FFI May 2016 by Media-Pact NV / FFI bvba

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° 81, May 2016 - 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: Hungary Special: Parquet oil

Releasing Oil Potential Bona Craft Oil 2K – Performance, versatility, design

Review: EFWEX Ghent (BE)

Special: Pre-colouring: what's on the market Special: Producers of style panels

Review: Domotex Asia CHINAFLOOR

re v O able t coaith lacquer w

Preview: Carrefour International du Bois (FR) Special: Producers of exterior walls: wood and composite

la 13 nde /1 rs 5.0 E 3.2 xpo 01 G 6 e

Verschijnt 7x/jaar (feb, maart, mei, juli, sep, nov, dec) e V.U.: Filip De Ridder – Prijs: € 6 – 15 jaargang Afgiftekantoor 9099 Gent X – P409056

Do you want to be part of the success of a media group which is now indispensable? If so, the job of telesales agent or sales agent is for you!

www.novlek.com

Nieuwsflash: EFWEX 2016/Gent (BE)

EFWEX: Informatiesessie

over Belgische VOS-wetgeving door ministerie van Leefmilieu en Volksgezondheid op 14 en 15 maart !

* in compliance with DTU 51.4 requirements regarding fasteners

DE ULTIEME GENERATIE ONZICHTBARE BEVESTIGINGEN MET VERSTEVIGING IN ROESTVRIJ STAAL

Houten terrassen en gevelbekledingen

Sales agent

Dossier: Producenten van kopshouten vloeren: soorten en legwijze

G• SIN AT

NDEERT STAB ILIT GARA

EIT

LAATSIN • G

Dossier: Bevestigingssystemen voor terrasvloeren

SNELLE MAKK

HE AM ZA UR

ELIJ KE PL A

Dossier: Traprenovatie met laminaat inleg

LIJ KE P AK

ST AB

E DE AN

uniquement essionnels)

-F

R • GA

ez-vous sur efwex.eu

de Benelux en Frankrijk

Nr 112 maart 2016

ILIT

EIT

LL NE •S EN DU URZAAMHEID

Dossier: Nieuwe trends in kurkvloeren

+32 (0) 474 49 49 99 I info@novlek.com

16/02/16 17:29

FloorForum_cover_159x250_2016.indd 1

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

Vis

it ll 8 13 - F /1 lan 5.0 d 3.2 ers 01 Ex 6 po

, Nov, Dec) 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept N° 79, Februar y 2016 - Price: €8 - Published Ridder BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092,

Preview: EFWEX 2016 Ghent (BE)

EFWEX

European Floor & Wall Exhibition

How high do you prioritize your wooden floors?

You (M/F and based in Belgium) sell advertising space to clients and prospective clients active in the B-to-B and B-to-C sectors and inform and advise them about the current range of multimedia publications and opportunities to make their communication budget more profitable.

1/1 PAGINA Telesales agent

(B) 13/15.03.2016 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT

You (M/F and based in Belgium) are responsible for the sale by telephone of advertising space and online packages for our various titles.

Special: Top Polish companies focused on export World first: Vesting introduces LED-drying floor oil

Advertorial: WOCA Denmark

Preview: Domotex Shanghai

Special: Producers of LVT, vinyl and PVC presents their trends 2016

wooden floors need We are sure that you will agree that high-quality we decided to produce the high-quality wood care products. At WOCA, strength for your floor. ultimate line of products. An oil with unequalled mat finish – and yet with And a unique lacquer with an invisible, super wocadenmark. com/no1 an exclusive soft feel effect. Read more:

Review: Domotex Hanover(DE)

No1: The world’s most exclusive wood

N°. 9 - 2016 – prix: € 4,50

ANN_Floor_Forum_Intl_forside_01.16.indd

care system!

07/01/16 10.39

PARQUET Stratifié

Annexes en chêne et cabanons

2016 – PRIX € 4,50 – E.R. FFI bvba

TUITE,

van parket, laminaat, kurk- en bamboevloeren in

– DÉCEMBRE 2015, JANVIER, FÉVRIER

obtenir entrée

Ha Vakblad voor import, export, distributie en plaatsing

PARQUET & STRATIFIE N° 9 – TRIMESTRIEL

…),

Floor Forum, Floor Forum International, and Parket & Laminaat are leading media in this branch both in print and online. They are trade and consumer journals and multimedia platforms with an outstanding reputation within this sector.

Lo Rabot (IT): Cette fois, nous vous emmenons dans le Val d’Aoste en Italie Les revêtements céramiques au look bois, des produits de haut vol la beauté, Le vinyle et le liège naturel, unis pour le confort et la simplicité parmi Comment reconnaître la véritable qualité bois? les annexes ou cabanons de piscine en Poncez votre parquet ancien et donnez-lui une nouvelle vie ! que tout arracher Rénover ou restaurer est toujours mieux

Job requirements for both positions: • You possess business sense and persuasiveness. • You have a client focus. • You are interested in media. • You enjoy a challenge and do everything in your power to succeed. • You are preferably bilingual (Dutch/French) with a reasonable knowledge of English as well.

Interested?

If so, send an e-mail as soon as possible to sales@media-pact.com

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

Editorial

N° 81, May 2016 - 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: Hungary Special: Parquet oil

Releasing Oil Potential Bona Craft Oil 2K – Performance, versatility, design

Review: EFWEX Ghent (BE)

“Communication with professionals and consumers is vital to our corporate strategy.” Bona has been in existence for almost a century and operates worldwide. The company is also one of the top players on the parquet finish market. We asked Kirk Roberts, executive board member at Bona, for an outline of the market situation in Europe and the position and strategy of Bona.

Special: Pre-colouring: what's on the market Special: Producers of style panels

Review: Domotex Asia CHINAFLOOR

rOve ble ta coath lacquer wi

Preview: Carrefour International du Bois (FR) Special: Producers of exterior walls: wood and composite

Floor Forum International n° 81 May 2016 Photo Bona

4 Inside news 8 Review of EFWEX Ghent (BE) 21 Advertorial Impertek (IT)

Kirk Roberts

(senior vice-president of sales Bona)

22 Special Producers of style panels 27 Advertorial Trivec (NL) 28 Preview Carrefour International du Bois (FR) 30 Advertorial Parket Kerkhofs (BE) 32 Special Parquet oil 38 Special Producers of exterior walls : wood and composite 42 Advertorial Adesiv (IT) 43 Special UV curing on site 46 Review of DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 48 Special Pre-colouring : what’s on the market ? 52 Special Suppliers of mops and cleaning tools in kit form

Since the second half of 2015, there has been a modestrecovery in parquet renovation market growth, while the new installation market is still feeling the impact of the crisis. That is why we are trying to put the focus on renovation. Since fewer people moved house during the crisis years, less parquet was renovated. Now, we’re seeing an increase in renovation. If we compare this with the period before the financial crisis, we see that lots of things have changed on the parquet market. More and more pre-finished wooden floors are being fitted. At the same time, we see that durability, the environment, and health (always core values for Bona) are now even more important. We’re happy about that. Our conviction is now more credible than ever.’

Is Bona still working on environmental and health issues? ‘We certainly are. We’re continuing to make every effort and that means we’re now further than ever. You see, our philosophy is that every facet of the Bona system has to be effective, but at the same time we also have to protect those who fit and use our floors during the entire lifespan of the floor. A good example is our unique Bona Dust Care System, a vacuum cleaner connected to the sanding machine with a completely sealed system and a seamless dust bag system so that parquet can be finished and renovated dust-free. This makes renovation attractive and is good for the environment. At the same time, it’s also good for the health of floor fitters and their clients.’

The consumer is also important in your communication strategy. ‘Indeed, in the past, we communicated mainly with our clients, wholesalers and parquet traders. The emergence of the Internet and social media has meant that we now get more and more questions and reactions from consumers. They knew that their parquet was finished with Bona products and they started asking more questions about issues such as maintenance. We realised that we needed to use the new communication channels because this would reinforce relations with floor fitters. We supply extensive information for end consumers on maintenance and also advise them if their floors are due for renovation. This is how we promote our Bona-approved professionals because we’re sure that they will complete projects properly and, furthermore, with respect for our values like quality and durability. Furthermore, the supply of clients via Bona means that our approved professionals themselves also have a healthier and profitable company.’

55 Special Parquet and laminate in the hotel sector 59 Special Producers of profiles for PVC, LVT and vinyl floors 62 Industry news 63 Special Hungary 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 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 Amorim

Overmat industries opens new warehouse

Corticeira Amorim’ sales surpass €600 million in 2015

After the fire in their warehouse, Overmat has now opened a new logistics location. From here, they are ready to deliver all products and service you fully. Thanks to swift action the new address the new logistics address is: Dwarsweg 18, 5165 NM Waspik, The Netherlands. Our office address remains unchanged: Scharlo 11, 5165 NG Waspik, The Netherlands. Orders can be placed via the normal procedures: Tel: +31 (0) 416 31 77 88 E-mail: info@overmat.nl World economic growth slowed somewhat surprisingly in 2015 to an annual rate of just over 3%. In spite of this deceleration, Corticeira Amorim’s most important markets all registered positive, albeit relatively modest growth. The company’s total sales exceeded, for the first time on record, €600 million, reaching €604.8 million, an increase of 7.9% on 2014. A strong operating performance saw EBITDA exceed €100 million for the first time thanks to an increase of 16.1%. The EBITDA/sales ratio rose to 16.7%, a considerable improvement on the 15.5% registered in 2014. In line with sales and EBITDA, Corticeira Amorim’s net profit also passed a significant milestone, exceeding €50 million for the first time following an increase of 53.9% on 2014 to a total of €55 million. Indeed, 2015 was a landmark year for Corticeira Amorim. The company’s strong performance resulted from a clear business vision, a strategy designed to achieve growth and create value.

Ciranova

SCALA 1:50

Ciranova We are glad to announce that Mr. Pieter Vermeulen is since the 15th of February 2016 fulfilling the function of Manager Industrial Coatings at DEBAL COATINGS NV, for the Benelux. Pieter has since many years experience as commercial and technical responsible in the world of industrial finishes.

Seicom

Kristof Ghekiere works for Debal Coatings since March 1st as International Business Development Manager for the industrial wood coatings and stains for the flooring and furniture industry. He has a long experience in wood technology and business and worked many years for an international company in the flooring business.

Floor Forum International 81

SCALA 1:50

SEICOM is leader in the sports flooring field. Since 1996 the Company has been FIBA Study Center (Geneva) Partner. Among the most important references are the FIBA FINAL FOUR WOMEN '99 in Brno (Czech Republic), the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN '99 in Katowice (Poland) and the FIBA FINAL FOUR MEN '99 in Munich (Germania).SEICOM was also the official supplier of the main indoor parquet floor at the ATHENS 2004 Olympics.

∂ Inside news In the last years, SEICOM has references in Hungary (a 1.800 sqm portable floor Bormio), in Russia (a 700 sqm portable floor), in Johannesburg South Afriva and in Turkey the new Eraman Tofas.

in the opportunities that Africa has to offer. Therefore it is best for us to build good and qualitative customer relationships to further expand our brand.”

Soudal supports its affiliate in Morocco

Z-Parket is moving ahead

From 24 February 2016 onwards, Soudal has taken over all customers of its former exclusive distributor in Morocco. Soudal recently announced the opening of its own, state-of-the-art affiliate in Casablanca. This affiliate can now enjoy a head start thanks to the take-over of this great amount of customers, who are both active on local markets as on the Northern African continent. The aim of the take-over is to further expand the Soudal brand in North Africa. Dirk Coorevits, Managing Director of Soudal: “The take-over of these customers gives the affiliate in Morocco a head-start. Until now, Soudal could only supply its customers directly through its affiliate in South Africa, but this changes from now on. Soudal strongly believes

A fresh wind, full of energy is blowing throughout Z-Parket. This one allows a new look on every aspect of the company. An ideal opportunity to reconsider the look of Z-Parket and to, literally, give it a face-lift. Recently, Z-Parket created a new logo and presented not less than four new colours in his collection. You can feel it, Z-Parket is moving ahead. We chose a logo which would maintain the Z-identity but also look contemporary. It emphasises all values of class and style which Z-Parket is pursuing. Still recognizable but also modern.

NEW WAREHOUSE NOW OPEN! After the fire in our warehouse, we have now opened our new logistics location. From here, we are ready to deliver all products and service you fully. Our new logistics address is: Dwarsweg 18, 5165 NM Waspik, The Netherlands

You can place your orders via: Tel: +31 (0) 416 31 77 88 E-mail: info@overmat.nl

Our office address remains unchanged: Scharlo 11, 5165 NG Waspik, The Netherlands

Opening hours: Mo – Fr, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

11-04-16 Floor Forum International 81 16:21

∂ Inside news Silvadec Silvadec launches its new Atmosphere floorboard ‘Sao Paulo’: The floorboard ‘for everyone’ which revolutionises the wood composite market. The Brown Sao Paulo floorboard entices you with its highly natural look. Sao Paulo is recommended for both residential and professional use!

THE FIRST

This terrace plank is produced in line with a co-extrusion principle, which consists of covering the floorboard in wood composite with a protective cover of polymers. The new Sao Paulo floorboard has the following certified properties: Good anti-slip resistance for this co-extruded floorboard Silvadec gave its R&D teams the task of developing this new plank

LOW THICKNESS FLOATING PRODUCT

6mm

WATERPROOF

STABLE AND STRONG

EASY AND FAST

SILENCE NATURAL THERMAL INSULATION WALKING COMFORT BODY WELLNESS IMPACT RESISTANCE 6

Floor Forum International 81

VISIT US AT CARREFOUR DU BOIS STAND F8 HALL 3

DISCOVER MORE AT WWW.WICANDERS.COM/FF

IDEAL FOR RENOVATIONS

COMPRESSION SYSTEM

∂ Inside news with outstanding anti-slip results before launching it on the market. Their Brown Sao Paulo floorboard has been R12-R13* certified, so it meets the requirements of the project market! *Very strong adhesion, professional use.

An easily maintained floor This plank, which is completely impervious, meets the requirements for fast and easy maintenance! This terrace plank is ideal for use with an outdoor kitchen in covered or partly covered zones, but also serves for use in public areas of the CHR type. Durability and stability of the colour Thanks to its protective cover, the Atmosphere floorboard is resistant to UV rays and retains its colour durably with the passage of time. Its intense colour gives it a specific look. Properties of the floorboard: Co-extruded plank in Forexia® wood composite. Dimensions: 138 x 23 x 4000mm Colour: Brown Sao Paulo Produced in France

of effort has also been put into the qualitative content, which goes beyond the focus on our products. The idea is that people can consult our website to find answers to all their wood-related questions. We will regularly add new “tips & tricks”. Go and see for yourself on www.rubiomonocoat.com

Rubio Monocoat Rubio Monocoat website gets a new look! To offer even better and faster service, Rubio Monocoat has launched a new website. The website has been given a modern, fresh look and is now also integrated with our social media channels. A lot

E SYSTÈMT É E V E BR

D E S I G N® PA R Q U E T F r a n c e

Navylam

ARE YOU A MANUFACTURER OF FLOOR COVERING IN VINYL, LVT, OR LAMINATE (HPL OR DPL)? With our revolutionary technology we make matching skirting boards and profiles from your Cushion Vinyl, LVT, DPL (laminate) or HPL panels! - Same decor, structure, scratch resistance, and product features of your floor covering. - No extra stock of paper or CPL foils. - Skirting boards, T-profiles, end profiles, or threshold profiles possible. - NEW: Multifunctional profile (3 in 1) in DPL (laminate) and LVT panels!! Patent pending by Decruy NV

Ask for more info about this revolutionary concept.

Decruy NV Poelkapellestraat 40 - 8650 Houthulst - Belgium Tel.: 0032(0)51/708587 E-mail: dh-sales@decruy.be - www.decruy.be

E SYSTÈMT É BREVE

TED PAT E N EM SYST

Navylam

Bathroom parquet floor easier to lay

Pre-oiled Double integrate black joint

Navylam+ is an unique system easier and faster for laying bathroom parquet floor. Strips are already pre-oiled and with a double integrated joint. No sanding, oiling and joint laying. You just have to put some glue in the groove provided for and join strips. So, your parquet floor is finished and completely watertight. 7 species (Teak, Acacia, Kambala, Doussie, Mutenye, Wenge, Afrormosia).

www.designparquet.fr Floor Forum International 81

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

DESPITE FEWER VISITORS, SECOND EDITION OF EFWEX WAS A SUCCESS THANKS TO THE QUALITY OF THE VISITORS, ATTRACTIVE AND DIVERSE STANDS, AND A WORLD FIRST!

