FFI 77 November 2015 by Media-Pact NV / FFI bvba

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

N° 77, November 2015 - Price: €8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

Special Top Italian companies focused on export Newsflash: EFWEX 2016 Ghent (BE)

EFWEX

European Floor & Wall Exhibition 13/15.03.2016 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT (B)

Special Producers of profiles Special: Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet : solid and multilayer

Special: Producers of elastic adhesives

Kaneka MS PolymerTM

The Premium Polymer of Choice for Your Parquet Adhesives! www.kaneka.be/products/liquid-polymers

Special: Sanding machines: part II

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

Editorial

“High-strength polymers yield solid adhesives with a tensile strength of three megapascals and more.”

Special Top Italian companies focused on export Newsflash: EFWEX 2016 Ghent (BE)

EFWEX

European Floor & Wall Exhibition 13/15.03.2016 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT (B)

Special Producers of profiles

'Kaneka, the Japanese company which, amongst other things, has developed the renowned MS polymers, is the supplier-partner of several top adhesive producers for the parquet sector. Jo Indesteege from Kaneka Belgium clarifies the latest development on the silane adhesive market, namely the highly promising ‘high-strength’ polymers. However, he does also warn us of the consequences of an excessive price war.'

Special: Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet : solid and multilayer

Special: Producers of elastic adhesives

Kaneka MS PolymerTM

The Premium Polymer of Choice for Your Parquet Adhesives! www.kaneka.be/products/liquid-polymers

Special: Sanding machines: part II

Floor Forum International n° 77 November 2015 Photo Kaneka

4 Inside news 8 Newsflash EFWEX 2016 Ghent (BE) 10 Special Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone

Jo Indesteege

(business manager of the Liquid Polymers Division / Kaneka Belgium)

parquet : solid and engineered 17 Special Maintenance and cleaning products for floors in

Vinyl, PVC and LVT

At Kaneka we guide our clients, in this case parquet adhesive makers, as they develop adhesives for specific purposes. As a raw material supplier, we’re obviously bound by confidentiality about what our clients are developing. In recent years, Kaneka MS polymers have helped parquet adhesive makers to launch a new generation of effective silane adhesives. These are glues with special qualities, which also meet the strictest health and environmental standards.

20 Project Ciranova (BE) 22 Special Sanding machines : part II 25 Special Producers of profiles 29 Special Subfloors for laminate floors 32 Advertorial Chimiver Panseri (IT)

How’s the industry doing with the development of the so called ‘highstrength polymers’ in the world of parquet adhesives? ‘Very well indeed. Several of our clients have used them to create newer and harder MS adhesives. Indeed, some floor fitters have opted for hard adhesives instead of softer elastic MS polymer adhesives. The arrival of high-strength polymers means we can satisfy the preferences of those who like to use harder adhesives. That yields adhesives which, in tests, have a tensile strength of three megapascals and more. Those are impressive figures. Moreover, those adhesives also offer all the unique benefits of silane technology.’

34 Special Veneer wooden floors : what's new ? 36 Special Stair renovation 38 Special Producers of engineered floors 45 Special UV lacquers and oils 49 Special Laminate floors : part II 52 Special Producers of elastic adhesives 58 Special Top Italian companies focused on export

You do warn us about the consequences of an excessive price war. ‘Yes, that’s right. All players in the industry, wholesalers and adhesive makers, have to realise that an excessive price war is completely wrong. And so, makers mustn’t fall into the trap of selling glues containing too many softeners. Apart from the health risks of excessive concentrations of softeners, this could also result in problems as regards quality. Parquet floors are simply too precious to take risks with cheap glues. We advise adhesive makers to address market-oriented innovations, and that also inspires exportoriented market expansion. After all, MS polymer adhesives have lots of assets to be a success on the Eastern European market or in Turkey or on the Asian market. For that matter, the favourable euro-dollar exchange rate is also helping them.’

64 Industry news 66 Product news

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

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

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

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

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

The copyright of Floor Forum International and the articles appearing herein are retained by the publisher. By agreeing to publication of an article in this journal, the author assigns to the publisher the irrevocable and exclusive right under Copyright law to collect charges due from third parties for copying said article and to undertake legal or other action for this purpose. Editorial and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and Floor Forum International bvba cannot accept any responsibility for any errors.

∂ Inside news Register now as a visitor at EFWEX and you could win a Mini-i-Pad, Metabo site radio, Smart phone,…! The second EFWEX is approaching. Once again, this three-day event will show the latest trends and launches in wooden floors, walls, and finish products. As was the case last time, EFWEX professional visitors who register on time have the chance to win one of the following attractive prizes: I-pad Minis, Metabo site radios, or Smart phones. Each registration has a unique registration number which will be entered into a prize draw. And so, don’t wait any longer! Register on http://www.efwex.eu/en/visitor/free-admission-tickets EFWEX takes place from 13 to 15 March 2016 in Flanders Expo, Ghent www.efwex.eu

Heywood Vloeren Heywood Vloeren has been operating from Oss, The Netherlands as a producer since 1998 and specializes in 2-layer engineered Multiplank® with a solid hardwood top layer. This is exported to over 20 countries, spread over Europe, Asia and the Americas. The range includes beautiful innovative designs, ranging from modern to classic. The company’s Engineered Wooden Flooring Range includes the Collections Aged (Antique, Knotting Hill and National Treasure), Bespoke, Pattern & Panels, and Reclaimed. These can be seen in showrooms in Oss, London, Shanghai and Oslo, and at www.heywoodvloeren.com. The company designs and produces all items entirely on its own in accordance with the highest quality standards, according to the client’s wishes. About 50 professionals work in the company. The number of export countries is increasing and turnover is growing by about 15% per annum. Heywood is continuously updating their collections with new designs, techniques, and colours.

Floor Forum International 77

EFWEX : New clients at your fingertips!!

EFWEX

European Floor & Wall Exhibition 13/15.03.2016 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT (B)

The top event for the parquet industry takes place in Ghent, Belgium on 13, 14, and 15 March 2016. The second EFWEX takes place in this historic city as a meeting place for all professionals working in floors, outdoor floors, exterior walls, and finish products. Apart from the traditional products in this highly specialised market, there is also space for new products like vinyl, PVC, and linoleum. You, as a floor trader, can have these new markets with new and interesting clients at your fingertips. The first EFWEX attracted over 3600 visitors from several countries, and the second EFWEX is expected to attract even more. Moreover, just like the first edition, the standard of visitors will also be very high. Visitors from the most attractive countries will be invited by means of a sophisticated marketing campaign to visit the show, which takes place in a relaxed atmosphere with good catering and free admission (subject to prior registration www.efwex.eu). The show is well on course in its preparation, as is apparent from the number of registrations from leading companies/brands such as Alvaket, ArchiWood, B-Fix, BJ Parket, Bona, Buco Import, Bois et Bois, Wood Experience, Baltic Wood, Blanchon, Buzon, Ciranova, Debal Coatings,Canect, Cerclindus, Chêne de l’est, CSP Engineering, Den Braven, Devomat , D.E.S. bvba, DL Chemicals, Design Parquet, Dubois-Parquet, Cras, Duthoo, Emco BeNeLux, Emfi, Eurotec, Esprit Du Parquet, Xpect, Flamingo Parket, Gascogne All Wood, FloorConcepts, Fetim, Inpa Parket, WOCA, Parkettfreund, Stauf, Hamat, Helco, Hesse Benelux, Herrebout Vermander, Lamett Europe, Loba, Lecol, Miva Parket, Mapei, mFLOR, Malish, Muylle Facon, Rubio Monocoat, Rectavit, Rovako, Quick-Step, Janser, Outdoor Wood Concepts, Osmo, Parket Kerkhofs, Primaverde, Pallmann, PEFC Belgium, Parador, Proline Systems, Spea, Solidor, Tover, Tip_Top Slibermaterialer, T&G Wood, Teak Your Wall, Unifloor, Unipro, Vec, Vetedy, Woodmade, Wood Sensation, Wakol, Wasziederij De Vesting, Ter Hürne, Hanssens Limited, Parketssens, Yepp, Sferafloors, Ipe Latina, Scheucher, Plinten & Profielen Centrale (PPC), Durieu Coatings, Felix Clercx Handelsonderneming, Z-Parket, ... If you are looking particularly to establish new links, welcome your existing clients, or launch new products, then Ghent is the place to be. The second EFWEX will be nicer, better, and even more hospitable than the first one. Curious about the possibilities of EFWEX? Send an e-mail or call Filip de Ridder on sales@media-pact.com or +32-9-3858040 or Jos Tourné on verkoop@media-pact.com +31- (0)172-850717. Find out about the possibilities and a good position at the show and make an appointment with us!!

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∂ Inside news CSP ENGINEERING

The development of the PAR-FILLER® (see Floor Forum International n° 76: special ‘Producers of filling machines’): the pioneering technology for the automatic filling of all imperfections in wooden, ready-to-fit floors, has led to a significant increase of demand and workforce since the end of 2014 at CSP Engineering. Clients who have the PAR-FILLER® in use are convinced: high production capacity, controlled by 1 operator, easy to set up, quick change of colors…and last but not least an amazing high quality result, independent of the skills of the operator. The fuel for this new technology is the 1-Component wood-filler with unique characteristics CosmetiWood® (see Product News). CSP has an experience of many years in the development and construction of equipment for the industrial production of wood flooring boards. The company participates actively in your brainstorm to find solutions and offers a personalized support. For more information: admin@csp-engineering.be of +3214377752.

show promises once again to be a big hit. ‘The market is sounding a very positive note, and the show is virtually sold out,’ says Dr Jochen Köckler of the Deutsche Messe executive board. ‘About 85% of the companies are from outside Germany. They want to use DOMOTEX 2016 to open up new markets,’ says Köckler. The countries with the most exhibition space are Germany, Turkey, India, Belgium, China, the Netherlands, and Iran. Design floors (LVT) will certainly be a major attraction and visitors can expect a considerably bigger range than in the past. For parquet and laminate, too, the organisers are also expecting a lot more exhibitors and a bigger exhibition surface area. Once again, there will be a Wood Flooring Summit in hall 9 with about 180 exhibitors from the parquet and laminate industry, whilst Innovations@DOMOTEX will give visitors a quick summary of novelties worth seeing and trends in the industry. Halls 6, 9, and 17 will be set aside for that purpose.

New acquisition at Parcolys Flooring Since the end of August, Parcolys Flooring has a new sales representative for the BENELUX. In order to develop the market for the new products PARCOLUX, PARCOSTONE and PARCOZEN this young man is more than welcome. Fascinated by building materials he will definitely create an added value for the company. Andreas enjoyed a commercial training and has already an intensive product training. You can reach Andreas on the number +32 (0) 472 50 39 89 or andreas. debeer@parcolysflooring.be / www.parcolysflooring.be

Adesiv

Flamingo Parket

The Italian company ADESIV will be present again at the Domotex 2016 in Hannover with a new partnership. The company’s export success is strongly linked to the yearly presence at the Domotex fair in Hannover. For the coming edition, Adesiv plans to launch a series of performant and healthy product for the flooring market. In 45 years of company history, the continuous search for professional solutions has led Adesiv to the development of a range of more than 70 products, including primers, glues, varnishes, oils and maintenance products, all able to meet the needs of the most exigent installers.

‘Domotex 2016 will be even more international’ From 16 to 19 January 2016, the industry meets once again in Hanover (Germany). With about 1,400 exhibitors from over 60 countries, the

Floor Forum International 77

Flamingo Parket has decided to intensify its contact with its national customers. We are currently active in over 20 countries worldwide. We have recently included New Zealand where we now sell our Twinplank products and staircases, tapping into a market with lots of potential for years to come. Not wanting to lose sight of the chances closer to home, we have decided to expand our national sales team. We have added independent sales agents who will exclusively represent Flamingo Parket on the Wood Flooring part alongside their activities with Laminate and LVT products. Since January 1st this year Edwin Cools has been representing us in the provinces of Zeeland, Limburg and Brabant. Christ van de Wouwe is active in Belgium and Guido Gorzolka will start from February 1st as an independent agent for postcode areas 2, 3, 4 and 5 in Germany. Although he was previously an employee we have consciously decided to work with independent agents across the board. This week we have added another two colleagues to the team in The Netherlands. Rene Beute for the provinces Noord-Holland,

∂ Inside news Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, and Gelderland and Gerrit Donkersteeg for Groningen, Friesland, Overijsel en Drenthe. A nice little detail to mention is that both men have been previous colleagues in our company and therefore already possess the "Flamingo DNA". The province of Flevoland is currently still serviced from our head office but will soon be allocated to one of our dedicated sales agents as well.

∑ Christ van de Wouwe

Belgium

Gerrit Donkersteeg

Overijssel - Drenthe - Friesland - Groningen

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Limburg - Zeeland - Brabant

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∂

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∂

∑ Guido Gorzolka

0049 - 1749855008 Postcode area 2,3,4 en 5 Germany

Pagina 1

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Floor Forum International 77

Newsflash

EFWEX 2016 Ghent (BE)

EFWEX 2016 IT’S NOW OR NEVER! TRADERS ARE BOOKING THE SPACE RAPIDLY!

he re at t e h t e B sional profes of event ! ar the ye

EFWEX

European Floor & Wall Exhibition

Netwo r in a re king l atmos axed phere !

13/15.03.2016 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT (B) What’s that expression again? It’s five minutes to midnight! That’s certainly true as regards taking part in EFWEX 2016, the only specialist floor sector trade fair with a good stress on wood and wood-related floor coverings. There’s no time for ‘ hesitation’. The clock’s ticking and the amount of exhibition space diminishes with each passing minute. After Europarket, there was a huge void. Then came EFWEX 2014 with the express aim of filling that void. Exhibitors registered, but somewhat reluctantly. Now, it’s different; things are happening rapidly, and it’s ‘ five minutes to midnight’.

A higher gear You can also revise ambitions. The organisers of EFWEX 2014 knew that there was a gap in the market, but they didn’t know exactly what to expect in terms of both exhibitors and visitors. And so, the success of the first EFWEX was ‘good news’. An outstanding dose of exhibitors and no fewer than 3,600 high-quality visitors whom the exhibitors greatly appreciated; the visitors were exclusively professionals and about 35% came from outside Belgium. This international profile had been a conscious choice from the very beginning on the part of the organisers and some top players in the sector. After all, many international companies regard Belgium as the ‘gateway’ to the great continent of Europe. You can’t get any more central than that! It’s no surprise that the organisers have increased the available exhibition space. Hall 8 offers no fewer than 10,735m² of stand space. Lots of exhibitors have signed up for more stand space than during the first EFWEX. Surely that’s a sign on the wall? With an improved catering formula and even greater recruitment efforts on the part of the organisers, this second EFWEX promises to be bigger and better than the first one.

What will EFWEX 2016 bring? A unique and absolutely full range of just about all types of floors apart from ceramic, natural stone, and textile. At all events, there is a strong movement in the direction of natural materials. Wood is proving a big hit! This is evident from the growth of wooden floors, wooden terraces, and wooden exterior wall cladding. However, wood-related materials or compositions with wood, such as laminate and some composites,

Floor Forum International 77

are on the way up. Then you have all those floor types which are usually mentioned in one breath with wooden floors, even though they are actually not made of wood. Cork is an example! Obviously, cork grows on trees, but, strictly speaking, it is not a wood, but wood bark chippings. Cork has been emerging more and more in the interior for several years now. And what about bamboo? Bamboo does grow in forests, but it’s not a tree. Bamboo is a type of grass. Bamboo has also established a permanent place on the floor market and in scores of other markets. However, EFWEX presents also some completely different forms of floor technology such as LVT and PVC, traditional vinyl and linoleum. Since these floor coverings are attracting market attention, exhibitors at EFWEX 2016 will also attract considerably more attention!

And then for the fitting … Obviously, EFWEX 2016 is paying attention not only to the various types of floors, but also to the accessories for the fitting. Chemical producers who specialise in levelling agents, primers, adhesives, lacquers, oils, or other finishes will also be present. Here are some big names: Osmo, WOCA, Stauf, Emfi, Bona, Rubio Monocoat, Duthoo, Ciranova, Mapei, Blanchon, Woodmade, Tover, Wasziederij De Vesting, Unipro, Pallmann, Rectavit, Lecol, Hesse Benelux, DL Chemicals, and Devomat Industries. They’ll all be there!

What about those pre-fab stands? We all know that it’s high time to register for EFWEX. To make it easier for exhibitors, the organisers are offering the all-in pre-fab stand. With the pre-fab stand, you save your energy and that of your employees so that they can concentrate fully on their core business i.e. making your appearance at the show as successful as possible. You can opt for a stand in a row, a corner stand, a head stand, or an island stand. The pre-fab stands all inn are fully designed and include the following: partition wall, wall-to-wall carpet, a frieze with your company name, 1 rail with 3 spotlights (code 280104), 1 Aida brochure holder (code 230118), 1 storage cupboard with door, 1 multi-block, 1 Calais table + 3 Judy white chairs, 1 Bukowski white reception desk with Suzy white bar stool, 1 white table model fridge (140l), and cleaning once a day.

Why take part? Apart from scores of reasons based on the traditional assets of taking part in a successful show, there is that one other pressing reason: You need to be present because your colleagues (or should we say ‘competitors?) will also be present. You know how absentees miss out. In a previous edition we heard from giants such as Bona, Devomat

Industries, Wood Sensation, Kerkhofs, and Floor Concepts. The main themes of all those testimonies spoke volumes: brand reinforcement on the Belgian market and enjoying the opportunity to welcome clients instead of having to go out and visit them. Moreover, they’re not the only ones who think like that (see below).

Osmo Holz und Color GmbH & Co

INPA Parket

Dorothée Crespy Fernandez is aiming to share thoughts with existing clients and users, but also to generate new interest in Osmo. The company specialises in natural finishes and other wood products and, in addition to innovations in those areas, will also be presenting decorative products for wood, walls, and ceilings. Dorothée Crespy Fernandez believes this show is vitally important for the Benelux market, where Osmo has been operating for 20 years. Ms Fernandez regards the fact that a lot of large and well known companies are taking part in EFWEX 2016 as an additional reason. She says: ‘It’s attractive for both Belgian and foreign visitors.’

For Arthur Hoetelmans the idea of taking part in EFWEX 2016 is obviously, like at all other shows, to establish new clients and create client loyalty, but also to introduce new products and, especially, to implement their plan to grow on the Belgian market. He, too, felt that attendees at the first EFWEX were a little reluctant, and he’s hoping for a big turnout of visitors this time. Arthur Hoetelmans thinks that the small scale of the show is an advantage for the intensity of the contacts. At all events, the Benelux market is an important market for INPA Parket. UNIPRO

Dubois Parquet We hear similar arguments from Dubois Parquet. ‘We want mainly to meet new clients at EFWEX,’ says Johan Demeyere. ‘It’s the only real parquet trade fair in Belgium and we want to present ourselves as a manufacturer and wholesaler of a wide range of floors for specialists.’ Johan Demeyere is convinced that there will be more visitors than in 2014. He thinks that the small scale of the show will mean more intensive contact with visitors. On the other hand, he also says: ‘The bigger the show, the more visitors it can attract.’ Belgium and Luxembourg are the most important markets for Dubois Parquet.

Unipro is taking part in EFWEX to maintain its links with existing clients and to acquire new clients. Furthermore, the company also wants to highlight its traditional and new products. The innovations include parquet adhesives, dry glueing systems, and adhesives for LVT. Eline Vandorpe is convinced of the quality of the show: ‘It’s an ideal platform for a comprehensive trader in the floor industry to show off all its products in one place.’ Eline Vandorpe sees the small scale as more of an advantage: ‘Yes, because we’re convinced that the quality of the visitors and the ratio of visitor numbers/qualitative contacts should be better by the end than at a large scale show.’

"The sponsors of EFWEX"

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Floor Forum International 77

Special

Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet: solid and engineered

PLAYFUL FLOORS IN RIGID INTERIORS HERRINGBONE AND HUNGARIAN POINT NEVER REALLY WENT AWAY rest. Hungarian point and herringbone have a depth and colour motions to enliven the whole room.

Completely ‘traditional parquet’ Herringbone The name itself expresses the fitting method for herringbone. The floor is made from about the same parts as ordinary strip parquet, but the parts are laid in the shape of a herringbone. This means that the front end is fitted at right angles to the long side of the floorboard next to it at an angle of 90°. The herringbone comes entirely into its own when it is bordered with an edging and locking friezes (a set of strips which are fitted at right angles to the direction of the parquet). In bygone days, an exotic wood sort was often used for the edging to give the floor an attractive frame. It is now popular to design the edging in wenge due to the dark contrast.

Photo – Heywood Vloeren

Fitting patterns like Hungarian point and herringbone have lost some ground in recent decades. Skilled and renowned floor fitters have sometimes had to tackle such floors in renovation or restoration projects, generally in listed public buildings such as libraries, museums, law courts, and old town halls. A separate skill? Perhaps, to some extent. Today, however, these old fitting methods are once again a core component of floor fitter training and, in particular, they are in fashion in new buildings, and even in hyper-modern new buildings. The Renaissance of warmth and cosiness.

