkhofs Parket
Lorenzo Gratton (Renzo Borgonovo srl) and Matteo Trabattoni (FNT-Trabattoni Stampi srl -I)
“In recent years, the machines designed and built by our company began to evolve. The company therefore sees a reduction in production linked to the frames sector and a strong increase in demand for its machines from manufacturers of mouldings, parquet flooring, panels, doors and other products related to the furnishing of houses, offices, and public areas.”
Lorenzo Gratton Matteo Trabattoni
GIVE THE WOODEN FLOOR (OR STAIRCASE) A DIFFERENT LOOK WITH STRUCTURE
We interviewed Lorenzo Gratton (Renzo Borgonovo srl) and Matteo Trabattoni (FNT-Trabattoni Stampi srl), especially to get to know more about the newest evolutions on the market for what aged wood for flooring is concerned. Of course, they first have to explain exactly what it is both companies do. The parquet sector is only a part of their activities.
In the world of ageing machines for wood, the Italian companies Renzo Borgonovo Srl and FNT-Trabbatoni Stampi (the FNT as an abbreviation for Figli di Nando Trabattoni) have worldwide renown. Both companies are based close together in the north of Italy, in the vicinity of Milan, and have been working together since their inception more than 60 years ago. The first as a builder of the machines, the latter as the provider of the unique rollers that make the machines so state of the art.
Special Producers of distressing machines
Turning point: 2007
Lorenzo Gratton: “Our cooperation started in 1963, when Borgonovo started to produce embossing rollers for wood. The families Trabattoni and Borgonovo families always kept on working closely together and still do, but as separate companies. As a team, we deliver finished machines to a global market. These machines are unique, because Trabattoni Stampi literally provides hundreds of different rollers and patterns. Whatever the customer asks, it can be made!”
“I must add that it’s absolutely not only about distressing, but also about designs”, Lorenzo Gratton picks in. “Just change the roller and you can achieve whatever effect you want. The result can be ageing, but also a lot more than that. Think, e.g., about geometrical shapes. This moulding process is done by means of a heated rotary press, allowing a large number of finishing motifs to be applied to the wood. This starts with the appearance of the very popular old wood up to more modern designs.”
Markets differ
“Market for ageing wood evolves every two to three years”
“The flooring industry became increasingly important from 2007 onwards. That was a direct result of the massive import of floorings from China”, Matteo Trabbatoni takes over. “Customers started to contact us, as they had a problem with part of the contents of the container. Around 20% consisted of so-called bad pieces that could not be used. We found a solution in suggesting they could distress the surface of this wood, using our technology. The beginning was difficult, but very quickly a new trend was born and really conquered the markets from 2011 onwards.”
THE SECRETS OF BRUSHING
Matteo Trabattoni: “We need to go back in time. Renzo Borgonovo Srl was originally founded in 1961 as a design studio and engineering workshop dedicated to the production of special machines for finishing frames and linear profiles in wood and PVC. Thanks to the experience he gained and because he continuously updated his range, founder Renzo Borgonovo built out an important international position in the sector throughout the 80s and 90s. The market on which the company operates is now global, and sales span across all five continents.”
We of course want to know how fashionable distressing – or ageing – of wooden floors still is. Both interlocutors agree that this must be good for about 70 percent of the output.
Floor Forum International 125 27Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+
Matteo Trabattoni: “The heating machines can also be integrated into the production line, which was not advisable in the past. The result: you win a lot of space at the same time! Does this mean we will no longer produce machines that use natural gas for their heating? Not at all! We continue to offer the option for gas, even the original models with open flame system remain available! If people want to see our technology in action, they can just contact us and visit us in both our companies in Italy. Interesting to know, is that we will also be displaying a functioning machine during the coming Domotex in Hannover. We guarantee, visitors will be amazed at how many new designs are possible!”
If you want to give a wooden floor a different look, there are various ways to do so. One suitable way is brushing. What does this brushing involve and what happens here?
soft pieces in the wood grain. This gives the grain much more visibility. Such scouring brushes are often combined with structuring and dusting brushes. Obviously, that also requires the appropriate suction installation.
“I must also add that our technology is very versatile. We don’t remove material, but compress it, and this means we can also work wood based materials such as MDF or plywood. MDF is very nice to work with, because the deeper you go, the softer it becomes. Because of the compressing, harder effects can be created on the surface. Thanks to the pressure, boards are stabilized and never turn back.”
‘Opening up’ wood
You finish a surface with oil and stain and they can be applied with specially designed machines. They ensure that the oil and stain are spread evenly over the wooden surface. The pad and brushes, which
More detailed designs and hard brushing
What they do want to stress, however, is how easily their machines can meet the requirements of a transition in taste. This has everything to do with the ease of changing rollers and new developments in the way of heating.
Lorenzo Gratton: “Most machines must change their tools every once in a while. Forget that with our machines. Provided you maintain them well enough, the effect of our rollers always stays exactly the same and the machine checks itself for flaws. The rollers simply don’t wear off and there’s a simple explanation for that: you’re brushing steel against wood… “
Lorenzo Gratton: “A very interesting development is how the rollers are heated nowadays. This used to be done with natural gas, but since 3-4 years, electrical heating is clearly on the rise. Electricity has many advantages, mainly in the field of safety. Even though our gas-heated machines comply to the highest norms, still some people are wary. With electricity, one can no longer think of reasons not to install our products.”
Floor Forum International 12528
Matteo Trabattoni: “A consumer most of the time opts for not too aggressive techniques. Private houses need to be softer. Public spaces are different, here things that are more visible are asked.”
We must of course also ask the question what both gentlemen expect the future will bring. Both indicate, they see the trend changing every two to three years. They indicate that private customers are now looking for more detailed designs. There also see a trend towards hard brushing. Over the last decennium, there was a big demand for burnt wood, but this is changing towards a more rustic appearance.