• 1964 professional visitors from 42 countries.

• Exhibitors were pleased with the quality of the visitors.

• Visitors give EFWEX a valuation of 8 out of 10.

Booth Floor Forum International

Sunday 13 to Tuesday 15 March 2016 witnessed the second edition of EFWEX in Flanders Expo Ghent. For three whole days, EFWEX was the rendezvous for national and foreign visitors from the sector for wooden flooring and walls, terraces, vinyl, laminate, design floors, and all accessories and chemicals. The exhibitors (from 12 different countries) accounted for a good 8,000m² of trade fair space. The number of exhibitors was 131 (28%) more than at the first EFWEX and there were 1964 visitors over three days.

Diverse trade fair with world firsts The show in Flanders Expo Ghent presented itself as a fine and pleasant trade fair which gave the varied public the opportunity to get to know scores of new products and suppliers from all countries in Europe and further afield. Moreover, there was also a world first to be

Floor Forum International 81

discovered at EFWEX. The Dutch parquet finish specialist De Vesting launched a LED-drying oil for wooden floors. This new oil offers the same benefits of fast-drying UV oils, but LED lights are sufficient instead of UV lamps. The benefits are vast: much lower energy consumption, lower CO² emissions, much less harmful lighting for the environment, and all this, moreover, without the need for a complex suction installation for the finish line. Another first came from Ipe Latino, the Belgian specialist in terraces and wall cladding. They introduced a new wall cladding in a wood composite material, COVER 30, which is fire-resistant and conforms to the European standards for fire classes.

EFWEX gets 8 out of 10 from visitors The diversity and quality in the range went together with an event on a human scale which covered the large hall number 8 of Flanders

Expo. The visitors agreed with this assessment as a survey at the exit revealed their average appreciation to be 8 out of 10. In particular, the attractive stands, the diversity in the range from Belgium and abroad, and the free catering were praised by professional visitors. Further investigation showed that most visitors were parquet traders, floor fitters, and interior builders or they worked in retail and wholesale for wood, floors, and interior design. Furthermore, architects and interior designers and representatives from national and international trading companies also visited the show.

1964 professionals with an attractive profile After three days, the show had registered a visitor total of 1964 professionals. Sunday had the highest score with 755 visitors. On Monday, 697 visitors showed up, and the organisers counted 512 on Tuesday. The total number of visitors was lower than the organisers had expected, but this was offset by the quality of the visitors. Show organiser Filip De Ridder comments, ‘The vast majority of the exhibitors said they were satisfied with this second edition of EFWEX. The quality and origin of visitors was almost unanimously praised. Even on Tuesday afternoon, the exhibitors received absolutely genuine visitors to their stands. And so, we can conclude that EFWEX is a trade fair which allows exhibitors and visitors to discover new items and practices, but it’s also a trade fair which leads to specific agreements and commitments.’

International interest Apart from lots of professionals from Belgium, EFWEX also welcomed lots of professional visitors from outside Belgium. Obviously, visitors came from the neighbouring countries of the Netherlands, France and Germany, but also from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, and Rumania. EFWEX also attracted visitors from outside Europe. Amongst others, there were professionals from the USA, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Belize, Bhutan, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Ghana, Israel, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Algeria, Morocco, Madagascar, Malaysia, and Turkey.

Visitors pampered What was special about EFWEX was the fact that visitors had the opportunity not only to enjoy free snacks and drinks, but also to win a number of nice gadgets or handy work tools. During the three days, there were various lottery draws for Bona Spray Mops, Metabo site radios, mini-iPADs, and Samsung galaxy S smart phones. This was the organiser’s way of stressing appreciation for the professionalism of the EFWEX visitors.

Government information session about the new Belgian VOC legislation

On Monday afternoon, there was an information session planned by the Federal Government Department for Public Health and the Environment. A government official clarified the Belgian legislation regarding volatile organic compounds and other harmful chemical components for fitting and finishing floors. About thirty professionals attended this interesting presentation. At the end, a good number of them took the opportunity to ask questions about the legislation.

Attention for innovations and projects Visitors to EFWEX had the opportunity to see an attractive range of prestigious and attractive achievements with products from exhibitors. The Architect@EFWEX room made for a pleasant break with lounge music and the state-of-the-art Balterio Ultra HD Traffic laminate floor.

Anyone wanting an attractive range of the exhibitor innovations could visit the INNOVATION@EFWEX room where visitors could admire a splendid BambooTouch® FLEX new vinyl floor. Here is a summary of the exhibitors and what they presented at their stand.

Exhibitors comment on EFWEX 2016: Buzon EFWEX gave Nico Cox, the new technical and commercial manager for Flanders from Buzon Pedestal International, the opportunity to present Buzon’s different ranges to a professional public. Their measuring system and slope corrector, which ensure safe and comfortable fitting, attracted the visitors’ full attention. Their new BUZON Universal support beam allured several specialists. These beams are used with the most important fastening systems for terrace planks. They make it easier to level terraces on pedestals and make it possible to level several surfaces at different levels. They can also serve to support the fitting of ceramic tiles. A modern and efficient accessory which facilitates the work of professionals.

Felix Clercx At a compact stand of 3x3 metres, Felix Clercx introduced itself by means of two displays containing 18 variants in the field of hard wood and composite terrace planks (Fiberon®). These solid wood composite boards of the third generation have lots of advantages as compared those with hollow rooms. In particular in the areas of expansion (minimal), easy fitting, colour fastness, and guarantee, Fiberon exceeds the quality of various other brands. The new catalogue for 2016 was also ready at the time of this show. Visitors were enthusiastic about the content and new design.

Ciranova Ciranova participated for the second time at the fair European Floor & Wall in Ghent. The visitors, especially the parquet layers and the end users, could have a clear and clarifying idea of the different finishes possible with the use of CIRANOVA-products. During this fair, there was special attention for our On-Site finishes and Industrial Finishes. During EFWEX, we presented the new Aquavintage

Floor Forum International 81

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

2C and our newest lacquer FORTICO, available in 1C & 2C. FORTICO is a water-based polyurethane lacquer for the protection of parquet and suitable for floors submitted to high traffic use. FORTICO is extremely scratch resistant, has anti-slip properties and is easy to apply without any overlap or roller marks. The UN1CO was also a great success, the 1-coat VOC-free oil with an excellent protection and finish in just 1 coat. Many new contacts, national as well as international, have been made during this fair.

Lalegno The Lalegno-Chimiver combination proved a success! Despite the disappointing number of visitors during EFWEX, Lalegno and Chimiver did make some interesting links. Visitors were rightly impressed by the stand, which presented a stylish summary of what the partners have to offer. The products, which were nicely in harmony, also proved persuasive. The partnership between Lalegno and Chimiver has proved once again that it is efficient and practical to have one point of contact for the sale of parquet and all fitting and finish accessories. The one-stop-shop is the trend for the future.

Unifloor The Dutch subfloor specialist exhibited its entire range and stressed that the Jumpax range (20 years old this year) is the fastest solution for subfloor preparation in these days of haste. A new item was the Jumpax Nature. Jumpax Nature comprises an MDF with a soft-board layer, so it is an ecological and perfectly levelling subfloor with high heat resistance and considerable sound reduction. This has been developed

Floor Forum International 81

specially for high-traffic locations where vinyl, linoleum, PVC, and carpet are fitted, amongst other things, on wooden support floors.

Mapei Mapei promoted its full range of primers, adhesives, lacquers, oils, and maintenance products for fitting parquet. The Ultracoat Soft Touch Finish attracted attention. This is a waterborne 2K 100% polyurethane lacquer with very low VOC emissions. Neither does it contain any NMP, so the wood has a natural look. It provides a soft finish, but also guarantees high resistance to scratches and wear and is suitable for finishing parquet in homes and commercial locations.

Abetech ABETECHABRASIFS is one of the leading actors in the manufacture of abrasives and products for renovation, maintenance and soil treatments (parquet, wooden floors, concrete, natural stones…) in Belgium, We put our experience and know-how acquired over the years, serving professionals to advise you the best way possible and give your floorings a brand new life. Our full range of products including our new professional line and our FLOORTECH machines coupled with our own making workshop provide you flexibility and answer to any of your issues. Abetech confirmed in its questionnaire answers that it plans to return to EFWEX in 2018. They thought that the number of visitors was low, but those visitors who did show up were high-quality people of influence. Visit www.abrasif.com for more infomation.

CSP Engineering This edition of EFWEX offered us again the ideal circumstances to fine-tune our personal contacts in the flooring industry. The initiative ‘Innovation@Efwex!’ disserves a compliment for the way the available space has been used to put our new filling technology and the PAR-Filler® machine in a creative manner under the spotlights. Our expectations in visitor numbers was not completely answered, although quality stays of higher importance than quantity for CSP Engineering. Our final conclusion is that EFWEX 2016 has been successful for CSP Engineering!

simply applied in a single layer. At our STAUF booth the complete product range was presented. With the slogans "see" and "try" the installation videos, the image wall as the product samples were real eye-catchers. For more information please contact us info@floorconcepts.eu

Lamett

Decorad A break-through in acceptance for UV on site More and more projects are treated on site with UV coatings (and UV oils) and cured with an UV machine in order to immediately after curing use the floor again. As a result this new way of renovating the floor is becoming more well known to floor owners who due to the advantages (reduction of downtime, quality and environmental friendly) more often choose for this system. The combination of more projects done, more coating (and oil) manufacturers who offer UV products and more surfaces (wood, resilient and concrete) where UV products can be used results in a breakthrough in acceptance.

Lamett, the parquet specialist, presented at EFWEX its collections Country, Farm and Courchevel. The Country collection is a budgetfriendly, rustic oiled parquet floor. Pronounced knots and cracks were deliberately chosen. Another rustic collection within the Lamett range, is the Farm collection. This is a 3-layer parquet floor treated with oxidative oil and with a manually aged V groove. The top collection Courchevel was also presented to the visitors. This is a multilayer oiled parquet floor with matt finish and wide boards. The Courchevel is equipped with a tongue and groove system.

FLOORCONCEPTS: WOCA-STAUF FLOORCONCEPTS choose to put his two main brands WOCA & STAUF in the spotlight. WOCA launched the ultimate line of wood care products by combining its knowledge and experience with the latest technology. The system, which is a part of the extensive WOCA product range, is named NO1 and is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most exclusive line of products for basic treatment, maintenance and cleaning of wooden floors. Our No1 system combines ease of use with a beautiful appearance and very long-lasting results. More information on http://nl.woca.be/no1. Besides the NO1 system, the WOCA Diamond Oil was also an eye catcher. Diamond Oil is a completely new and unique generation of professional oils for finishing floors, stairs, furniture, etc. With a consumption up to 25 mÂ˛ per liter, the oil is not only unique but also very economical. Everything

Floor Forum International 81

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

Osmo Osmo was at the EFWEX in Ghent, Beligum, from 13 to 15 March. The company was represented by Nico Janssens (Field Sales Belgium), Julien Monard (Wood Finishes Consultant North-East France), Nadine Fortriede and Dorothée Crespy Fernandez. A highlight at the bright, modern stand were the live demonstrations. These showed, for example, how to colour wooden flooring with Oil Stain or with Wood Wax Finish. Besides having a lot of good contact to existing customers, new interest in the natural wood finishes from Osmo could also be awaken. In addition, many of Osmo’s Belgian customers were represented with their own stand and this Osmo products were presented at many different locations. The EFWEX took place for the second time in Ghent. For 2018, Osmo hopes for even more professional visitors from all over the world.

Rubio Monocoat Succesfull introduction of Rubio Easybond parquet adhesive After the world premiere at Domotex, we chose EFWEX as the excellent place to introduce our newest family member to the Belgian market. Rubio Easybond is a new generation of single component parquet adhesive based on silane polymer technology. This parquet adhesive is universally applicable for nearly all types of wood and scenarios, contains no plasticizers and is hard elastic – two characteristics that result in a durable parquet adhesive. We can look back with great satisfaction on EFWEX, where we met a lot of existing as well as potential customers. Both groups were very eager to start working with the Rubio EasyBond range. www.rubioeasybond.com

US floors / Yepp US floors and Yepp presented the new COREtec Plus floors at EFWEX. Both flooring companies looked back upon EFWEX with satisfaction: ‘It’s the only reputable trade fair in the Benelux for wooden floors, laminate, vinyl, and accessories. EFWEX got everyone together from our sector and presented a summary of new products, technical solutions, and innovations.’ COREtec floors are a new and innovative type of floor with a click system and are made from recycled wood, bamboo, limestone, and vinyl click system. Jan Dossche, president of US floors was highly satisfied with their

Floor Forum International 81

participation at EFWEX: ‘The second edition of EFWEX received a favourable report from both the COREtec vendors and agent Yepp. The show location, the range, and the catering formula all proved popular. Our participation in this edition of the show was a direct hit. We’re also pleased that there is a good quality parquet trade fair on Belgian soil. In particular, the quality of the visitors was a decisive factor. We made several good contacts with new potential clients and sold a lot of displays.’

Yepp At the expansive Yepp stand there were lots of major brands from our sector to be discovered. As a first, Yepp presented WOWOOD, a new wooden wall cladding constructed from diverse sorts of recycled wood with a charming vintage look and, moreover, produced in a sheltered workshop. Wall panels are fixed to the wall via a unique fastening system of double-sided tape. Another novelty was CORETEC, a major launch as an alternative to LVT or laminate. CORETEC comprises recycled wood, bamboo, limestone, and vinyl. The backing is in cork for perfect sound insulation. From Parador we saw some novelties in the laminate range. Amongst other things, there were two new synchrone structures in matt, 14 oak decors, two wood interpretations in shabby-chic, and country house floors in 330mm width. As a dealer for BAUWERK, they presented the Flow Edition, a wooden floor which offers maximum uniformity so that it has the effect of a poured floor. The planks don’t have any grooves, and this creates an unusual continuous image. The ash wood top layer is sealed with a completely invisible coat of lacquer, which seals the parquet and protects it against dirt particles.

Seicom SEICOM is leader in the sports flooring field. Since 1996 the Company has been FIBA Study Center (Geneva) Partner.

Among the most important references are the FIBA FINAL FOUR WOMEN '99 in Brno (Czech Republic), the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN '99 in Katowice (Poland) and the FIBA FINAL FOUR MEN '99 in Munich (Germania).SEICOM was also the official supplier of the main indoor parquet floor at the ATHENS 2004 Olympics. In the last years, SEICOM has references in Hungary (a 1.800 sqm portable floor Bormio), in Russia (a 700 sqm portable floor), in Johannesburg South Afriva and in Turkey the new Eraman Tofas.

Blanchon Blanchon highlighted its successful Ciméthane UV range, including the new UV Oil (‘Huile UV’) which has just been added to the UV Glaze (‘Vitrificateur UV’). Both products offer an ideal solution for parquet UV drying on site, especially in high-traffic places such as shopping centres or catering establishments. Other innovations included the ‘Huile Cire SD’ (Superior Density), an oil wax with exceptional features and a good range of attractive colours. One or two coats are sufficient for a protective and aesthetic finish. Blanchon also introduced Solid Oil 100% Natural, where the total quantity applied all comes to rest on the wood to give it extra protection and make it more attractive, and all this in a single coat to give guaranteed excellent durability. At the same time, these two oils are perfectly suitable for machine application in the workshop.

Amorim At the Amorim stand they highlighted Wicanders Hydrocork and Authentica. Hydrocork is a thin (6mm) waterproof cork floor with a cork composite core and a hard and durable decor top layer of 0.55mm in various colours and styles. Hydrocork is ideal for renovation and can be fitted in kitchens and bathrooms. The other novelty was Authentica. This is a cork floor with an HDF base as a core surrounded by two cork layers. At the top there is a durable top layer in PVC and various decors in wood or stone. The floors are warm and silent with no phthalates.