Exclusivity is king Anyone who builds a hyper-modern home usually operates in a higher price category and is probably an adherent of ‘exclusive’ material and exclusive looks. Let’s be honest here, too. Fitting patterns such as Hungarian point and herringbone tend to be the domain of top class professionals who are well aware of their value. They charge high prices, and rightly so. Moreover, fitting these floors is more complex than fitting ordinary strip parquet or wooden floors, so they might have to spend much longer on the job. This inevitably makes the floors much more expensive. Anyone who combines the yearning for an exclusive floor with a preference for the natural look of wood ends up automatically with these equally exclusive fitting patterns. The role of a wooden floor in a modern interior is surprisingly radical. Without taking anything away from decorative freedom, floors provide warmth from below. A gentle, mild, and soothing undertone to offset the rigidness of the

Floor Forum International 77

Hungarian point For Hungarian point, strip heads are sawn at angles of 45 or 60°. Once the fitting is ready with heads connected, two strips together form an angle of 90° (sawn at 45°) or a wider 120° (sawn at 60°). At times, an ‘intermediate frieze’ is fitted between rows. In the 17th century, they often had to fit a dual beam under the rows to support joints. The floor was secured with wrought iron nails.

Traditional parquet method In bygone days, both fitting patterns were carried out according to the traditional parquet method. And so, basically, floorboards were not equipped with tongue and groove. Solid wood strips with no tongue and groove were glued and nailed onto a subfloor, which, in turn, was glued onto the screed (traditional parquet method). As a rule, people had an explicit preference for an oak mosaic subfloor, although in later times chipboard or OSB panels were used more frequently.

Other systems Time has not stood still, however, for these fitting patterns. For example, there is now also herringbone parquet (14mm) with tongue and groove. What’s special here is that you need two sorts of strips, ‘a left and a right’, as they say in technical jargon. If the groove is on the left with one leg of the herringbone and the tongue is at the top right, the next strip has to be fitted the other way round. After all, you work mirror-wise. Nowadays, we find Hungarian point and herringbone just as often in multi-layer parquet, pre-finished, and equipped with a click system i.e. for floating fitting.

Pure expertise Old fitting patterns such as Hungarian point, herringbone, brick pattern, or English bond fall within the realm of real experts. Fitting these floors yields both financial gain and an outstanding reputation. Let’s be honest: By making multi-layer floors with a click system, manufacturers have put wooden floor fitting within easy reach of DIY enthusiasts, so there is potentially stiff competition for the experts. However, with these old fitting patterns, floor fitters leave their DIY rivals standing. The fitting requires pure expertise and lots of experience, so professionals really can stand out here.

Surprisingly playful Both herringbone and Hungarian point change their appearance depending on the angle of observation, the incidence of light, and so on. These floors have something magical about them since they can give a completely deceptive visual impression. Depending on the position of the onlooker, Hungarian point can give the impression that the strips are making waves. This fitting pattern gives floors a three-dimensional effect and depth, partly through the subtle differences in the colour of the wood. It is precisely for that effect that herringbone and Hungarian point are also often used as a design for decorative panels. For centuries, oak was the ‘licence holder’ for classical fitting patterns. Why was that? Probably because oak was easily accessible (with a good national stock), but also because people had confidence in its stability. The gentle and soothing design and mild shades of oak are obviously also a big asset. Nowadays, it goes without saying that all wood sorts are suitable.

Striking trends Large sizes Both Hungarian point and herringbone lend themselves to any room. Generally speaking, people say that large sizes only come into their own in bigger rooms (see frame piece for details). The majority of producers have drawn our attention to the appearance of larger sizes. Does that mean that we’re once again constructing bigger buildings or that the rooms are getting bigger? Not necessarily. What we certainly are doing is building ‘open-plan’ rooms. Living rooms and kitchens are now one. They still more or less have clear functions, but there is now just one big room. Moreover, the hall is also often part of the living room. For floors that has the extra phenomenon of the generally applied system of ‘continuous’ floors.

Oak on top Today, oak is still the most popular wood sort in this part of the world. In the past, it was in any case practically the only available wood sort. And so, people associate a parquet floor with oak almost automatically. In Europe we find oak in countries such as Germany, Slovenia, Poland, France, and Belgium. European oak is seen as an extremely stable and durable sort of wood with a suitable density. One of the additional benefits of oak is also that you can actually carry out every possible treatment on it. For example, it is perfectly possible to colour European oak using stain, oil, or lacquer. Moreover, the grain supports a wide variety of shades.

heywood VLOEREN

Bespoke Hardwood Flooring Wide Plank

DUTCH DESIGN

French floor

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Floor Forum International 77

04-09-15- wk36 15:01

Special

Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet: solid and engineered

From solid wood to multi-layer?

Design Parquet

Herringbone and Hungarian point have also made their entry in the multi-layer floor segment. The reason for that is quite obvious: Multi-layer floors can also present solid assets for these fitting patterns e.g. speed of the fitting, dust-free fitting, often completely finished, in more limited construction heights, which makes them more suitable for renovation. Strictly speaking, there is no reason whatsoever not to choose multi-layer. Producers offer both solid wood and two and three-layer floors.

Design Parquet, which has vast expertise in making special panels, has noticed that people greatly appreciate these floor patterns. That means that the company has lots of prestigious projects as references. For the fitting it’s important to start in the middle of the room. Here, too, oak is the most appreciated and most suitable sort of wood. Other sorts of wood such as doussie, wenge, and cumaru are used, but definitely a lot less frequently. At Design Parquet most of these floors are produced in solid wood, but over the last four years, the company has also offered multi-layer.

Comments from the market : BJ Parket A few years ago, there was less demand for herringbone, but that situation is changing. Hungarian point, by contrast, has always been a product with good sales. There are important points for attention as regards the fitting. Firstly, lining out the floor for the fitting is absolutely essential. Usually, the floor fitter will start laying the first strips in the middle of the room so that the strips end parallel with each other as they run towards the sides. Basically, you can use any sort of wood which is suitable for parquet floors. With Hungarian point the lanes are clearly delineated, whilst with herringbone the strips overlap somewhat so that the lanes are less clearly delineated. For a good quality result these patterns have to be perfect in terms of dimensions, and that requires some skill. Otherwise, some of the parquet will be wasted and the floor fitter may find this hard to absorb. BJ Parket offers both solid wood and multi-layer. In recent years, the distressed versions, both Old Flemish style and style panels, have been very much in fashion.

Chêne de l’est® For Chêne de l’est, too, herringbone and Hungarian point are back in fashion both in new buildings and in renovation. They believe that fitting these floors should also be part of a floor fitter’s basic training. After all, there are a number of special points for attention with the fitting, not least the attention to the commencement of the fitting. Oak is the preferred wood sort here. As regards production, these floors also require extra attention in the areas of drying, stability, and sawing precision. Chêne de l’est offers both solid wood (in thicknesses of 14 and 21mm) and multi-layer (in a thickness of 15.2mm). Chêne de l’est offers over 100 different finishes. The preference depends on the client. Chêne de l’est bears the ‘Parquet de France’ label and the wood used is PEFC approved. The company has the A+ label for solid wood floors and multi-layer TOP 4.

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Flamingo Parket Despite the emergence of patterns in a multi-layer design, Flamingo Parket has always had a market for 6 and 8mm traditional parquet. Many traditional companies continue to hang on to traditional parquet floors, especially when there is a suggestion of border/edging and/or locking friezes. Technically, just about anything is possible, and even rigid sawing against an existing skirting board is no problem for this type of floor. The expert ability to lay herringbone sets a parquet floor fitter apart from an average floor fitter. At Flamingo Parket they’ve also noticed that, since the introduction of multi-layer parquet, other companies apart from parquet specialists (e.g. home designers) have started selling them, so herringbone tends to be avoided as it is seen as a specialist floor fitting method. And so, this means there are chances here for real parquet floor fitters. What’s important is that floors are well set and that fitting starts from the middle. The point is that the dimensioning has to be 100% with no wastage. In the case of sandpapering after the fitting it is also important to follow the correct sandpapering direction. Basically, all types of wood are suitable, but there is still a pronounced preference for oak. People usually work with a border and edging in which the edging is usually in a contrasting sort of wood such as wenge. Flamingo Parket produces herringbone and Hungarian point in both 6 and 8mm traditional parquet and in 16 and 18mm twin-planks. In herringbone the traditional parquet is still mostly in 6 and 8mm at Flamingo Parket.

Habo Over the past year, Habo has produced and delivered noticeably more Hungarian point and herringbone. They are convinced that people are clearly returning to old patterns. According to Habo, it is simply a fact

that such floors require expertise: A Hungarian point floor has to be fitted perfectly at right angles and filled and sandpapered meticulously. The fitting of the lanes in relation to the incidence of light largely determines the aesthetic aspect of the floor. Habo always calculates the correct width of the strips of Hungarian point for its clients in harmony with the dimensions of the room in which Hungarian point in American walnut it will be fitted. This means the @McGregor Paris strips are always perfectly lined up with regard to the entire width and length of the room. Hungarian point can be fitted at angles of both 45 and 60°. For an attractive rigid effect, Hungarian point is sometimes finished with a modern groove or U-joint. Both patterns can be produced in any sort of wood. However, about 90% of orders are in French oak. The most popular exotic wood sorts are American walnut and wenge. Habo presents these patterns both in solid wood 6.3mm and 9mm and in two-layer (13 and 18mm).

MANUFACTUROR OF SOLID AND ENGINEERED WOODFLOORS Style panels, end grain, distressed floors (different ageing techniques ‘sanded, brushed, tumbled, smoked and structured’): Customised work on simple request!

Heywood Vloeren At Heywood Vloeren Hungarian point and herringbone designs are still extremely popular. Here they are convinced that these floor designs have to be fitted by a competent and experienced professional. As a tip they tell people that these floors always have to be fitted from the middle. Starting dead straight is a point to note. Although various sorts of wood are available on request, oak and nut are the most common. Heywood Vloeren offers these designs in solid wood and in two-layer on plywood, on new wood, and on reclaimed wood. Two-layer floors are the best-seller here.

Hertog Vloeren The company is FSC® accredited and enjoys strong relationships with architects, designers and contractors in over 25 countries around the world. Hertog Vloeren has long experience in the production of Herringbone and Hungarian Point oak flooring. Now enjoying a real renaissance, these floors can be found in homes and commercial spaces all around the world. These are available in different structures such as tapis (overlay), solid and engineered in a range of

B.J. Parket

BVBA

INDUSTRIESTRAAT 44 9240 Z ELE – B ELGIUM TEL: +32 52 44 45 57 FAX: +32 52 45 06 71 EMAIL: INFO@BJPARKET.BE WWW.BJPARKET.BE

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Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet: solid and engineered

thicknesses, standard widths and lengths. Custom sizes are available to order. With a large choice of surface finishes and colours, the possibilities are endless. Hertog is FSC® accredited and enjoys strong relationships with architects, designers and contractors in over 25 countries around the world.

Kerkhofs Parket We are seeing increasingly that design floors are becoming more popular. The trend is that end users like to get a ‘different’ floor to that of their neighbours and want something special, so they call upon the services of a parquet professional who can offer that. This is an opportunity for professionals to show their expertise. Hungarian point and certainly herringbone patterns are increasingly in demand and therefore Kerkhofs Parket is producing them more. For the production of these design floors they have purchased a highly accurate CNC guided sawing machine. Herringbone and Hungarian point is available in all possible sorts of wood and thicknesses. Oak is one of the most popular sorts, but people are increasingly choosing other sorts such as wenge and afzelia. Hungarian point is often calculated tailor-made in accordance with the size of the room in question or, for example, the length size. The photograph above shows a herringbone floor in various widths, planed three-sided, and finished with the Tover Essenza, which gives a natural look.

Lalegno Herringbone design is traditionally one of the most well known and popular patterns for parquet floors and seems to be back in fashion. Lalegno has an oak multi-layer parquet floor with herringbone design, the 15-ABC-122-BRUT-VG. This alternative to solid herringbone floors has tongue and groove and can be fitted in this way quickly and easily. The 15mm thick floorboards with a 4mm top layer on a multiplex base have a set length of 610mm and are 122mm wide.

some special points for attention. For example, the correct fitting from the middle of the room is important for ending the pattern evenly on both sides. The right direction for incidence of light through windows should also be considered. For production, precision is obviously important with both patterns. 1/10 millimetre difference can adversely affect a design floor. Making a design floor obviously requires more production time, since various lengths and/ or corners have to be tailor-made. At Parketfabriek Lorraine it is mainly oak which is ordered, but obviously all sorts of wood are possible, as are combinations of various wood sorts. Parketfabriek Lorraine produces designs in traditional parquet, Burgundy, and solid wood. The company can produce herringbone and Holland design in multi-layer. At present, traditional parquet floors are very much in fashion again, and even small standard sizes are ordered regularly.

Parketfabriek Lieverdink In recent times, there has definitely been some demand again for herringbone and Hungarian point. Lieverdink produces this in traditional parquet (6.2mm), Burgundy (9mm), and Q2 (13 and 16mm; two-layer). Wider sizes are particularly in fashion; think of traditional parquet at 12 x 60cm, but also wider in Burgundy. They recommend fitting Hungarian point as ‘Vienna point’. Sawn like Hungarian point, but fitted like herringbone in sawn angles of 45 and 60°, this yields four charming designs. Parketfabriek Lieverdink believes that sound training is essential. Lieverdink offers these floors in 40 wood sorts. The production is carried out with computer-guided machines: Strips have to be produced first, and then the patterns is sawn for every ten strips. This costs time and obviously involves some loss of wood. That’s why there is a small allowance as compared to strips. Traditional parquet and Burgundy are the main sorts, but in Q2 the sales of herringbone two-layer are growing. Important sizes are 7, 9, 12, and 14cm. Hungarian point is also doing well. Lieverdink does work with loose cuttings for the head joints. Herringbone is possible in Burgundy up to 25cm wide.

Parketfabriek Lorraine

Parqueterie Janod

Hungarian point and herringbone designs are also very much in demand at Parketfabriek Lorraine, especially in bigger sizes. ‘Vintage’ is a strong trend, so these floors are distressed, smoked, and colour-oiled to create the right effect. At Parketfabriek Lorraine they believe that parquet floor fitters still need some initial practical experience after their basic training if they are going to fit these patterns properly and responsibly. Indeed, apart from normal standard conditions for fitting parquet, there are also

Parquet manufacturer Janod has been based in Doucier (Jura), France, since 1930. Today, this family business is managed by its fourth generation. Tradition and quality have formed the main ingredients throughout the company’s history. Janod specialises in customised work. All sorts of traditional parquet are produced here in an extensive range of wood sorts. Herringbone and Hungarian point are still parquet patterns in the highest segment and are still very popular. Lots of flats,

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Haussman type, have parquet floors like this and the company’s clients include several specialist parquet traders. Furthermore, clients like the added value of these floors both for new buildings and renovation. A professional parquet fitter is considered to have mastered this fitting technique (glueing and nailing) and these fitting patterns. Janod produces this parquet in solid wood and multi-layer, in various sizes and thicknesses and in all sorts of wood sorts, including oak, walnut, beech, and merisier. The dimensioning is adapted to the dimensions of the room where the floor will be fitted. And so, this is customised work, just like a tailor-made suit from a master tailor. Floor fitters are expected to work extremely precisely all the time.

Stile At Stile they’ve noticed a change in design in general in recent years. Even with ceramic tiles they’ve detected a movement in the direction

of geometrical shapes. In the same way, they’ve also noticed a return to design patterns and herringbone or Hungarian point. These types of floors are available from Stile in all collections as far as the sizes are concerned and in most colours and finishes. The floors are available in both solid wood and engineered.

Trap Flooring Trap Flooring has been producing solid (Trap Parket) and multilayer engineered flooring (Multrifloor) in a unique range of over 30 wood species for more than 20 years and has opened a new factory in Hungary last year. In all these varieties pattern flooring (herringbone, chevron, Versaille, .. ) can be offered, either in standard sizes (like 450 x 90 and 350 x 70) or in custom sizes (mostly bigger). These floors can be unfinished or UV oiled or lacquered.

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Producers of Hungarian point and fish bone parquet: solid and multilayer engineered

T&G Wood

also guarantees a custom-made finish for each floor here, too. As far as the wood sorts are concerned, European oak obviously takes first place. This is available in four selections in both 15 and 10mm. The 15mm sizes are 120 x 600, 140 x 700, and 180 x 900mm. Oak is also available smoked and in all required finishes. The FSC certificate is also standard here. Various major projects are now designed with the Dual Parquet herringbone. The store chain Fabio has a classic herringbone which is fitted creatively in all shops.

Office buildings in herringbone are also gaining in popularity

T&G Wood also sells its herringbone floors in multi-layer parquet. A birch multiplex bottom layer ensures a marvellously stable product, Dual Parquet. At T&G Wood sales of Hungarian point and herringbone have risen enormously over the last two years. Classic herringbone has grown enormously in popularity. The character of various finishes yields a modern product creation. Hungarian point sales are also holding their own and these floors are becoming more popular. Producing them with bevelled edge or as a two-sided bevelled edge or with no bevelled edge already yields a wide variety of looks. T&G Wood

Offices in Cape Town

PARQUETERIE JANOD Parquet ﬂooring

manufacturer for 4 generations

The pleasant impressions that Hertog floors leave you with... As one of the first manufacturers to have specialised in the production of authentic aged oak flooring Hertog floors can now be found in homes and commercial spaces all around the world. At our facility near Maastricht, our talented people produce beautiful, aspirational floors. In solid or engineered, from wide-and-long to Herringbone, Hungarian Point and Versailles panels, the possibilities are endless. We have always set out to differentiate through design and innovation, but equally important is our desire to meet our customers’ expectations by offering Expert advice and first-class service. Hertog Vloeren BV Bunde, The Netherlands, T. +31 43 365 5971 www.hertogvloeren.com - sales@hertogvloeren.com 16

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French manufacturer of parquet flooring Hungarian point and herringbone patterns Versailles – Aremberg – Chantilly panels or all models custom-made to order. Parquet flooring in oak, French walnut, ash, maple, et cetera. Solid wood and multilayer parquet.

Rue du Moulin 39130 DOUCIER – France Tel. +33 (0)3.84.25.71.69 - Fax +33 (0)3.84.25.76.24 E-mail : contact@parquets-janod.com Internet : www.parquets-janod.com Shipments and deliveries in France and abroad.

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Special Maintenance and cleaning products for floors in Vinyl, PVC and LVT

MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS AND DETERGENTS FOR LVT, VINYL & PVC FLOORS SPECIFIC PRODUCT RANGES BRING IN THE CASH

Photo – WOCA

Products for cleaning and maintaining LVT and PVC floors are part of the comprehensive clean, care, and maintenance range of well known producers. However, we see that some products are classified under a separate brand name. This is an attempt by producers not only to provide clarity, but also to promote sales. Sales furniture or presentation displays are being developed for parquet shops and showrooms so that clear communication soon leads clients to the right product.

Cleaning or nourishing? When we talk about ‘clean’, ‘care’, and ‘maintenance’, we are actually talking about three completely different things. ‘Cleaning’ refers to the removal of dirt, dust, and grease. Cleaning or washing is virtually a daily task. ‘Caring’ means looking after something. That means protective measures or repairing minor damage. With ‘maintenance’, we’re really talking about ‘keeping something healthy’. Just as an oiled wooden floor needs some maintenance oil every now and again, and lacquers can benefit from certain nourishing ingredients to keep them from looking weary and dull, so, too, LVT floors have specific needs. The need to ‘nourish’ a surface is all about porosity. Highly porous surfaces can contain a lot of dirt, so they need to be saturated in some way or other. PVC is hardly porous at all, so there’s no real need to nourish it, but it does need cleaning. By contrast, vinyl is often highly absorbent and porous and therefore requires maintenance treatment. This can be compared

to filling the pores of wooden floors before applying a so called ‘metallisation’ to protect the floor continuously from dust and stains.

The domestic assortment Makers of maintenance and related products for parquet and other floors present their products in a ‘domestic assortment’. There’s the ‘mop’ for daily removal of dust, special dusters and floor cloths, detergents ‘specially for parquet’, oils, maintenance polish, power cleaners, stain removers, and nutritional products. All these products appear (with some providers) as a total system.

Decision to buy Obviously, these maintenance and cleaning products for LVT en PVC, just like those for parquet and wooden floors, have their place in the floor fitter’s showroom (if there is one) and in the showroom of specialist parquet traders. Offering them for sale is one thing; presenting them attractively for sale is another matter. It’s important for both producers and retailers, in this case parquet specialists, to realise that many consumers don’t make a decision to buy or not to buy a product until they are in the shop, and their numbers are only likely to increase in the future.

Point of Sales Point of sales marketing, sometimes called point of purchase advertising, aims to attract shopping clients into the shop. Strictly speaking,

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Special

Special Maintenance and cleaning products for floors in Vinyl, PVC and LVT

the aim of POS marketing is to tempt shopping clients to make some extra purchases. This often happens at the end of a shopping spree (e.g. at the counter). In this respect POS marketing is mainly concerned with stimulating impulse buying. POS marketing uses displays, folder dispensers, product presentation cupboards, banners, and such like

A glance at the range :

Satiné’) and Metamatt Renovator (‘Rénovateur Metamat’). These products are for renovation. For regular cleaning there is Lisabril Cleaner (‘Nettoyant Lisabril’) to complement the above-mentioned metallisers. Finally, two products perfect for cleaning and preparation for renovation are ‘Scouring Anti-Ageing (‘Décapant Dégraissant’) and the Superactivity Cleaner (‘Nettoyant Suractivé’).