Matteo Trabattoni: “You must keep in mind that markets differ. For example: consider the European market on the one hand and the American market on the other. In Europe, you will see the customer is more used to designing the entire place. The US is, on the contrary, more aiming at rustic effects.”
Special Producers of distressing machines
Matteo Trabattoni: “A parquet installer will be amazed to see how easy and fast our machines are. They can simply not lack in a modern workshop.”
Applying oil and stain
When we talk about brushing, this means literally that you’re going to ‘open up’ the wood or give it a structure. You ‘beat’ soft pieces out of the wood using steel brushes or nylon abrasives. Obviously, this doesn’t involve high-quality drilling and channelling, but it does mean removing
Also for MDF, plywood,…
Lorenzo Gratton: “As you can expect, MDF or plywood are not so much meant for use in the parquet sector, where is all about solid or engineered wood. But the combination with the floor can be very intriguing!”
Lorenzo Gratton: “The effects are more extreme. The US demands more distressing, more ageing. In Europe, customers ask all kinds of different things, but here more sober effects are preferred. You always have to bear in mind that an American will try to combine the same effect in the entire house, which means you must consider elements such as walls and floor in one go.”
Both also indicate that there is a difference between the kind of markets themselves. A residential customer has different wishes than the project market of, for instance, restaurants or hotels. They also indicate the machines can be used for far more than just solid wood!
are on the market in various sizes and finishes, absorb surplus product so you can be sure that the right amount of product is applied every where. For structured wooden surfaces, which are made more durable by the treatment, it’s also important to use the correct pad brush so that the oil can penetrate deeply into the grain. Don’t forget that the colour literally enters into the opened grain.
UV PUTS YOU IN CONTROL Floor Forum International 125 29
Old-look and charred wood patterns are still on the cutting edge, surf ing a long wave of appeal. Structuring wood can be a fast and enriching deal, if done properly. We of Renzo Borgonovo and FNT-Trabattoni Stampi believe there is no better way than doing so with our rotative hot embossing machines. This type of machinery provides the man ufacturer with an extreme versatility, in no way comparable with any other machine, in terms of using the same machine for the achivement of different end-products. Its possibilities are endless, since by chang ing the roller (10 min. time) you can completely change the look of your end product. The machine can also achieve great speeds, starting
What we also want to mention is that there are specially designed brush cleaning machines. These machines offer an ideal solution for cleaning pad and cylindrical brushes which spread oil or stain. One other point: Brushing is possible on lots of wood sorts, but they are not all equally suitable. You get the best results on wood such as oak, pine, or chestnut because they have a nice grained mark.
at 0.9 m/min and reaching, in some cases, even 30 m/min (standard working speed is, to be clear, ca. 5 m/min). The work is in continuous: the production doesn’t have any down times. Finally, structuring wood in this way does not foresee any consumable part: rollers (and their ability to reproduce patterns) are eternal. The best selling unit, for the world of flooring, is our model Borgore 500, here pictured.
Renzo Borgonovo and FNT-Trabattoni Stampi
UV permanent protection FOR WOOD, RESILIENT, MINERAL AND PU FLOORS
Sources: Cosmo and Deve Parketservice
On-site
Which machine is best for bigger jobs? A classic endless belt sander or a rotary model? The solution is simple: We let them fight it out in the ring and describe their strong (and less strong) points. May the best/strongest machine win!
WHICH ONE DO YOU CHOOSE: ANENDLESS BELT SANDER OR A ROTARY MODEL?
The (endless) belt sander
If you use the belt sander as a hand-tool sander, you can say that this is by far the most powerful tool of all those available. This machine, too, deploys a continually moving grinding belt which rotates around two rollers and it’s a machine which you can use to remove large quantities of material quickly. That removal of materials is also precisely one of the drawbacks, as you always have to take great care not to remove too much.
AND THE WINNER IS …
Special Sanding machines : endless belt machines
Rotary sanders
In some cases, therefore, it is better to use a rotary (or eccentric or oscillatory) sander. Here, we should make it clear first of all what we mean by rotary, eccentric, or oscillatory.
Rotary sanders are used mainly when large surfaces have to be sanded quickly. The underside of the machine doesn’t vibrate, but it rotates round and round. It is usually the eccentric sander which comes to the fore for sanding large quantities of wood. This tool is fitted with a round sole which not only rotates, but also moves eccentrically. The sanding sole rotates freely around its axis. For larger surfaces you can opt for the oscillatory machine. Here you periodically and repeatedly change the rotation direction. You get combined rotation motions with several discs. You can reinforce the effect of the rotation by using (usually) three discs which rotate in opposite directions. Strictly speaking, this combines rotation and oscillation.
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Another drawback is that you can’t reach all parts of the floor. Corners, recesses, grooves, and smaller sections can all mean problems. Moreover, endless belt sanders (including hand-held models) are usually rather heavy, so they are difficult to use on vertical surfaces. Generally speaking, you can say that these machines are most pro ductive when used for horizontal surfaces. Another drawback: They can make rather a lot of noise.
Photo – Lägler
Let’s start at the beginning and define what an endless belt sander actually is. An endless belt sander usually makes its entrance when products still have rough sides and edges. It is a big, stationary rotating tool with an electric motor which causes two drums to rotate and a roll of sandpaper rotates in an endless loop. The industrial version of this sanding machine is normally fitted with coarse sandpaper and is the first step towards a smooth surface. What’s noticeable about belt sanders is that they’re almost always fitted with a dust suction system which absorbs most dust.