Specialist in wood surface treatment products

dutchy qualit

Feel the comfort van de echte (hard)wasolie

of our products

Inpa Parket

W COMPRESSIE SYSTEEM Parketfabriek Lieverdink

WW.WICANDERS.COM/NL/FF

Inpa Parket presented itself as a supplier of wooden floors and wall cladding in various shapes and sizes and with a wide range of exotic wood as well as traditional oak. They also highlighted morado, also called Bolivian rose wood because it is related to palisander. The core wood is yellowish-brown to reddish-purple, sometimes even black with several colour variations. Morado turns darker under the influence of daylight. The range of oak duo planks was also on show with new special surface treatments, including sandblasted, polished, and hand-scraped or also coloured with reaction stains.

Parketfabriek Lieverdink presented various novelties. For example, there was a new range STABIELE EENVOUDIG of bamboo floors, in collaboration with Moso. These are two-layer floors in new finishes. For EN STEVIGE EN SNEL example, there is a dark bamboo floor, which shows similarities to wenge, and the Tiger

Visit www.floor-forum.com

T +31 (0)493 496 760 www.vesting.nl

moves your heart.

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

bamboo floor, which reminds us of zebrano. As a dealer of Kährs in the Benelux, Lieverdink exhibited their new Chevron collection. This is a Hungarian point floor in wood-engineered parquet with tongue and groove. Anyone wanting innovative fitting patterns for parquet should discover Lieverdinks Q2 Cubes. These diagonally sawn planks in sizes between 14 x 70 and 14 x 14cm offer lots of possibilities for new fitting patterns.

Overmat Overmat demonstrated the new VOC-free Floor Service Hard Wax Oil 2K for manual application. With Nature Protect 2K lacquer you get parquet with an untreated effect without a visible coat. Innovative are Overmat’s finishes in noble metal colours, including warmer shades such as messing and copper, and also a floor finish with rust effect. They also showed four new Floor Service Prime Colours which yield several amazing finish effects. Finally, an entirely new form of technology is Prime Old Grey for distressing and ageing oak wood in combination with existing Floor Service colours.

Aspecta / Roommade Aspecta presented the ASPECTA TEN collection, which is equipped with the innovative ISOCORE technology. These LVT floors are both very strong and very light at the same time. They are 10mm thick and have a core of extruded PVC as a middle layer. This gives the floor unique dimensional stability. The floor is fitted with a click system with a high-density PE foam bottom layer in combination with a highly durable 0.7mm thick LVT top layer. The floors are available in three different sizes, namely 220 x 1510mm, 450 x 900mm, and 230 x 1830mm. ASPECTA TEN comes in 34 different designs with the look of wood, stone, and leather in natural colours.

Floor Forum International 81

B-Fix The trademark for invisible fastening systems for terraces and walls used the show to present its full range of solutions, including the B-Fix invisible terrace fastening system and the wall fastening system. For the first time, B-Fix also presented a range of colourful spacers, fillers, and pins for fitting panels, tiles, wooden and stone floors, and masonry. For terraces there are spacers in PE which can resist pressure of 5 tonnes, so they are ideal for rectifying differences in height. For vertical works (on walls), too, there are screwable fillers which keep the wall cladding in its place.

Repex The French machine manufacturer presented its range of parquet sanding machines. People paid most attention to the Cyclone dust-free sanding machines. These are sturdy and effective machines with a powerful mono-phase 2.2kW or 3kW motor, connected to an industrial vacuum cleaner. This ensures dust emissions of only 0.79mg/m³ (the European standard is 2mg/m³, whilst the strict French standard is 1mg/m³). All dust particles bigger than 5 microns are filtered into a handy disposable bag. According to REPEX, this makes the Cyclone the very best on the market for dust suction.

DL Chemicals DL Chemicals has produced adhesives and fillers for over 75 years. Centre stage at their stand went to the parquet range, which includes some new launches. For example, there were the PARABOND PARQUET 480 and PARQUET 580, which are both a 2-in-1 product. They offer strong elastic glueing with a strong structure based on hybrid polymers and an efficient damp screen function. They also exhibited the PARABOND PARQUET 540 with EC-1 label, which is suitable for floor heating. All these glues have excellent adhesion without a primer on both porous and impervious substrates.

EMCO Benelux

the right support

00616 Visual Comunicazione â&#x20AC;&#x201C; VE

The German mat system maker used EFWEX to show its range of built-in entry mats. These are very useful for parquet floors in keeping scratches to a minimum. A built-in mat system both in homes and in companies also offers something extra to help floor fitters stand out. EMCO also exhibited Ecoline Pioneer, an entry mat with the Cradle to Cradle label. Each Ecoline Pioneer entry mat part consists of parts which can be separated entirely from each other and used in a new entry mat. At the end of its lifespan, the mat can be returned to Emco at no cost where they will recycle into a new entry mat.

Flamingo Parket This parquet manufacturer showed off its full range and visitors also had the opportunity to meet Christ Van Wouwe, the new representative for Belgium and Luxembourg. At their stand they introduced the Raftwood Collection, a striking and trendy collection. This floor collection with a top layer in wood from old railway sleepers comes in 18 colours. They also highlighted the matching Stairs Raftwood range for staircase renovation. People were also interested in the collection of German floors with brushed surface finish and coated with hard wax oil.

Balterio Balterio highlighted mainly its two new Ultra HD laminate collection: PURE WOOD and TRAFFIC. The manufacturer has invested heavily in a unique digital print line which presses the decors directly onto the HDF base in Ultra HD with a resolution of 1200 DPI. This makes the decors even sharper and more authentic and there are fewer repeats in the pattern. The first collection to be developed using the new technology was PURE WOOD. These floors come in 18 colours with real wood sensation and an even nicer V-groove. For the commercial market Balterio has also developed a collection of laminate floors in hardness class AC6/Class 33 with digital print: TRAFFIC.

Design Parquet The French parquet manufacturer was aiming to profile itself at EFWEX as a producer of high-quality parquet floors in diverse finishes and colours selected via an Ă la carte system. They also presented new colours such as carbone, cotton, and cognac. Moreover, everything can

THE RIGHT SUPPORT FOR THE

BUILDING INDUSTRY what is essential is invisible to the eye

We have been ensuring quality and support for roofings and foundations for 30 years, providing our contribution to the construction sector. 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. Discover it visiting us at

DOHA EXHIBITION & CONVENTION CENTRE - DOHA |QATAR May 9 - 12, 2016

DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE - DUBAI| UAE May 23 - 26, 2016

STAND NUMBER A14 - HALL 1

HALL SHEIK SAEED 1 - BOOTH SF46

www.impertek.com

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

be produced as required and to the highest quality. The increasingly popular pattern floors are also right up Design Parquet’s street. This type of parquet is part of an ancient French tradition and Design Parquet presents a full range of these types of floors, including Versailles, Chantilly, and lots of other patterns.

Edelholz Edelholz is a Hungarian manufacturer of parquet floors and is growing strongly on the European market. This family business is both a saw mill and a parquet maker and is located in a region full of forests with high-quality European oak. They have a large quantity of their own dried oak and a technologically ultra-modern production capacity. Edelholz offers a high-quality range of parquet floors in (mainly) oak and ash. These are solid wood floors, but they also have highly stable three-layer ‘semi-solid wood’ floors with three layers of oak. Apart from classic wooden floors, they also offer castle floors in impressive sizes (up to 6 metres long and 40cm wide). There is also parquet in Hungarian point, herringbone, and panel floors. The floors can also be supplied with classic or also special (manual) surface treatments such as Historica, a sort of wave look or a diagonally sawn surface treatment.

BJ Parket BJ Parket is both a manufacturer of traditional and eingineered parquet and a wholesaler and importer in parquet and can therefore offer floor fitters a complete quality range of products. Most of the work involves the quality production of parquet in Old Flemish Style and set widths in oak and other types of wood. Herringbone and strips in 6 and 10mm are standard products. Other assets are style panels and convector grills sawn with home-made CNC-guided machines and their own production of cross-cut floors. Furthermore, they are also the exclusive importer of SOLIDFLOOR, EUROPLAC, Bolzan parquet, Osmo parquet oils, A-dealer from Bona, Sika, and Den Braven.

Floor Forum International 81

Parket Kerkhofs Parket Kerkhofs is a reputable producer of solid wood parquet in various lengths and widths and lots of wood sorts. At the same time, Kerkhofs is also a wholesaler with a complete range of (multi-layer) parquet floors and all accessories from quality suppliers linked to an outstanding service. Kerkhofs promoted the FIDBOX amongst visitors to EFWEX. FIDBOX is a Handy high-tech box which is fitted under parquet floors and gives occupants and floor fitters information about temperature and relative air humidity on and under the floor in the home. An accurate estimate of the conditions of occupants and parquet can prevent damage and establish proper responsibility.

Scheucher Parkett Scheucher is an Austrian parquet manufacturer which was present at EFWEX via its Dutch importer. They also mentioned that they are considering entering into partnership with an importer specifically for Belgium. Scheucher’s main intention at the show was to present its two and three-layer floors in about 20 wood sorts, five selections, and various sizes. These also include the Elevation trend collection and the accompanying Vintage range, distressed parquet floors in sixty variants. They also announced the launch of a range of herringbone parquet floors (in an angle of 40 or 60°).

T&G Wood International The parquet manufacturer emphasised that it wants to concentrate more on the revitalising and trendy design of its parquet floors. To that end, the company has invested in new machinery, including stain technology and better packing machines. The new strategy is also noticeable in the trademark range Cinzento Custom Made ‘Dutch Design’. The new colours in this collection were well received here, just as they were at Domotex. Also on show at the stand was the range of staircase steps in over 100 colours for the renovation of wooden stairs. Finally, they also mentioned that they were looking for a dealer in Belgium.

Kaneka Kaneka had a stand to make contact with other exhibitors and promote MS polymer known amongst visitors. The Japanese producer has

a European division in Belgium and will shortly be building a fully fledged research and development laboratory. Kaneka stresses that their MS polymer technology also supplies adhesive producers with solutions for the new Belgian VOC legislation and for the market demand for softener-free and tin-free raw materials. Kaneka is still developing further and the latest generation of premium polymers provide extra strength with the same elasticity.

Wood Sensation The company from BergenOp-Zoom (NL) presented attractive and trendy wall cladding at attractive prices: Woodwall Driftowood. This comes in four successful colours, including basalt, carrara, and albast. The panels are fitted with finger joints to make them more stable. They also wanted to highlight the extensive possibilities of the floor division and the option of producing just about everything custom-made. The multi-layer floors, which are produced in the Netherlands are the main products from Wood Sensation. They are available in lots of sizes and thicknesses, and also in several sizes in herringbone. They stand out for the diversity of the finishes which are possible at Wood Sensation, from covering products to a natural look.

Trap Flooring The Belgian woodworking company with production units in Belgium and Hungary highlighted its range of parquet in no fewer than 30 attractive wood sorts. The extra production capacity in the Hungarian factory offers Trap more opportunities to offer its products competitively also on the parquet market in the Benelux. For example, they presented the Top Wood indoor range of parquet for indoors. Furthermore, they also showed off new products such as the Top Wood Outdoor Range. This is a whole series of terrace planks and wall claddings in lots of exotic wood sorts and in diverse profiles and widths. Quality details such as the finger-jointed planks also stand out.

Vesting There was a giant world first to be discovered at the Vesting stand, namely the first LEDdrying floor oil. This innovative parquet oil was dried at the show using a small LED test line-up. The benefits of LED over UV drying are numerous: significantly lower energy costs (min. 60%). Since LED is a cold light, there are fewer problems with roughening, discolouration, and adhesive problems. Moreover, you don’t need a suction installation because there are no hazardous fumes. LED lamps also have a long lifespan, about 10,000 hours and more, so the investment in LED soon pays for itself.

Tover Benelux At the Tover stand they put the Uniqua Paint SQ under the spotlight. This is a coloured 1K varnish for wooden floors. What is striking is that this is a covering paint colour with high durability, and that’s attractive to the commercial market. Uniqua Paint SQ is applied in two coats and is then ready for use. And so, you don’t need an additional coat of varnish. The floors are given a matt look. Tover offers this product in four colours, namely white dark red, black, and grey. Tover has also stressed that the entire range of products complies with Belgian legislation and that none of the products contain any harmful isocyanates.

Devomat Industries Devomat offered its visitors various demonstrations of new products and machines (including Deva Belt II and Deva Handy II). A new item was the Transit Pure varnish. This is a highly durable 2-component waterborne parquet varnish based on polyurethane-acrylate with a natural and invisible look. Visitors were given as a demonstration the application and the finished result and these were extremely favourable. Devomat also announced the launch

Floor Forum International 81

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

this spring of a new series of bio-based floor primers with covering colours. After application, one coat of lacquer is enough to give you parquet which is ready for use.

Vetedy The Luxembourg specialist promoted its renowned Softline fastening systems for terraces and Techniclic® wall fastening. At EFWEX their primary aim was to meet local clients from the Benelux and find some new buyers. New items included jaya, an Asian wood for terraces, and ayous, a thermally treated wood from Cameroon for wall cladding. They also launched two powerful cleaning products for outdoor wood, namely Original for wall claddings and Soft Clean for terrace floors.

Solidor The maker of adjustable terrace pedestals and accessories from Wevelgem (Belgium) presented its range and accessories for fitting terraces. These terrace pedestals can be adjusted between 1cm and

OIL STAIN

1m and have a high bearing capacity. With their recent move to a brand new production plant with high-tech facilities for extrusion and injection of synthetics, Solidor is at the top of its field. Visitors also had the opportunity to see the new production (plant) on one of the screens at its stand.

Chêne de l’est Chêne de l’est were aiming to use their stand at EFWEX to find some dealers in Belgium (Flanders and Frenchspeaking Belgium). The Bach family business, located on the French-German border, produces solid, semi-solid, and prefabricated parquet floors of outstanding quality and, to do that, they retain full control of the entire process from the tree to the finished parquet. There are also some new innovations in their extensive range, including distressed floors, loft floors, Hungarian point, herringbone, or Versailles. One example is Initial, an affordable multi-layer plank 140mm wide and with a top layer of 2.7mm on a birch plywood base. The parquet floors come in diverse finishes, such as oil, lacquer, brushed, fine sawn, and such like.

Machines for Parquet finishing Especially for colouring wooden flooring professionally – seamlessly and individually! > Highly recommended for solid wood and plankwood flooring, blockstrip, OSB, also well-suited for furniture and edge-glued panels > Oil Stain enables individual colour designs on wood surfaces and results in a diffusion-open and microporous surface.

www.osmo.de/en

Floor Forum International 81

ﬁnd more info on www.trivec.eu

Solcamastraat 25, 9262 ND, Sumar, The Netherlands +31 512 510035 | info@trivec.eu | www.trivec.eu

Parcolys Flooring

Tantum Quercus

Parcolys Flooring is a Belgian producer of 100% waterproof composite floors with a mix of high-quality PVC and titanium and an impenetrable layer of acrylic as a top layer. The Parcolys collections include the Parcolux floors with wood designs and the Parcostone floors with stone designs. The floors are finished with a brush structure to create the warm feeling of brushed wooden floors. This also ensures excellent anti-slip performances in line with the R10 (German standard) and PN12 (French standard), so that they are also ideal for indoor swimming pools or any other wet room.

Spetz Komplet from Russia presented their parquet trademark Tantum Quercus at EFWEX. This is an extensive range of solid oak quality floors in 20mm thickness with tongue and groove on the four sides. They use solely oak of the very highest quality and supply only solid parquet which honours the ancient tradition of solid parquet floors. They dry the oak themselves and carry out all other operations to turn it into parquet in their own saw mill and production plant. The company has ultra-modern European technology at its disposal for this purpose. If necessary, the floors are supplied finished and are split up into four prestigious collections, namely Classics, Amsterdam, Albio, and Emilia. The styles and colours of these collections are inspired in each case by architecture and the full cultural heritage of Amsterdam, England, and the Italian region of Emilia.

Növlek / ArchiWood Növlek is the umbrella trademark of the products of ArchiWood and, amongst other things, accommodates the HardWood Clip® and SoftWood Clip™ invisible fastening systems for wooden terraces and wall cladding. At the stand, professionals had the opportunity to discover the latest generation of HardWood Clip®. There was also the DROP profile, a licensed profile which protects the space between the planks. For the rest, Növlek presented itself as an accessory specialist for professionals who fit wooden terraces and wall cladding efficiently.