Briançon

Blanchon At Blanchon they point out that ‘those who can cope with hard work can also cope with easy work’. And so, a product developed for parquet can also be used on soundly prepared ‘plastic’ floors. That means ‘metallisers’ for regular cleaning and power cleaners for the ‘restoration’ of worn top layers, and this for different types of floor. Blanchon also makes the aforementioned important distinction between ‘nourishing’ and cleaning. The range of products from Blanchon goes under the name of Blanchon Maintenance’ (‘Blanchon Entretien’). This range is offered in a handy showcase. One of the star products is Lagoon, a rapid cleaning product with spray and micro-fibre cloths. This combination appears in kit. The cloths can be machine-washed up to 500 times. For maintenance and renovation, they offer a full range, including two metallisers, namely Gloss Renovator (‘Rénovateur

For all lacquered parquet floors and for high-traffic plastic floors Briançon presents its Metallising Parquet Renovator (‘Rénovateur Parquet Métallisant’). This product is odourless and leaves no marks. Thanks to its fine components, it fills the pores of the floor. This prevents dirt from gripping to the floor. By leaving a film, the product provides protection against black marks and it doesn’t turn yellow. Moreover, it is anti-slip. It is also compatible with all parquet lacquers and varnishes. In addition, Briançon also presents the Parquet and Laminate Cleaner (‘Nettoyant Parquest et Stratifiés’), a cleansing product which is suitable for all traditionally lacquered parquet floors, oiled floors, laminate, and flexible floor coverings. This cleaner is ready for use. The product is rich in new-generation detergents.

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chimiver.com - info@chimiver.com

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Ciranova UNICARE X-MATT is a new unique and universal product for maintaining all matt substrates from Ciranova such as Aquafix MAGIC & OCULTO. Furthermore, it is also possible to use UNICARE X-MATT on laminate, LVT, vinyl, and PVC floors. As the name suggests, UNICARE X-MATT is extra matt so that the floor gets some extra invisible protection. UNICARE X-MATT provides invisible protection and has a nourishing effect on the floor. This product should be maintained regularly with the Hard Floor Fresh Ciranova. Periodically, you can clean the floor intensively using the Hard Floor Cleaner. After that, you can again apply the UNICARE X-MATT. UNICARE X-MATT is classified under Ciranova general MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS. In addition, Hard Floor Fresh and Hard Floor Cleaner are two products also used to maintain varnished floors. Ciranova has an attractive display cupboard for parquet traders and retailers so that they can present the maintenance and other products as well as maintenance flyers for oiled, varnished, and laminate floors, plus the flyer for UNICARE X-MATT.

DevoNatural® Devomat offers the following DevoNatural® products. The DevoNatural® Soft Cleaner is a cleaner for cleaning varnished parquet, bamboo, cork, vinyl, and laminate floors regularly. It leaves no residue. DevoNatural® Polish is a waterproof and protective maintenance product for varnished parquet and wooden floors, cork, and bamboo. Finally, DevoNatural® Intensive Cleaner is a power cleaner for removing old layers of soap and polymer and polishing and degreasing extremely dirty wooden floors layers, tropical wood sorts, and such like. A new product is the DevoNatural® Spray Mop + Hard Floor Cleaner for rapid, handy, and ecological cleaning of varnished parquet, laminate, cork, vinyl, LVT, ceramic tiles, glazed natural stone, and all other impervious hard floors. Another new product is DevoNatural® Hard Floor Cleaner, a ready-for-use cleaner for use with the DevoNatural® Spray Mop or rag. It is suitable for regular cleaning of varnished parquet, stone, and synthetic floors.

Floorservice PVC floors are becoming more and more a trend when it comes to floor covering. From now on you can find three new maintenance and cleaning products for PVC floors in the Floorservice productrange. PVC Cleaner Floorservice PVC Cleaner can be used for daily and periodical cleaning of PVC, Linoleum and

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Marmoleum floors. Stubborn dirt can be removed easily, while the original colour and appearance of the floor is being protected. PVC Polish PVC, Linoleum and Marmoleum floors can be perfectly maintained and protected with Floorservice PVC Polish. The applied protective layer is very durable. PVC Polish Remover This PVC Polish Remover removes old layers of Floorservice PVC Polish, or other water based maintenance products. Floorboy XL 300 For removing Polish on large areas the Floorboy XL300 is a very capable and handy machine. The colour and structure of the floor won’t be affected.

Henkel / Thomsit Thomsit presents the Thomsit PRO 40 Intensive Cleaner. This powerful cleaner can be deployed for all floors except for parquet and textile. Thomsit PRO 40 Intensive Cleaner effectively removes old wax coats, polymer film (including on linoleum), and crusty dirt. The product contains very little foam and has a pleasant aroma. It is particularly suitable for glueing new floor coverings onto existing ones. It can also be used for wall and floor tiles and on paintwork. Thomsit PRO 40 Intensive Cleaner is used either concentrated or diluted (diluted up to 1:3 with water), depending on the degree of contamination. With modest contamination, even a ratio of 1:10 is possible. The product can be used both mechanically and/or manually.

WOCA WOCA Denmark has developed two new floor care products that improve the cleaning and at the same time extend the life of vinyl flooring and wooden floors with lacquered surfaces. The first product, WOCA Vinyl– and Lacquer Care, puts an invisible film on the surface of the floor, in this way it protects against wear and tear and scratches. This also means that the life of the floor is prolonged. WOCA Vinyl - and Lacquer Care enhances the gloss of the underlying floor. As it is a water-based product, there are no special demands as to the ventilation. Another important property is the fact that it is “self-removable” which means that the film will be dissolved at next application. So there is no build up of more layers. The other new product is WOCA Vinyl- and Lacquer Soap, which is used for the daily cleaning. It is characterized by the fact that it does not leave the normal soap film on the floor. WOCA Vinyl- and Lacquer Soap can be used on all lacquered and painted surfaces and is also usable on vinyl, floor tiles, linoleum and laminate.

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Project

Ciranova® (BE)

CIRANOVA® REACTIVE STAIN FOR OAK MOSAIC PARQUET IN THE RESTORED ST. MARTIN’S BASILICA AT HALLE (BE)

Fitting solid oak mosaic parquet in de crossing (the zone around the altar) was the summit of the huge restoration which St. Martin’s Basilica has undergone over the past 15 years. After consultation with architect Karel Breda, they opted to finish the wooden floor with a Ciranova® reactive stain and a Ciranova® UN1CO natural oil. And so, the parquet was adorned with a colour fully in harmony with that of the new church furniture.

Slightly distressed, natural presence

Medieval splendour restored to glory

To be sure of a good result, the project workers treated four samples with Reactive Stain and finished it with UN1CO, the single coat oil from Ciranova®. After consultation with the architect, they decided to go for Ciranova® Reactive Stain Old Grey and to finish the floor with UN1CO WHITE. Architect Karel Breda explained why they chose this finish: ‘We opted specifically for this Reactive Stain due to the natural exterior of this treatment on an European oak floor.’

St. Martin’s Basilica, which dates from 1341, is a splendid late High-Gothic monument in the Senne Valley. Architect Karel Breda, who was responsible for the restoration, started studying the restoration work back in 1995. The final renovation commenced in 2000 and on the 1st of May 2015, the fully renovated basilica was re-opened with a celebration.

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An important part of the restoration of the basilica was the fitting of a new parquet floor on the steps around the altar. The architect wanted a floor which was slightly distressed (aged), yet still looked completely natural. In view of the strong reputation which Ciranova® enjoys as a pioneer in distressing stains, the main contractor (Monument Group) made the obvious choice.

Reactive stain and natural 0 % VOC oil finish

Solid parquet on beam structure The fitting and finish of the parquet floor was entrusted to Westparket (BE). The installation was a daring exploit according to Pascal Timperman, manager of Westparket from Desselgem. First of all, they built a complete set of beams for the support structure. They fitted the necessary sound insulation on top of that. Then, they made the mosaic parquet in solid French oak (supplied by Alba Floors ‘DE’) in customised tiles of 55.2 x 55.2cm.

Speedy and expert finish After the fitting, the surface was treated with Gupa-Maker from Ciranova® in order to seal up the wood joints. Gupa-Maker is a handy filler for untreated wood. The Gupa-Maker was mixed with fine sanding dust. After that, the Ciranova® Reactive Stain (old grey) was applied on site. The reaction of the Reactive Stain with the tannins

in the French oak yielded the required result. On the next day, they finished the floor with one coat of UN1CO White. This one-coat oil from the latest generation makes use of renewable natural oils. Thanks to the special Ciranova® technology, only one coat was needed for rapid drying and, at the same time, chemical resistance.

Splendid result Architect Karel Breda was full of praise for the result: ‘The result blends in well with the Reactive Stain applied to the new modern basilica furniture. The finish is low-maintenance and the natural pattern of the wood comes perfectly into its own. Moreover, the reflection of the stain glass windows in the finish layer elevates the platform to a magisterial architectural element.’ More information at www.ciranova.be

Floor Forum International 77

Special

Sanding machines : part II

GOOD MATERIAL IS ESSENTIAL ROTARY DISC SANDERS ARE STILL INDISPENSABLE

Photo – Alvaket

If there’s anything to be said for the new generation of rotary disc sanders, it’s their infinitely extensive range of possible tasks. Actually, they can do anything and, if they are heavy enough, they can even take over the levelling task of the endless belt sander. We will see below that these tools have been refined over the years from a technical and motor point of view. Nowadays, for possible innovations, manufacturers concentrate fully on user-comfort and ergonomics: versatile tools, easily transportable, heavy enough to do the job, but light enough to be manoeuvrable.

A little bit like cooking Apart from the fact that parquet floor fitting and gastronomic cooking are both noble arts, they also have other things in common as well. First of all, there are the ingredients. You can’t prepare a good meal

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without a top quality piece of fish or meat. The subsidiary ingredients, oil, baking butter, herbs, and cream are in proportion. A poor quality product spoils the entire dish. Similarly, a good parquet project starts with stable wood of good quality. The end result will be determined partly by the quality of the subfloor (the base), the adhesive used, and the finish products. All that must then be carried out by a ‘top chef’ who is thoroughly acquainted with all the tricks of the trade. Apart from those ingredients, the kitchen equipment plays the main part; after all, you can’t cut thin slices with a blunt knife. A good mixer for the sauce is often essential. Similarly, successful parquet fitting also stands or falls with the tools at the floor fitter’s disposal. Or, as people sometimes say, ‘Good tools are half the job.’ A rotary disc sander is one of those tools which play a crucial part in the finish of parquet. However, those machines also come into play at an earlier stage and at the end of the fitting. In other words, from start to finish.

The effect of twisting The vast merit of belt sanders still lies in their levelling power. A mosaic subfloor is levelled up by the ‘belt’ with no trouble at all. By going over the floor again afterwards in a rotational motion, we remove the (inevitable) marks left by the belt sander and create a uniform surface which is ready for the finish. Sanding machines on the market can by and large be divided up into three sorts of twisting motions. - Rotation motion: In physics ‘rotation’ is the motion of a body whereby, in a two-dimensional space, the points of that body turn in a circular motion on one point of that body. With a single rotation (more rotations are not possible), one point becomes the centre around which all others outline a path in a perfect circle. - Eccentric motion: In simple terms this gives us a turning motion (rotation) combined with an up-and-down motion. With eccentric sanding machines, you obtain this motion by attaching a piece of circular sandpaper to a flat base with a resilient layer. The sole is mounted with an eccentric (a tool which converts a rotational motion to a different motion) on the axis of the motor so that you get a combined motion. - We get combined rotational motions with several discs. It is possible to strengthen the effect of the rotation by using (usually) three discs, which rotate in opposite directions. We will see from the range of sanding machines that there is also a range of machines with several discs.

with lacquer to sandpaper the floor completely blank. This can be done with both traditionally fitted floors and pre-finished floors.

… and outdoors too! In a recent edition of this journal we published a topical article on terrace renovation and terrace renovation machines, handy tools developed specially to restore wooden terraces to their former glory. When these machines were presented under the title ‘What’s on the market’, it was noticeable that some manufacturers promoted their rotary disc sanders for terrace renovation. If these tools are fitted with the right accessories (brushes), they are perfectly suitable for this purpose.

An overview : Alvaket Alvaket is of the opinion that the Cobra 09 belt sander is still the very best machine for sandpapering the floor completely flat. After the floor has been treated with the belt sander, it will be necessary at all events to remove the scratches caused by the sanding belt, which always rotates in the length direction, using a single disc machine, which is also called a buffing machine. The somewhat lighter Numatic buffing machine is often

Versatile As we have already said, disc sanders with one disc or three discs have a job to do at various stages in the process of fitting a wooden floor. Let’s summarise these functions concisely:

Preparation for a new building A screed is seldom perfect. Even with a new building, it is possible that the screed might need to be levelled in order to obtain a flat base. The disc sander is therefore used to polish the leveller.

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Preparation for renovation Renovation is becoming more popular. Every day, parquet floors or other types of floor are fitted onto an old screed. Some machines can be equipped with very hard sandpapering material (brushes or heads) so that, as it were, they ‘scrape’ the screed. This removes old carpet remains, adhesive residue, paste, and such like with no problem at all.

Removing belt sander marks Belt sanders almost always leave wide marks, even when operated by the best floor fitters. The marks vanish thanks to the rotational sandpapering motion of the discs. This must be done in various phases in which the operator switches each time to a finer grain (gauze disc 100/120/150).

Finish Whether the finish is applied using lacquer, oil, or wax, the rotary disc sander should be kept within reach for this phase as well. If the floor is finished with lacquer, the disc sander is used for sanding between coats. After the first coat of lacquer, various wood sorts (certainly tropical woods such as merbau) tend to become very woolly. That’s the time for intermediate sanding. As soon as the coat has formed a film, sanding is no longer necessary. The rotary disc sander can be deployed for oil and wax to apply the product and polish it.

Maintenance and renovation Lighter versions of disc sanders are used to apply oil or wax and to maintain or renovate oil or wax floors. They are used for floors finished

MASTIC REMOVAL TOOL The Diamabrush™ Mastic Removal Tool is designed to remove stubborn coatings from concrete such as mastic, carpet or tile adhesive, thin-set and thin mil coatings like urethane or paint. Easy to use without heavy grinding equipment or harmful chemicals. This diverse tool, which mounts to any standard floor buffer or auto scrubber, uses diamond coated blades to grind tough coatings away!

CONCRETE PREP TOOL The Diamabrush™ patented metallic blade is ideal for cleaning hard floors like concrete and terrazzo as well as a great prep tool for coated floors, screeds, levelled floors, and adhesive preparation. A 25 or 100 diamond grit is bonded to metallic backing and assembled to a flexible, spring-steel blade. The flexible blade allows the diamond to remain in constant contact with the floor.

TEL +31(0) 768896297 | FAX +31(0) 844386905 | MOB +31(0) 654698080 E-MAIL renes@malish.com | www.malisheurope.com EUROPE - NORTH AMERICA - ASIA

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Special

Sanding machines : part II

used for this purpose. This is done with a driver disc with a black pad for protection and the sanding disc under that. That machine can also be equipped with a satellite disc (4 x 150mm), but those discs rotate freely, so they are not power driven and need the rotational movement of the entire disc. The Bona Flexisand can also be deployed to this end. Time is certainly gained by using the power driven satellite discs of the type Wollf Multi-sanding disc mounted on Wolff Samba (1700 watts ) or Wolff Mambo Evo (2nd generation 2000 watts with variable revolutions per minute between 150 and 450). The Wolff Mambo Evo is also the machine for renovating multi-layer parquet, certainly with the multi-sanding disc onto which it is possible to mount rougher grains. An additional advantage of the Mambo is that it can be deployed to renovate screeds with coatings, remove adhesive residue, and roughening up concrete floors (something which parquet floor fitters are having to do increasingly) using, for instance, the innovative Ninja disc with different segments. The Wolff Mambo is just about the only powerful rotary machine where a dust suction unit can be mounted onto the handle, but the appliance can also be connected to all standard dust suction units such as NUMATIC NDD, BONA DCS, or Wolff starvac.

Devomat Industries The new Woodboy 4000/32-3 is the workhorse of Devomat Industries in every respect! The new 1500W motor has 50% extra power than the previous Woodboy model! The chain wheel housing ensures perfect conveyance. The machine is equipped with an easy fastening system for mounting various auxiliary items. Each auxiliary item makes the Woodboy a different machine. Depending on the chosen application, the Woodboy can also be equipped with dust suction or a water tank! You can improve the performance of the machine considerably by putting a 10kg weight on it. Moreover, the new Woodboy model is equipped with an ATC system ‘Automatic Torque Control’. This is an electronic setting to absorb highs and lows in power supply. Devomat offers various solutions for dust suction. Devomat industries also has the Devo Master 3D in its range. This 3-disc machine for sandpapering and removing glue residue also offers several other applications. Its unique features include the strong steel casing, the specially developed Lönne motor driven by an ABB frequency regulator, form-chain wheel casing with double serrated Contitech belt and base drive plate with three Flexinav segment holders. These rotate in the opposite directions on the base drive plate. The diamond segments are slid into a conical groove on the segment holders. Click, clack, and you’re ready to start! The new zirconium parquet sanding discs, with rapid adhesion, are fastened and removed in no time at all! The machine is equipped to be connected to the Jumbo Finedust NDD 900 and the Finedust NDD 570 dust suction units.

Overmat For decades our Woodboy has been the most multi-functional single-disc machine in the market. This machine is (a.o) being used for

Floor Forum International 77

sanding, cleaning, buffing and polishing of floors. Also for floor preparation such as residue-removal, the Woodboy is the perfect machine. HTC assortment In the Benelux Overmat is exclusive dealer of the high quality machines of HTC. The planetary grinders HTC Greyline 450 and HTC 420 VS are suitable for as well concrete, floor prep and wooden floors. The machines are divisible for easy transport. And because of the EZChange™ system the grinding segments can be changed very easily. Frank assortment The Overmat belt sanders Frank Viper C and Frank Cobra Classic offer a high output. This is ensured by its powerful engine and robust construction. They are the ideal machines for professional sanding of parquet and plank-flooring. For edge grinding our edge-grinders Frank Gecko S, Frank Gecko L and Frank Gecko Star offers the solution.

Malish Europe

Since 1948, Malish has been a renowned name in the world of mechanical floor cleaners. Amongst practically every leading trademark in scrubbing/suction machines and 1-disc machines, you will find brushes, pad holders, and specialist products made by this American market leader. From its headquarters in Willoughby, Ohio, Malish has been producing and supplying goods and for over 15 years also from its own factory in Dongguan, China. Since 2012, the European sales office, which is located in Ulvenhout, near Breda (Netherlands), has been in operation. Diamabrush has been a real innovation in the field of floor cleaning and renovation. Diamabrush cleans dirty hard floors thoroughly such as concrete and terrace so that they can be further finished. You can also polish concrete and terrace with Diamabrush or you can opt for a non-mechanical seal such as a coating or hardener. Diamabrush is available in most common brush sizes from 25 to 50cm on average. The most commonly used tools are the MASTIC REMOVAL TOOL (grain 25) – very sturdy sandpapering parts which remove all that they need to remove – and the CONCRETE PREP TOOL in grit 25 or 100 - flexible metal blades ensure that there is always contact with the floor so that lower parts are also cleaned. The Diamabrush Polymer Tool system consists of flexible and easily replaceable plastic blades in grains 50,100, 200, 400, 1000, and 2000. These blades can both clean deeply and sandpaper heavily so that they are ideal for use to prepare a re-coating (think again about replacing sandpaper!), but they are also suitable for polishing concrete and terrace. In terms of technical costs, Diamabrush usually works out 70-80% cheaper per square metre and is about twice as fast as most machines.

Special

Producers of profiles

PROFILES CAN BE SEEN PARADOX BETWEEN VERSATILITY AND PERSONALISATION

Photo – FN Neuhofer

Of one thing we can be sure: The profile market is doing well and there’s every indication that this will continue. One factor which certainly influences this is the growing trend of combining different forms of floor technology with each other in one project. That provides ‘thresholds’, and that, surely, is largely what profiles are all about. Another ‘ favourable’ wind has come in the shape of the growing renovation market. Joining up small rooms to make a greater whole also means that you create ‘threshold’ situations. The fact that profiles also play a decorative role is fairly new.

What do profiles do? Whilst skirting boards provide an aesthetic border between the wall and the floor, profiles provide an aesthetic and comfortable bridge for all sorts of thresholds. These thresholds can be summarised as follows:

From horizontal to vertical We’re referring here to stop profiles or end profiles which connect the floor and the wall.

From horizontal to horizontal with a difference in level These profiles form a lowering angle and thereby ensure that differences in level are offset so that they are less of an obstacle. These profiles actually have three main functions: a protective function to ensure that the edge of the highest floor doesn’t get damaged, a safety function to prevent occupants or visitors from stumbling over the difference in level, and, finally, an aesthetic function to make the difference in level less obtrusive.

From horizontal to horizontal with no difference in level These profiles can be used to connect different types of floors (parquet/wall-to-wall carpet) or to eliminate expansion joints.

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Special

Producers of profiles

From horizontal to ‘nothing’ We’re referring here to slot edge profiles which are used, for instance, to board up stages, raised floorboards, or staircase edges.

Stair profiles Something of a separate category in the world of profiles are the so called stair nosings which give the staircase steps an aesthetic and, primarily, a safe finish. These are considered elsewhere in this edition in the article on staircase renovation.