What is also interesting with an eccentric motion is that it doesn’t form round patterns, but elliptic ones. This creates a double sanding effect which hardly leaves any markings at all. The way of moving also means that it’s no longer necessary to take account of the grain of the wood. Moreover, if you want to sandpaper quickly, you can best opt for the eccentric version of the rotary sanders. This not only removes a lot of material quickly, but also the double sanding motion also makes it possible for you to apply a more rigid finish later.
Two specialists have their say Bona
Bona has a complete range of professional machines to transform an existing floor into a unique surface regardless of the type of floor and wishes. This range includes the compact Bona Belt and the large Bona Belt UX belt sanders. The Bona Belt (74kg) is easy to manoeu vre. Powerful and efficient, with two optional roller widths (200 and 250mm), something which makes the Bona Belt a versatile machine for all grinding work. It can be assembled and dismantled quickly and easily. The heavier version (Bona Belt UX; 85kg – UX = User eXperience) creates a perfectly sanded surface regardless of the wood sort. This machine is ideal for challenging grinding work such as big surfaces or uneven and curled floors. It is also ideal for sanding floors which have been lacquered in the factory with a special finish or several coats. The machine is designed in such a way that the roller pressure can easily be set from above. The machine is very easy to assemble and dismantle. Both machines can be connected to the Bona DCS 70 and Bona DCS 25 vacuum cleaners for maximum dust reduction.
It’s worth knowing that rotary machines are often a good choice as a follow-up to a belt sander. First of all, the belt sander has done the heavier and coarser work followed in turn by the lighter rotations of the rotary machines, which provide a finer finish. These rotation motions immediately also erase the marks of the powerful straight motions (lanes) of the belt sander.
Doesn’t this eccentric machine have any drawbacks? Of course it does! It’s not easy to reach into the corners due to the eccentric sanding motions. Eccentric and oscillatory sanders can also be rather expensive.
BLACK LABEL BY Extremely mattü Fast-dryingü Non-yellowingü Durableü LIGNUM PURA : Extremely matt, noncolouring, single-component wood and parquet lacquer with high resistance to wear Sustainable water-based, biobased polyurethane. INVISIBLEPROTECTIONWOOD LigPura num PROFESSIONAL FLOOR PRODUCTS Devomat Industries NV - Florent Geversstraat 31 - B-2650 Edegem - T +32 03 450 94 70 - info@devomat.be - www.devomat.be
Devo® presents various belt sanders, including the new Devo® Belt MC 200. The Devo® Belt MC 200 is compact, mobile, and not too heavy, yet it performs like a professional belt sander at an unrivalled price. Other recent Devo® belt sander machines are the Devo® Belt HP 200 and the Devo® Handy II. Most Devo® machines have their own dust suction unit and can be connected to the Devo® Fine-dust for a dustless operation.
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heavy appliances. That is inevitable, since the output of a professional machine is in direct proportion to its weight. Nevertheless, Devo® tries to offset this as much as possible, partly by making machines which can be dismantled and by developing carrier braces. Ergonomics during work is also extremely important. For instance, when the Devo® Master 3D is being used, there is much less strain on the user’s back due to the machine’s own stability and the ergonomic position of the user during work.
The Woodboy machine and the Devo® Master 3D are already equipped as stand ard for connection to the Fine-dust and the new Devo® Dustmaster. Although Devo® attaches great importance to the external design of a machine, their priority is the technical side. That’s where they pay most attention in their constant endeavour for sanderstial.Ergonomicsimprovements.isessenObviously,parquetarealways
Devo®
THE IDEAL APPROACH TO THE MAINTENANCE AND TREATMENT OF OUTDOOR WOODEN FLOORS
Frequency of maintenance
After a blazing hot summer like that of this blessed year of 2022, outdoor floors have suffered under intense use. And so, it’s high time not only to renovate them and get them looking presentable again, but also to give the wood the necessary nutrients to help it withstand the coming winter with ease. In this article we consider what the ideal method is for the maintenance and treatment of the terrace.
Bona
Main source: Blanchon.
A follow-up question is how to react to minor damages. They seem to cause few problems, if any. You scratch gently to remove the ‘indenta tion’ or scratch and then re-apply the saturation agent.
A wooden terrace floor is exposed constantly to sun, heavy rain, snow, and extreme fluctuations in temperature all year round. To freshen up wooden terrace floors, Bona has the Decking System, which comprises two processes which are geared to each other: 1. Deep and thorough cleaning with Bona Power Scrubber: This is a compact scrubbing machine fitted with two contra-rotating cylinder brushes (red or orange in colour). With a suitable product, this machine cleans deep down into the wood fibres. The related products are: Bona Deep Clean Solution, with a special formula
Maximum saturation
As the name itself implies, saturating a piece of wood involves ‘filling’ all the wood fibres in full. The idea is to leave merely the slightest trace of the saturation product on the surface. This is a very simple operation which can be carried out with very few resources and protects the wood from distortion, the development of blue mould, and ageing as a result of exposure to ultraviolet light.
Floor Forum International 12532 Special Outdoor floors: care and maintenance
In Blanchon’s very full range of products for treating and maintaining outdoor floors, we refer particularly to the ‘Huile Terrasse Bardage’ (terrace decking oil), which was launched as recently as 2020. What’s interesting is that this is the very first translucent and highly durable oil for outdoors. ‘Huile Terrasse Bardage’ is ver satile and suitable not only for terraces, but also for horizontal structures such as gates, walls, privacy screens, fences, etc. The unique composition of this product (high UV resistance and reinforced bead effect) offers effective and durable protection for all wood sorts and reduces the frequency of mainte nance. The ultra-natural matt look (four wood shades) highlights the rough and natural beauty of exotic, hardwood, and softwood, plus sterilised and heat-treated wood sorts. It can be applied directly to new wood with no prior distressing, in just two coats, wet to wet, and with no dusting. Maintenance is easy and involves no sanding, whilst local renovation is possible. The performances of this oil are certified by FCBA, with the CTB Finitions Bois certification.