Trivec The Dutch manufacturer of finish machines for parquet floors presented the Trivec Reactive Stain Sprayer. This tool means that reaction stains can be applied mechanically. It has been developed specially to cope with the corrosive nature of the reaction stains. That’s why all sorts of parts are in synthetics. They also showed the Cross Cut Machine for parquet with a diagonally fine-sawn effect. There was also attention for the touch screens for easier and more precise control of the finish line.

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Z-Parket At the Z-Parket stand visitors had the chance to discover the V-collection with four new colours. As always, these special colours are named after modern or old cities: Baris, Pharos, Sparta, and Myra. The V-collection comes as the first Z-Parket collection in a completely matt varnish finish and is thereby completely prefabricated. And so, the fitter no longer has to apply an extra coat on site. Furthermore, the Z-Parket logo has been freshened up with extra stress on the rigid and elegant aspect of Z-Parket. Other news is that Z-Parket has a completely new showroom in Genk, which offers a full list of the possibilities in the Z-Parket assortment.

Impertek The European Floor and Wall Exhibition fair has been a good occasion to meet other protagonists of the world of floorings and to discuss about the market trends, new business possibilities and new products developments. The importance of such exhibition is to give to visitors the opportunity to have a specific focus on the most important solutions for parquets, deckings and related accessories. The very good organization made the atmosphere relaxed and friendly.

Floor Forum International 81

Review

EFWEX Ghent (BE)

Eurotec Eurotec presented itself as a comprehensive supplier of all accessories for outdoor floors e.g. terrace pedestals, base structures in alu, screws, fastening systems, interval strips, and tools. All accessories are of Made in Germany quality. The novelty in the accessories for deckings are the trilobular screws. Due to their specific shape (trilobular means rounded triangular) these screws prevent splinters from coming loose when they are screwed into terrace wood. Eurotec also ensures that this guarantee of splinter-free screws applies for all types of wood.

Fire-Proof

The Italian industrial chemist specialist presented its range of products for our sector and highlighted the many ecological references in the range. Furthermore, Kerakoll also highlighted its Design House project. This is a design concept with a complete range of innovative materials (cement, resins, hand-treated wood, micro-coatings, and enamel in a range of one colour pallet. This concept includes a full catalogue and an inspirational book for all types of rooms e.g. living room, bathroom, and kitchen.

Fire-Proof specialises in fire-proof impregnation of wood under vacuum pressure in an autoclave. Amongst other things, this ensures parquet which meets the standards of fire class s1, D0 (EN 13501-1) with a 10-year guarantee. If the wood is for outdoor use, such as for wall cladding, it can also be finished with Pelicoat Pro Wood to make it waterproof and dirt-proof and resistant to torrential rain, oil, and air pollution. Fire-Proof also presented BURNSTOP for wood, OSB, bamboo, steps, MDF, and parquet. These are flame-retardant, waterborne impregnation agents, which penetrate quickly and are colourless once they are applied.

Spea

Induco Wood Workx / Lite Wood International

EFWEX 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a trade fair with excellent perspectives to enable them to build up their company. The number of visitors was rather limited, but those visitors whom they welcomed to the stand were certainly interested. On the other hand, the number of floor fitters was a little disappointing, and the response from practical workers was limited. However, on the whole, they concluded that EFWEX 2016 had been a success for them.

The Dutch company with stable partnerships in Indonesia presented three collections. STARVINTAGE is a luxury outdoor floor with a hand-treated surface in two nice designs. The parquet is finished on all sides with Mono Coat oil. STARWALL TEAK is a range of hand-made wall panels in recycled teak and root teak with a brushed surface. There is also STARWALL DRIFTWOOD, a wall covering produced with drift wood, washed up wood. The 12 hand-treated variants with added patina are beams of unique character due to the effects of sea and ocean. Finally, they also showed STARDECK terrace floors in merbau with attractive warm colours from ochre to reddish brown in durability class 1.

Kerakoll

Creon Trading Creon Trading is part of a Polish corporate group which holds major forest concessions. They are a respected supplier of raw materials to various parquet manufacturers and have set up a partnership with

those manufacturers for some time now. They supply them with multi-layer parquet floors with birch multiplex bases in various sizes and with a sawn top layer suitable for the use of reaction stains. The company came to EFWEX to present its products and entice dealers at home and abroad.

Floor Forum International 81

Advertorial

Impertek (IT)

IMPERTEK: INNOVATIVE SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR THE FINEST TERRACE AND TILE FLOORS The Italian company Impertek, based near Venice, is specialised in pre-fabricated components in PVC and synthetics for the construction sector and it designs and manufactures innovative support systems for raised outdoor floors. Impertek offers a full and high-tech range of solutions for selfsupporting floors for outdoors for wooden, composite or for tiles. The range is varied:

Adjustable supports (from 22 to 1020mm high) Impertek’s adjustable supports are suitable for any selfsupporting floor with tiles, wooden or composite. They are adjustable in height and ensure an easy accessibility to the subfloor. This system provides the necessary protection against damp.

Supports with fixed height (from 12 to 19mm) For projects in narrow spaces, Impertek has a whole series of solutions. There are fixed supports with an height between 12 and 19mm ideal for tile floors on a pre-existing pavement. For working efficiently in specific cases, Impertek also offers some ingenious and effective solutions. These are ‘levellers’, which are suitable for the full range of supports (fixed and adjustable) and ensure precise setting in the event of unevenness. Furthermore, there are also the Mini Elastic and the Elastic Plus, which both facilitate small adjustments under 22mm.

Top sections for all applications The wide range of top sections offers solutions for any use, both for tile and wooden floors. These are suitable for wide outdoor bar and restaurant terraces and even poolside. Impertek has a perfect solution for all uses.

Impertek terrace supports for a prestigious project in Jesolo, Italy The Torre Aquilea is a prestigious luxury flat tower block in Jesolo, a coastal town near Venice. The tower was part of a large-scale reassessment scheme for Jesolo town centre. Apart from the dual-height ground-floor, the building includes a further 21 floors and consists of 84 luxury flats.

The technology provided by Impertek supplied an essential, yet apparently invisible contribution to the project. There are extensive terrace floors on the flat roofs of the Torre Aquilea complex with a view of the town and coast. The tower building terraces and the footpath around the open-air swimming pool are finished in valuable teak and rest on a stable and height-adjustable support structure of over 25,000 Impertek terrace supports. Show photographs: http://www.impertek.com/Floorings/ Laying-and-works

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Producers of style panels

FROM LOUIS IVX TO THE PRESENT PANEL FLOORS ARE NO LONGER THE PRESERVE OF FRENCH CASTLES

Photo – Lalegno

Panel floors (also known as pattern floors) are once again doing better. What’s more, there’s a growing demand for them amongst lots of specialist parquet traders and manufacturers. Why should that be? The ‘exceptional’ nature of these floors is probably the biggest factor. They’re different. They’re certainly not commonplace, but rather exclusive. Not many project managers are really interested in the wealthy and pompous history of this type of floor, but they do find it an attractive floor solution from both a technical and decorative point of view. Today, these floors are making an impact, irrespective of the construction style and irrespective of the interior style.

Choosing a tabletop The fine Belgian city of Mechelen, the most important city in Europe in the days of Emperor Charles and later of Margaret of Austria, houses in its outer regions the picturesque village of Hombeek. Hombeek is rural, green, and agricultural, and has a small cosy village centre where the public house Den Bruinvis is the main attraction. This seemingly insignificant little village, ladies and gentlemen of the parquet world, is the home of one of the most

Floor Forum International 81

gifted and renowned experts from your midst. His real name is Werner, but everyone simply calls him ‘Fredje’. Probably because ‘Fred’ rhymes nicely with ‘parquet’. Castles in France, ship decks from classic yachts from the entire Mediterranean Sea region, restoration is one of his specialities. And so, it was no surprise that the local catering guru called upon the services of Fredje to make the tabletops in his new restaurant. He had the table legs from a local smith: a base, wrought iron through and through. However, for the tabletops he couldn’t find a solution in the nevertheless wide range of catering wholesalers. And so, ‘Fredje’ made new tabletops of 80 x 80cm, the perfect size for two people, consisting of a plate onto which he glued solid oak strips in Mosaic joints. Sort and colour: light French oak. Finish: matt high traffic lacquer. Appearance: sublime. Warm and cosy classic and perfectly appropriate in the somewhat mysterious interior of the ‘De Neus’ restaurant. A modern application of a panel floor, yet so handy.

Renaissance on all fronts The aforementioned tabletop is an application of a panel floor where solid parquet is glued (and nailed) onto a support panel. Obviously, this is a ‘simple’ application since panel floors obviously

provide an opportunity to ‘fill’ the room with panels of a dimension which ensures that everything is right. Nevertheless, the application in a 21st century restaurant is a sign of a ‘revival’ of old techniques and styles. A mini-Renaissance of old patterns. The art of classic parquet is back! For the first pattern floors we really have to go back to the period of the Renaissance. Without a shadow of a doubt the most popular panel is the Versailles panel, which forms the showpiece of the castle of Louis IVX. The Versailles panel looks like a diagonal plait surrounded by a square edge of parquet strips. The panels in the castle are exactly 1m² (100 x 100cm). They are separated by three strips of 8cm, which converge in a corner to form a point. Nowadays, Versailles panels are available in different sizes and they are adapted to the room in which they will be fitted (see below). Another pattern also applied in the castle is the Chantilly pattern. Chantilly is a somewhat intricate variant which consists of several small panels, which also form a plait. We find this in panels in the castle, but it is equally possible to stretch it out over the width of the floor.

Surprisingly modern The entire Renaissance aroma of pattern floors certainly still radiates somewhat, but nowadays it has to surrender to the use of this technique with ‘any pattern whatsoever’. We all know that a floor can surprise us. Just imagine: the typically rigid, white, straight, and block-shaped white villa, the bunker of today with the double aluminium-coloured garage and the completely ‘blind wall’ on the street side – the suburbs of the most ‘fashionable’ cities are gradually filling up like this. Here, as you enter, you expect a clinical atmosphere, no fringes, hail-white walls, Cobra works of art, Alechinsky and Corneille, if possible. How can you still cause a stir? Perhaps with that sublime ‘castle floor’, made from panels of 80 x 80cm, composed of solid oak strips in plait connection, dark, yes, hastily stained black to get the effect of a floor in wenge, which was financially much too ambitious. Now there’s a surprise! And it’s happening more and more. That’s precisely why specialist parquet traders are seeing an ongoing rise in demand for panel or pattern floors, apart from a few restorations in old mansions. The pattern itself is something personal. It depends on the project managers and the extent to which they want to cause a surprise. The use of the technique itself is a plucky architectural choice to bring the past into the present. That’s how history becomes ‘legendary’.

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!

The patterns themselves Nowadays, project managers have a virtually unlimited choice. In the classic patterns, as described above, all existing types are again included. Herringbone, Hungarian point, brick bond, English bond, all strip parquet fitting patterns are possible, even in alternating widths and such like. Yet there’s more: It’s also possible to devise entirely new patterns and arrive at an entirely personalised floor. Using marquetry within the system of panels is no problem whatsoever. It’s also perfectly possible to include personal highlights and, for example, company logos in a commercial setting. This raises the question: Is this once again something for the happy few? Not really, because apart from the 100% customised work, which obviously demands expertise and a significant budget, these floor panels are also emerging in Multi-layer parquet with a range of patterns ‘from the catalogue’. Somewhat less exclusive perhaps, but certainly no less elegant! The fact that producers are starting to include these floors in their assortments is a sign that there is a growing demand for this technique. And so, it’s a good gauge and a sign for parquet traders at least to mention the existence of these floors.

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

Special

Producers of style panels

In practice And so, in fact, style panels are large wooden ‘tiles’ with an outer edge which, as it were, ‘frames’ the wooden floorboards in a certain fitting pattern. The planks are usually glued to each other sideways (solid wood 6 or 10mm), but, as we’ve said, these panels have also appeared in recent years in multi-layer where the solid wood pattern is glued to a subfloor (multiplex). A floor fitter’s basic knowledge is enough to fit these panels. As with all parquet floors, the substrate preparation is essential. An important point for attention is to measure the room before deciding on the sizes of the panels. Measuring precisely enables you to make the panels perfectly to size so that no sawing is necessary. With some panels it is important to take care that the panel pattern runs through over the entire floor surface. This means that some designs in style panels (e.g. plaits) have a fitting direction and cannot be rotated. As regards the glueing, professionals usually advise you to use an elastic adhesive.

champion, often combined with highlights in other rare wood sorts such as teak, wenge, and walnut.

What’s on the market? BJ Parket

For BJ Parket, style panels are still important. Versailles is one of the most coveted. Versailles is a classic type of style panel which consists mainly of a (diagonal) plait framed by a square edge of parquet strips. The panels are usually customised. Adapting the size of the panel to the size of the location makes it possible to work even more towards a natural harmony between floor and room. That’s why BJ Parket has three dimensions in the range in which the plaits are composed of friezes of 55mm (panels of 49.5cm or of 55 to 73cm wide), friezes of 72mm (panels of 65cm or of 73 to 95cm wide), and friezes of 90mm (panel 102cm wide). The measure is adapted precisely for each floor by changing the size of the square blocks. These panels are making their way into both private homes and catering establishments. Distressed designs are increasingly in demand.

Design Parquet Design Parquet makes special style panels in solid wood or multi-layer. All thicknesses and wood sorts are possible here. Neither are there any limits as regard designs: Design Parquet can make identical reproductions (Versailles is still the champion), but can just as easily convert a nice design into a panel floor for the client. The sizes are adapted constantly to the sizes of the floor, whether or not there is due regard for the provision of a peripheral frieze. Highly common dimensions are 600 x 600 or 800 x 800 by 14mm thick and 1,000 x 1,000 by 23mm thick. Here, too, oak is the

Floor Forum International 81

Heywood Vloeren Demand for style panels is growing constantly at Heywood Vloeren. This demand comes usually with a view to interiors which have been designed entirely by the architect or designer. The majority of the demand, such as for Versailles panels, is for commercial applications, but there is also some growth in high-end residential applications with the stress on classic designs. Distressed versions also score well in Versailles panels. It’s not really a trend according to Heywood Vloeren, but with the many innovations as regards colours and surface structures it could certainly be the start of a trend. Sizes of 1,000 x 1,000 and 800 x 800 are extremely common. The panels are always fitted fully glued.

Kerkhofs Houtbedrijf Kerkhofs Houtbedrijf has specialised for years in customised work in solid wood parquet such as herringbone, Hungarian point, and many other patterns, but definitely in style panels as well. In recent years, demand for these panels has increased vastly. They produce these panels custom made or bespoke. In other words, the client or his or her architect asks for a specific pattern. This is then produced entirely as required in the requested size, wood sort, and selection. For this production they have a CNC guided mechanical saw and press in order to carry this out with great precision. Various patterns such as the most well known Versailles (in diverse variants with unbroken frieze and, if necessary, with unbroken plait), but also chantilly, chaumont, aremberg, and many others are possible. The components of all these style panels can still be beaten and/ or smoked for the composition so that they can offer a distressed floor. The fitting is very simple. The panels are supplied on a special

coveted patterns: herringbone is hugely popular, whilst Hungarian point, Dutch pattern, Block, and Viennese (fitting Hungarian point as herringbone) come next. Distressed versions are also possible. Very popular are the sizes 90 and 120mm wide in lengths of 450 and 600mm respectively, but wider sizes are often possible. For marquetry the size is often 71 and 90mm.

removable foil and sandpapering is no longer necessary, especially with distressed panels. This type of floor is increasingly in demand, especially for projects such as hotels and shops, but there is also a growing demand in the higher segment. Style panels have that little bit extra.

Lalegno Traditional Versailles panels are back. Lalegno’s multi-layer alternative to this classic pattern floor is a big hit. The parquet of these tiles, which can be fitted quickly and easily, consists of square panels with diagonal plaits, framed by longer oak strips. Lalegno Versailles panels are 800 by 800mm and 20mm thick with a 6mm thick oak top layer. Panels and accompanying sidings are prepared and distressed carefully e.g. smoked, beaten, and brushed. Moreover, the so called old wood effect is applied to the fine joints adorning this floor, so they look splendid, authentic, and old. Lalegno offers these Versailles floors untreated as standard, so floor fitters can apply their own unique finish to do justice to the client’s floor and interior.