More and more combinations Different floor types are being combined with each other more and more both with renovation and new buildings. This is partly due to the fact that floors, whatever type they may be (e.g. parquet, laminate, textile, vinyl, linoleum, etc.), are increasingly available in the same decors or at least in decors which can be combined. For example, in most types of floors (apart from wood) it is possible to find most sorts of wood in various colours, quite apart from an endless range of colours and designs. A very popular combination, for instance, is that of parquet (solid wood or multi-layer) in the living room and connecting to an LVT floor in the kitchen with the same sort of wood as decor. Combinations of hard floor coverings with other hard floor coverings or of hard floor coverings with pliable floor coverings are run-of-the-mill. Profiles provide the threshold.

are now given more and more attention from a decorative point of view because they have a clearly visible affect on the design of the room. The height, the material, and the colour have an impact on the style of the room. Profiles are becoming increasingly visible partly because more and more thresholds are being created.

The trend? Metal! Metal colours continue to enjoy unabated success. Stainless steel and aluminium profiles continue to grow. What is noticeable is that, apart from the classical shades such as aluminium, bronze, silver, and a whole series of wood decors, ‘black’ has also established an important position. As we have already said, digital print opportunities mean it is possible to develop profiles which either correspond 100% to the look of the floor or deviate from it entirely. Exclusive is the motto here and according to some people it is gaining ground, whilst according to others it counts more in the realm of skirting boards than that of technical profiles. Amongst the innovations it is the bendable profiles (under other stair profiles) and profiles for vinyl which stand out a lot. As well as creating a wide variety of aesthetic and decorative possibilities, manufacturers are concentrating on improving the wear resistance of the profiles.

The ‘decorative’ profile? There was a time when profiles played a purely technical role. After all, you use a profile primarily to solve a technical problem. Skirting boards

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Photo – Küberit

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Has the age of versatility gone? For a few years now, there’s been a strong movement towards ‘fewer profiles for more applications’. The reason for this development was obviously the infinite number of situations which workers can encounter on site and for which some or other special profile is required. After all, the aforementioned thresholds exist in every imaginable size and differ from site to site. That problem obviously arises less with new buildings, but all the more in renovation. Producers are putting their researchers to work to make versatile profiles. One threshold profile should be capable of bridging as many differences in level as possible. Or, in other words, a single profile should be able to act as a threshold, level, and end profile at the same time. The aim behind limiting the variety of profiles by means of a certain versatility was to reduce the burden on traders and distributors, who simply couldn’t keep the entire infinite mass of technical profiles in stock. Today, those versatile profiles are still a fact, but there is now a strong diversification, especially in the field of colours. Moreover, there is a paradox between limiting the number of profiles and the top decorative trend. After all, here, too, digital print technology has made it possible to personalise profiles.

Technical developments Profiles have become much more durable in recent years. According to some manufacturers, the profile is generally stronger and more durable than the floor itself. This shows that profiles are considered to be technically important and are no longer just low interest accessories. As regards the preferred fastening method, we have noticed in the range a strong increase in glued profiles or profiles fitted with an integrated self-adhesive strip. The vast improvements in adhesive technology (adhesive bonding versus mechanical bonding) are obviously part of the reason for that. One producer has noticed a growing preference for adhesive or self-adhesive profiles in the residential (read: DIY) market, whilst screwed anchoring is preferred for projects and commercial applications.

Küberit Nowadays, profiles for floating fitting of LVT are attracting a lot of attention. Küberit gets requests from different countries for profiles and clips which correspond to the floor in terms of decor. From

the retail trade there is still a lot of interest in multifunctional profiles due to both stock considerations and to make things less complex for floor fitters. The preferred fastening method seems to be very much tied to regional preference: Germans prefer screws, the Dutch prefer self-adhesive systems, and Southern Europeans prefer clip systems. One point for attention with profiles nowadays is the radius of the expansion joint since the expansion of the various floors varies considerably. Küberit pays a lot of attention to durable profiles. The company regularly unveils licensed innovations. The latest innovation is a new generation of expansion profiles for glued LVT.

Neuhofer Holz Neuhofer is also witnessing a considerable increase in ‘design’ in profiles. From a technical point of view, multifunctional profiles are still important here. The FN six pack in aluminium or HDF is a good example of that. With that profile it is possible to convert reduction profiles or T-profiles to end profiles. This can be done using an end piece which is supplied in the packaging. Partly due to the flat structure, this profile is a solution for all floors. In the area of fitting, adhesive has the upper hand here. Thinner floors, (and therefore thinner profiles) are a major challenge on the market at the moment, and this is a segment which Neuhofer is working on (from 2mm for glued floors and 5mm for floating floors). The main innovations are also found in LVT. Important in the decorative area is the technique of embossing which converts MDF profiles to structured profiles. All structures are possible here. Some

MOVEMENT JOINT 317 · Installation without any tripping hazard, due to a flush installation · Maintenance-free movement joint of ± 2,5 mm · Can be used for glued floor coverings of up to 3 mm · Only 14 mm visible surface 27 Floor Forum International 77 www.kueberit.com

Special

Producers of profiles

used, there’s no difference between profiles for laminate and a floor like LVT, for instance. According to Proline, profiles offer not only decorative assets, but also safety to preserve the durability of the floor and its look for many years. Proline profiles are suitable for thresholds, height adjustments, end finishes, and professional finishing for stair nosings. For the latter they recommend the PROSTEP profiles due to their anti-slip features. The best-seller at Proline is still PROVARIO clip for floating floors. This profile permits the movements of the floor, but still offers a perfect aesthetic finish.

important innovations are lighter profiles with integrated LED strips (FN LED Profiles) and flexible (bendable) profiles (FN Pro-flex), which can cope with any unevenness, but also inner and outer angles of up to 90°.

Progress Profiles

Perfilstar

Every year, Progress Profiles presents some new ideas which are based on architectural trends. The fact that details make the difference is a guiding principle, just as that is the case in the interior. The company produces over 12,500 references in stainless steel, aluminium, bronze, PVC, and real wood. For example, there are the PVC skirting boards which correspond to no fewer than 30 different wood decors. The new BATTISCOPA PVC is strong, durable, affordable, easy to fit, and ecological. It is suitable for both public and private applications. There is certainly some demand for multifunctional profiles, but they aren’t always the preferred choice. All profiles from Progress Profiles are produced and tested in accordance with the highest standards. Actually, there aren’t many differences between the profiles for different floors. From the latest novelties we mention PRODESO HEAT SYSTEM (a time-saving solution for warm floors), PROTERRACE DRAIN (a profile which enables you to drain terraces), and SOL 30P (an expansion joint for LVT).

Proline Proline offers special profiles for design floors such as the PROCOVER design floor with height correction of 4-7mm. PROVARIO is the licensed profile for laminate and parquet. As for materials

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Until a few years ago, producers endeavoured to make profiles which stood out as little as possible. Nowadays, with digital print technology, it is possible to harmonise any decor with no problem at all. Perfilstar threshold profiles are amongst the thinnest on the market, so they are almost invisible. By contrast, skirting boards are becoming more important with new finishes, including aluminium, stainless steel, or lacquered. At Perfilstar they have seen that using several profiles is cheaper than multifunctional profiles, although multifunctional profiles do enjoy a certain market share. Clip systems are popular in rooms with straight walls, but the general preference is for adhesives in combination with nails. Perfilstar works with the best suppliers as regards raw materials (with guarantees) in order to ensure that products do no lead to any problems. Durability is an important topic here. The most important development in the company is digital printing, which they’ve been using for over five years. Amongst their most recent products, they mention the thin solid, aluminium skirting board. But they do promise more news!

Special

Subfloors for laminate floors

SUBFLOORS FOR LAMINATE ATTENTION FOR ACOUSTIC NUISANCES

Photo – Mac Lean

Strictly speaking, there is very little difference between the subfloors which we use for floating parquet and those which we deploy for laminate. One point for attention which comes out somewhat more strongly with laminate is that of the acoustics. Noise nuisance, especially the well known ‘click’, has been a disadvantage of laminate since way back. And so, for laminate, apart from the other functions for which a subfloor can serve, we’ll be looking in particular for a subfloor which can improve the acoustics both in the room itself and in adjoining rooms.

Types of subfloors Subfloors for floating floors can generally be deployed for multi-layer parquet floors, veneer floors, and laminate. The instructions from the manufacturers usually contain some subtle differences. Most subfloors appear in the form of more or less flexible (soft) panels, which are usually fitted with tongue and groove, or on rollers. Various brands

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provide a self-adhesive overlap for subfloors on rollers in order to join the strips to each other. The materials from which the subfloors are made vary greatly, but popular materials include polyester fibres, wood fibres, and foam (polyurethane). The latter is obviously no surprise; foam is basically a collection of countless enclosed air bubbles. This is because air makes good insulation.

Damp screen for floating floors When you fit floating wooden floors or laminate, the best solution to counteract the risk of moisture is to fit a foil. The available foils are usually composed of synthetics. Popular synthetics for damp foils include polyethylene (PE), polyvinylchloride (PVC), and polyisobutylene (PIB). The foils are available in rolls of various widths. They have to be fitted with an overlap of 30cm and run up the wall at the edge to a height of up to 2cm above the final floor height. Any damage to the foil must be repaired or else the entire subfloor serves no purpose whatsoever (you can compare such a subfloor to a leaking bucket).

Floor Forum International 77

Special

Subfloors for laminate floors

Combination with subfloors Whenever the damp foil has been fitted, you will generally fit another subfloor, depending on the necessity. For example, it may be necessary in certain circumstances to have a levelling subfloor or thermal or acoustic insulation. The latter often plays a major part in blocks of flats where people wish (and are legally obliged) to ensure that neighbours downstairs are not inconvenienced by the sound of footsteps.

so, we obtain a certain sound reduction with subfloor X, if it is used with floor Y.

Mac Lean

Integrated moisture barriers In practice, with floating floors we will almost always make use of a subfloor with an integrated moisture barrier/damp screen. This development is both a simple and brilliant solution, which subfloor manufacturers have provided. More and more (especially flexible) subfloors are appearing as a combination, for instance, of polystyrene (foam) or neoprene (foam) with a waterproof foil. This combines the water-repellent function with thermal or sound-reduction properties. Most foils are fitted with an adhesive strip for simple fitting. A special (waterproof) adhesive tape is also supplied with some foils.

Other functions of the subfloor Obviously, subfloors have other functions apart from providing protection from damp. Levelling is one of those important functions. Levelling can be done perfectly well with a levelling compound or leveller. A levelling compound is generally fluid and self-levelling. The fact that most levelling compounds set very quickly means that little time is lost. Levelling compounds are suitable for floating and glued fitting. However, for floating fitting it is also possible to fit a levelling subfloor. The market offers various wood products (panels) for this purpose. Apart from wooden subfloors, we also find soft subfloors, in panels or in rolls, which have an exceptionally high levelling capacity. Usually, you use a soft material with a minimum thickness of 2.5mm and a density of about 20kg/m³.

And the sound The subfloor also has to be dry, flat, solid, and clean in order to fit laminate. Those are basic requirements. Furthermore, it may also be necessary to improve the acoustics.

Types of sound Airborne sounds are vibrations which are spread by the source of the sound in the air e.g. the human voice, the radio, music, a running engine, and such like. Airborne sound is transferred to adjoining rooms via floors and walls. Airborne sound travels from the outside to the inside and vice versa. The airborne sound causes a vibration on the walls (or floors) and the walls (or floors) reproduce that vibration on the other side (or underside). By contrast, impact sound is created between materials. Typical contact sounds in buildings, for example, include footsteps or sliding chairs.

Specific subfloors Floating floors do not form a united mass with the subfloor. The air layer under the floating floor ensures sound reproduction. Furthermore, the effect (impact) of people walking on the floor is often disturbingly loud. We all know the annoying ‘click sound’ of laminate and other floating floors. To improve the acoustics with floating floors, manufacturers present very specific subfloors which have been tested against the prevailing European standards (EN ISO 717-1 and 2 and EN ISO 140-1 and 2). The way in which the tests on the subfloors are carried out and the way in which suppliers (producers and dealers) present their products confirm that there is no such thing as sound reduction ‘in and of itself’. The sound reduction capacity of a subfloor is always discussed ‘in relation to’ the final floor. And

Floor Forum International 77

Mac Lean has various subfloors which increase comfort and create the technical conditions for correct fitting in order to comply with legal regulations, building decrees, and various technical regulations. Improving the acoustics is a basic demand and a basic principle for Mac Lean subfloors. In 2013, the EPLF took some important measures for assessing the quality of subfloors. To improve the acoustics, they concentrate on the impact sound value (IS) and the reflected walking sound (RWS). Mac Lean sets the standard in this field with a number of products. Examples include Iso Silence, Isotac Gold 10dB, Selit-pro, and Selit-block. The same preconditions basically apply for multi-layer parquet as for laminate, in which parquet in and of itself is more stable and has less vulnerable click systems. For LVT Mac Lean has some special solutions with a pressure stability of more than 400kPa. Although LVT is a soft floor covering, you can achieve good results with a subfloor in the field of sound reduction towards the room below. More and more of the subfloors are being made from compression resistant extruded polystyrene foam. This material has good sound insulation as well as good levelling properties. It also protects the floor against wear and falling objects.

Sekisui Alveo

Sfera Floors As official wholesaler of Instalay and Muffler products, Sfera Floors offers the following High Acoustic subfloors from its range. Instalay 30 Low Grab has the unique Peel and Stick system i.e. the subfloor is fitted on the top side with a light sticky layer of glue, which, in the case of intensive use, relieves the pressure on the click system since the panels have extra binding from the layer of glue. This subfloor is perfectly designed to reduce the sound of footsteps and transmitted sounds from hard floors such as laminate due to its unique composition of rubber crumb. Moreover, the rubber crumb also ensures soft and pleasant walking comfort. As regards technical details, it is 3mm thick, consists of 80% recycled rubber in combination with synthetic latex, its density is 443kg/m³, its impact sound is 23dB, and its impact insulation is in class 55. The Floor Muffler is also designed to form a good barrier against the sound of footsteps and transmission sounds in both residential and commercial floors, thanks to its unique structure from a cross-linked polypropylene foam. Apart from the perfect sound reduction, this subfloor also has an integrated damp screen. The technical details are as follows: there is an integrated damp screen in the subfloor, the sound of footsteps is 21dB, sound reflection is 33%, and the subfloor is highly durable and fixed.

LEGISLATION (Source: Sekisui Alveo)

At present, legislators are working hard on an official EN standard for laminate floors which will set minimum requirements for subfloors. Until then, the EPLF has already defined minimum recommendation values on the basis of the CEN TS 16354 measuring methods for the properties which are specified in the technical specifications. These can be found in the information brochure on the web site www.eplf.com. The most important values for daily use are a CS (compressive strength) value of at least 10kPa, a CC (compressive creep) value of at least 2kPa, and a DL (dynamic load) value of at least 10000 cycles. Since a click system on a click parquet floor and a click laminate floor differ considerably in practice in terms of thickness, you could also basically work with a less compression resistant subfloor, but that will certainly have an adverse effect on impact sound in the long term, since the thickness of the subfloor as measured in the laboratory is an important parameter for preserving the measure of impact sound insulation. And so, loss of thickness also means less sound reduction.

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Basically, the same subfloor products can be used for both laminate and floating parquet. The important points are that the subfloors provide good protection for the click joints and that with floor heating, for instance, the total R-value of floor and subfloors does not exceed 0.15m²K/W. Good protection is guaranteed by good resistance to fleeting pressure (compressive strength = CS), long-lasting and static pressure (compressive strength = CS), and repeated dynamic pressure (dynamic load = DL; see frame item). The measuring methods for this have been set out in CEN TS 16354, which was approved about two years ago. The physically split foam subfloors of Sekisui Alveo always offer a high degree of impact sound insulation. This is also the case for the long term, since they all meet the minimum recommendations of the EPLF as regards CS, CC, and DL. Moreover, the products from the Alveopro range are developed specially for a combination of reduction in both impact and airborne sound under the motto ‘quiet doesn’t have to be heavy’. Examples of such products include Easy Protect, Sound Protect, and Sound Protect Ultra.

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Floor Forum International 77

Advertorial

Chimiver Panseri (IT)

CHIMIVER (IT) - 50 YEARS OF PASSION FOR THE PARQUET WORLD The Italian parquet chemical specialist Chimiver is fifty years young and more dynamic than ever. With an extensive high-quality range for the parquet industry, and with innovative and sophisticated products for the world of semi-soft floors and resin floors, Chimiver is a top company in Italy and an dynamic player on more than 50 export markets worldwide. Chimiver is based in Pontida, near Bergamo, in Northern Italy and has been developing and producing chemicals for the parquet industry for over half a century. Nevio Panseri, who is joint manager of Chimiver together with his brother Oscar, tells us the secret of this family company’s success: ‘Our slogan “Il mondo del parquet” (the world of parquet) tells you what our company is all about. We offer every possible product for high-quality finishes for wood and parquet in particular. In recent years, we’ve added a whole range of products for outdoor wooden floors, which have also been very successful.’

Three business units The company is also committed to diversification, a strategy which it started to implement a few years ago. Consequently, Chimiver now has three business units at its disposal, one for the parquet and wooden flooring sector, one for semi-soft floors, and a third one which concentrates on resin floors. In all three business units they develop solutions and products for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Innovation and diversification Innovation and diversification are the slogans which drive the Chimiver employees on in their daily work. Nevio Panseri comments: ‘Our research concentrates not only on improving our existing products, but also we’re looking constantly at general market demands

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and requests, and that leads to the development of completely new products. The fact is that it’s clear to us that a market which fails to develop and innovate cannot survive.’

Fifty years young In 2015, Chimiver also celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. They’ve given the anniversary some extra lustre with a striking presence at the World Exhibition in Milan this summer. They applied their expertise to the protection of the indoor and outdoor wood of a good number of country pavilions at the World Exhibition in Milan, especially the pavilions from Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Chile, the United States, and Monaco.

A look to the future Anniversaries are milestones which help both individuals and organisations like Chimiver to reflect on the past and consider the way ahead in the future. Oscar and Nevio Panseri did that as well for us: ‘A focus on parquet and loyalty to the parquet sector has always been Chimiver’s mission. That was always our father’s conviction, and that’ll also be the case in the future. We firmly believe in the unique qualities of wood, a material which is noble, exudes warmth, and is a trusty solution for everyone. During its fifty years, our company has always kept its feet firmly on the floor, but at the same time has always cast a glance abroad. Export has become a major part of Chimiver’s success. However, export needs more than just good will. You also need good quality products, a good reputation as a company, and the right approach tailored to the individual markets. Chimiver has all the ingredients to succeed. Not least because the company is built on a solid base of faithful professional staff, plus cutting-edge production facilities and good and stable relations with clients and partners based on values such as honesty, transparency, and mutual respect.

The future is green for Chimiver The most recent product launches by Chimiver also indicate the path which the company wants to take. Today, the name Chimiver stands for ‘Chimi’ (chemistry) and ‘ Verde’, which means green in Italian. Nevio Panseri explains: ‘For us, Green chemistry means primarily using raw materials from renewable sources. One of the most important tasks for our research laboratory, apart from looking for effective and convenient solutions, is also to develop products which have the lowest possible impact on the environment. And so, we also work continually to offer green alternatives to our solvent-borne products. We’re convinced that over time everyone will be convinced of the importance of the new ecological alternatives. Our basic principle is that ecological efforts don’t need to take place at the cost of quality or convenience. Moreover, we always manage to make the new greener products more effective.’

Complete range and assured high quality The Chimiver product range is very extensive, yet each product is thoroughly tested, effective, and ripe for use. Dealers and users can count on high-quality solutions for parquet and outdoor wood for all sorts of fittings: subfloor preparation and levelling agents, primers, adhesives,

varnishes, natural oils, cleaning and maintenance products, accessories and tools, protective products, and cleansing agents for wood composite floors, etc. Furthermore, with its other business units, Chimiver possesses all the products (adhesives, primers, and cleansing agents) for semi-soft floors, artificial turf, micro-cement, and resin floors. You can visit their web site for a full list: www.chimiver.com

Chimiver - the key figures Turnover: 15 million euros Proportion of exports in turnover: 40% Company infrastructure: 11,000m² Number of employees: 58 (12 of them in research and development), 18 agents, 37 official dealers in Italy, 51 dealers abroad, 4 direct sellers in Italy, 1 direct seller in Brazil. Adhesive sales in 2014: 4.5 million kilogrammes

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Special

Veneer wooden floors: what's new ?

VENEER FLOORS - YOU CAN’T QUALITY HAS ONLY IMPROVED OVER THE YEARS

Photo – Europlac

Although veneer had the reputation of being ‘ fake’ or imitation, a so called slab wood, it was regarded as perfectly acceptable for furniture. Although people were far less ecologically minded in those days, they certainly did appreciate the cheaper price due to the thin layer of noble hardwood (usually oak). The mechanical strength of veneer was certainly considered adequate (you don’t walk on a cupboard) and the maintenance was the same as for fully fledged wooden furniture. The step to veneer floors was ‘a small step for a man, but…’

The thickness of the top layers

Ecological champion

The floor surface obtained from a tree is obviously much bigger with veneer than with any other sort of wood. An oak trunk with 5.5m³ of wood yields approximately 95m² of solid parquet, 700 to 850m² of multi-layer parquet, and 3,600m² of veneer. Those differences can count! This obviously makes veneer wood the most economic floor

When it comes to economical use of natural raw materials veneer is the undisputed champion. If we want to include wood in the interior, veneer is the most economical solution. After all, it’s hard to imagine anything thinner than 0.6mm.