Compositions are getting better and better Remember also: Producers are working all the time to refine the quality of their saturation products for terraces and horizontal wooden walls. This makes them increasingly durable, and that’s the main concern of both private and professional users. A good example of this is Blanchon, which has just recently launched its ‘Huile Terrasse Bardage’/Terrace Decking Oil (see the section below for more informa tion), which has been awarded a performance certificate. It should also be noted that water-based saturation agents now have the upper hand.
People often talk about feeding the wood, but what exactly do they mean by that? And what is the best way of doing this? In this context specialists point out that obviously you cannot deploy ‘seal products’ for outdoor wooden floors. The same applies to stains, which cannot withstand stagnant water (a stain always needs an angle of at least five degrees to facilitate drainage). Another point which you mustn’t forget with stains is that lots of wood sorts used for outdoor floors cannot be stained permanently and a stain can’t even cope with light traffic. All this means that you have to use a different protective system if you plan to saturate and impregnate an outdoor wooden floor.
Various aspects cause us to wonder what the most attractive products are for the treatment and maintenance of an outdoor terrace to get it ready for the winter. Here, specialists point out that impregnation basi cally provides effective and decorative protection for a limited period. This is resistant to UV rays, poor weather conditions, and, sometimes, heavy traffic. Since there is basically no protective film on the surface, you mustn’t forget to repeat the saturation process regularly.
The frequency of maintenance depends on the level of exposure. Generally speaking, it is advisable to apply a maintenance coat for the first two or three years after the initial impregnation. Late summer and late spring are the ideal times for doing this. This annual rate of frequency diminishes over time, so the main thing is not to multiply the annual coats to avoid the risk of forming a surface coat due to excessive overlapping.
SomeBlanchonspecialists
BRING ON THE BITTER COLD OF WINTER
WOODEN FLOORS FOR OUTDOORS INWITHLOVE DECKINGLASANMARCOPROFILISRL Viale Europa 63 - 31010 Soligo, TV - Italy Tel. +39 0438 980106 r.a. - Fax +39 0438 980176 info@lasanmarcoprofili.com - www.lasanmarcoprofili.com for andstains,grease,removingfloors,outdoorexclusiveformulawithConditioner,deeply,woodencleaningfloorsorBonaaspecialforuseonwoodenfordirt,mould,algae,scale.
2. Lios® Sundeck Wood Oil to deeply nourish the surface
If you want to preserve the original colour, it’s best to protect the wood after it has been cleaned thoroughly. Just like ter races in other materials, wooden terraces can become contaminated or susceptible to moss formation and such like. To clean weathered and contaminated wood thoroughly, it is best to use DevoNatural®
Osmo
LIOSChimiverGRIGIOFF
Outdoor Wood Cleaner, whilst for removing dirt and grease there’s DevoNatural® Intensive Cleaner! DevoNatural® Outdoor Wood Cleaner is a cleaner for outdoor wood which is easy to use and has a preventive effect. It tackles all outdoor contamination ecologically. A treatment afterwards with DevoNatural® High Solid Oil is recommended to pro tect outdoor wood. DevoNatural® Outdoor Wood Cleaner can be applied to all wood and composite wood. It is easy to use: If necessary, sand paper lightly first and/or scrub with a brush + black pad, then apply DevoNatural® Outdoor Wood Cleaner before applying DevoNatural® High Solid Oil to aged/weathered garden furniture, terrace planks, parquet, etc., or apply DevoNatural® Intensive Cleaner before applying parquet oil or oil renovation. After drying, treat with DevoNatural® High Solid Oil ‘Colour and Protection’ in just one coat of parquet oil!
Lios® Sundeck Wood Oil is also available in "light" versions that do not change the original color of the decking.
DevoNatural®
1. Lios® Grigioff to elimi nate “grey”. It is a water-based solution for restoring the original color of outdoor wooden surfaces. Lios® Grigioff is a Certified Biodegradable and Ecotoxic product.
Chimiver has designed a product for each phase of the outdoor wooden floors maintenance process (original color restora tion, nourishment, wood protection, cleaning and sanitation):
3. Lios® Sundeck Soap for washing and maintaining your refurbished decking
Lios® Sundeck Soap on outdoor wood should be used as a cleaning, delicate and nourishing soap. In fact, it easily removes dirt, chlorine and salt residues while nourishing the wood. The floor will be immediately walkable, without streaks and with a healthy and nourished look.
This impregnating oil is very effective against the deterioration of outdoor wood. It is suggested to use it after applying Lios® Grigioff, the floor will get a warm and natural tone that will transform the look of the decking in the blink of an eye.
Floor Forum International 125 33
The right care extends the life of decking and provides higher durability; plus, it is really easy to do. For a quick scrub up, clean decking with a mixture of water and Osmo Decking Cleaner. If your gar den deck is weathered and grey, Osmo Wood Reviver Power-Gel will restore it to its natural wood colour. To protect timber decking optimally, the wood specialists at Osmo recommend applying Osmo Decking-Oil. It has been formulated to meet the specific needs of countless fine and softwoods perfectly, smoothens the wood surface and makes it water and dirt repellent.
2. Protective coat: After thorough cleaning and drying, the Bona Decking Oil (including UV protection) can be applied. This is a concentrated mix of vegetable oils. This oil protects the wood from mould and warping, whilst it also brings out the natural wood grain better. It is available in four colours, namely neutral, mahogany, teak, and grey.
DESCRIPTION:
Tropical hardwood ages relatively quickly.