Parqueterie de Bourgogne Way back in time, prestigious panels served as floors in spacious homes and castles from centuries past. They made French parquet (‘Parquets à la Française’) famous and are therefore still much coveted by clients who like big decors. Demand for this type of

Parketfabriek Lieverdink Parketfabriek Lieverdink is asked regularly for panels and marquetry (Versailles etc). Also much coveted is Hungarian point. The sizes of panels and parquet planks can be bigger; Hungarian point of 18 x 90cm is not unusual! Cube pattern is another fine one, for example, and Parketfabriek Lieverdink is now doing a big job with this old pattern. These floors usually cost more, so it’s often more attractive homes which get these floors. And so, the amount of square metres is also above average, although it does happen, for example, that a nice workshop/office gets a fine pattern, elegant and inviting. 40 wood sorts and endless colour options on oak mean there is a choice to make at Parketfabriek Lieverdink for any interior. A distressed floor can be very fine in a rigid interior and vice versa! Much

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Producers of style panels

parquet comes mainly from architects responsible for big projects in luxury hotels or for historic renovations, but there is also demand from wealthier clients in the countries of the former Eastern Block and the USA. The most coveted design is undoubtedly Versailles parquet panel in sizes of 980/980mm, designed in top class oak with no gnarls, and nailed onto beams. All elements which make this panel what it is are combined via mortise and tenon joints and with old fashioned pins. To meet modern demands, and especially where the parquet has to be compatible with floor heating or you need to take account of specific limits, the prestigious panels are nonetheless offered in the form of engineered parquet and with limited thickness so that they can also be fitted fully glued. Moreover, other sizes are also possible on request.

Parqueterie Janod Parqueterie Janod has been based in Doucier (Jura), France, since 1930. Today, this family business is led by its fourth generation.

Tradition and quality form the leitmotiv through the company history. Parqueterie Janod specialises in customised work. They make all sorts of traditional parquet in a wide range of wood sorts. The patterns herringbone and Hungarian point are still in the highest segment and are still highly popular. Parqueterie Janod produces these parquet floors in different formats and thicknesses and in various wood sorts, including oak, walnut, beech, and merisier. The dimensioning is adapted to the sizes of the room where the floor is to be fitted. And so, this is customised work to match a tailored suit from a master tailor. Floor fitters are expected to go to work with the utmost care. Style panels are still a big success at Parqueterie Janod. These panels are for both public buildings and private homes and for all types of interiors. The most popular patterns at Parqueterie Janod are Versailles, d’Aremberg, and Grand Siècle. A distressed design is possible, but it is definitely not the most popular one. Anything is possible in terms of size, either standard or customised. These panels can be fitted floating or fully glued.

The Red doT design AwARd wooden flooRs foR 16 yeARs BAlTic wood, The Polish mAnufAcTuReR of engineeRed wooden flooRs, hAs Been designing And offeRing collecTions of flooRs of The PRemium cATegoRy, in keePing wiTh The lATesT TRends in fAshion And design. The comPAny’s unique BRAnd mARkeTing sTRATegy And PhilosoPhy BAsed on vAlues such As cReATion, AesTheTics, quAliTy, PeRfecTion, modeRniTy, eco-AccounTABiliTy hAve PRoved To Be A ReciPe foR success.

Baltic Wood focuses on providing consumers with a vast selection of floors, and so the company offers 9 tried and tested european, exotic and american wood species within 6 catalogue collections, as well as more than 100 finishing patterns. among others, the brand offers artistically distressed (timeless CollectiontM), fashionable (Miracles CollectiontM) and ultra-durable (no Limits CollectiontM) floors. Baltic Wood is the only brand in poland and the third one worldwide to have been honoured with Red dot Award 2015 in the product design category for the desire floor.

2016/2017 season trends The dynamic Jeans CollectiontM, which embodies a metropolitan style, is this year’s novelty. It comprises seven fashionable colours, which are a reference to the atmosphere and style of european metropolises. every pattern is available in both the full-plank and slat size so that it is possible to lay them alternately in adjacent rooms, preserving a uniform colour of the floor. The year 2016 offers customers new elegant designs in the fashionable Miracles CollectiontM, which are available in 4 sizes. This season the slate, which was premièred as a part of artistically distressed floors - timeless CollectiontM has taken on a new dimension. The year 2016 has also witnessed a première of floors in the French herringbone pattern – an offering within the no Limits CollectiontM.

Floor Forum International 81

ModernIty and unCoMproMIsIng stanCe Baltic Wood floors are characterised by a modern three-layer construction and quick assembly. The Baltic Wood floors are offered with a highly precise 5g and 2g adhesive-free joint under the license of Välinge Innovations, or a tongue and groove joint (t&g). at each stage of production Baltic Wood espouses quality and eco-accountability. Find out more at www.balticwood.eu or call: MagdaLena Marek senior export Manager t:+ 48 13 444 7587, M: +48 510 00 6397 email: magdalena.marek@balticwood.pl

Advertorial

Vec - Trivec (NL)

AMBITIOUS TRIVEC TAKES UP RESIDENCE IN NEW COMPANY PREMISES ‘EXPERIENCE CENTRE ALLOWS US TO DEVELOP NEW IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS TOGETHER WITH OUR CLIENTS.’

The Dutch manufacturer of finishing machines for parquet and such like has moved to brand new offices in Sumar between Drachten and Leeuwarden. ‘The move will enable us to test new ideas and develop techniques for finishing work surfaces,’ says Branko Westra from Vec/Trivec.

Finish Lines for parquet from 4 to 60 metres long Flexible finishing lines with a whole range of surface treatments for wooden floors have taken off in recent years. As a manufacturer and developer of these finishing lines, Trivec has given parquet producers worldwide the opportunity to unveil revamped collections of parquet and supported makers of oils and lacquers in the development of their latest products. Branko Westra says: ‘Brushing the wooden surface, distressing, preserving, impregnating, or colouring and applying coatings, lacquer, paint, glue, stain, or oil with rollers or spraying devices, for instance. These jobs could only be done manually in bygone days or they had to be done industrially on a large scale. The modular machines from Trivec are deployed for both small jobs and for major industrial productions. A good example is a 60-metre long production line with six coating stations and four UV dryers which has started up in April this year at the premises of a client in Sweden.

Sprayer for reactive stains and cross-effect machine According to Branko Westra, ongoing demand for new finishing options always motivates Trivec to develop the accompanying technology. He says, ‘Recently, for example, we’ve launched another sprayer machine for reactive stains. Roller technology and standard spraying machines are not suitable for these types of products. And so, the sprayer is designed in materials which are resistant to the extremely oxidative character of such stains. Another example is the Cross Cut Machine. The second generation of this machine is being launched in May and will provide an affordable solution

for obtaining a diagonal structure (fine-sawn) effect on the wood surface.

Perfect test laboratory The new Trivec company offices have a large production room, showroom, reception, and a unique experience centre. The Experience Centre is a sort of laboratory where all coating and other processing machines are tested. It’s possible to demonstrate any possible work surface treatment.

‘Creating Coating Solutions Together’ ‘Personal consultation, joint tests, and independent advice are essential for delivering exactly what clients long and look for. And so, we’re delighted that we now have the opportunity to welcome clients to the Experience Centre. And so, it’s certainly no coincidence that ‘Creating Coating Solutions Together’ is our company slogan. This approach enables us to provide clients with a solution which fits in perfectly with their needs and projects. Moreover, this ensures that ideas arise which can lead to new technology,’ Branko Westra concludes. More info: www.vec.eu / www.trivec.eu

Transitional phase of Vec – Trivec Vec has been working on application coatings ever since its foundation in 1974. Apart from machines for parquet, the company also develops and builds standard and custom-made coating technology for treating 2 or 3D work items in wood, synthetics, metal, glass, or fibre surfaces. Vec has been the company name since 1974. Trivec is the international trademark for their own machines. Later this year, they will be changing their name definitively from Vec to Trivec.

Floor Forum International 81

Preview Carrefour International du Bois (FR)

FRENCH WOOD SHOW EXPANDS AND BECOMES MORE INTERNATIONAL New opening times The organisers have decided to change the trade fair opening times. During the first two days of the show (Wednesday and Thursday), the doors are open from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. On Friday, visitors are welcome between 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. You will find more information on www.timbershow.com

Blanchon

From 1 to 3 June 2016, the fourteenth edition of Carrefour International du Bois takes place at Nantes, Western France. This trade fair unites international players from forestry, the timber trade, and also the wood construction and parquet floor sector has seen its number of exhibitors grow by 13%, whilst the number of exhibitors from abroad has grown to 35%.

Exhibitors from 28 countries, 22% international visitors All together, 540 exhibitors from 28 countries are expected in the La Beaujoire trade fair complex in Nantes. As always, exhibitors will present their products and services on stands no larger than 36m². The stands will cover about 9000m² of trade fair space. The expected 10,000 visitors can count on a diverse, innovative, and high-quality range of products and services from all market segments in the world of wood. The proportion of international visitors to the Carrefour continues to rise. In 2012, 18% of visitors were of foreign origin, but this edition is counting on 22% international visitors.

Exhibitor profile What type of exhibitors can visitors expect? The organisers have calculated that 20% of the exhibitors are sawmills, 19% are from the timber trade, 24% are manufacturers of wood-based products, 20% are producers of wooden plates, parquet or wooden interior products, or panels, and 4% of exhibitors are forestry companies.

Theme seminars Another good tradition during Carrefour are the various themes and seminars. On Wednesday, there is an international seminar planned on sustainability, urban renewal, and possible new applications for wood in that context. There is also attention for the English market and the use of wood both in and outdoors. On Thursday, there is a seminar planned which is devoted to the current state of play in the wood and forestry sector, and, on Friday, there are a number of technical seminars planned with subjects such as the use of wood in high-rise buildings, the economic development of wood construction and policy choices regarding the development of wood construction. In the afternoon, delegates will be giving deeper consideration to the use of wood as a wall cladding and on outdoor terraces and the sustainable application of tropical wood with building projects.

Floor Forum International 81

One of the Blanchon strong points during Carrefour 2016 will undoubtedly be Cimethane UV. This is a glazer and oil which can be used immediately and is designed 100% for parquet floors. Blanchon, a specialist in the protection of both indoor and outdoor wood, will also be presenting PERFORMER®. This is a single component glazer from the new generation for parquet, with a warm tonality and total application security (it blocks tannic acid in young wood). Its characteristics ensure that it has a head start. In the area of resistance, PERFORMER does much better than lots of dual component products and it achieves its hardness twice as quickly. New Oil-Wax SD is for use both on site and in the workshop. It has a high dry substance content, a soft texture, and total result assurance. For outdoor wood the Oil Wax (‘Huile Bardage’) and the Opaque Saturator (‘Saturateur Opaque‘) with elegant shades of opaque matt complete the range of Anti-UV protective agents (colourless or tinted), the saturators for terraces and azures. Be sure to discover: the new Tech-Wood, the First azure for all types of wood and Oceanic® Air Protect®, a VOCreducing glazer for parquet in diverse colourless versions and opaque coloured for an innovative décor on parquet floors. Visit us in Hall 2, stand D6.

Chêne de l’Est Their novelties for 2016 which they are presenting during Carrefour International du Bois: New finishing CRISTAL on Oak Antique, Sawn Face & Structured. Proposed in solid and engineered French oak hardwood flooring ready to lay. With this ornamental aspect we express our expertise and superior craftsmanship. We associated three unique textures which have a big public success. The sawn Face is in the trend more than ever. Just like the oak antique and the structured plankflooring, what gave us the idea to propose three surfaces for one and same color. We produce in France in our four production sites located in Lorraine, we have a responsible eco initiative, wood come from surrounding forests of eastern France. Visit us at Booth H3 B4.

Inpa Parket INPA Parket is a Dutch company with offices in Paraguay and Bolivia (South America). INPA import, export, and manufacture parquet and floorboards for over 40 years. They take care of the entire process themselves, from extracting the wood to delivering the end product.

From their headquarters at Bergen op Zoom (NL) they sell and supply directly almost all products to Europe, America, and Japan. Large volumes are supplied directly from the parquet factory in Paraguay. Apart from the South American wood sorts from their (FSC certified) forests in Bolivia and Paraguay, they supply European wood sorts (PEFC approved). Visit us at stand C2 in hall 3 at the Carrefour International du Bois and discover our splendid range.

Quebec Wood Export Bureau Members of the Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) will exhibit northern hardwoods from Eastern Canada at Carrefour International du bois de Nantes. Get to know more about the environmental characteristics and the rich colour and fine grain of our hardwoods. Many or our species contribute to the durability of our wood flooring. Our products are also known for their quality, abundance and legal source. In fact, our woods are among the most sustainably managed in the world. QWEB represents more than 125 wood companies in different sectors among which are hardwood and wood flooring. We have a lot to offer! Booth M-A2a

MTC MTC to promote Malaysian sustainable wood products at Carrefour Du Bois 2016 The Malaysian Timber Council will once again be part of the largest European exhibition of the sector, which will be held in Nantes from 1 – 3 June 2016. This year MTC will focus its efforts in the promotion

of the industry’s latest achievements in the production of durable and sustainable wood products, but will also re-assert Malaysia’s continuing commitment to the sustainable management of her forests. At Carrefour du Bois, visitors will be welcome to the wide availability of raw materials and wood products from Malaysia, including sawntimber, plywood, flooring, decking, mouldings, builders’ carpentry & joinery and garden furniture as well as view the large variety of commercial species available, from meranti to acacia, from merbau to sepetir. For the first quarter of 2016, MTC and the Malaysian industry has been actively promoted not only in Malaysia but also in other large consumer markets such as the UK, China, India, the US and the Middle East. We welcome once again visitors on stand n. MA-4.

Osmo Wood meets Colour After a successful fair in 2014, Osmo Holz und Color GmbH & Co. KG is now taking part once again in this year’s Carrefour du Bois, Europe’s largest wood trade fair, with a bright, modern and open stand. The focus of the presentation are the natural wood finishes for both interior and exterior as well as cleaning and care products for wood surfaces. In addition, Osmo will present some privacy fencing and decking elements from their range of garden products. A real highlight will be the live demonstrations: in these the stand team will show the simple application of Osmo wood finishes, for example how to colour wooden flooring. The company is looking forward to enthusing fair visitors for their products and to good communication with existing and potential customers. Visitors can find Osmo at Stand H3-F2.

PARQUETERIE JANOD Parquet ﬂooring

manufacturer for 4 generations

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.

Come and visit us on stand M-A4 at Carrefour du Bois

Floor Forum International 81

Advertorial

Parket Kerkhofs (BE)

SPECIALIST IN SOLID PARQUET WITH COMPLETE RANGE OF QUALITY PARQUET AND ACCESSORIES

Parket Kerkhofs is a longstanding family business located in Peer in Limburg (Belgium). The company has built up an outstanding reputation thanks to the quality solid parquet from its own production and sales as a wholesaler of a complete range of (multi-layer) parquet floors and all accessories from quality suppliers. An outstanding service linked to a philosophy of partnership make Parket Kerkhofs an ideal supplier for parquet professionals.

50 wood sorts

Specialist in solid parquet

Refined floor patterns

Kerkhofsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own production is geared entirely to the specialised production of solid wood parquet floors. Solid wood parquet is offered in various lengths and widths with plank thicknesses varying from 9 to 20mm. Everything is produced with the utmost care and in line with client wishes.

Apart from wooden floors, the company also supplies various pattern floors such as herringbone or Hungarian point and also other designs and panels, including Versailles. To that end, they have invested in recent years in a high-tech CNC-guided sawing machine. That guarantees a tip-top and perfectly finished solid wood pattern floor.

Floor Forum International 81

Kerkhofs offers solid parquet in scores of wood sorts. These include soft wood, hard wood, and exotics. All together, Kerkhofs has 50 different sorts of wood. Moreover, the floors can be supplied quickly since Kerkhofs has an extensive stock and its own drying chambers. Those drying chambers also make it possible to supply extra dry solid wood parquet for combination with floor heating.

Comprehensive range for floor fitters Parket Kerkhofs also has a complete range of multi-layer parquet and also traditional parquet, end grain blocks, distressed floors,... Furthermore, the complete range of quality accessories and chemical products fit in with Kerkhofs’ quality philosophy: adhesives, levelling agents and primers, sandpapering materials, oils and lacquers, skirting boards, and maintenance products from reputable and advanced producers.

also sell their products in other countries such as the United Kingdom and France. This is due to the combination of quality, client focus, and a flexible approach.