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Solid wood is the biggest wood consumer with sections of at least 6mm for some traditional parquet up to over 25mm for solid wood floors. Engineered parquet, multi-layer parquet, and semi-solid floors have proved themselves much more sparing with an average top layer of 2 to 4mm. The bottom and middle layers are usually made of chipboard, triplex, or a lattice work of cheaper and renewable sorts such as poplar. Veneer wood, however, sticks to an average top layer of 0.6 to 1mm.

What do we get from a tree?

GET ANY GREENER THAN THAT! obtain scratch-resistance by applying several (up to eight) UV coats of lacquer. Laminate and veneer are fitted in exactly the same way. Both floor types are equipped with a (licensed) click system. They are fitted floating and the floorboards simply click together. To sum up, from a technical point of view, the only difference is the decor layer, which consists of wood in the case of veneer and paper with laminate. Veneer producers use the feel of real wood as a sales argument, although this is contradicted somewhat by the coats of lacquer which put a seal on the floor surface.

Qualitative development As with all floors or even all building materials, the quality of veneer floors has improved considerably. Moreover, as we know, all progress is presently at a crossroads of forms of technology. As regards veneer floors, the crossroads is the art of veneer cutting, which has now reached a higher level thanks to hyper-modern cutting machines, with technological developments in wooden panels. In some respects, a veneer floor is the result of the assembly of two main components, namely the base and the decor. New forms of technology in adhesives, printing, and pressing have yielded a big improvement in the quality of assembly. In other words, the decor will no longer come loose from the base. With both laminate and veneer floors, the base is HDF (High Density Fibre). The quality of the HDF base means that the floors can hardly be pressed in at all (solid wood is easier to press in!) and the quality of lacquers nowadays makes the floors highly scratch-resistant and durable.

Parquet, laminate, and veneer If we were to subject parquet, laminate, and veneer to a comparative test of quality, we would conclude that the quality, and especially the resilience in the face of either intense or non-intense use, actually has little to do with the basic material.

Mechanical strength when it comes to acting sparingly with natural raw materials. This once again raises the issue of wholesale deforestation and mankind’s destructive intervention in the rain forest, for instance. That rain forest produces the most attractive exotic wood sorts, which are much coveted and are still the object of mala fide and illegal wild cutting. A choice for veneer wood is a choice to act responsibly towards forest resources.

The durability of the floor is created by the finish. From that point of view, a solid wood floor, a multi-layer floor, a laminate floor, or a veneer floor are each other’s equal if they are finished in the same way with the same number of coats of lacquer. As we have already said, laminate and veneer floors have another advantage over solid wood in that they are less impressionable and thereby less vulnerable. For example, they are more resistant to the impact of a falling object.

Not quite laminate

Lifespan

Veneer floors are comparable with laminate at several points. From a strictly technical point of view, both types of floor are almost identical. Veneer floors are constructed in virtually the same way as laminate. With veneer floors, a wafer-thin wooden layer (generally 0.6mm) is glued onto an HDF sheet; the same is done with laminate, but with a layer of printed paper. With both floors it is possible to fit a stabilising counterlayer and/or a bottom layer of sound insulation. You

It remains a fact that the lifespan of a wooden floor is longer than that of a laminate or veneer floor. And so, the lifespan isn’t extended by the strength, but by the renovation option. Wood can be sandpapered. The thicker the wood, the more often you can sandpaper it, and therefore the longer its lifespan. And so, at this point, veneer floors have to take second place to solid and multi-layer parquet, but not to laminate floors, which, like veneer floors, cannot be sandpapered.

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Stair renovation

STAIR RENOVATION OR RESTORATION? RIGHT UP THE FLOOR FITTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S STREET

Photo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Progress Profiles

Stairs are one of the strongest and most durable building elements of a home. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a feather in the cap of designers and stair makers over the years! The quality of the construction usually means that when the time comes for stairs to be renewed, the mechanical qualities of the staircase still suffice. With solid wood stairs it is often possible to restore the staircase. This means sandpapering and carrying out minor repairs here and there. Another option, which is possible for both solid wood stairs and other stair constructions (e.g. concrete or steel), is to dismantle the existing sections of the staircase. In occupied houses, the latter involves the least inconvenience.

The parts of a staircase The most important parts of a staircase are the steps, and possible risers, cornices and nosing, and the side pieces.

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- The step is the part of the staircase where people put their feet as they walk up or down the stairs. - The riser on a closed staircase forms the vertical connection between two successive steps. - The connections between the step and the riser is sometimes finished with a cornice. - The side pieces or cheeks are the sloping parts of the staircase which support the steps. Milling the side pieces creates nests or rebates where the steps, risers, and cornices are supported. With some (wooden!) staircases with sawn side pieces, the steps are on the side pieces so that the side pieces are not visible. - The railing or bannister provides support as people walk up or down the stairs and also acts as a safety barrier. Furthermore, the railing also forms a major decorative element of the staircase. The railing consists of the handrail which is connected to the stairs or side piece by balusters.

- Stairwell case and landing: The horizontal cheek along the stairwell or along the landing is called the stairwell case. The landing is a part of the staircase which has a horizontal walking surface, which is bigger than a step and cuts short the staircase. - End step: The end step is the last step of the staircase or staircase arm where the step surface is at the same height as the floor or the landing.

Staircase restoration When a solid wooden staircase is due for renewal, restoration is one option. As regards working method, restoration is perfectly comparable to renovating an existing (lacquered) parquet or wooden floor. The staircase parts are sandpapered totally blank and then treated with lacquer, oil, hard wax, or even paint. Restoration is worth considering for staircases with special decorative value. That value may be due to a valuable wood sort or the authentic style of the staircase and railing.

Safety aspects If the thickness of the steps allows it, it is possible to level the worn walking surface of the staircase again to some degree. Here it is important to check whether or not the wood will still be solid enough after sandpapering to support a person’s weight. Moreover, with closed staircases, light sandpapering may result in the emergence of cracks near the contact point of the step and the riser, and these will have to be sealed expertly (no sinecure!). Sometimes, precisely due to the authenticity of the staircase, people opt not to sandpaper the walking surface flat. At all events that does mean a compromise in terms of safety. After all, the worn walking surface does make it harder to navigate the staircase safely.

Cost price The cost price of restoration should not be underestimated. Sandpapering the steps, risers, and, especially, the railings (balusters) can be extremely time-consuming, certainly when it comes to round (antique) balusters. The complexity of the staircase partly determines the extent to which manual work is required for restoration. Minor repairs after sandpapering are also time-consuming. In many cases dismantling will prove less expensive than restoration.

Dismantling In new construction, strictly speaking, we make a distinction between two sorts of (wooden) staircases: fully customised new staircases in wood or stone/concrete staircases which are furnished with wood. The second type (furnished) is carried out on the same principles as a renovation of an existing staircase by furnishing. Whether it’s renovation or new construction, furnishing staircases is right up a floor fitter’s street. After all, this is about ‘dismantling’ an existing wooden support structure and that’s exactly the same as with fitting parquet.

other reasons for furnishing the staircase. If, for example, you wish to extend the living room in a somewhat older home (from the 1950s or 1960s) by demolishing the corridor wall to bring the staircase into the living room, it’s quite possible that the modern and rigid design which you have in mind simply won’t suit the rounded staircase steps and the round styles of the railings. In that case a new railing (or no railing) and the dismantling of the steps provide a totally different look.

‘Customised’ solutions Various manufacturers offer ready-made systems for this purpose (for new buildings and renovation). Those ready-made systems obviously almost always mean some customised work. Staircase renovation packages can include all sorts of options such as anti-slip or built-in LED lights.

Two specialists : FN Neuhofer Holz Neuhofer Holz offers the FN lock-on profile, which is used as a stair nosing profile. FN lock-on is available in anodised aluminium or furnished with veneer or laminate in a wide range of decors. Apart from stair nosing profiles, Neuhofer also offers a user-friendly package of 16 stair nosings for a full staircase. In combination with a height-adapter, one profile can be used for floors varying in thickness from 7 to 24.5mm/9/32-31/32”, whereas three profiles used to be necessary for this. Anti-slip is also vital here, and the FN lock-on fastening method means there is no annoying difference in height to be seen between step and profile. The standard profile lengths are 120 and 240cm.

Progress Profiles

The continuous floor Whilst in the past staircases were usually fitted in an entrance hall or passageway separated from the living room, we are now seeing staircases increasingly fitted in the living room itself. This trend, combined with the trend of having floors run through continuously into different rooms, means that people are also including staircases in those continuous sections. In other words, people are choosing the same type of floor for the floor upstairs, on the middle floor, mezzanine floor, or upstairs room as in the living room and they are also furnishing the staircase in the same way so that everything forms one whole.

New construction or renovation With a new building you have a free choice from the very beginning about those ‘open’ staircase rooms. With renovation there may be

Progress Profiles offers not only a full staircase renovation system, but also, depending on the model, the possibility of fastening profiles with self-adhesive strips or screws. One important accessory is the Pro-gripp, a self-adhesive strip in carborundum, anti-slip, and with very high wear resistance. It is available in six colours and widths to meet all technical and aesthetic requirements.

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Producers of engineered floors

ALMOST ‘EVERYTHING’ IS MULTI-LAYER ENGINEERED FLOORS SELL THEMSELVES

Photo – Quick-Step

Multi-layer parquet is just one of many wood-related multilayer floors. Strictly speaking, anything that is multi-layer is also engineered (or vice-versa). In this article we have to choose our words carefully since a good number of those sublime multi-layer floors aren’t actually parquet. We also have to be careful with the benefits because some of the benefits are more due to floating fitting rather than the multi-layer character of the floor. We mustn’t forget that solid wood, too, can be fitted floating and is available prefinished. Anyway, let’s have a look at the wood and the trees.

Multi-layer floors In using the term ‘multi-layer floors’, we mean all floor types constructed in several layers using sophisticated technology (engineered) in order to increase stability and make the fitting easier. The vast majority of floors on the market are ‘multi-layer’. In this article we cover only wood-related multi-layer floors i.e. multi-layer floors involving wood or

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woody materials. Here we draw a major distinction between multi-layer wooden floors and multi-layer parquet.

Laminate The standard EN 13329 assumes an elaborate definition of ‘laminate’. This is important because usage classes and production method relate to each other. Laminate is defined as a ‘floor covering with a surface layer consisting of one or more thin sheets of a fibrous material (usually paper), impregnated with aminoplastic, thermosetting resins (usually melamine). By the simultaneous action of heat and pressure, these sheets are either pressed as such … on a substrate (usually wood-based panels) … primarily used as a balance material. The surface layer is the upper decorative layer intended to be the visible side when the floor is installed. The backing is generally made of HPL, CPL, impregnated papers or veneers. It is primarily used to balance and stabilise the product’. It is important to note that laminate is multi-layer and actually consists for 100% of wood.

Bamboo

Veneer floors

Floorboards can be made as soon as planks are produced from a bamboo trunk. Here bamboo floor manufacturers have had a good look at the situation in the wooden flooring industry. All sorts of parquet which we find in wood are also available in bamboo, and therefore also multi-layer in combination with a wooden base. The Duo plank consists of a top layer in solid bamboo, which is supported by a pressed multiplex board. This structure also guarantees an extremely stable floor. Obviously, the thickness of the top layer determines the durability of the floor. The Duo plank, too, can be fitted both floating and glued (and nailed, if necessary). Bamboo strip floors consist of three layers. The top layer determines the durability of the floor. Under a top layer of 4mm of solid bamboo, for instance, we find two more cross-linked glued layers in pine wood. The middle layer is fitted cross-linked to give the floor much greater stability.

In theory you could say that a veneer floor consists of three layers. The middle layer usually consists of an HDF sheet (High Density Fibre), the top layer is a veneer layer of ‘real’ wood, and we usually also find a bottom layer, which differs according to the function (e.g. sound insulation, damp screen, or leveller). A veneer floor is about 8mm thick and the veneer layer is about 0.6mm thick. The main role of the HDF layer is to give the veneer floor ‘impact strength’. Some producers also attribute other properties to the middle layer. Basically, we should call the coat of lacquer applied to a veneer floor as a ‘fourth’ elementary layer. However, there are also oiled surfaces with no coat of lacquer.

Cork Cork, too, is available for multi-layer floors and in various ways. Cork can play a purely technical role here to improve the thermal or acoustic properties of other floors. However, cork also appears as a top layer on a base made of a different material; the floors are usually also fitted with a click system. As with laminate, the cork top layer can be printed using digital print technology.

Multi-layer wooden floors Below, apart from the aforementioned multi-layer floors, we consider multi-layer ‘wooden’ floors. With this category the top layer consists of real wood. These appear in an extensive range of thicknesses.

Multi-layer parquet Multi-layer parquet can consist of two or three layers. With twolayer strip parquet, the top layer is fastened onto one base. Two-layer wood-engineered parquet is generally fully glued. Three-layer wood-engineered parquet also has a bottom layer as well as a middle layer in MDF, HDF, multiplex, or pine or fir strips. The layers are fitted cross-linked onto each other and are glued together under pressure. The total thickness of a multi-layer parquet floor is about 14mm, something which is ‘very helpful’ when it comes to renovation. Some manufacturers have two-layer wood-engineered parquet of 9mm. The thickness of the top layer differs for both two and three-layer parquet from manufacturer to manufacturer. Those thicknesses vary from about 2 to 6 or 7mm. According to the Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI), a multi-layer wooden floor has to have a top layer of at least 2mm in hardwood before it can be defined as parquet. The

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Producers of engineered floors

thickness of the top layer is particularly important for the number of times that the floor can be sandpapered.

Why the success? According to the European Parquet Federation, multi-layer parquet commands a 78% share of the wooden flooring market. Solid wood floors account for 20%, whilst the rest is covered by mosaic. The success of multi-layer parquet is the result of its intrinsic assets, which are many, combined with the above-mentioned easy fitting.

At BJ Parket they talk of multi-layer parquet from a top layer of at least 2.5mm. BJ Parket presents multi-layer floors with top layers of 4 and 6mm respectively. The company sells its home-made Duo Line, Solid floor, Europlac, BJ Best Selection, and Baltic Wood. Duo Line has a highly stable birch plywood base. Europlac allows a choice between birch plywood or HDF. Solid floor is mounted on a block panel. At BJ Parket the ratio of finished and raw supplied floors is 50/50.

Buco Import

Guaranteed stability By glueing a solid wooden floor and nailing (traditional parquet) onto a wooden subfloor, we want to absorb the natural movement of the wood, which is the result of fluctuations in air humidity. In other words, wooden floors constructed in several layers have much greater dimensional stability. The step to design that construction in the production phase seems logical. After all, assembling a bottom layer, middle layer, and a top layer in a mechanical and industrial environment guarantees a stability which is ‘always identical’ and calculated. ‘Calculated’ because no human errors are made in an industrial setting. That industrial guarantee also applies to all production process phases which, in the case of solid floors, used to be done by floor fitters: subfloor, structure, sandpapering, and finish.

Comfort and health Moving certain tasks from the site to the factory benefits the health of both floor fitters and project managers. After all, sandpapering floorboards and handling often harmful glue and finish products are not really healthy tasks. Project managers are freed from the dust and unpleasant odours which fitting traditional parquet involved. This is certainly one of the main reasons for the breakthrough of multi-layer parquet. People consider fitting a wooden floor in an existing home may be put off by the traditional inconveniences, but multi-layer parquet removes those inconveniences.

Ecological reasons No one can now deny that, in recent years, consumers have developed an ostentatious ecological awareness within a very short space of time. We all now realise that planet earth deserves protection and this is reflected in a clear change of attitude: We take account of CO² emissions from our cars, we opt for ‘economical’ heating systems, we take seriously our duty to sort waste, and we recycle. Doubts which consumers long held about the quality of multi-layer wooden floors have now disappeared due to technical reasons. The fact that a top layer of 2 to 3mm can now achieve the same (visual) result as a 15mm solid wood plank has finally won the hearts and minds of end users.

A selection from the range : BJ Parket

When it comes to multi-layer floors, Buco Import presents its three-layer floors in bamboo, strand-woven, side-pressed, and plain-pressed. Multi-layer floors are recommended for fitting on floor heating and greater widths are possible on request. Buco Import finishes floors mainly on its own and has an oiling line for this purpose.

Design Parquet Design Parquet offers two types of multi-layer floors. The Loft Pro is a parquet floor with a thickness of 16mm with a top layer of 4.5mm, in widths of 95, 120, 145, 180, and 220mm and with a thickness of 20mm with a top layer of 5.5mm and in widths of 180 and 295mm. Design Parquet offers 15 wood sorts, including oak. Three-layer Loft floors have top layers of 3.2 or 3.5mm and widths of 145 and 190mm. The best-sellers are Loft Pro 16mm and the three-layer floors. Loft Pro offers great stability and allows greater thicknesses and widths. At Design Parquet 90% of floors leave the premises finished.

Europlac At Europlac they have opted consciously for two collections with a 2mm top layer, so there’s not too much difference in price setting as compared to import products. The collections ABSOLU 10 (HDF) and PRESTIGE 10 (birch plywood) are part of an integrated concept of parquet ‘à la carte’ with thicker top layers, too. At Europlac

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they think that a floor needs to be 2.5mm to be called parquet, so they call these collections â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;engineered wooden floorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Once fitted, they obviously show no visible difference to other top layers. The ABSOLU range is available with a click system or tongue and groove. PRESTIGE is available only with tongue and groove. Floors on an HDF base are certainly cheaper, but less suitable than plywood for floor heating or rooms where the humidity fluctuates strongly. At Europlac 75% of floors are supplied finished, divided equally between lacquer and oil.

Habo

Flamingo Parket

Habo Topline by Willton parquet floors

Habo produces the two-layer parquet Top Line in thicknesses of 13 and 18mm with solid wood top layers of 4 and 6mm respectively. Top Line is available in widths of 16, 18, 20, and 22cm in four selections of French oak and an extensive range of exotic wood sorts. Unfinished floors are still the best-seller (about 80%). In addition, they also offer a wide range of finishes including their VOC distressed floors, Top Line, and Basic Line collections and an attractive range of lacquered finishes.

Kurkfabriek Van Avermaet

At Flamingo they use the word parquet for top layers of 2.5mm. The company produces only two-layer parquet on a birch plywood base (glued indelibly): Twin Plank. Up to eight years ago, Flamingo produced three-layer parquet. According to Flamingo, the advantage of two-layer is the better glueing, directly onto the screed, and two-layer is a more stable product. Furthermore, two-layer floors swell and shrink less and there is no risk of dark patches from the pine cross-laths. A two-layer floor can be given a 6 or 8mm thick top layer to reach a wider circle of clients. 75% of the floors which Flamingo Parket supplies are finished with hard wax oil.

Heywood Vloeren At Heywood Vloeren they consider that you need a top layer of 2.5 to 3mm before you can speak of parquet. Heywood produces multi-layer floors in two layers on plywood in thicknesses of 20/5.5mm and 15/4mm. The difference in quality between two or three-layer depends on the construction of the substructure and the intermediate layer. Here, they consider two-layer to be of better quality, but it is also more expensive. The ratio of raw floors and pre-finished varies with the sales channel, but it is estimated roughly at 50/50.

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In view of the growing demand, Van Avermaet concentrates on its new floating Qualy Cork click Print wooden floors. The detail in the print and the spacious sizes ensure that this product now looks just like solid wood floorboards. With floating cork floors there is a choice of three variants. The first variant is just about parallel to the glued version; here, there is a choice of eight sorts of structures. There is then a choice from one of the pre-lacquered colours, so it is either a fully finished floor or a colour can be chosen from the standard range of 64 colours, including the choice of NCS-RAL colours. New techniques make it possible to produce a painted cork floor or wall, which retains all the good qualities of cork, but which looks especially flashy at the same time. Kurkfabriek Van Avermaet has a very attractive and varied selection of colours, ranging from deep-red to trendy grey. The range includes no fewer than 64 standard colours in

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Producers of engineered floors

20 motifs and 15 sizes! The pre-lacquered floors have already been treated with a matt varnish. The floors which are painted on request still have to be finished after the fitting with four coats of lacquer, high-gloss, satin gloss, or matt varnish.

Lalegno

Meister believes that three-layer floors offer the best guarantee due to the structure of the floors: pine at the bottom, HDF in the middle, and a real wood top layer of 2.5mm. Meister always deploys an HDF middle layer due to its good shape stability. This also means there’s no problem with lengthy splinters in the click system, whilst falling products have less impact on parquet floors with an HDF base than on floors with other bases. And so, three-layer floors provide more stability. The top and bottom layers have opposite effects on the middle layer, and the opposing forces balance each other to give a highly stable floor. Meister floors are used both in new buildings and for renovation. A good 99% of Meister floors are pre-finished and ready for use. Occasionally, they still sell untreated parquet floors, to which someone applies a coat of oil later.