- LIOS SUNDECK WOOD OIL - LIOS SUNDECK SOAP
Future is assured
The assets allow us to suppose that colour stains still have a nice future in the parquet industry. We also notice that they are reacting very well to a current trend towards the application of decorated par quet floors, which are everywhere nowadays, both with residential and commercial applications. For the latter, think particularly of catering, where shop owners, for instance, certainly want to create a special atmosphere. This means that the development of colour stains will surely continue for a while and manufacturers are certainly investing considerable time and trouble in the research and development of these products. Each year, new effects come onto the market or some one presents new simple or combined shades firstly to professionals and then to the general public.
One question not (fully) answered in the past is where and when to use colour stains. If you mean shaded or coloured stains (i.e. oil), you note that you can use them easily to get deep shades of high intensity, yet
Europese fabrikant van hoogwaardig afwerkingen voor veerkrachtige en houten vloeren
Blanchon offers a full range of colour, decorative, and distressing products for parquet and woodwork, with two ranges of colouring agents, one range of distressing products, and various reagents for specific effects on parquet. The range includes Aquateinte 2K, a water-based 2-component stain which is perfectly stable in the light and has been created and developed specially for parquet floors. In addition, there is a fast-drying and odourless wood stain (Teinte à bois), which is ideal for small rooms, and a wood distressing agent (Vieillisseur Bois), which yields an exceptionally aged-wood effect by highlighting the grain of all wood sorts. Blanchon also offers reagents and patinas. These are complex shades which react to the natural tannins of the wood (oak, chestnut, etc.) to obtain a clearly polished effect or a ‘dusty’ effect which reminds us of wagon floors or a white patina, which gives relief on unbrushed wood.
Where do you use them?
Floor Forum International 12534 Special Who has colour stains?
LIOS B 100 is a natural oil treatment for wooden floors, it has 100% solid content so it can be considered Volatile Organic Compound free.
Bona Nordic Tone and Bona Rich Tone (Grey) are primers for Bona Craft Oil (mono and dual-component). The colours Bona Nordic Tone and Bona Rich Tone (Grey) can be changed or reinforced by the addition of Bona Mix Colour in order to achieve the widest possible spectrum of colours and shades. Combine the newly made colour with a Bona Craft Oil colour or a newly made contrasting colour for spectacular twodimensional effects. BONA NORDIC TONE is a primer for Bona Craft Oil (mono and dual component) for a Scandinavian look. It gives intense white highlights and prevents any ageing of the surface.
Specifically developed for professionals, Osmo Reactive Stain is used for staining furniture, stairs, flooring and other building elements made of Oak. Osmo Reactive Stain works by reacting to the tannin in Oak. Depending on the amount applied and the natural tannin content, this creates the greying effect. For optimum wood protection, Osmo recommends treating the surface with a clear or transparent coloured Osmo coating for interior use.
LIOS B DESCRIPTION:100
DevoNatural® presents DevoNatural® Easy Colour, odourless and waterbased colour stains with ‘character’. You can now colour a floor ecologically with DevoNatural ®Colours, which are water-based! They can be finished with all DevoNatural® finish products. The combina tion of traditional wood colours and contemporary trend colours gives the DevoNatural® Colour assortment a great variety to satisfy contemporary demand. DevoNatural® Easy Colour is a vegetable colour stain for parquet and wooden floors. Easy Colour is easy to apply and is compatible with all DevoNatural® finish products. DevoNatural® Easy Colour is particularly recommended for easy and contemporary colouring of all types of parquet planks and wooden floors, furniture, interior doors, and such like, and for indoor use. The available colours are pure white, cream white, snow white, clay, pepper grey, old grey, pearl grey, basalt grey, walnut, dark oak, mahogany, ebony, river blue, caramel, forest green, aubergine, mustard, flamingo, canary, hydrangea, mint, mandarin, and customised colours.
LIOS B 100 provides very high resistance, enhancing at the same time the soft ness and the natural look of the wood.
DevoNatural®
Chimiver
Bona
The product is available in two versions:
- COLORATO, a colored treatment to stain the wood, available in all the different colors
- NATURAL, a transparent treatment to keep the natu ral color of the wood;
GreyingOsmostain
Floor Forum International 125 35Visit www.floor-forum.com
for Oak in three different intensities!
BONA RICH TONE (GREY) is a primer for Bona Craft Oil (mono and dual component). It gives the floor a smoked look; with the Grey version you get a rich, dark grey colouring to give the floor a touch of refinement. BONA MIX COLOUR is a concentrated pigment paste for waterborne systems, especially for Bona Nordic Tone and Bona Rich Tone (Grey). In terms of percentage, you can adapt the colour yourself.
Pandemic caused boom
"Our customers who work with wood face much bigger problems, because this material comes in large quantities from Russia and Ukraine. I have already heard producers claim that parquet will become a real luxury product and I am not surprised. Even laminates are affected.”
"Commitment to accelerated transition to sustainable production is bearing fruit"
Küberit is currently the market leader in the production of aluminium profiles for textile and resilient floor coverings and profile systems for all hard floor coverings such as laminate, prefinished parquet and solid wood flooring. Küberit concentrated on the materials aluminium, brass and stainless steel. After the European market leaders for laminate, wooden flooring and resilient coverings became customers, Küberit had already made a name for itself as a supplier to the flooring industry by 1990.
Floor Forum International 12536
Special Top German companies focused on export
"No, not really, especially not in the area of raw materials. As Küberit we not only have a large stock, but we work almost exclusively with European suppliers, so we have few problems, even with aluminium. The recent extreme increases in raw material prices have caused us problems and we have had to pass these on in the form of a price increase, like all other manufacturers.”
Patrick Welscheit: "The energy price, the price of raw materials, increased transport costs and so on did lead to us having to up the price a bit more than usual, but we kept it modest. Especially in the field of energy, we are putting a lot of effort into absorbing the energy and raw material problem as well as possible through various in-house means."