Partnership

Quality ensures loyal clients

To supply the very best wooden floors they also don’t hesitate to work together with other sound and reputable producers and suppliers. For example, they supply solid wood planks and prestigious parquet brands which their specialists then deploy to distress the wooden planks.

Parket Kerkhofs operates in several countries. The Netherlands is Kerkhofs’ most important market followed by Belgium. However, they

More info at www.parketkerkhofs.be

FIDBOX: certainty on a healthy climate for parquet and occupants Kerkhofs is a dealer of FIDBOX and has promoted the tool with great success amongst its clients. FIDBOX is a handy high-tech box which is fitted under the parquet floor and provides information for five years on elements such as temperature and relative humidity on the floor and in the home. FIDBOX is a huge asset for floor fitters because it enables them to make an accurate assessment of the surrounding conditions of the floors which they have fitted. The fact is that the FIDBOX measures in detail the surface temperature, the relative air humidity, the rising damp, and the general climate of the material. With the help of an app with Bluetooth technology, occupants of the room or floor fitters can look up the data via a smart phone or computer. Data can be read off within a radius of eight metres around the FIDBOX. And so, the FIDBOX enables you to detect problems with damp and temperature quickly and intervene before things get serious. This means that floor fitters can avoid being unjustly accused of making mistakes if the cause of the floor problems actually lies with the occupant. For occupants the FIDBOX is also a handy tool to prevent dramatic problems with their floor and to intervene effectively if there are any problems with the indoor climate or the floor heating. Moreover, it also teaches them a lot about the health of their daily environment because healthy conditions for wooden floors are healthy conditions for human beings to live in. In short, FIDBOX gives both floor fitters and clients that something extra. Therefore, floor fitters should promote FIDBOX as a tool which can offer clients more information about a healthy climate , and as a tool which can prevent floor fitters from experiencing problems with their nice new floor.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet oil

OIL IS THE PARQUET FINISH FOR ALL SEASONS THE FINISH WHICH CREATES CLIENT LOYALTY ‘Demanding’ project managers Project managers (read ‘clients’) have become more demanding in recent years. Let’s be honest: In bygone days, architects were given a few emotional pencil lines to work from, heating engineers fitted a heating system of their own brand, and floor fitters laid a wooden floor and finished it with their favourite product. Clients were passive. Today, however, the design of a home is the result of lengthy meetings, brainstorming sessions between client and architect, and scores of rough drafts, which often disappear in the waste paper basket. Clients tell their heating engineer which heater they prefer. After all, nowadays, clients go to ‘building trade fairs’ and obtain extensive information about possibilities and benefits and drawbacks. In other words, it is the clients who weigh everything up and decide. That’s also true of parquet. Over the years, the range has increased considerably. Floor fitters can no longer say, ‘That’s how I do it.’ There’s solid wood, cross-cut wood, design floors, veneer floors, laminate, LVT, cork, and bamboo, and it’s all fitted by one professional. For wooden floors the final finish results from several considerations: A two-income family? A cleaner? Children? And so, floor fitters with a strong preference have to pull out all the stops to persuade clients. An oil finish has several benefits for floor fitters. Happily, there are also many persuasive sales arguments.

The most natural ‘look’

Photo – Pallmann

One of the main points for attention with wooden floors is how they are finished. This isn’t so much a question of the type of wood or colour of the floor, but, rather, the protective coating applied as a final finish which is designed to safeguard the wood from mechanical, chemical, and other sources of damage, wear, and ageing. The products on the market for this purpose are based on various forms of technology. Both the application method and the way in which the floor needs to be maintained vary considerably. Each finish has its own assets. Oil is one of the finishes.

Floor Forum International 81

About ten years ago, laminate makers reached a point where it was hard to separate laminate decors from those of real wood. Over recent years, photography and printing technology have advanced to such an extent that we have gradually attained to perfect imitation. Note: We’re talking here about ‘decors’, and ‘decors’ are all about the ‘look’. In recent years, laminate producers have also made every effort to change the ‘feel’ of laminate. One of the most revolutionary innovations has undoubtedly been that of embossed in register, which gives both the look and the wood grains themselves an authentic feel. Embossing creates relief. Another measure in the process of making laminate as real as possible has been the use of matt and ultra-matt lacquers. That’s an important finding in this article. What exactly has to be copied? Mainly, that wooden floor which consumers perceive to be the ‘most real’ and ‘most natural’ i.e. the oiled floor or, at least, that wooden floor which ISN’T finished with a film-forming coat. Many consumers feel that film-forming coat, which is typical of lacquer, as a barrier between the wood and their feet. Let’s be honest here: They do have a point. Just like wax and hard wax oil, an oil finish gives ‘direct’ contact with the wood.

Protection – truth and myth As we’ve already said, the way in which wood is protected with the different finishes arises from the different forms of technology. A seal finish yields properties such as waterproofness (briefly and accidentally), damp-proofness, and such like due to the fact that the film seals the wood grain to keep out moisture and stains. With saturated finishes (such as oil, wax, and hard wax) the wood is saturated so that

HD-AP Cimethane 92x277-GB-Vect.pdf

05/05/15

15:48

the pores have no more room for dirt and damp because they are full. The (alleged) solidarity of a wooden floor against some other ‘threats’ as a result of the applied finish has to be dismissed as a ‘myth’. People do sometimes attribute high durability and scratch and sanding resistance to a lacquered floor, but that is still somewhat relative. Depending on the brand and type of the coat of lacquer, it can stand up to quite a lot. Rubbing and wearing will always have some effect on the lacquer and eventually lead to weaknesses. It’s not possible to claim that you sweep away ‘millimetres’ of wood with sandpapering and rubbing. In other words, the wear resistance of lacquer is a temporary measure. Sandpapering and rubbing marks will tend to be more visible in the coat of lacquer than in the (oiled) wood itself. The absolute myth is the scratch resistance. You’d better believe it, but there’s ‘no such thing’ as scratch resistance!

Oil: strong points An oil finish has major benefits for clients. These are also the sales arguments for floor fitters. The assets relate to the look, the degree of protection, the maintenance, and the repair and renovation aspects. As far as the look is concerned, oil preserves the natural look of the wood like no other finish. The structure, the grains, the colour, everything still closely resembles the properties of an untreated floor. Since the oil impregnates the wood (i.e. it fills up the pores of the wood), a floor treated with oil is protected against damp and dirt. Obviously, an oiled floor can still have scratches, but they stand out less than scratches in a lacquered floor. Then there’s the maintenance: an oiled floor is easy to maintain. Moreover, maintaining the floor with a maintenance oil also nourishes the floor constantly. An oiled floor has the additional big asset that it can be repaired in patches (read: re-oiled). Finally, when the oiled floor is due for a thorough refreshment, it doesn’t have to be sandpapered. With a lacquered floor, the room has to be vacated and the entire floor sandpapered completely blank again. An oiled floor can be renovated without sandpapering and, if necessary, this can be done in phases.

Client loyalty The aforementioned assets give a thumbs up to the assets for the floor fitter. Apart from the fact that oil is fairly easy to apply and leaves no streaks, in particular, this finish offers the big advantage of (potentially long-term) strong client loyalty. That binding starts with the sale of maintenance products. These are on the same base as the oil with which the floor is finished, so that clients accept perfectly well that they should limit themselves to those products. This ensures extra business later on. Whenever the floor is in need of local repair or a thorough refreshment, clients will probably contact the floor fitter who fitted the floor. The same applies to complete renovation after a number of years. In other words, as soon as floor fitters get a foot in the door, they are always ‘welcome’.

What’s on the market and what’s new? Basin Oil products still appeal to people since they preserve the natural character of the wood. Thanks to the user-friendliness and the easy

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet oil

application and maintenance, these products are ideal for both professionals and non-professionals. BASIN draws a distinction between oil with added wax, which gives your treatment extra protection, and pure oil. Oil is still a highly efficient means of giving your aged parquet floor a new lease of life. We recommend the use of tung oil because it is well known for its waterproof quality. It penetrates deep into the wood and loses its colour less quickly over time. Our UNIK OIL, with its complete colour and protection in one coat, is therefore also the ideal oil for your parquet!

Blanchon

Ciranova

The Blanchon range includes three oils based on the classic composition (with vastly refined oxidative drying) and one water oil with certified ecological properties. Parquet Oil from Blanchon is an extremely hard oil due to the fact that it is urethane-modified. The oil is ideal for very high-traffic rooms such as shopping arcades, theatre stages, shops, multifunctional rooms, and public areas. It is hydrofuge and anti-dust. Clients like both the easy application of the oil and the exceptionally matt look. As regards maintenance, Parquet Oil from Blanchon scores very well. Apart from the parquet oil, Blanchon also presents a number products or systems which contain oil, such as Wax Oil and Solid Oil. Ecological Parquet Oil is a water oil (it uses emulsion technology) which makes it possible to impregnate a parquet or wooden floor very quickly without using a primer. It dries in barely two hours! This oil bears the European Eco label. New in the Blanchon assortment is Cimethane® UV Oil, a UV drying oil for application on site. All Blanchon oils are doing very well on the market. The company is convinced that Cimethane® UV Oil will also prove to be popular.

Hard Wax Oil Magic is Ciranova’s star product, but the brand also offers a range of impregnation oils which are designed to saturate the wood. Also highly successful is UN1CO, a 1-coat oil of the latest generation which deploys renewable and natural oils. Thanks to the special technology, one coat is all you need to apply. The combination of oil and hardener ensures rapid drying and outstanding chemical resistance. Another big hit is OCULTO, a waterborne and ecological PU impregnation oil for parquet and wooden furniture. The wood retains its original untreated look. This oil is suitable only for indoor use. It contains a UV absorber and has anti-slip properties. ECOFIX is also a waterborne and ecological impregnation oil for parquet and wooden furniture whereby the wood retains its original untreated look. ECOFIX is for indoor use only. Finally, ECOFIX WOODLOOK ensures that the wood turns somewhat pale so that it retains its original look longer. This product, also is suitable for indoor use only.

Briançon

DevoNatural®

Briançon offers a parquet oil and a parquet maintenance oil, two products which complement each other. Aqua Parquet Oil (‘Huile Aqua Parquet’; Ecolabel) is used indoors on parquet, wooden floors, and stairs. This oil is odourless and dries in one hour. The floor can be regarded as ‘finished’ (without polishing) after four hours. The oil can be deployed for all common types of wood and does not turn yellow over time. Thanks to the extremely fast drying, the treated rooms can be used again almost immediately (with caution in the first few days). Aqua maintenance Oil (‘Entretien Huile Aqua’) is the accompanying maintenance product. It is applied directly to floors treated with Aqua Parquet Oil. Here, too, there is talk of rapid drying. The floor can be used again after 15 minutes.

The DevoNatural® product assortment includes both a series of various oils and a series of varnishes. They specialise in both fields, and Devomat can serve its clients with the most suitable product for the application in question. For several years, there has been a certain balance between the number of lacquers and oils sold, and that is still more or less the case up to the present time. This is because both finish systems have specific benefits and drawbacks. And so, the extensive DevoNatural® range always includes the right product. Amongst other things, apart from the DevoNatural® Hard Wax Oil, Devomat also presents the DevoNatural® High Solid Oil. This is a matt setting one-coat oil which has a high coverage capacity and is based on natural oils. It is for all sorts of parquet, wooden floors, and other wood, both in and outdoors. DevoNatural® High Solid Oil can be used on both commercial floors and on high-traffic residential floors. The product is easy to apply and spreads well into open wood pores. DevoNatural® High Solid Oil can be applied to all sorts of wood. Recently, they have added two new colours to the assortment. DevoNatural® Extra Hardener is unique: This additive added to DevoNatural® High Solid Oil triggers the oxidative drying process and

Bona Oil is definitely still a trend for Bona. In the event of damage (scratches) it’s a lot easier to restore an oiled floor in patches than a lacquered floor. One of the benefits is undoubtedly the variety of colours which are possible with oil. Moreover, oil, unlike hard wax, for instance, is not susceptible to scratches. An oil finish also fits in somewhat better with the theme of a distressed floor, whereas a waterborne

lacquer is a more high-tech and modern product. The combination of ‘oil with an extra matt lacquer’ such as Traffic Natural offers the ideal finish: a classic look with modern features. Bona presents Bona Craft Oil and Bona Craft Oil 2K. Bona Craft Oil 2K is most definitely the best-seller.

Floor Forum International 81

ensures faster and better setting. Parquet floors treated with DevoNatural® High Solid Oil + Extra Hardener can normally be walked on and used after just 12 hours. This makes the combination ideal for finishing parquet floors in building projects, public building, catering businesses, reception rooms, industrial finish companies, and such like.

Floorservice Floorservice offers oils for parquet and wooden floors, for both manual and industrial use. Suitable for manual use is the Floorservice Hardwax-oil Classic, and the Floorservice Color Hardwax-oil Classic. The 1-layer system, especially developed for the professional parquet layer, Floorservice Hardwax-oil Pro and Color Pro is a solvent-free product that meets the VOC EU-regulation. Floorservice UV-Oil This new VOC-free finishing product from Floorservice is fully cured directly after exposure to UV-lamps and therefore immediately stackable, packable and sandable. Highly suitable for fully automated production lines. Floorservice Hardwax-oil This new VOC-free finishing product cures very fast; ensuring the floor to be fully operational in no time. It can be applied as a one-coat or as a two-coat system, depending on the application method of choice. Easy cleaning and maintenance Floorservice parquet cleaner and maintenance oil perfectly suit the basic treatment of the wooden floor.

Faxe After recent successful years for matt lacquers, Faxe has noticed that exclusive floors finished in oil are once again a trend. The fact that an oiled surface can easily be repaired is already an asset. Oil preserves the colour of the wood better and more intensely. Oil also offers an extensive range of colours. Faxe opts for oil above hard wax because hard wax bears some resemblance to lacquer since it also leaves a sort of film. In its oil range Faxe offers the pre-treatment lye for smoked, grey, or patina effects. These products can be coloured according to taste with the Faxe Combicolour System. The best-seller is Faxe Prestige Oil, a premium product with no solvents which fills the pores and leaves a strong surface.

Irsa Oil is a trend nowadays since it lends itself ideally to floor panels. It will continue to play a prominent part in terms of renovation. New dual component, invisible lacquers are also a trend due to the natural look. From a more technical point of view, an increase is expected in glueing of floorboards on the sides. To that end, synthetic resins (or urethane) are suitable, as is oil. At all events, oil and wax systems provide natural warmth. As regards maintenance, due to the open pores, they are more expensive than a lacquered floor. Irsa recommends oil mainly for large, high-traffic rooms, which can be maintained with a single disc machine. Irsa presents oils and waxes under the brand

name Irsa Nature Line (Hard Oil, Hard Oil Rapid, HP-Oil High Protection, and Design Colour Oil). Their best sellers are the (1K) Irsa HP Oil High Protection and the (2K) Irsa 2K HP Plus Oil. All the oils give wood, cork, and related products an attractive and natural look. Apart from a healthy environment, the free choice of colours is also an asset. All finishes from the Irsa Nature Line are based on natural raw materials. They can be applied quickly and easily, they protect and nourish the wood, and they can easily be maintained using the appropriate Irsa maintenance oils. An attractive reference is the Jewish Museum in Berlin where 3,000m² of solid oak have been finished with Irsa Natural Hard Oil.

Lecol Oil is still a trend for Lecol. A floor in oil is somewhat easier to repair in patches and then finish partially than a lacquered floor. A floor in oil looks more natural than a floor in lacquer. With their impregnation oils Lobasol® HS Akzent 100 Oil and Lobasol® HS 2K Impact Oil you only need to apply one finishing coat. With lacquer you usually need three coats. And so, an oil finish saves time and money. Moreover, almost all distressed floors are offered with an oil finish. This is because with oil it is possible to achieve a much more natural effect and there are also more colour possibilities than with a lacquer system. Lecol offers two types of oil systems, neither of which contains any solvents. Hard wax oil with a strong solvent content is prohibited by law within our target group, so Lecol deliberately does not sell that product. They do sell the following types of impregnation oil: Lobasol® HS Akzent 100 Oil (1-component impregnation oil/ideal for normal-traffic floors) and Lobasol® HS 2K Impact Oil ( 2-component, fast-setting impregnation oil/ideal if the floor attracts a lot of damp). Lobasol HS 2K Impact Oil is definitely the best seller. Both oils are available in the same 19 contemporary colours. Lecol supports the sale of oils with sample clusters, displays for the showroom, and a sample board to make ‘live’ samples.