Oosterlinck

Lalegno floors are available in oak, bamboo, and tropical wood sorts (wenge, doussie, merbau, teak, and walnut). The floors have a thickness of 10mm (top layer 2.5mm), 15mm (top layer of 4mm), or 21mm (top layer 6mm). Most products are 1860mm long, but you can also opt for extra long planks of 2200 or even 4500mm in length. There is also a choice of width, with options varying from 127 to no less than 320mm. The floors can be fitted with tongue and groove or with a click system. In terms of sorting, too, Lalegno offers various options: Lalegno sorts the wood into various groups with their own look and feel. Lalegno has both untreated parquet and oiled, varnished, smoked, or distressed. All together, the standard range comprises about 120 different parquet floors. Furthermore, there are also lots of possibilities for customised work. Lalegno offers both two and three-layer parquet. Both systems are of equal merit. With floors with a click joint a basic construction in larch is ideal because this type of wood guarantees a purer profile after the click joint has been planed, so the fitting is easier. Traditionally, a lot of floor fitters opt for the unfinished version, which they can then treat in accordance with the client’s own preference. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that the number of finished floors continues to rise. In particular, smoked oiled floors, such as CHABLIS, LOIRE, BEAUNE, and CHARDONNAY, for example, are enjoying huge success.

Meister

From a top layer of 2.5mm it is possible to speak of a multi-layer parquet, whilst the most common thickness at the moment is about 4mm is. Oosterlinck produces multi-layer in thicknesses of 21/6mm, 16/4mm, and 13/4mm in which the first figure refers to the total thickness of the parquet and the second figure gives the thickness of the top layer. The widths most in demand are 160-180 and 200mm, but Oosterlinck can produce floors up to a maximum of 280mm wide. According to Oosterlinck, it is only two-layer floors which are produced in Belgium with mainly birch plywood being used as the bottom layer. Three-layer parquet is much more labour-intensive to produce and enters Belgium via export, but that doesn’t make it any better than two-layer parquet. If the parquet comes from a good producer, the quality between two-layer and three-layer is comparable. It is mainly the fit and the quality of the top layer, which determines whether or not the parquet is good or substandard. At Oosterlinck half of the floors leave the factory unfinished.

Parketfabriek Lieverdink

Technically, Meister speaks of parquet from a top layer of at least 2mm. Meister offers only three-layer parquet due to the shape stability.

Floor Forum International 77

At Lieverdink they have multi-layer parquet in Q2 in 4mm solid wood and in Q2 wide in 4.5mm. In the programme from Kahrs there are top layer thicknesses from 0.6mm (veneer) to 6mm in the Grande collection. Normally, 4mm is the most common. The three-layer product has been discovered by Kahrs and has been on the market for some 75 years! Sticking onto multiplex panels is something which has been on the market for ‘just’ 15 years or so. Both systems are ideal according to Lieverdink: It is important that the top layer glueing is optimal and that good base materials are processed: stability for everything! Three-layer floors are fitted mainly floating with click/lock joint, the two-layer Q2 can be glued only to the subfloor. Q2 wide is also designed for glueing, but can also be laid floating by means of glueing in tongue and groove. At Kahrs all products are finished with lacquer, matt lacquer, or natural oil. Lieverdink can also offer a three-layer 19cm wide oak strip floor

a wide range of multi-layer parquet in three qualities, namely first choice, rustic, and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Countrysideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. There are also various possible finishes: unfinished, lacquered, oiled, and coloured. The range includes multi-layer planks in top layers with various thicknesses (3mm top layer and 11m thick, 4.5mm top layer and 15mm thick, and a range with a 6mm top layer and 20mm thick. The top layer rests on a stable multiplex with crossed layers. Janod recommends this range for those looking for parquet with stable wide planks (up to 220mm wide and 15mm thick).

Quick-Step

with tongue and groove, which is also from Kahrs and is unfinished, London Oak. Q2 is basically pre-sandpapered unfinished, and this is also their preference. After the fitting, it is possible to supply completely flat floor by means of moderate sandpapering. Furthermore, all the well known finishes such as lacquer, matt lacquer, oil, distressed, Grigio, and such like are also possible.

Plyquet At Plyquet they speak of parquet from a top layer of 3mm. The company offers hard wood floors in thicknesses of 14, 15, and 19mm with top layers of 3, 4, and 5mm respectively. At Plyquet the three-layer floors are the most popular. The difference between two and three layers lies mainly in the fitting: Two-layer floors have to be fully glued, whilst three-layer floors can be fitted floating. The two-layer floors are constructed on birch plywood, whilst three-layer floors have a wooden layer in between and a middle layer in wood veneer. At Plyquet about 90% of floors leave the factory unfinished.

Quick-Step talks of multi-layer parquet from a top layer of at least 2.5mm. Quick-Step offers multi-layer parquet floors, which consist of three layers. The floors are finished with lacquer or oil. Quick-Step has only three-layer parquet floors in its range. According to Quick-Step, there is basically no difference between two and three-layer parquet if you use plywood as a base for a two-layer floor. If you use HDF as a base for a two-layer floor, the three-layer floor is more stable and shows less swelling and shrinkage. Quick-Step three-layer parquet can be fitted both glued and floating, whilst two-layer parquet can only be glued. The use depends on the market tradition. Two-layer parquet tends to require a professional fitter for the installation due to the complexity of levelling and glueing. At Quick-Step the floors are all pre-finished (100%).

Trap Flooring

Parqueterie Janod

Parquet manufacturer Janod is a French wood and parquet specialist with over 80 years of experience. Apart from solid wood, they also have

Trap Flooring has been producing solid (Trap Parket) and multilayer engineered flooring (Multrifloor) in a unique range of over 30 wood species for more than 20 years and has opened a new factory in Hungary last year. In all these varieties pattern flooring (herringbone, chevron, Versaille, .. ) can be offered, either in standard sizes (like 450 x 90 and 350 x 70) or in custom sizes (mostly bigger). These floors can be unfinished or UV oiled or lacquered. ook and the floor requires little maintenance after the fitting.

Floor Forum International 77

Special

Producers of engineered floors

T&G Wood T&G Wood has been a real specialist in two-layer parquet for many years. T&G offers two-layer parquet with a birch multiplex bottom layer and a tongue and groove connection. The multi-layer parquet is sold under the brand name Dual Parquet. Dual Parquet is available in various thicknesses and widths and selections: 10/3, 12/3, 15/4, and 20/6. Widths vary Ariket country house, smoked, from 180 to 280mm black oil depending on the thickness. There are four ranges: Prime, Natural/1bis, Rustic A, and Rustic A/B for oak (all sap-free). This large range means there is a floor with any desired finish for everyone’s budget. T&G refine wooden floors in their own factory to guarantee quality and keep delivery times short. Multi-layer scores best here: The products are usually glued, and the serrated multiplex makes this extremely easy. Moreover, it is ideal for floor heating. Apart from the Dual Parquet programme, T&G Wood also offers a three-layer parquet with a hevea middle layer and a pine bottom layer. This product is sold under the Ariket brand name. Ariket can be supplied with a Välinge 5Gc click system. Its thickness is 15/4mm and the single-strip version can be supplied in widths of 145/190/240mm. In oak there are two selections: Natural/1bis and Rustic. The programme also includes various exotics, but exotics are only available in a natural range. A spokesperson from T&G Wood comments: ‘The Scandinavian countries in particular like a click system.’ These floors are often fitted floating and with this stable hevea middle layer together with the click system, this product is just as

Dual Parquet country house, smoked with a wood lacquer finish

popular as multiplex. The strength of T&G Wood is the custom-made makes of floor. All varieties of finish are possible. That’s why they sell here 85% of their floors treated. With the final finish, a dual component oxidative oil, you get a very natural look and the floor requires little maintenance after the fitting.

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Special

UV lacquers and oils

UV DRYING GUARANTEES A BETTER FINISH :

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION ‘STILL’ LEADS MANUAL APPLICATION

Photo – Pallmann

1, 2, 3, and dry! That’s what happens when the dentist irradiates your new filling with a UV pen. In the past, you had to wait a day and a half for such a filling to dry. That’s also what happens when this journal runs from the press. In the past, the pages of this same journal had to pass through a 100m roller and complete a trek through the printing hall to air-dry before they could be assembled into a magazine. 1, 2, 3, and dry! UV drying for floors is not only a big step forward in terms of the production time, but also the protection which it gives the floors is simply better.

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Monomer + photoinitiator Paint systems can set using various sources of radiation and are developed mainly to achieve rapid drying times. At present, they are also deployed to meet the strict environmental requirements relating to air and water pollution. The various sources of radiation which can cause a coating to set are UV light, infra-red light, radio waves, and microwaves. In particular, UV-setting coatings are the most developed and are being used more and more widely on a large scale. If a paint is composed of monomers together with a photoinitiator, the coating will dry in a few seconds after the

Floor Forum International 77

Special

UV lacquers and oils

application of the coating and radiation with UV light. Since monomers have low viscosity, there’s no need for solvents or dispersions in water. This means that there is no vaporisation of solvents or water. Monomers are the basis for most binding agents which are used in the paint industry.

Simply better quality It’s understandable that some makers want to extend the use of UV technology to applications on site. Conquering finishes on site as well as industrial applications obviously makes the scope of application (read: market scope) considerably greater. UV technology possesses in this campaign of conquest just about the most attractive sales argument possible, namely that the quality is simply better! As far as we are concerned, this is undoubtedly true for industrial applications. However, some reservation still has to be expressed for manual applications.

Superior quality UV lacquers are high-quality coatings which can be reinforced with all sorts of extra properties. Depending on the composition, it is even possible to add very specific properties. For example, it is possible to enrich the lacquer with antibacterial properties to reduce the number of customary bacteria in a home. This is obviously regarded as a big advantage for nursing homes and hospitals. UV oils are produced with stronger and harder resins and provide greater resistance to cracks and scratches or stains. Depending on the intended result, these resins can form a strong surface to create a protective film. Moreover, in the field of UV lacquers and oils there are different levels of quality. Depending on the raw materials and the composition and type of industrial application, the lacquer will give the wood an extra degree of protection (impressions, chemical resistance, and abrasive resistance). Thanks to the latest developments, in which nano-particles can also be deployed, you get extremely strong lacquers.

Application on site It has recently become possible to finish floors on site as well with UV lacquer by means of a sort of drying robot. The coating, whether or not it is preceded by a UV drying primer, is applied with a traditional roller, just like with a traditional lacquer. After application, the lacquer is allowed to air-dry for a good 45 minutes and then you can ride over the entire floor with a mobile UV lamp. There is a portable UV lamp available for the edges and places which are difficult to reach. Once the floor is finished, it is ready for full use at once. As we have already said, lacquers which have been developed for UV drying are high-tech lacquers with very high wear and scratch resistance. Thanks to drying robots, floor fitters can even use these very high-traffic lacquers (some people talk of ‘ultra-varnish’) on site on any floor which clients choose from the range or on an existing floor due for renovation.

Industrial versus manual The difference between lacquers which are deployed industrially and those which are used on site is not found in the area of qualities and properties. With industrial lacquers it is possible, depending on the producer’s machinery, to make certain (practical) adaptations to the composition. For example, it is possible to change the viscosity in order to obtain a perfect result on that specific lacquering line. The biggest advantage of an industrial application is still the industrial application itself. After all, an industrial process takes place under controlled conditions which are always identical. Those conditions relate to the operations to be carried out i.e.

Floor Forum International 77

the sequence of operations, the speed of operations, the ‘angle’ in which the work is carried out, and so on. However, the surrounding conditions, too, are always identical with an industrial process i.e. the temperature, air humidity, draught-free atmosphere, dust-free atmosphere, etc. Strictly speaking, you can say that if all the parameters of a production process are identical, the end product and the properties or qualities of that end product will also be identical. As soon as ‘human beings’ start to interfere, there is no longer any guarantee of identical parameters. However skilled floor fitters are, their operations will never be identical on two separate occasions. Add to that the fact that the surrounding conditions on site can never be identical and you will realise at once what the difference is between manual and industrial.

An overview : Blanchon According to Blanchon, there are different levels of quality in the field of UV lacquers. Depending on the raw materials, composition, and type of industrial application, the lacquer will give the wood another degree of protection (e.g. against impressions, chemical resistance, or abrasion resistance). Due to the latest development of nano-particles, you get exceptionally strong lacquers. The big differences with a traditional lacquer are the raw materials used and, obviously, the drying method. UV lacquers are geared to the client’s machines. And so, for example, the fluidity is adapted to the client’s infrastructure. According to Blanchon, the number of coats applied is important, but also the total amount of lacquer. With the Ciméthane UV, Blanchon has moved towards UV drying on site. In recent years (partly due to new machines), they’ve had highly satisfactory results (15,000m² in 2014). Blanchon does warn, however, that you cannot use this application automatically as a matter of course, but the time-saving which it brings means it is certainly worth developing it further.

Chimiver Chimiver Panseri S.p.A., keeping always an eye to new needs and trends of traditional and pre-finished wood flooring market, has in its range some new products such as UV OIL ONE 1317 Antibatterico, and UV water based lacquer VERNICE ALL'ACQUA S49 AB and range of ECOCLASS ANTI-BLOCKING. ONE OIL UV 1317 is formulated with high quality raw

materials in order to satisfy market requirements which nowadays are more demanding toward natural and eco-compatible products. This UV oil treatment has a very high solid content (99%) and can be used both on non-absorbent and porous woods. The wooden floors lacquered with UV OIL ONE 1317 are characterized by excellent hardness, flowing and elasticity. It gives the wood a warm and natural look of waxed floors and is particularly recommended for the treatment of natural and colored oak planks. VERNICE UV ALL'ACQUA S49 AB is a special antibacterial lacquer formulated with special UV curing resins. Antibacterial action of the lacquer is in conformity with ISO 22196:2007 standard requirements. The test, which takes into account the classical bacteria responsible for infections in the home environment, among which are Escherichia-coli (gram-negative bacteria of fecal origin) and Staphylococcus Aureus (gram-positive bacteria of cutaneous origin), has shown a reduction of bacterial presence of over 99,99% on surfaces treated with VERNICE UV ALL'ACQUA S49 AB. For this reason VERNICE UV ALL'ACQUA S49 AB is recommended for residential use, particularly in public buildings (medical, offices, etc.). The new ECOCLASS ANTI-BLOCKING is a single-component water-based antibacterial product for industrial applications by curtain-coater and/or spraying equipment. It has rapid-drying properties at room temperature of 20° that allows to stack already after 24 hours varnish-to-varnish without using any separating film. The “anti-blocking” feature permits to resolve delivery problems at temperature of 50/60°, which could be easily reached when shipping into container.

Floorservice

Floorservice Profiline UV Oil is a two-layer self sealer system. The UV-curing Oil is suitable for all industrial production of parquet and wooden floorings, and can be applied on all regular oiling lines containing a UV drying tunnel. After finishing with a second layer of Floorservice Profiline UV Oil a surface is created with the looks and feel of an oiled floor, but with the benefits of faster production and packaging. The fully dried surface is free of emissions of organic solvents and therefore safe for people and the environment. The Floorservice Profiline UV Oil is available in different colours. Floorservice Profiline Nature Protect UV Last year Floorservice introduced the invisible finishing product

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UN1CO, the one layer hardwaxoil. The central theme through the UN1CO story is one of exceptional quality and 1st class technology. This 1-coat Oil protects parquet like nothing else today and the new range of colours, according to the latest trends, is especially significant, being completely cobalt free. Ciranova is proud to say that UN1CO is by far the best and easiest to maintain product in the market today. For more information on the UN1CO colours and our complete range of products for wooden floors, please visit our website at

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UV lacquers and oils

Nature Protect. Now this waterborne product, to create an unfinished look on wood, is available for industrial use and UV-hardening. The optimal composition of Floorservice Profiline Nature Protect UV makes easy appliance on an industrial line and perfect hardening in almost all types of UV drying tunnels possible. The additional maintenance product Nature Care is an unique product that retains the ultra matte look of the wood in a very easy way. Even after heavy use of the floor.

Plastor

Lecol

Lecol sells a UV lacquer from Loba, namely LOBACURE WS Rush. LOBACURE WS Rush is the new generation of finish products. This 1K waterborne UV lacquer is really ideal for projects where floors have to be used again the next day (time is money!), such as hotels, restaurants, pubs, shops, and such like where a top quality finish is needed. The lacquer is dried at once with a special machine with UV lamp so that the floor can be used again immediately. And so, there are no waiting times!

Pallmann UV lacquers don’t change the physical properties of the wood, certainly not its compressibility. And so, researchers who develop these lacquers are paying attention to resistance to chemical aggression, resistance to dirt, and scratch resistance, and these lacquers are highly resistant to those factors. Pallmann doesn’t have any UV lacquers for industrial application. Pallmann has the Pallman X-Light system, a solventless and ozone-free system for mobile UV lacquer drying on site. This system consists of a dual component primer (X-Light Aquabase), a single component lacquer (X-Light Coat), and the X-Light Mobile, which has been developed specially for drying this lacquer. The treatment results in a solid protection which can cope at once with footsteps.

Floor Forum International 77

UV lacquers provide excellent resistance to abrasion, scratches, and stains. Traditional finishes such as dual component PU lacquers form a constant film which is created by more or less strong bindings between molecules to give them a certain resistance. With UV finishes, that binding is much stronger due to the formation of bridges between the scores of molecules. The created film is stronger and provides better protection against chemical aggression and stains. Plastor UV finishes are adapted to the machines on the market. The best-seller is the UV Time®. The lacquers dry immediately, so you can use the treated floors again at once. This finish provides unique protection for the most intensively used floors. The UV Time® does not contain isocyanates, so there is no mixing with a hardener. With just 3g/l of volatile organic compounds, this finish is EC 1+ and has earned the quality mark A+ as regards the outside air.

Rubio Monocoat Rubio Monocoat Oil UV R2 is a UV catalyst finish oil, which guarantees durable protection for wood. This oil doesn’t give the wood an extra coat, but binds itself to the top wood fibres. To be precise, this means that if a hard object falls onto a surface treated with RMC Oil UV R2, the oil ‘springs’ on impact. The RMC Oil UV R2 sets via photo-initiators, whilst RMC Oil Plus 2C (the manually applied variant) works via an oxidative process. The typical characteristics of RMC oil in general, such as colouring and protecting in one coat, the easy maintenance afterwards, and such like remain unchanged. And so, it is mainly the way in which the RMC UV oil is applied (via a UV line) and the drying process (which is faster due to photo-initiation), which make the difference. At present, the RMC Oil UV R2 already accounts for a major portion of the turnover. Since the pre-finish segment is generally growing, it is assumed that this product will continue to become even more important.

Special

Laminate floors : part II

LAMINATE MOVES FROM ‘REAL’ TO ‘EVEN MORE REAL’ APART FROM THE LOOK, THERE’S NOW THE FEEL

Photo – Balterio

Laminate manufacturers have never stopped innovating. And at what a speed! Ever since laminate was discovered, producers have come out with something new just about every year to improve not only the quality, but also the similarity to the type of floor which they wanted to imitate. Certainly one of the biggest leaps forwards was learning to give depth to the photograph which formed the decor, so that

the wood grains also felt like wood grains. The technique of embossing, which had been part of the art of paper printing for years, has given laminate a new dimension.

Pure technology Laminate is all about technology! Various technological improvements have been geared to sustainability, convenient fitting, home comfort,

Floor Forum International 77

Special

Laminate floors : part II

easy maintenance, safety, and health. Those improvements are a completely separate matter to the appearance of the floor.

Durable and scratch-resistant All manufacturers (all brands) offer a durable top layer usually consisting of various coats of lacquer. This, too, is all about high-tech lacquers which provide extra protection. Here, too, new forms of technology have been developed or applied. The very latest innovations also include the use of nanotechnology, which makes it possible via nanoparticles to improve the properties (e.g. the scratch resistance) of the UV dried lacquers. Depending on the raw materials and the composition and the type of industrial application, the lacquer will give the wood an extra degree of protection (e.g. impact protection, chemical resistance, or abrasion resistance).

High resistance The chip resistance of laminate results from the combination of the aforementioned top coats and the density of the ‘base’. The hardness

Photo – Parcolys Flooring

Floor Forum International 77

of the HDF core panel determines the protection against falling objects. Most floors are even resistant to cigarette burns i.e. a cigarette on the floor for a few seconds doesn’t leave any marks. Many laminate floors are completely resistant to daylight and sunlight pursuant to EN 348-2, so they retain their colour when exposed to sunlight.

Sound insulation In the early days of laminate, one of its disadvantages was the disturbing sound of footsteps. Since then, all the manufacturers have devised their own sound insulation bottom layer, which minimalises those disturbing sounds and obviously makes life more pleasant.

Safe and healthy Various laminate floors have natural fire-retardant features to meet standards for use in fire exits and at assembly points. Anti-static features remove the hazard of static charge and antibacterial features provide protection from germs and allergies. Moreover, the latter are ‘active’ elements. This makes it possible to enrich lacquers with

antibacterial elements to reduce the amount of customary bacteria in a home. This is obviously seen as a major benefit for nursing homes and hospitals.

Click systems An important point for attention is the tensile strength of click systems. After all, laminate is fitted floating. The core material (MDF or HDF) contains wood fibres, which, depending on the season, absorb moisture to some extent (relative air humidity!). The floor swells or shrinks as a result of this air humidity. This also causes objects on the floor such as chairs, cupboards, and trolleys to move. The ‘lock system’ has to be strong enough to ensure that the joints don’t open up after a few seasons. Another important point for attention is convenience as regards fitting a laminate floor. If laminate swears by its ‘relocatability’, convenient fitting is vitally important and that is related primarily to the click system. The very latest innovation is undoubtedly the click system, which can be fitted either by pressing (horizontally + sliding) or with a rotation movement (vertically + lowering).