With Patrick Welscheit we talk about how Küberit is now positioning itself in the German - and by extension European and globalmarket. The opening question was an obvious one: how did the company, which exports to more than 60 countries, wriggle its way through the Covid pandemic?
"What we are now noticing, however, is that there is a downturn in terms of floor sales here in Germany and also beyond. We are also expecting a bit less orders in the coming weeks and months, but I don't think this will have a big impact on our results. In any case, we expect the balance will be better by the end of the year. Although you never know, of course..."
So the war in Ukraine and the accompanying soaring energy prices did not have a negative effect on Küberit?
"Enrolling in the ECOPROFIT programme turned out to be an excellent choice. As part of the programme, we developed various measures and succeeded in saving 197.4 tonnes of CO2 and 243,000 kWh of electricity in one year, thus significantly reducing our operating costs. In addition, last year we recycled 215 tonnes of recyclable materials and used 75 per cent recycled secondary aluminium in the production of our profiles and mouldings."
Patrick Welscheit (Export manager Küberit)
FLEXIBLE FLOORS ARE DOING WELL
If you talk about profiles among flooring professionals, there is a good chance that the first name that comes up is that of the German company Küberit. And that is not surprising. This company, founded 159 years ago and headquartered in Lüdenscheid, has been the market leader in profile solutions for floor and wall coverings for decades. In other words, it is a more than suitable discussion partner for what is currently going on in the German flooring market (and beyond).
"I shouldn't say it out loud, but the pandemic was a very successful period for us," he responds. "That is not surprising. Suddenly, a lot of people were sitting at home and renovating. It meant that demand literally boomed."
Dealing with raw materials
Protecting the environment and resources
CARPET AND WOODEN FLOORS ARE IN DECLINE DUE TO AGEING
Energy prices also do not appear to have as great an impact for Küberit as they do for many other manufacturers. This is partly due to a far-reaching programme, which focuses on issues such as the generation of own energy and an in-house striving towards economy and recycling. As a result, price increases could be kept at a reasonable level.
"For 2022 we are launching some new profile solutions and an additional and new finish in the colour black anodised. New are our twopart screw systems “PPS®” in anodised black and for some of our clip systems we added the black colour in powder coating. Also new are two new stair nosing profiles for parquet that is glued to stairs, and the range of rounded corners is further expanded."
The interview also revealed that the company is hardly affected by the boycott against Russia. 14 years ago, Russia was still its largest export market, but nowadays the focus is mainly on export to Europe and only specifically overseas.
“We want to further consolidate and expand the European market, for which we have already taken the first step and our new internet platforms will be supplemented in other languages in the future. Like so many other entrepreneurs, finding enough people, especially technically trained people, seems to be the problem. There is simply too little supply to meet our demand", Patrick Welscheit responds.
To finish off, we sounded off about the innovative things that Küberit is currently working on.
STAIR NOSING PROFILE 845 easy to install insertion for floors and carpets up to 3 mm decor matching or contrast on stair nosings with the same or different coverings suitable for advertisement or indications on stairs with our digital-printing
technologyVIDEO NEW! withedgesrounded www.kueberit.com
"In addition, we took many other measures: switching to LED lighting throughout the building, for example, which saved us 80,000 kWh of electricity and therefore 28.8 tonnes of CO2. We also reduced the base load in the high bay warehouse and in the off-take stations, saving 48,000 kWh of electricity and 17.3 tonnes of CO2. The spatial optimisation of the business areas resulted in a 115,000 kWh reduction in electricity consumption, which reduced the CO2 balance by 29 tonnes. In addition, the additional installation of a large number of solar panels on the roof is also planned, which means that we will save more and more CO2 from 2023 onwards.”
·
Sales market and finding personnel
"On top of that, the problems for us have become worse because a bridge was damaged nearby and the motorway will be closed for many years. This bridge problem is already far-reaching, not only for transport logistics, but also for colleagues who now need more than twice the time to get to work - under such conditions it is difficult to find new employees. We will train more people ourselves in the future in order to avoid a shortage of qualified workers.”
"If there is one thing I would like to make clear, it is that we, like many other companies in Germany, are fully committed to the transition to not just green energy, but total sustainability. In doing so, we look beyond our own company and do not lose sight of the environment. That is why at Küberit we not only focus on the recycling of raw materials, but since 2020, as a profile manufacturer, we use electricity from renewable resources.”
Innovations
As a result of covid 19 the industry seems to be facing an economy which is slowing considerably. Obviously, that also affects the flooring market and expectations suggest it will take a long time to recover during the early years of the forecast period. This trend is expected to continue in other major Western European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Spain.
Source: Mordor Intelligence: ‘Germany Floor Covering Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)’.
Many years ago, Osmo Holz und Color GmbH & Co. KG devel oped a new product in their own coating production: Polyx®-Oil Original. The wood coating is based on natural oils and waxes and offers durable protection for wooden floors and furniture in indoor areas. This product revolutionized the surface treatment of wood all over the world. In addition, the range has been expanded to include further interior products, products for the exterior and care and cleaning products for treated surfaces. Today, the Warendorf-based global player is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of modern wood products and specializes in the effective surface treatment of the natural +49material.(0)25 81 - 922 – 219 - marlen.meierzuwickern@osmo.de - www.osmo.de companies focused on export
Floor Forum International 12538 Special Top German
In previous editions we’ve talked about Germany as a wood country. This time we’re considering the place which Germany occupies on the flooring market in the European Union. Our information is based on a recent report by the India-based Mordor Intelligence Institute, which draws up reports of industries all over the world. Recently, the company examined the German flooring market.