Loba Oil is still a trend for Loba. Classic oil penetrates, impregnates, and doesn’t leave a film. Classic oil intensifies the colour of the wood and preserves its natural look. An oiled floor will stay in good condition for years if it is cleaned and maintained as required. Loba sells various oils and oil-wax combinations. The best sellers are Lobasol® HS Akzent

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet oil

100 Oil, the Lobasol ® HS 2K Impact Oil, and Impact Colour Oil. The 2K impregnation oil/LOBASOL® HS 2K Impact Oil is suitable for all types of wood. It highlights the natural colour and structure of the wood. It is possible to achieve lots of colour effects with LOBASOL® HS 2K Impact Oil Colour!

Mapei Mapei presents Ultracoat Oil, a natural oil for treating parquet. Ultracoat Oil gives wooden floors a nice rustic effect and brings out the natural characteristics of wood. Ultracoat Oil is ready for use. The oil is applied in a single work session using the Ultracoat Roller plus or the Ultracoat Steel Spatula. In the case of highly absorbent wood sorts the treatment needs to be repeated after 20 minutes (and before the first coat dries). Surplus oil must be removed within one hour using a cotton cloth and disc machine with a white Ultracoat Pad. The floor can be polished after 16 hours using a black Ultracoat Pad. At the end, two coats of Ultracoat Oil Care are applied. Mapei also presents the Ultracoat Oil Colour, which colours the wood and can be finished using the Mapei lacquers. Ultracoat Oil Plus can also be finished with Ultracoat lacquer.

ECØ V

Osmo Wooden flooring, furniture surfaces and stairs can be coloured with Oil Stain from Osmo. Through the use of plant ingredients, an even colouration as well as a harmonious, seamless appearance is achieved. One thin coat of Oil Stain creates a transparent colouration; a second coat provides an intensive colouration. The advantage: the oil penetrates deeply into the wood and thus enables an optimal colouration. To protect the colour pigments optimally, Osmo still recommends a top coat with a clear Polyx®-Oil. The product offers a wide range of colour tones – the customer can choose from classic brown and trendy grey tones. Oil Stain can be easily applied with a scraper, a microfiber roller, a brush or a single-disc machine. The coloured primer is resistant to dirt, repels water and smoothens the surface.

Pallmann Pallmann presents the Magic Oil Line with Magic Oil 2K as the best seller. Magic Oil 2K is a natural and solventless oil-wax combination, which provides an open-pore and breathable surface and gives the wood a natural look. The wax component makes the surface evenly matt and velvet-like. With the hardener, Magic Oil 2K has a fast and unique drying process. This fast drying makes it possible to renovate high-traffic rooms (e.g. in restaurants, hotels, shops, offices, etc.) in a

CTS 2016 U D O R P W E N

Single-component water-based polyurethane lacquer

Voc free! CHIMIVER PANSERI S.p.A. ECØ V Zulassungsnummer Z-157.10-180 Emissionsgeprüftes Bauprodukt nach DIBt-Grundsätzen

Oak floorings easily changed to beautiful grey & aged effect.

Wood Flooring Soap Grey

Patina Lye Special Spot Remover

T R A DI T ION S I NC E 1926 Chimiver

+ Chimiver

ChimiverChannel

CHIMIVER PANSERI S.p.A.

chimiver.com - info@chimiver.com

Floor Forum International 81

FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.FAXELUD.COM ESBJERG PAINTS A/S, ENERGIVEJ 13, DK- 6700 ESBJERG TEL. +45 75 12 86 00

short space of time with no compromise on mechanical and chemical resistance after one night of drying. The improved cross-linking ensures a surface which is even more resistant to dirt and damp, something which cannot be achieved with a single component parquet oil. The minimal dirt absorption is comparable to that of a lacquered parquet floor. Moreover, the well known laborious maintenance of parquet oil does not apply to Magic Oil 2K. On the contrary, the maintenance of Magic Oil 2K is comparable to that of a lacquered parquet floor. Other oils in the assortment include Magic Oil 2K Ergo, Magic Oil 2K Spa, and Magic Oil 2K Colour.

Plastor Oil is still a trend for Plastor because it provides a natural protection which respects the wood, the warmth of the wood, and the feel of the wood. Oil offers a nice output, is easy to use, and good for renovation. For distressed floors there is the benefit of the colour possibilities of oil. Plastor presents the ‘Oil Aquanat® and Oil Decoprotect. Aquanat is an invisible and protective oil which preserves and even highlights the natural character of the wood. Parquet can be oiled in one day with a drying time of one to two hours between coats. The oil is available in matt and rough effect. Decoprotect oil is made on a base of natural oils and provides protection against stains and dirt. This oil is available in eight fashionable shades. Decoprotect gives parquet a natural warmth. The best seller at the moment is Aquanat.

Saicos Oil products have open pores through which the wood can breathe so that climate variations don’t form a problem, something which is the case with lacquer. Oil is still a trend for Saicos and they attribute this to the natural look and the permanently attractive surface, which, moreover, is easy to maintain. Durability and ecology are important topics. And so, oil consists of natural ingredients, which penetrate deeply into the pores of the wood. SAICOS presents Premium Hard Wax Oil, Oil Ground Coat, and the ecological versions: Ecoline Hard Wax Oil, Ecoline Hard Wax Oil‚ Nature, Ecoline Oil Ground Coat, and Ground Oil Extra Thin. Premium Hard Wax Oil is the best seller.

Stauf STAUF OIL IN ONE This is a vegetable and naturally-drying oil for use in residential and commercial rooms. Multifunctional oil which opened a pore surface and enhances the natural wood color, it can be sealed. The oil must be stirred well before use. Quickly and evenly apply the oil using a stainless steel trowel avoiding puddles.

STAUF HARDWAXOIL One component colourless coat based on natural oils and waxes for woodflooring and planks with moderate to average traffic, tables and worktops. STAUF Hardwaxoil is dirt resistant, water repellent and enhances the natural wood color with a velvet surface. The oil should be applied with a suitable roller crosswise (first apply across and then spread lengthwise) in a quick and even motion. STAUF COLORATUM OIL Is a single component, coloured finish based on natural oils and wax. It is used for parquet, cork and wood floors in living areas with normal or moderately heavy use. The product contains no lead-based or cobaltbased dryers and is pigmented. Colours: white, dark walnut, wenge, teak, grey, black.

Unipro Unipro still cannot exclude hard wax oil, which remains a very good finish. The big advantage over lacquer is that an oil is easier to renovate than a lacquer. This is still a major asset. And so, if the floor is regularly and well maintained, sandpapering can be postponed for a long time or even avoided completely. In the meantime, the dual component hard wax oil from Unipro has proved itself in big projects such as, for instance, the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp. The building has a high-traffic parquet floor, which has proved both in theory and in practice to be extremely low-maintenance after all those years. The best seller from Unipro is the Magic Oil 2K Colour. This solventless oil-wax combination dries by means of oxidation thanks to the addition of the B-component. A floor finished with this product can be walked on and cleaned after 24 hours. Nowadays, that is greatly appreciated with both renovation and new building work.

Vesting According to Vesting, oil and hard wax oil are also still a trend in the Benelux. More and more people are opting for the warmth of a wooden floor with a (hard wax) oil to guarantee a natural look and grain for the wood. Oil offers a number of clear assets. For example, oil is easier to apply and adapt when there is damage and the penetration into the wood provides a natural look and deeper colours. People who want a highly natural look should choose oil. The fact is that hard wax oil always yields a silk matt look due to the wax which is in the oil. There is also a group of people who are of the view that the use of wax in oil makes it more receptive to damp and causes irregular penetration of the oil into the wood so that it is of poorer quality than with oil. Moreover, tests have shown that there is no difference in terms of quality between a hard wax oil and a standard oil if they are applied in the proper way. Their best seller is Structure Oil 2-30VK.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Producers of exterior walls : wood and composite

WOOD AND COMPOSITE AS AN ECOLOGICAL WALL FINISH SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS WITH A LOW ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Photo – Gascogne Bois

Exterior wall cladding in wood has been a much coveted solution for many years partly due to its technical features, but mainly because of the natural look and warmth of wood. It also makes a good compromise for those who, on the basis of structural considerations, have a strong preference for the traditional building style (brick). It looks like a wooden building, but it isn’t. In recent years, we have witnessed an ever growing concern for the state of forests worldwide. And so, wood from sustainably managed forests deserves to be recommended and, furthermore, certain composites have come trotting along as ecological alternatives. A market is dawning for professionals.

Economy versus ecology Whenever we talk about wood in the construction industry, whether we like it or not, we encounter that sensitive issue of the general use of wood tout court in daily applications. After all, wood comes from trees, and trees constitute the ‘lung’ of this planet. This lung has to ensure that carbon dioxide is converted into oxygen, an essential detail for mankind. Nevertheless, the considerate use of wood causes no harm to the environment. Trees sometimes need to be cut and if that process is well managed, we can ‘serve’ both economic and ecological interests. Furthermore, even if wood is cut ‘for completely different economic

Floor Forum International 81

ends’ than the use of that wood itself, it is still possible to take responsible measures. Let’s consider a modern anecdote!

Essers is growing Logistics company Essers is one of the biggest logistics companies in Europe. Its offices in Genk (Belgium) are bursting at the seams. Expansion is a pressing need, but 11 hectares of forest will have to pay the price. No wonder ecologists are up in arms. What’s the economic interest? At present, the company has 930,000m² of warehouse space, a fleet of 1,300 trucks, and 2,800 trailers. The company employs over 4,400 people spread over 40 offices in 12 countries in Western and Eastern Europe. Apart from the headquarters in Genk (Belgium), H. Essers also has a home base in Rumania. In other words, surely you can’t block the progress of such a company just like that? There are solutions. The authorised government minister has reached a deal in which Essers has to plant three new trees ‘elsewhere’ for each tree that it cuts down. That, too, seems to be a ‘durable measure’. In other words, once again, with common sense and openness, we can surely save the planet.

New construction or renovation Wooden wall cladding is a solution for new construction just like any other. You opt for a visible facing brick, frontage plastering, whether

or not it is coloured, or for wall planks and, increasingly common at present, wall covering in decorative panels. The pros and cons are sometimes technical, but in terms of decoration this is undeniably a subjective choice. Many people are now acclaiming wooden wall planks (and composite now as well) as an ecological solution.

Aesthetic aspect You have walls which are erected in facing bricks which were once in fashion, but are now to no one’s taste. Furthermore, you also have walls which are just shabby and worn out. Just consider, for example, plastered walls which show bursts and cracks or where the plaster is coming loose. The only renovation option in that case is to remove and replace the plaster. Here, wall planks offer a solution which is comparable with renovation panelling. The damage to the existing wall is, as it were, ‘buried’ under the planks. This can transform a dilapidated building into a new building.

ARCHI WOOD/Hard Wood Clip® | Soft Wood Clip™ At Archi Wood they’ve seen a growing demand for wall planks. Demand is for just about all types of wood for outdoor use and for all types of profiles. Fastening systems for terraces from Archi Wood, Hard Wood Clip®, and Soft Wood Clip™ have also been developed for the application of wall planks. Archi Wood has developed a special profile of planks designed for fitting with these fastening systems. This profile, DROP™, has a number of specific characteristics which are very helpful for wall planks. For example, this profile is covered so that it is protected from water and insects. With these systems the fitting is simply faster and easier because the correct distance and height are integrated into the fastening. The aesthetic benefits are obviously sufficiently well known.

Denderwood

Insulation, also in private home construction, is now a hot potato, as insulation demands continue to grow. With new buildings it is possible to comply with those demands, but with renovation it’s not always so easy. Wall planks offer the opportunity of combining them with insulation on the outside. Here, wall planks have the advantage of being relatively thin. That leaves plenty of space for various insulation materials. In the meantime, it has been proved mathematically that insulating a home on the outside is thoroughly efficient and cost effective.

At Denderwood they certainly think that wooden wall claddings and composite are a trend. The market is undoubtedly growing. Denderwood presents wall planks in tropical hard wood and WPC. Consumers clearly prefer tropical hard types, in particular padauk, afrormosia, iroko, and afzelia. The success of these wall claddings can be explained partly by the fact that they offer an easy solution for insulating the outdoor wall in renovation. The back to nature aspect is also important; natural materials with natural ageing are popular. These products are ideal for big projects. Denderwood doesn’t sell any finished products. If there has to be a finish, oil is usually the preferred choice.

Professionals are spoilt for choice

DURASID® produced by Plastivan

Nowadays, professionals can offer clients a huge choice in terms of alternatives. To start with, there is an endless range of available wood sorts, which, with or without a profile, are supplied by the timber industry. As regards wood sorts, we have the various hard wood sorts in durability class 1, but also lighter wood sorts, which have been modified in some way or other (e.g. chemically or thermally) to raise them to a higher class.

According to Plastivan, wall cladding is gaining ground rapidly on traditional building materials such as bricks, and this applies to both new buildings and renovation. In particular, insulation combined with wall cladding is now a popular trend in view of the present building standards. Plastivan has a complete system of wall cladding in hard foam PVC in various colours and models sold under the DURASID® trademark. The wood grain structure means that the panels can hardly be distinguished from natural materials. PVC is growing in popularity owing to its durability and low maintenance. The days when synthetics were regarded as a cheap alternative are long gone. The application of new technology means they are a fully fledged alternative to traditional building materials. Moreover, PVC wall cladding is ideal in combination with insulation and it can be fitted quickly and easily. Moreover, this wall cladding never needs to be re-painted. PVC wall cladding is perfect for use in bigger projects.

The insulation aspect

Composites and synthetics Professionals have an ecological and extremely functional alternative in composite materials which look like wall planks, but in reality consist only partly of wood. These composites are usually composed of recycled wood fibres or waste wood and recycled polyethylene. The ingredients are mixed and undergo an extrusion process at high temperatures and under heavy pressure. Extrusion technology means it is also possible to obtain accurate dimensioning and all things are possible as regards the design. Nowadays, there are various ‘recipes’, and composites with bamboo also come into the picture. There are also the classic sidings, which usually consist entirely of synthetics.

Invisible fastening In recent years, apart from the huge range of decorative materials, professionals have also faced innovative fitting systems based on totally or partially invisible clips. These systems are designed to let planks make their natural movements. They also have the merit of not being destructive. The planks are not drilled with screws or nails, and that obviously benefits the durability of the wood.

The market range As regards both the range of materials and the fastening systems, dealers continue to innovate. Products and systems are being refined constantly in terms of both the raw materials used (e.g. in the area of being weatherproof) and techniques for the fitting. Let’s have a look at the ‘market’.

Gascogne Bois Important assets with wooden wall cladding are the easy fitting, the high thermal comfort, and the aesthetic look. The company is looking forward to strong growth in the coming years. Gascogne Bois presents wall cladding in coniferous wood (pine) from Gascogne, which originates from sustainably managed forests and is characterised by outstanding mechanical and aesthetic properties. They sell wall cladding under the Hylor® trademark. The Yachting range is available in a wide range of colours, including four new colours (acier, anthracite, havane, and sable) and the Naturals range provides an alternative to coloured wood. Natural presents autoclave class 3 planks in Gascogne pine which have no gnarls and are highly durable thanks to the special treatment. Wood is growing in popularity due to its natural look, the vast range of renovation options, and new and improved finishes.

Hoebeek Hoebeek definitely sees wooden wall cladding as a trend, but the company doesn’t sell composite wood. They have definitely seen the market

Floor Forum International 81

grow in recent years. Hoebeek presents a wide range of wood sorts and, basically, anything is possible customised. The most popular types of wood are cedar, padauk, thermo-pine radiata, thermo-pine RND V, afrormosia, and larch. A new type of wood which is also emerging is favinha. According to Hoebeek, wood is used mainly as a highlight on a section of the wall. And so, it is usually combined with another sort of wall cladding. Wooden wall cladding is also suitable for big projects. For example, Hoebeek has recently supplied wall cladding in padauk for the Olieslagers project in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. This wooden wall cladding is usually fitted untreated and left to age. However, for cedar people often ask for a finish so that the cladding ages more attractively. To this end, Hoebeek offers Silver and Ocean Grey, two finishes which ensure a more pleasant ageing process and don’t require any maintenance. Black finishes are also gaining in popularity. These are applied mainly to thermo-pine RND V.