Floors with structure A photograph can represent any image, but it won’t create a ‘feel’. And so, one breakthrough not to be underestimated was also the first step towards printing techniques, which immediately gave the floorboard the proper wood structure. Embossed in register will always be a milestone in the history of laminate, that’s for sure. Embossed in register means that you combine the technique of applying relief with the contours of an ‘image’ (e.g. in ink or foil) or a second printed image. For

laminate it means that you set the pattern of the wood itself in relief so that you can feel the wood grain. We’re talking about a difference less than millimetres, but it does give the ‘feel’. Embossed has opened the door to a new era in the history of laminate. After all, as soon as it was possible to fit a tangible structure, there was nothing to stop further refinement. And so, for example, it is now possible to design the popular ‘distressed’ floors (e.g. hand-scraped) in laminate: dark, old, and lashed oak floor boards have seen the light. Producers have given their imagination free rein and this means that on the market we now find an endless choice of sorts, structures, finishes, and colours. For just about all laminate producers it appears (almost) as standard in (almost) all collections.

Moving with interior trends The changes in decor, too, have gone at lightning speed. Whilst oak and beech were the only options in the beginning, the number of wood sorts soon increased rapidly. An extensive range of colours emerged and as soon as tropical wood sorts started to conquer the parquet market, laminate producers also took that road. A few years ago, imitation reached other types of floor such as natural stone, ceramic tiles, and marble. Laminate has now reached a point where it is accepted as a floor solution in its own right, so it’s no longer even necessary to imitate other floors. Plain bright tiles for the children’s room or metal look for the modern interior and design applications are now possible. Digital print technology gives manufacturers the opportunity to create fully personalised floors. In the field of decors, that’s also the very latest trend which is still in progress.

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Special

Producers of elastic adhesives

ELASTIC ADHESIVES ABSORB WOOD’S NATURAL MOVEMENTS THE BEST INGREDIENTS FROM DIFFERENT FORMULAS… A NEW FORMULA

Photo – Stauf

In bygone days, the structure of parquet was quite simple; you had oak for both the subfloor and the top floor. A simple combination. Nowadays, there is a whole gamut of subfloors, a whole series of wood sorts, including tropical, and a mass of ecological legislation. As regards structure, too, variety is king: solid wood, multi-layer, or veneer. Then, there’s the endless list of chemical products for fitting and finishing wooden floors. In terms of a varied range, adhesives certainly hold their own. There are plenty of them, and new ones are constantly on the way. Time for a convenient summary.

Floor Forum International 77

About ‘curling’ and ‘moving’ Wood curling is a natural process. Wood inevitably curls unless it is fitted and preserved under constant conditions. Moreover, since constant conditions never arise, wood always curls a little. That’s why allowance is made before the fitting for curling of <0.5% for solid wood floorboards and <0.2-0.3% for multi-layer parquet. Below, we outline the parameters which affect curling.

The moisture content in wood The difference in moisture content between the top and bottom sides of the parquet strip is certainly one of the chief causes of warping.

That difference (gradient) gives rise to the various forms of shrinking or swelling within the wood, and this immediately explains why the swelling can be both hollow (concave) and round (convex). After all, swelling occurs on the side with the most damp. If the wood has been kept at an adequate level of moisture, warping will usually be due to moisture from within the infrastructure, which is still too damp.

The wooden floorboard itself The sawing method, the wood sort, the slenderness factor, and the floorboard structure also help to determine the extent of curling. The distortion of wood is much greater in the tangent (the width) than in the radial (the length). That’s why flat sawn wood generally curls more. As well as the sawing method, the wood sort also has a certain impact on the curling. Less stable types of wood get distorted even more with the same amount of moisture. Then, there’s the slenderness factor. This is the ratio between the width and thickness of the strips. The higher this factor is, the greater the risk of distortion. If the width is more than eight times the thickness, the risk of warping in moderately stable wood increases. With stable wood sorts, this figure is ten times the thickness. Finally, the structure of the floorboard also plays a part. Multi-layer floors are less susceptible to distortion.

A mass in motion The structure of the floor is composite with various structural elements. There is the building construction itself, the screed or covering floor, the subfloor or middle floor, and the finishing floor or the actual

parquet floor. Furthermore, there are nails or staples, the adhesive and adhesive bond, and, finally, there’s the finish. All those elements combine to form one whole which is designed to stand the test of time. The threats? These are of a mechanical nature as a result of use by the occupants (e.g. furniture, footsteps, and damage) and/or as the result of weather conditions (e.g. temperature and air humidity). Who would now dare to suggest that glueing parquet is a simple job?

The moving parts It will be clear that the composition of the various elements has to be as solid as a ‘rock’. However, all those parts of the total system ‘move’. Moreover, they all move in their own way: the steel of the nails, the concrete construction, the screed, and the wood. Of all those used materials, wood is the one which is most susceptible to fluctuations in temperature and humidity (which are closely related for that matter). Moreover, as we’ve already said, in the past, we were limited to oak, whilst nowadays, all combinations are possible. And so, a parquet glue has to be extremely versatile. According to one of the makers whom we consulted, the parquet adhesive market is moving in the direction of hybrid polymer adhesives at the cost of all other forms of technology. Time will tell.

Fastening techniques The curling in wooden floors is also affected by the fitting method. We draw a distinction between floating, nailed, or glued fitting.

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• Excellent shelf life, minimum wastage. • Keeps perfectly good lines. • Use of advanced technology. • Easy to apply. • FCBA certificate. • Remains flexible after polymerization. • Suitable for laying on heated floors, in bathrooms, etc. • Fast curing time. • Improve the acoustic comfort of parquets. • Excellent resistance to humidity and heat.

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Producers of elastic adhesives

Floating fitting Since there is nothing to impede the movement of the wood when this fitting technique is used, even a small fluctuation in the moisture content in the parquet strips lead to considerable curling. After all, tongue and groove joints act as hinges and form heights or depths, depending on whether the distortions are concave (hollow) or convex (round).

Nailed fitting In this case there is somewhat less risk of curling and it depends on the slenderness of the strips or planks and the resistance offered by the nails. The fact is that the thinner the wooden elements are, the lower the pressure they will exert on the nails.

Glued fitting Theoretically, a glued fitting should provide the most resistance to curling, since the distortion of the separate elements is hindered in this case by the fact that they are stuck to the substrate over the biggest part of their contact surface. However, you also have to take account of the complex tensions which arise in the various layers of the floor covering by the distortions which are inherent in the wood. After all, any fluctuation in moisture content can lead to the wood swelling or shrinking. This will be different to that of the substrate, which usually shows greater dimensional stability (dry covering floor, wood panels, such as multiplex or OSB, old floor covering etc.).

Absorbing movements The adhesive is expected to show some ongoing flexibility in order to absorb the movements of the building materials. In recent years, developments on the adhesive market have therefore been dominated by the degree of elasticity of parquet adhesives and by the quest for the perfect balance.

Elastic? The elasticity of a material is the extent to which a material exerts an opposing force (the so called resilience) when it is distorted elastically (i.e. not permanently) or the extent to which a material is distorted by the exertion of some external pressure. And so, a material is called elastic if it returns to its original shape as soon as there is no longer any external pressure. Rubber is an example of a highly elastic material. ‘Resilience’ is defined as the mechanical strength by means of which the material endeavours to return to its original position after being distorted.

EN 14293 EN 14293 provides a simplified choice between flexible and solid adhesives. These two groups offer a solution to a specific expectation. The key question is whether you want to counteract the movement of the wood or allow it to a certain extent. A solid adhesive has strong physical and mechanical properties, weak elasticity, and strong resistance. With floors with straight edges (e.g. traditional parquet), the idea is to stop the wood from moving. If you want to let the wood move to a certain extent, you must use an elastic adhesive. Since less force is involved, such an adhesive doesn’t need to have such high resistance. Elastic adhesives mean less pressure on the substrate.

Types of adhesive The highly elastic adhesives currently available on the market can generally be divided up into two main groups, namely silane

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adhesives (SMP) and PUR adhesives. With silane adhesives we draw a distinction between MS polymers (modified silanes based on the pre-polymers of Kaneka), SPUR (silane and polyurethane), STP (silane terminated polyurethane), and STP-E (a variant of STP).

Hybrid adhesives Various forms of technology are suitable or less suitable for glueing, depending on the circumstances (e.g. type of parquet, type of wood, and environment). In recent years, it seems that the best (safest) solutions have emerged via combinations of forms of technology i.e. taking the best of the good or, if you like, creating hybrids. Adhesive technology forms which often attract attention are PU, epoxy, and silane. Combinations of these have led to the ‘new generation adhesives’.

What’s on the market ? Adesiv Adesiv offers two elastic adhesives based on silane technology: WB MONO MS en WB MONO MS/LE. Both adhesives are formulated for gluing all types of wooden floors on cement-based sub-floors or on pre-existing non-absorbent floors (marble, tiles, flagstones, wood surfaces). If applied evenly on the laying surface, WB MONO MS is high performance and creates a waterproofing barrier that helps prevent damp rising up from concrete subfloors. Adesiv WB MONO MS/LE has a slightly different formulation that is adapted for gluing small-size multi-layer and solid pre-finished floors. Both elastic adhesives are easy to clean and free from water, isocyanates and ammines. These products are both EC1 Plus certified, have A+ certification (French regulations) and Ü-certification (DIBt directive).

Bijlard Ankerweld elastic adhesives Lots of developments have taken place in the world of adhesives in recent decades. Whilst adhesives used to be very hard once they had set, today’s elastic glues increasingly have both strong adhesion and the ability to absorb movements between materials, so that these glues are much more universal and functional in use. Hybrid adhesives Bijlard International from Zoetermeer in the Netherlands produces a whole range of adhesive products based on hybrid polymers (also called MS, SMP, SPUR, and STP) for construction and industrial use. These adhesives have one component, have very strong adhesion,

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A+ A B C Soudal NV • Everdongenlaan 18-20 • Turnhout • Belgium • Tel.: +32 (0) 14 42 42 31 • Fax: +32 (0) 14 42 65 14 • email: info@soudal.com • www.soudal.com Soudal (UK) Ltd . • Unit A, Tame Park • Vanguard • Tamworth B77 5DY • United Kingdom • Tel.: +44 1827 261 092 • Fax.: +44 1827 284 454 • email: salesuk@soudal.com

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do not contain solvents or water (shrink-free), and also contain no harmful substances such as isocyanates, for instance. Ankerweld is a brand of Bijlard International Specifically for floor glueing, Bijlard also produces an elastic floor adhesive under the name Ankerweld MS FLOOR. Recently, they have made this available in four colours, namely natural/oak, mahogany, white wash, and wenge, to meet the wishes of floor fitters to make any adhesive residue on the floor as invisible as possible. Bijlard never lets you go!

Chimiver Chimiver offers Unisil, an adhesive based on MS technology. This flexible an elastic adhesive is a ready to use product. UNISIL is a prepolymer based, single-component adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology), totally free of water, solvents, amines, tin, isocyanates and epoxy resins. It hardens with atmospheric humidity and becomes resistant to water, temperature and ageing in approx. 36-48 hours. Recommended for gluing prefinished parquet onto marble, grit, tiles, ceramic or marble-chip floor, etc. Also suitable for gluing parquet onto underfloor heating and cooling system. CERTIFICATES: EC1R; ATTESTATION CCA Environmentally Compatible Product (Certificate issued by Department BEST - Politecnico of Milan CCA Registration No. 201216); Sound Reduction (CSI Test Report No. 0056/ DC/ ACU/06); Heat conductivity (CSI Test Report No. 0020/DC/TTS/06). Unisil is available in buckets, sausages and cartridges. In addition to Unisil, Chimiver has also Adesiver Elastic which, as Unisil, is EC1 very low emissions certified adhesive. Both adhesives can contribute to the achievement of QI CREDIT 4.1 according to the parameters of the GEV dated 03 March 2009, because they meet the certification LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

range. Devo® Glue PU 570 2C is a waterless dual component polyurethane-epoxy, semi-elastic, parquet adhesive, which is specially for glueing wooden floors onto cement-bound substrates or onto existing floors (e.g. tiles, marble, wooden floors, etc.). Devo® Glue PU 650 2C is also a waterless dual component epoxy-polyurethane parquet adhesive, but it is a hard-elastic product.

Emfi Emfiparquet offers both PU and hybrid adhesives. We give an example of both. Emfiparquet PU Mono R800 is a single component polyurethane-based parquet adhesive, which sets via contact with air humidity. The EC1 grading ensures very low emissions of volatile organic compounds. This glue is developed specially for full-surface glueing of solid wood or multi-layer parquet, lacquered or pre-lacquered, and in all wood sorts. Emfi also presents the EmfiParquet Pro plus, a silanated polymer-based parquet adhesive which is suitable for full glueing of all types of parquet. Owing to a great deal of research, EmfiParquet Pro+ meets the strictest environmental standards. This adhesive contains no solvents, silicones, or isocyanates. This adhesive is suitable for glueing very wide oak floorboards. It sticks rapidly and is easy to apply. The EmfiParquet Pro plus is a single component adhesive.

Henkel/Thomsit

Devo® The Devomat range includes Devo® Glue MSP 150 1C, a 1-component semi-elastic, silicone-free, and isocyanate-free hybrid MS polymer adhesive for multi-layer stabilised parquet and the Devo® Glue MSP 200 1C, a 1-component, soft-elastic, silicone-free, and isocyanate-free hybrid MS polymer parquet adhesive. Devo® Glue MSP 250 1C is the best-seller at Devomat Industries. It is suitable for glueing all wood sorts, solid wood up to 20cm wide, and is recommended particularly for pre-finished parquet. It doesn’t contain water, is free of VOC, and spreads very well. Devo® Glue MSP 250 is a hard-elastic glue (about 70 Shore) with strong bonding. It conforms to CSN EN 14293 and has the EC1-Plus (EC1-R) grading. Devo® Glue MSP250 is packed in 5kg bags. Devomat also has 2-component adhesives in its

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Henkel presents P675 Elast (for finished parquet), P685 Elast Universal (for solid wood and finished parquet), and P695 Elast Universal Strong (for all wooden floors). These adhesives are based on FLEXTEC technology developed by Thomsit. P 675 and P 685 are soft-elastic adhesives, whilst P 695 is a hard-elastic adhesive. At Thomsit a hard-elastic adhesive is an extra strong and rapidly effective glue so that it is also suitable for more critical sorts of parquet which can normally be glued only with a 2-component PU adhesive. A soft-elastic adhesive is not suitable for that purpose. The best-seller at Thomsit is P 695 Elast Universal Strong. The benefits of this glue are as follows: It is waterless and solvent-free, so the wood cannot swell at all, it is permanently elastic, reduces tensile stress on the substrate, and is suitable for almost all substrates without the need to use a primer.

Lecol Lecol offers two elastic glues of the Wakol brand, namely Wakol MS230 and Wakol MS260. Wakol MS 260 Parquet Adhesive is a hard-elastic MS polymer adhesive specially developed for glueing

chipboard or industrial mosaic subfloors, solid parquet up to 16cm wide, end grain blocks, mosaic parquet, distressed Burgundy traditional parquet, and multi-layer ready-for-use parquet (engineered) on absorbent and non-absorbent subfloors. Wakol MS 230 Parquet Adhesive is a parquet adhesive which is ideal for full glueing of multi-layer parquet with a tongue and groove joint.

Pallmann Hard/Hard-elastic silane adhesives offer greater certainty when resistance is required against swelling and shrinking in wood or warping of parquet must be minimalised. These glues have greater scope than soft silane adhesives. Pallmann has the 1-component STP parquet adhesive, PALLMANN P5, a hard-elastic solventless and waterless parquet adhesive in conformity to DIN EN 14293 for glueing parquet. This glue is suitable for 19-22mm parquet strips, 16-22mm end grain blocks, solid parquet, and exotic wood. This single component STP adhesive combines strong elasticity with the benefits of modern STP technology. It contains neither solvents nor water, so it is user-friendly and there are no harmful movements from the parquet.

Soudal For Soudal the elasticity of the glue is obviously important. A spokesperson comments: ‘Elastic glues absorb the movement of parquet, which is caused by residual moisture in the subfloor or the wood.’ They refer here to the latest European standard ISO17178, which replaces EN14293 and makes a distinction between hard, hard-elastic, and elastic parquet adhesives. The elasticity demands have been adjusted downwards, whilst those for elasticity shearing force have been raised (hard glue = 3.0N/mm², hard-elastic = 2.0N/mm², and elastic = 1.0N/mm²). Soudal has three types of hybrid parquet adhesives, namely MS 20 Plus, MS 30 Plus, and SMX 30 Plus. Soudal profiles MS 20 Plus more in the direction of multi-layer parquet, MS 30 Plus as the all-rounder, and SMX 30 Plus as the powerhouse, which, for example, is ideal for tropical wood. Hybrid parquet adhesives in general are highly universal parquet adhesives, whilst Soudal regards MS-30 Plus as the most universal.

STAUF

Rectavit Rectavit offers both a 1K PU adhesive (Rectavit 247) and polymer adhesives (Rectavit 248 Multi-layer, Rectavit 249 MS-Polymer, Rectavit 249 Express Hybrid, and Rectavit 255 Fibre Tech). The latter is fibre-reinforced elastic parquet adhesive and is one of the very latest generations of Rectavit glues. The Fibre Techtechnology ensures a considerably stronger adhesive with rapid setting. You can walk on the parquet again after three hours and sandpaper it after 16. With Rectavit 255 Fibre Tech it is possible to glue all common types of parquet and wood sorts directly onto cement-bound or anhydrite screeds, mosaic subfloors, levellers, and even tile floors. Floor heating is no problem whatsoever. This simple and spreadable parquet glue can also be used for bamboo. Furthermore, the width of planks can vary up to 25cm for semi-solid/multi-layer parquet and 19cm for solid parquet.

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Which adhesives do you sell? Flooring adhesive specialist STAUF offers the complete range of elastic, hard elastic or hard elastic adhesives. We always recommend the perfect adhesive depending on the wood flooring type. For example an elastic adhesive as STAUF MULTILAYER for multiple layer wood flooring, a hard elastic adhesive like STAUF SMP 950 for wood strip flooring or STAUF SPU 570 and PUK 446 for solid planks and other solid wood flooring types. Which sorts of elastic adhesives are there on the market? Hard elastic, balanced elastic, soft elastic Are there any relevant standards or technical regulations? There are two norms to specify elastic adhesives: DIN EN 14243 and ISO 17178. But the EN 14293 is currently in revision. According to ISO17178 elastic adhesives are divided in two groups: elastic adhesives with minimum requirements for shear strength min. 1,0 N/mm², having a shear elongation of minimum 1, and hard elastic adhesives having a shear strength min. 2,0 N/mm², having a shear elongation of minimum 0,5. Hard adhesives have an minimum shear strength of 3,0 N/mm².

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Top Italian companies focused on export

ITALIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM SPREADS OUT OVER EUROPE THE FIRST SIGNS OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY ARE IN SIGHT

Photo – Chimiver

Economically, Italy is a paradoxical country. Vast mountains of money have gone hand in hand for years with equally vast mountains of debt. Italy is one of the few countries which could contemplate an exit from the European Union with relatively little damage. This means that the country can show its teeth every now and again. It did so, for example, earlier this year when the flow of refugees gradually reached unmanageable levels and Europe showed little initiative in looking for solutions. Thankfully, European solidarity is now

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somewhat stronger. At the same time, early this year, we saw the first signs of economic growth in Italy after years of deadlock.

Unique location – as a refuge Italy’s unique location on the world map has brought the country great prosperity over the centuries. For example, it was the operating base of the Roman Empire, an important period. That same location may now be the cause of the languishing refugee problem which Italy is

facing. The country has borders with France (488km), Switzerland (740km), Austria (430km), and Slovenia (232km). The basins of the Mediterranean Sea which wash up the country are, on the western side, the Ligurian Sea (at the Riviera) and the Tyrrhenian Sea (between Italy and Sicily), the Ionian Sea (to the east of Sicily) on the southern side, and the Adriatic Sea on the eastern side. The entire coastline covers about 7600 kilometres, including the 3766 large and small islands which belong to Italy. A country surrounded by water and at the same time borders on attractive European destinations is a ‘gateway to freedom’ for many refugees.

Refugee problem in a nutshell There are various conflicts in progress at the edges of the European Union. These conflicts are contributing to the flow of refugees. In particular, the chaos which arose after the Arab Spring resulted in another influx of migrants from countries such as Tunisia and Syria. The Italian island of Lampedusa, 113 kilometres from Tunisia and 176 kilometres from Sicily, is a popular stop-over. The Greek islands which are easily accessible from Turkey are also used a lot. However, most refugees are taken care of in countries in the vicinity of the conflict, such as Lebanon or Turkey.

EU Frontex Mission In May 2014, hundreds of boat refugees drowned on their way to Lampedusa. The Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi subsequently touched on the problems of the reception system. He appealed for more humanitarian aid from the EU, an extension of Frontex activities to rescue refugees, and a change to the Dublin III Directive, which states that the reception of asylum seekers is the responsibility of the member state where they enter the EU. In August 2014, the decision was made to form an EU Frontex Mission, which would replace the Mare Nostrum operation. The new mission was given the name ‘Operation Triton’ and started on 1 November 2014.

member states offered to accept almost 33,000 refugees in July on a voluntary basis. These countries also said that they were still aiming to help another 40,000 refugees this year. Member states are given 6,000 euros for each refugee whom they accept. Denmark and the United Kingdom have negotiated exemptions and are not taking part. At the time of writing, administrators were still discussing the obligatory redistribution of another 120,000 refugees.