What’s particularly interesting in the report is how the researchers found that there has been a major noticeable shift from traditional floor covering in Germany during the research period. With the gradual increase in the ageing of the population, the younger generation has been looking for more modernised solutions. Here, people have shifted towards vivid colour combinations which go together easily with the interior and which are continuing to grow. In terms of products, it is clearly flexible floor coverings which are growing (an interesting addi tional point is that the researchers state that laminate is becoming increasingly flexible and that there is a new sort of natural element has made its entrance), and forecasts suggest they will continue to grow during the prognosis period (2022-27). By contrast, people have lost interest somewhat in carpets, certainly not dramatically, but neverthe less noticeably. Less good news for our industry is that the researchers state that in Germany, too, the wooden floor segment will yield negative results in this same period.
Major market trends
Slowing economy
The flexible flooring segment is growing
In the report ‘Germany Floor Covering Market – Growth, trends, COVID19 impact, and forecasts (2022-27)’ we read in the market overview that Germany has demonstrated a high level of maturity during the study period in combination with stable growth. Mordor expects an average growth of over 1.9% per annum in the next five years, although that figure might have to be revised due to the unexpected war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis.
The report presents a detailed study which includes the underlying factors for the variations in market growth trends for floor covering. The main point is that the market is being stimulated mainly by a con struction industry which is still growing and has the biggest share in the European Union. Income from the industry shows average growth
The report states that the German flooring market in general is rather fragmented. This is due to the presence of lots of big players with a varied profile of high-quality products. Many big players named in the report have a large market share all over the European Union, espe cially in Western Europe.
of 1.8% on an annual basis. The high degree of specialisation in niche markets, such as in the field of acoustic and pre-fabricated building systems contributes to the market growth and forms the driving force behind the flooring market in the entire country. If we go back a few years in time, we see that even in 2015 the German construction industry generated about 60 billion euros per annum from residential and non-residential buildings. The following years witnessed gradual growth in line with the figures quoted above.
OSMO
Innovation as tradition
The report states that the market is driven mainly by renovations, which result simply from the strong DIY traditions. Most consumers prefer products which are easy to install and don’t take up much time. Although more and more specialist online players are shaping the distribution channel in the country, the trend of going to the store still dominates the market. People go to a specialist store to speak to an expert and ask for help by means of recommendations and to look at the physical product before proceeding to a purchase.
MEISTERWERKE
MeisterWerke is a family peopleemploysMeisterWerkeLudgergeneration)GuidoJohannesleadershipinbusinessorientedfounded1930.UndertheofMr.Schulte,Schulte(thirdandMr.Schindler,nowover700andrealisesan
No matter if it is for exterior or interior. OSMO: THE SOLUTION FOR YOUR WOOD. www.osmo.com
+49 (0)2952 816-0 - Andrea.Henze@meisterwerke.com - www.meister.com
annual turnover of more than €150 million. MEISTER is the main brand and has a clear focus on wood specialist trade. Currently, MeisterWerke exports its goods to more than 80 countries worldwide. The main products are laminate and parquet flooring, vinyl without vinyl floors, rigid core floors and panels. MEISTER has always focused on innovation and is the industry´s innovation leader with the unique flooring product Lindura, based upon wood-powder technology. This real wood flooring is the ecological alternative to standard parquet. It is now even suitable for humid rooms. MEISTER has also added a waterproof rigid flooring collection which up to 24h water-resistant and therefore bathroom-proof. This is also true for part of the new MeisterPanels range for which MEISTER has been rewarded the Red Dot Award 2021 (SP 800).
ZIRO Lothar Zipse founded the company in 1980 as a sole pro prietorship. He started selling cork floors for glue-down. After the unexpected death of the 64-year-old company founder, the southern German company was transformed into a different legal form in 2020. The main shareholder and managing director is his brother Thomas Zipse. Today the company employs 130 people and markets around 1.3 million m² of floor coverings every year. The turnover in 2021 was around 39 million euros. The floor specialist ZIPSE stands for customer orientation and innovation. In its core competence, floor coverings made of cork, wood and vinyl are successfully marketed throughout Europe under the ZIRO brand. At the beginning of 2022, the com pany launched the sustainable natural flooring collection NATURALAN under its own brand. At ZIRO, customer service is the focus of his thoughts and actions. The company is characterized by high flexibility and individuality. Due to the extensive storage at the ZIPSE headquarters, delivery times are relatively short. +49 (0) 7644 – 9119 79 - stephan.zipse@ziro.de - www.ziro.de
Grocers have been following the trend for some time with lavish redesigns: the fresh produce sec-tions appear like a marketplace thanks to black cob blestone floors and wooden crates. Modern cof-fee shops and restaurants use black Metro tiles in the open kitchen area, large format chalkboards, matte black dinnerware and simple decorative accessories. In combina tion with stainless steel and natural wood surfaces of the table tops and solid floorboards, black creates the desired, urban and cozy atmosphere. Especially compared to the fast, loud and colorful world outside, there is some-thing calming, soft and unobtrusive about dark and natural color combinations.
The center of attention
The collection Prinz has united these trends in one collection now: "The Black Edition" offers a wide range of dif-ferent profile types, from subtle transition profiles to elegant, black powder-coated skirting boards. The range is rounded off by the particularly elegant, matt black anodised system profiles of the PROFITEC Master and PROFI-DESIGN series.
Perfect finish and classic elegance
CARL PRINZ
Classic, elegant, distinguished and exclusive - these adjectives have always been associated with black. New trends are coming faster and faster, and often disappear just as quickly. However, the color black always comes back. A classic that manages to be the center of attention again and again.
Thanks to the classic appearance, black profiles can be perfectly combined, either color-coordinated, or as a lively contrast to light and earthy color +49nuances.(0)2823 9703 19 - pascal.thiel@carlprinz.de - www.carlprinz.de
The Black Edition
Floor Forum International 12540 Special Top German companies focused on export
Day
2022!
KÜBERIT
QUALITY PROFILES MADE IN GERMANY of stainless steel, brass, aluminium +49 (0) 7135 98 90 0 info@laegler.com Look, ask, try it out for yourself This was the motto of the first TOOLS-DAY at our factory on 6 and 7 May What did we offer? ✔ Various live demonstrations ✔ Tours of our production facilities ✔ Trying out tools for yourself ✔ Interesting discussions with our technicians, trainers and mechanics. In our opinion, it was an all-round successful event! Unfortunately, you couldn‘t take part this time? Never mind! You can look forward to our next Tools Day - in autumn 2022!
In 2022, Küberit has launched a number of new profile solutions and a new finish in black. Also new are the two-part screw systems in anodised black. Furthermore, the German company has also add-ed the colour black in powder coating for some of its clip systems. Powder lacquered black profiles and also anodised black were produced for the first time about 18 years ago, but the current trend in black profiles has increased in recent years. Today, Küberit offers 73 different profile types in black. Also new are two new stair nose profiles for parquet which is glued to stairs. They also mention that they have further extended their range of rounded corners. These unique solutions (only made by Küberit) provide extra safety on stairs. Küberit is launching its novelties for 2022-23 for the first time in the summer. For more info: https://kueberit.com/en/ +49novelties(0)2351 9507 110 - patrick.welscheit@kueberit.com - www.kueberit.com
Floor Forum International 125 41
Tools - in autumn
VÄLINGE FLOORING LAUNCHES A UNIQUE, PREMIUM RIGID CORE COLLECTION
Their adhesive composition is the fruit of years of progress in the search for the ideal formula and includes no isocyanates, silicones, solvents, or formaldehydes. Moreover, VOC content is also very low. The adhesive is graded as A+ and its EMICODE® class is EC1PLUS, the highest EMICODE® grade.
DINACHOC C901 – THE PROFESSIONAL HYBRID ADHESIVE
Many customers would like to have environmentally friendly and safe products; however, at the same they still require good processing properties and a good value for money. Osmo is good for wood, good for people and good for the environment.
IMPERTEK
OSMO: NATURAL OILS AND WAXES
Välinge Flooring is proud to introduce the next generation of high-end rigid core flooring to the North American market. Designed in Sweden with the look and feel of the most luxurious wood floor, this product is nothing less than a premium flooring experience – without the premium cost.
Balance Pro supports and Rail System by Impertek are the best choice for the installation of any type of raised outdoor flooring. Balance Pro allows you to cover heights from 25 to 1025 mm with only 6 items and its self-levelling head guarantees perfect flatness of the flooring. Rail System, on the other hand, is the modular system that allows you to install every type of flooring, both decking, stone or ceramic tile and slabs of any shape and size. Rail is the new aluminium joist: light and resistant, which guarantees a capacity and solidity unthinkable with the traditional laying without joist. Its particular design allows you to join the various joists with more accessories: the joist fit that avoids the use of screws and the clip for double understructure to create a double joists substructure and guarantee a greater stability of the flooring or for any installation required. Once the supports have been positioned on the laying surface and adjusted the heights, just simply and quickly fit the Rail joists to the Balance Pro support. The extraordinary combination of Balance Pro and Rail System ensures a fast, simple and stable installation for every type of outdoor flooring.
They offer DINACHOC C901 adhesive for use in combination with parquet and wooden floors when the whole structure has to be compatible with floor heating at high and low temperatures. They recommend this in combination with the Dinachoc S801 subfloor to ensure excellent acoustic insulation. And so, the fitting is done with double glueing.
If we consider the preparation for application on site, their DINACHOC C901 adhesive is used without an adhesive primer and it adapts to all types of bearer (tiles, concrete screed, anhydrite screed, wood, ceramics, natural stone, etc.), all widths (even extra wide), and all sorts of wood. Remove all grease and dust from the bearer for the best possible adhesion.
“With our broad portfolio of innovative technologies and 30 years of experience from the flooring industry we decided to create the next generation of high-quality rigid core floors. Thanks to our patented technologies, such as Liteback™, 5G® Dry™ and 5G® Climb™, we have successfully managed to produce a rigid core collection with the outstanding look and feel of true Scandinavian oak that perfectly stands up to the toughest demands of the wear and tear of everyday life”. Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news
Rail System and Balance Pro: the perfect combination for raised floorings
Theresources.basisof our wood coatings is plant oils and waxes, in other words by sustainable raw materials: sunflower, linseed, soybean and thistle oils as well as natural waxes. Our extensively cleaned pigments have been approved for use in the food industry. By using wood coatings from Osmo, your customers have chosen a natural and environmentally friendly protection for the valuable resource wood.
The production of coatings in our own plants in Germany provides transparency and reliability in all phases of the production process. Short transport ways improve the environmental performance of our products. But also craftsmanship is a valuable contribution to environmental protection due to the fact that the long lifetime of wood and wood finishes saves valuable
Floor Forum International 12542 ∂
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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,…
For more than 17 years already, Floor Forum International is appreciated by all the major players in the sector, who help determine the contents of the magazine thanks to their novelties that are accompanied by the necessary explanation. In every edition, the magazine singles out one particular country. In doing this, the readers not only discover the sociopolitical history of that country, but at the same time are also informed about the economic potential for what wood is concerned.
Are you an installer of parquet floors or a timber trader, an importer, a distributor, a wholesaler, a carpenter with employees, an agent, an interior architect, an interior designer, a decorator, a manager of a shop specializing in decoration, an entrepreneur in the world of construction or a manufacturer…? If this is the case, our magazine is an exceptionally good source of reference for you.
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