Italy – the economy Money and debts The capital resources of Italy amount to a staggering 9,000 billion euros and are greater than those of Germany per head of population. Moreover, the Italian Central Bank possesses 2,450 tonnes of gold, and that puts the country in third place on the world ranking list of gold reserves behind the USA and Germany. Moreover, the people of Italy have the lowest debt quota in the euro zone with 45% of GDP. The problem of the Italian economy lies with the high national debt from the past. The joint public and private debt quota for Italy is similar to that of France and Germany at about 300% of GDP. Apart from public debt (or state debt), this quota also comprises the private debts of people, businesses, and banks. By way of comparison, the total Dutch debt quota is currently about 375%.

Exit… it’s a possibiity! Italy is a separate case in the euro zone. The Italian economy certainly is suffering heavily under the single currency, but, unlike a country such as Spain, Italy does have the option of leaving the euro zone on its own terms. Italy has often considered leaving the single currency. In

Europe provides support Under this new operation all member states are expected to provide support. Triton covers a limited area, namely the Italian waters of the Mediterranean Sea region. The operation is intended mainly to provide border security rather than a rescue operation. The operation comprises a mere nine ships and three aircrafts and should run until the end of 2015. At the European Summit of 23 April 2015, various member states offered to provide more boats and aircrafts. Moreover, the budget for the mission was trebled from 2.9 to 9 million euros per month. Resources were also increased for Poseidon, a similar operation in the Greek waters. This means that these missions can continue to operate longer.

Italy applies pressure

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In June of this year, Italy was annoyed because other European countries were not making any effort to solve the Southern European refugee problem. Rome was even so angry that it threatened to give all refugees a visa so that they would be free to travel all over Europe. The refugees would then be given a temporary visa so that they could go wherever they wanted within the EU for a few months at least. Italy has got into serious problems as a result of the large influx of immigrants. There aren’t enough places to look after refugees and the problem is still costing the country huge sums of money.

14 September 2015 The European Union has officially decided to spread 40,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy all over Europe. The European Commission had proposed this at the end of May, and, after that,

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contrast to Spain, Greece, Ireland, or Portugal, Italy holds all the assets in its own hands. The country is rich enough to finance its own state funds internally, if necessary. The introduction of a national currency would rid the Italian economy of the yoke of the euro and restore its competitive position instantly.

The economy today The growth of 0.3% during the first quarter of 2015 has given the markets grounds for optimism regarding the Italian economy. This has been only the second instance of positive quarterly growth in the previous fourteen quarters. After three years of negative growth, there is finally some hope for Italy. However, the strong growth figures for the Italian economy as a whole do conceal the deep rooted regional differences between the rich north and less affluent south. The Great Recession has only served to highlight those contrasts between Northern and Southern Italy even more. For example, unemployment in the south rose by 8.7% to 20.7% between 2008 and 2014. The increase in the north during the same period was barely 4.7% to 8.6%. This means that the north of Italy scores better than the euro zone average of 11.6%. The south has only Spain (24.5%) and Greece (26.5%) behind it. The economic shrinkage between 2007 and 2013 was also more pronounced in the south with a decline of 13.6% as opposed to -6.7% in the north. The risk of poverty and social exclusion is strongly connected to the GDP growth. In 2013, this risk in the south was 47%, whilst in the north the risk of falling into poverty was less than one in five. And so, it’s no wonder that more and more people are migrating from Southern Italy to other regions in Northern and Central Italy. Between 2008 and 2013, over 241,600 Southern Italians migrated northwards.

chestnut, oak, beech, rowan, maple, and grey elm trees, and in the highlands we find birch, larch, and various sorts of spruce, and fir trees. The most woody regions are Trentino Alto Adige (46.5%) and Liguria (53.2%). These are also the regions where we find most woodwork businesses. However, unlike other sectors in Italy, the woodwork sector results less in cluster formation. A lot of woodwork is still done in the traditional way. Apart from a number of renowned parquet manufacturers, there are lots of supplier companies for the parquet industry, especially in the chemical industry and the manufacture of woodwork machines and tools.

Italy and wooden floors Parquet production Total production in the FEP countries dropped in 2012 by 4.7% to 68,266,133m². Total parquet production, including that of non-FEP countries, is estimated at 75 million square metres. Italy accounts for 4.83% of the FEP production. That’s good for 3,208,508m² of wooden floors. In 2011, production was still 3,569,922m². That share amounted to 5.48% of the total FEP production, yet it was a severe drop which perfectly reflects the general financial and economic situation.

Parquet consumption Parquet consumption in the FEP countries also dropped sharply in 2012 by 5.88% to a level of 87,509,000m². In 2011, Italy accounted for a 10.33% share of all consumption. During that year, the country consumed 9,449,367m² of parquet. That share dropped in 2012 to 9.32%. The total amount of wooden flooring still comes to 8,155,838m². That’s also an extremely sharp drop.

Italian forests About 22.7% of Italy is covered by forests. Along the coastlines we find mainly pine trees, whilst in the somewhat cooler regions there are

An overview :

MAPEI Mapei was formed in 1937 and is now world leader in adhesives and chemical products for the construction industry. In 1960, the company started to internationalise in order to be closer to their markets and a better feel for local needs. Today, the company has 70 subsidiaries and 66 production facilities spread over 30 countries and five continents. Mapei has always attached great importance to research. Over 12% of its employees are involved in research and development, whilst investment in that field accounts for 5% of turnover. About 70% of efforts by the research and development department are directed towards developing sustainable and ecological products to meet the LEED requirements. Furthermore, Mapei has also built up a global network for sales and technical support. Architects, engineers, contractors, and owners greatly appreciate that technical support. The sales service operates worldwide with much appreciated technical support. Whilst the company came into being as a producer of protective and decorative coatings, it is now world leader in adhesives for ceramic tiles and stone, carpet, flexible floor coverings, and wood. Mapei offers the construction industry 15 product ranges. In 2014, turnover was over 2.4 billion euros. The company employs 9000 people, 12% of them in research and development. Every day, Mapei supplies 22,000 tonnes of products to over 60,000 clients worldwide. Mapei continues to grow in various regions. + 39 (0) 237 6731 - www.mapei.it

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IMPERTEK

the right support We have been ensuring quality and support for roofings and foundations for 30 years, providing our contribution to the construction sector.

Impertek is a family business which was formed in1985 as a specialist in fitting watertight membranes and PVC materials. Since 2001, its headquarters have been located in Ceggia (Venice). The company operates on a surface area of 27,000m², 10,000m² of which is covered, and is the home base of the Giacomini family from Jesolo. Over the years, Impertek has developed into a paragon of the ‘Made in Italy’ label. Nowadays, the company specialises in watertight products and adjustable floor bases (Jack Support) for raised floors. Speedy order processing and ongoing attention to the needs of the market are part of the company’s philosophy. The turnover amounts to six million euros and the company employs 16 people. New items planned in the foreseeable future are adjustable floor bases for minimal differences in height (7-22mm). Impertek exports to Europe, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa and is now setting its sights on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East. They are also looking at growth islands in Africa. + 39 (0) 421 322 525 - www.impertek.it

Impertek has an extensive range of competitive products: from the adjustable supports, like the extensions for jack supports, to the XL jack supports and MegaMart S. An invisible contribution to make your world sounder and more durable.

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LECHNER SpA

chimiver.com - info@chimiver.com

From 1965... Lechner is a family business, which was formed in 1920 by Ernesto Lechner and specialised originally in the development of resins for quality paints. The range has grown a lot over the years due to intense R & D efforts and acquisitions of other companies. In 2013, Lechner introduced a revolutionary solution for outdoor floors, namely Drenatech®. Today, Lechner has three divisions: shipping, construction, and Drenatech. The company operates on four continents and in no fewer than 28 countries. The selection now includes a full range for fitting various floors: levellers and selfspreading levellers, primers, adhesives, sealants, varnishes, oils, and cleaning and maintenance products. Adapting constantly to client demand and changing market situations is one of the secrets of their success. The top product at the moment is Sipol Plus, an odourless epoxy-polyurethane glue for all wooden floors. It contains no water or solvents. Lechner employs 30 people and has an annual turnover of nine million euros (2014). + 39 (0) 143 636 103 - www.lechnerspa.it

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BUILDING INDUSTRY what is essential is invisible to the eye Italian

QUALITY TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION

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Top Italian companies focused on export

STILE Stile was the brainchild of the Onofri and Colcelli families. The company was formed in 1965, but its history actually goes back to the 19th century where the core business developed from supplying firewood to producing railway sleepers. Today, Stile is well known all over the world for good quality and elegant wooden floors. In the 1970s and 80s, Stile developed mainly solid parquet in 26 wood sorts and later became a specialist in two-layer engineered parquet. Over the last seven or eight years, the company has invested heavily in new technology for engineered floors. This enabled them to develop new collections and finishes. For example, the new Bona Traffic UV was developed by Stile. This varnish is ideal for high-traffic rooms. ‘Made in Italy’ is an important label which Stile uses to profile itself worldwide. Since the passing away of Aurelio Onofri in 2012, Stile, partly through the admission of new shareholders, has been targeting the global market more and more. In 2015, for the first time, turnover from exports was greater than turnover within Italy. Today, the production capacity is a good 600,000m². For 2016, they are promising some new collections which differ completely from the previous ones. + 39 (0) 75 864 761 - www.stile.com

SEICOM Italian company SEICOM delivers portable floors for FIBA VILLAGE 2015 For the traditional biennial event FSB Cologne, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has chosen a floor made in Italy: the well-known model Bormio manufactured by Seicom. All main partner companies of FIBA Equipe & Venue were hosted within Fiba Village and black was chosen as the color of Fiba Village 2015. Right in the center of the village, the SEICOM portable floor Bormio hosted athletes taking part to small competitions and animators involving people in challenges. A portable 100 m2 SEICOM BORMIO was also installed on the stand of BODET, a well-known French manufacturer of scoreboards, clocks and sports accessories. The yellow and black colored floor was highly appreciated and enhanced the booth, making it warmer and well coordinated with the big floor on the FIBA main court. All together 450 m2 portable floor model Bormio was installad at FSB 2015. This confirms the status of Bormio as an internationally much appreciated floor with numerous references worldwide. In 1999 SEICOM was supplier for FIBA FINAL FOUR in the OLYMPIAHALLE in MUNICH and in 2004 for the Athens Olympic Games. + 39 (0) 342 512 573 - www.seicom-italy.com

CHIMIVER PANSERI Chimiver Panseri S.p.A. is a family business with a strong work ethos, a focus on research and development and an excellent customer service. It is now run by Giovanni Panseri (founder) and his 2 sons Oscar and Nevio. Nowdays Chimiver employs 56 people and has 11.000 m2 of surface and a capacity of 40.000 kg of glue per day (2 plants) and 10.000 liters of varnishes (1 plant). The company slogan is “Il Mondo del Parquet” (The world of parquet) is proved with the widest range of products for parquet: primers, adhesives, lacquers, oils and maintenance products for indoor and outdoor wooden floors. Since more than 20 years Chimiver offers a wide range of UV products supplying the Italian and European leading producer of pre-finished or engineered parquet. Chimiver’s UV line includes fillers, primers, finishing lacquers, UV-oils and a complete UV water-based treatment. Chimiver is recognized as the biggest Italian player for parquet products and is now focussing more on export (from Europe to South-America). At present 60% of the turnover is made in Italy and 40% abroad. The aim is to get to a 50%-50 % balance the next years. + 39 (0) 357 950 31 - www.chimiver.com

Floor Forum International 77

PROGRESS PROFILES Lino Bordin, the founder of Progress Profiles, crossed the Atlantic Ocean after World War II in search of a better life. Early in the 1980s, he returned to Italy after building a strong company in the extrusion of plastic and metal profiles. His son Dennis, who has led the company since the 1990s, went down the road of technological innovation, encouraged by his brother-in-law Fanio Pontin, who entered the company in the same period. Progress Profiles produces lots of interior accessories, including skirting boards and profiles. The company supplies numerous licensed systems for all floor types from the installation to the finish. Additional products include LED lights, terrace insulation, balcony protection, and floor heating. The company is still investing in the latest forms of technology. Progress Profiles produces over 12,500 products in stainless steel, aluminium, bronze, PVC, and real wood. The company employs 100 people and the network includes 120 dealers. The company’s annual capacity is about eight million running metres. An innovation for 2015-16 is the Prodeso Heat, a new floor heating system. The company exports products to over 50 countries worldwide. + 39 (0) 423 950 398 - www.progressprofiles.com

ADESIV Adesiv was formed in 1971. The company produces adhesives for various industrial sectors and has established a fine reputation thanks to its ongoing product development. The company has always set great store by quality, image, and care for the environment. Adesiv exports a lot of products, and export figures are rising each year. The company has its own network of distributors in more than 40 countries to ensure that its clients always receive excellent service. The clients are mainly wooden floor fitters who purchase products from dealers, but also parquet industries buy products and much importance is given to the ‘private label’ sector. In fact, many international companies have been turning to Adesiv for a long time to have a range of customised products. The company is well known for its high quality adhesives, but has also made significant progress in coatings and wooden floor maintenance products. Given that pre-finished wooden floors are becoming much more popular, Adesiv is ready with its varnishes for the day when all those floors need renovating. At all events, Adesiv is fully convinced that wooden floors have a great future. What many clients do not know is that Adesiv, ever since its opening, has been producing with increasing success adhesives for the footwear industry and paper converting. It is in these fields that the company is investing in R&D laboratories and advanced machinery. + 39 (0) 424 566 406 - www.adesiv.it

LA SAN MARCO PROFILI La San Marco Profili, formed in 1989, is the expression of its two generations of management dedicated to innovation originated from a continuously research into and passion for wood. Originally, the company specialized in skirting and wood profiles. Over the years, it expanded its wide range of products with the introduction of outdoor flooring, both decking and deck tiles that can be easily fitted in different and innovative ways according to customers needs. Nowadays, the company is a benchmark in the Italian and foreign markets for the supply of high quality skirting, as well as wooden floors for outdoors installations. The focus of the company is to continue to guarantee top Made in Italy certified quality and just-in-time deliveries to all customers. That is why during the years it has developed a project of Decking prompt delivery thanks to its strong purchase network gained in several years of experience in this market in order to grant availability and efficient service to all customers. All our products could easily satisfy every design requirement, from the classical style to more elaborated solutions, becoming a possible choice for both large retailers and niche markets. La San Marco Profili with its large stock of high design quality products aims to expand its 40% of export currently achieved trying to stand out among European competitors and expand worldwide in the new developing markets. +39 (0) 438 980 106 – www.lasanmarcoprofili.com

Floor Forum International 77

∂ Industry news Lecol New high solid oil range with 19 vivid contemporary colours!

Are you looking for a modern colour for your floor? You need look no further than the complete high-quality oil range from Lecol with 19 vivid and contemporary colours in both a 1-component (LOBASOL® HS Akzent 100 Oil) and a 2-component version for even better protection (LOBASOL® HS 2K Impact Oil). These natural high solid oils are suitable for all wood sorts and offer scores of possibilities to give your floor a natural, modern, classic, or contemporary look. Ask for the promotional material: sample board, sample bundle, and reception display.

Inc. in Dover, Delaware, was inaugurated on September 25. The new production plant of the subsidiary of Uzin Utz AG is in addition to the distribution company, UFloor Systems Inc. in Aurora, Colorado, the second location of the group in the USA. Filling compounds will be produced for the American market on the site, with a size of around 40,000 m². In addition to the administration a research and development department as well as a training center for wholesale customers are accommodated in the building. The investment volume is just under EUR 12 million.

FN Neuhofer: Additional hall extension as a consequence of large orders

Osmo

The German Pavilion receives protective wood finish with Decking-Oils Osmo at the Expo in Malian: the Warendorfer company together with their Italian partner Interwood s.r.l. in Novara supplied the wood finishes for the exterior walls and decking of the German pavilion. Around 2,500 square metres of wood at the German fair presence were treated with Osmo Bangkirai-Oil dark, Decking-Oils in the modern fashionable colour tone grey and in the new colour tone Bog Oak as well as AntiSlip Decking-Oil. The selected Osmo wood finishes provide the wood surface with a beautiful look and also long-lasting protection.

Uzin Utz AG is opening the first production location in the USA Ulm, September 28, 2015 – With a large ceremony and 180 invited guests the new plant of Uzin Utz Manufacturing North America

Floor Forum International 77

Neuhofer Holz in Zell am Moos, Austria, has been forced to invest in a hall extension on short notice because of pleasing large orders. “This wasn’t really planned but we had to react quickly because of large orders and ensure more storage space. This investment gives us many additional pallet storage areas,” says Franz Neuhofer. The Neuhofer company premises currently have a total of 13.300 m² of storage area and thus space for 7.560 pallets in order to be able to guarantee the best delivery service. Neuhofer continues: “After all, reliable customer service and innovative quality products are our highest priorities.” The successive expansion of the company premises at Zell am Moos will continue with the planned investments. An area of up to 56.000 m² is to be added by 2020 in the form of storage and production halls and a new office building including a spacious showroom. The area at Neuhofer Holz GmbH will then total 146.000 m². “We join our clients and partners in looking forward to being able to realise our vision,” says Managing Director Franz Neuhofer.

Come and meet us at Domotex: Hall 9, Stand G10 WOOD FLOORING MANUFACTURERS

boa-franc.com mercierwoodflooring.com

lauzonltd.com

pgmodel.com

preverco.com

TOOLS AND NAILS

vaucluse.org

quebecwoodexport.com

wickhamhardwood.com

PARTNER:

primatech.ca

∂ Product news ADESIV: NEW POLYURETHANE PRIMER WB PU Adesiv introduces a new polyurethane primer for the treatment of absorbent surfaces or floors that also combats humidity. PRIMER WB PU is a 100% polyurethane monocomponent and odourless product that has a drying time between 45 and 55 minutes and is very effective against residual humidity (max. 5 – 6 %). It can be applied on absorbent flooring, traditional cement, anhydride and calcium sulphate screeds. This new primer can also be used on absorbent subfloors with underfloor heating or cooling systems. ADESIV PRIMER WB PU has very low emissions and is labeled EC1 PLUS R (GEV-EMI code) and A+ emission class according to the French regulations.

CSP ENGINEERING Innovative ready to use wood filler, produced for CSP Engineering. Perfectly fitted for filling imperfections of wooden floor parts. - - - - -

Available in several standard colors Excellent attachment on the wood and almost no shrinking Very good behavior for planning and sanding Ecological, contains no solvents Available in cartridges of 2 kg (PAR-Filler®) and buckets of 9.6 kg (manual)

PARCOLYS FLOORING The major innovations at Parcolux and Parcostone include the brushed top layer. This is in acrylic and reinforced with corundum. It is hardened with an electro-beam and pressed at the same time by the paper and polymerised to achieve grading class AC5. This improves impact resistance and wear resistance by 25%. This puts the products in class 33. With R10 grading (Germany) for anti-slip and PC10 and PN12 for the same in France, this product can also be used around indoor swimming pools. Parcolys has developed its own click system for the residential product Parcozen. This push-down or fall-down system has been tested at Castorama. The corundum layer is nano-technology. And so, an anti-bacterial treatment is perfectly possible.

NEW HARD WAX OIL DECO PROTECT PLASTOR Plastor is launching the new hard wax oil Deco Protect, which nourishes all parquet floors and protects them against daily onslaughts whilst the floor retains its natural look. The wax in the oil protects parquet against stains and makes maintenance very easy. It also gives parquet a decorative look. The hard wax oil dries quickly and is easy to apply, namely in two coats using the spray method. The matt aspect ensures a highly attractive finish. The hard wax oil is available colourless or in eight contemporary shades (four wood shades, white, patina, grey, dark-grey, and black).

PRIMAVERDE: AFFORDABLE FLOOR PROTECTOR Floors have to be kept in good condition during renovation and project design. Some choose painter fleece, whilst others prefer floor protection cardboard. At a similar price, there’s now also Prima Cover Absorb, the lightweight combination of both. The liquid-absorbent top layer on a sturdy anti-slip PE foil ensures extra safety. Prima Cover Absorb can be laid straight along walls so that the floor is well protected everywhere, even against mechanical damage. Prima Cover Absorb can be folded up compactly when the waste is being removed. This results in efficient use of containers and waste disposal bags.

Floor Forum International 77

Multilayer parquet, multiple enjoyment The engineered wooden flooring by Lalegno is more stable than traditional massive wooden floors and is available in oak, exotic species and durable bamboo. The extensive range of different sizes and finishes available offers solutions to suit every style. Therefore Lalegno flooring is the first choice of every flooring professional.

For more information on our products, please check our website www.lalegno.be or contact us via info@lalegno.be

Silver

Bronze

Gold

Bona Floor Treatment Program Right answers for all wood floor conditions Commercial and private floor owners around the world are

• Bronze: Deep Clean & Protection

always asking for the best way to restore a floor to its original beauty. Whether it’s a large airport or a private home, the right answer to floor treatment depends on the condition of the surface and the floor type. With decades of experience and knowledge working closely with wood flooring craftsmen, Bona now gives you a clear and simple answer: Bona Floor Treatment Program, with 3 different treatment types for the various needs of the wooden floor.

bona.com/professional/floortreatmentprogram

• Silver: Light Sanding & Recoating • Gold: Full Sanding & New Surface