Interply The Interoutdoor wall covering from Interply offers several options. The main asset is that the slats are fitted with tongue and groove at the heads. This makes fitting easier and reduces sawkerf. The highlight of the range is the thermal pine in absolute top quality. They also have other wood in stock: thermal, oak, W.R. cedar, padauk, and afzelia in various profiles. A new item is the straight model for vertical fitting.

Ipe Latino

A FAMILY COMPANY FOUNDED IN 1883 COMPANY SPECIALITIES : TEAK | SIBERIAN LARCH | IPE | IROKO MASSARANDUBA | JATOBA | MERBAU | WESTERN RED CEDAR DECKING – FLOORING – UNDERCONSTRUCTION – ROUGH SAWN IMPORT AND EXPORT OF SCANDINAVIAN & RUSSIAN SOFTWOODS, AMERICAN SOFTWOODS & HARDWOODS, TROPICAL HARDWOODS ALWAYS IN STOCK : FSC, PEFC, OLB, VLO, TLTV TIMBER BERGSTRAAT 25 | B-8511 AALBEKE | BELGIË T. +32 (0)56 43 33 33 | F. +32 (0)56 43 33 34 GENEVIEVE@VANDECASTEELE.BE | DAVE@VANDECASTEELE.BE WWW.VANDECASTEELE.BE

IPE LATINO sells wooden wall cladding in padauk and a composite wall cladding (Neolife), where the material contains Scots pine wood fibres for 92%. The wall cladding in padauk is made as a rhombus profile in the shape of a parallelogram 23mm thick and 65mm wide and is fitted with the B-Fix Clip. The ‘future product’, Neolife wall cladding, does not become discoloured and is not liable to moss formation. One of the designs is flame-retardant. The wall cladding is made from VESTA® (Vegetal Ecological Stable Timber Advantage), a new ecological material with exceptional properties, and developed by NEOLIFE® in collaboration with French experts in eco-materials. The wood fibres of VESTA® come from certified French forests. No cut trees, no use of strong energy in the production, and no use of ecologically harmful substances. Due to its water-repellent character and a limited content of mineral resins, VESTA® has exceptional dimensional stability with only 4mm swelling. It thereby offers certainty for perfect fitting with few expansion joints.

Protac Demand for wall cladding is fairly stable at Protac. It comes mainly from architects, who are looking for natural and durable materials. In 2014, Protac achieved growth in this area in double figures. This was due to the solid wood wall planks which were finished in the factory with opaque paint for Clinexel® or a semi-transparent saturator for Essentiel®. Protac supplies only ‘solid wood’ for reasons of durability. They don’t supply composites for the same reasons. The wood comes from sustainably managed forests (FSC, PEFC). Partly due to the quest for innovative, warm, and natural materials, the latter explains the success of wall cladding. Obviously, clients also greatly appreciate the 10-year guarantee on the opaque paint and five years on the sealant. Wood is being used more and more for new buildings, renovation, and exterior insulation. Protac has an attractive list of references.

Rahuel Bois FSC TIMBER COMES FROM WELL MANAGED FORESTS, INDEPENDENTLY CERTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES OF THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL A.C.

At Rahuel Bois, too, they have seen a sharp increase in the use of wood in construction in general and particularly in wooden wall cladding over the past 10 years or so. This trend is particularly noticeable

Special

Producers of exterior walls : wood and composite

in the construction of private homes and industrial buildings. The company has several big projects of over 600m² on its reference list. Since its formation in 1921, Rahuel Bois has specialised in chestnut wood, a type of wood which stands up perfectly to our climate. Fitting such wall cladding is no problem, certainly not for a professional. Chestnut wood can certainly be left untreated, but a popular finish is colourless azure. They are seeing more and more industrial finishes with ecological oil, various warm shades, and, in particular, finishes which are durable and easy to maintain.

Trap Hardwood Industry As an importer and specialist in exotic wood, Trap Hardwood Industry presents a range of wall cladding (Top Wood Outdoor) in finger-jointed solid wood. The ‘Rhombus’ profile, in a thickness of 21mm and with various widths, gives an extremely contemporary rigid look! The profiles are supplied as standard in a set length of 2.40m (longer upon request). The double glued, extra stable ‘Big Rhombus’ profile can be supplied in 38mm with various widths and in a set length of 2.40m. Both profiles can also be planed, subject to a limited extra cost, for fitting with Black One invisible clips from B-Fix. Apart from the popular types of wood such as padauk, ipe, and merbau, afrormosia, afzelia, iroko, jatoba, and teak are also available in excellent quality! The profiles are supplied untreated.

Vetedy Vetedy has noticed an increase in the number of wooden wall claddings with open joints with invisible fastening. In this case this is

the result of the global trend towards natural materials. For the wall claddings the company offers thermally treated wood and naturally durable wood. According to Vetedy, wood is more popular than other wall cladding materials, even if those other materials are also growing in popularity. The company has developed a fastening system whereby the wall claddings are perfectly suitable for projects on a much larger scale. Techniclic® uses totally invisible fasteners which allow you to choose the widths of the planks as well as the spaces between the planks. Therefore, the fitting can now proceed a lot faster. Vetedy has also developed its own anti-ageing system for the wall. This system is called Original’ and makes it possible to eliminate the grey colour from the wood without having to do anything except spray the product onto the wood. Sandpapering and waxing are not necessary.

Yepp Yepp most certainly regards wall cladding as a growing market. The company works mainly with oak wall cladding and old barnwood pine. They’ve noticed a clear preference amongst clients for solid wood wall cladding. The reason? Wooden wall cladding gives the home a warm and trendy look. That’s why it is used a lot in oak outhouses and/or carports. Yepp can provide several attractive references in this context such as the Sea Scout Base at Antwerp (800m²) and the St. Anna assisted living complex in Herentals (+/- 2000m²). They are getting more and more requests for fire-resistant protection. Yepp is a specialist in this field. The treatment is applied in the factory together with a TEFLON coating which protects the wood against moisture penetration and moss formation.

DURABLE AND MAINTENANCE FRIENDLY CLADDING

Plus on security for wooden decks

DURASID® is a complete cladding system that can be used for new buildings and renovation: ideal to be used in housing, static park homes and industrial buildings. The core is made out of cellular PVC-U with a coextruded top layer. The system is an aesthetic alternative to traditional claddings. The benefits of these external claddings are: • little maintenance • easy installation • very durable • impact resistant • insulating function • available in different finishing and colours • natural look

More information: www.saicos.de by PLASTIVAN

Plastivan N.V. Wantestraat 3 B-8780 Oostrozebeke Tel +32 56 66 75 51 Fax +32 56 66 91 18

W W W. D U R A S I D. CO M INFO@DURASID.COM

Floor Forum International 81

Advertorial

Adesiv (IT)

ADESIV: RELIABLE AND EFFECTIVE PRODUCTS FOR THE PARQUET WORLD FOR OVER 45 YEARS

The Italian chemical producer Adesiv has been operating in the parquet sector for over 45 years. Thanks to good products with a strong price/quality ratio, the company is now an internationally respected player which is growing increasingly on exports. This emerged once again from the helpful contacts which the company made at its stand during Domotex Asia in Shanghai. We spoke to Filippo Dal Ponte and Enrico Passerini, about recent developments and the corporate philosophy of Adesiv.

Efficient products with a strong price/quality ratio Filippo Dal Ponte: ‘At Adesiv we’re committed to adapting and improving our products constantly, but only on the basis of genuine scientific progress and not just because the marketing department thinks it’s a good idea, something you often find in our sector. However, we also take account of the cost price of our products as that’s the most important criterion for most parquet fitters. And so, we can say that a new product launch or a change to an existing product at Adesiv genuinely means specific progress in fitting wooden floors. An improvement which benefits all parquet floor fitters.’ Filippo Dal Ponte adds: ‘The fact is that genuine progress happens slowly but surely. Adesiv offers that progress, but at the same time also the guarantee that you always really do get value for money.’

Export and diversification Since the early 1970s, the chemical producer from Veneto has been dedicated to the development and production of adhesives and other chemicals for fitting parquet. Export, primarily within the EU but now also worldwide for many years, has become increasingly important over the years. In view of the economic crisis in Italy in recent years (‘from which we’re only now seeing the

Floor Forum International 81

first signs of recovery,’ says Enrico Passerini), the export strategy, together with the diversification as regards markets, was the only correct course. Enrico Passerini explains: ‘Whilst in the past we concentrated purely on high-quality chemical products for the parquet sector, we’ve now broadened our activities for some time and we now also supply glues to paper companies and shoe makers. This ensures that we’re less dependent on demand from the Italian parquet sector.’ ‘In view of the economic malaise of the last few years in Italy and Europe, this has been a good choice. The sector diversification has ensured growth in turnover and meant more efficient purchase synergies for us and a reinforcement of our know-how’, explains Filippo Dal Ponte.

Export to 40 countries ‘At the same time, those sales allow us to commit ourselves further to product development for parquet and succeed on the many export markets with our full parquet range. Today, we have clients in over 40 countries. At present, we’re also enjoying growing success on the Latin American market,’ Enrico Passerini concludes. More information at www.adesiv.it

Special

UV curing on site

FLOOR FITTERS RECONCILE TRADITION WITH TECHNOLOGY UV CURING ON SITE OPENS UP A WORLD OF OPTIONS

Photo – Decorad

Amazement usually leads to research. Research then leads to science and, if the results can be put into practice, science almost always leads to the development of new technology. The moral of the story? It all starts with human curiosity and the desire to improve ‘things’. Knowledge of the light spectrum has taught us that certain types of light possess ‘special’ powers. Using the power of UV light to cure certain substances or dry fluids quickly is no longer such a

Visit www.floor-forum.com

new process. However, the deployment of that power in a non-industrial and heavily guarded setting certainly is. Floor fitters are seeing increasing options. Yet again!

Drying with UV light Many people regarded drying with UV light as an activity which was doomed to remain within the bounds of industrial applications. Certain hazards ‘could’ be linked to the technology which ‘could’ involve risks

Floor Forum International 81

Special

UV curing on site

for users so that it appeared necessary to implement the protective measures of a continuously controlled environment. Gradually, however, the technology has found expression outside the factory. The setting of a tooth filling at the dentist is a good example.

A brief summary For those who might have missed our previous articles on this theme, let us once again clarify in a nutshell how UV curing works. UV curing takes place by means of radiation with UV light. UV light is present in sunlight and in the light of fluorescent lamps. Obviously, both of these sources of light are not strong enough for this ‘fast curing technique’, so special UV lamps are used. A ‘photo-initiator’ is added to the lacquer with a special binding agent which is activated by the UV radiation. The photo-initiator falls apart under the influence of the correct UV radiation and thereby forms free radicals which set off the curing reaction (polymerisation). This links the resin molecules to each other to form a very strong three-dimensional network.

The benefits of UV What are the main benefits? Curing by means of UV light is attractive under production conditions due to the rapid curing process. It means that the treated items can be used immediately, and that’s certainly a great benefit. Moreover, UV curing doesn’t require any high temperatures and the drying tunnel occupies less space than a traditional drying oven. An important environmental aspect, obviously, is that the process uses hardly any solvents.

Inaccessible for floor fitters In the initial stages, it seemed that the use of UV light, due to the strong link with an industrial setting, wasn’t immediately an activity which floor fitters themselves could carry out unless they had a well-equipped workshop at their disposal. This meant that UV drying remained within the factory walls of parquet and laminate producers or, fairly soon, was taken on by the now renowned coating contractor companies. The investment seemed feasible for them since they could deploy the technology for several clients/floor fitters. Nevertheless, floor fitters were confronted with a dilemma. After all, parallel to the emergence of UV curing, we’ve also seen the emergence of pre-finished parquet, something which initially caused raised eyebrows on the part of lots of traditional floor fitters. After all, plenty of floor fitters swear by their own finish formula, certainly when it comes to colouring parquet. They either had to swallow that pride (by fitting pre-finished floors) or call upon coating contractors to whom they had to entrust their formula. Talk about a dilemma! It’s clear that the development of possibilities for applying UV drying on site brings comfort here. The general and broadly spread application will probably not come about overnight, but there is certainly the possibility and the machine to do it!

Procedure on site Some training will probably be useful (necessary), but, strictly speaking, it’s a fairly simple operation. The UV coating, usually preceded by a UV curing primer, is applied with a traditional roller, just as with a waterborne single component lacquer. After application, the lacquer may dry naturally for about 45 minutes, and then you drive over the entire floor (about 200m² per hour) with a motorised mobile UV machine. There is a portable UV lamp available for the edges and places which are difficult to reach. As we’ve said, the floor can be used at once after the procedure. When using UV lamps, floor fitters must wear a special outfit, which is generally supplied as standard with the apparatus.

Floor Forum International 81

UV coatings see the ‘light’ The number of producers developing specific UV coatings is growing, and that speaks volumes. After all, the quality of these coatings and the added value of UV curing on site are becoming more and more incorporated, both with professionals and project managers. Major clients such as airport controllers, retail chains, and hospitals opt resolutely for UV coating on site and some companies buy their own equipment so that their employees can do this themselves. The fact that lacquer producers are joining in is logical, but it’s not an easy task because various manufacturers of UV machines work with different lamps. Most lacquer producers have mainly operated on the basis of the safest lamp, that with no ozone and without the most harmful part of the UV-C radiation. Moreover, people are already looking forward to the first coatings based on dyed lacquer systems.

What about the investment? Everyone knows that floor fitters have to invest in several sandpapering machines. Floor fitters know that such machines are essential for the execution of their task. With UV machines it’s a different matter. The investment is worth considering since there are alternatives to clear up the job, namely the traditional manner. To see how we should assess the return on the investment, we called on the services of Decorad, a Dutch producer and undoubtedly a pioneer in this area.

Appliances under the microscope Decorad has developed a Floor Mate (floor dryer) and a Hand Mate (hand lamp) specifically for use in curing floor coatings. The Floor Mate has an ideal width. This is necessary to ensure that you can walk behind the machine without damaging sections of the floor which have not yet been cured by the UV lamp. Furthermore, it is important to have a specific minimal width because curing should always include an overlap. After all, everything should be radiated with the correct dose of UV to achieve the properties of the coating. The Floor Mate is made of (stainless) steel, but there is also a Floor Mate in aluminium available at the request of professionals, which is a little lighter for those who work alone and on relatively small objects.

The ‘safest’ lamps Rob Muller from Decorad comments: ‘We’ve chosen to use the safest UV lamp.’ With the Floor Mate and Hand Mate it is possible to cure almost all floor coatings. However, there are a few coatings (namely full solids) where a different lamp (with ozone) is necessary. ‘The advantage of our machines is that it is very easy to change the type of lamp. Even future developments such as dyed lacquer systems, for instance, can be cured by our machines with a special gallium lamp. It only takes a few minutes to replace the lamp in the casing.’

Fast investment return The price of the Floor Mate starts at €8,250 and that of the Hand Mate at €2,525. A complete package comprising Floor Mate + Hand Mate with all transport crates and protective gear costs about €12,000. Rob Muller says, ‘A big investment, but you can easily earn it back quickly.’ In the UK Decorad works together with a parquet floor fitter who had got a return on the machines in just three days. Rob Muller admits, ‘Obviously, it all depends on the type of project.’ The durability of the machines means that the depreciation period is also much longer than normal (with these types of machines). The expectation is that, with normal use, the machines will function perfectly

for at least five years. The annual replacement of the lamp (including the interior casing and reflector) is the only essential recurring cost (replacing the reflector is vital for the output of the UV). Rob Muller concludes, ‘We offer this set at a highly competitive price.’

Decorad More and more floor owners are opting for UV lacquering on site Not many floor owners are familiar as yet with the possibilities of UV lacquering on site. However, the several and various successful projects which have been completed mean that this method of treating the floor is becoming increasingly well known. Whilst professionals opted initially for small jobs for wood, they now often opt to cure large-scale floors such as gymnasia and schools on site with two or more machines simultaneously. Apart from wood as a substrate, UV products are also used for elastic floors (such as linoleum, PVC, and rubber) and concrete (floors and lining). This means that the applicator has several ways of applying this technology. The market for elastic floors is several times bigger than that of wood and, furthermore, this market for renovation using a UV lacquer is relatively new. Hospitals and nursing homes, schools, airports, and chain stores have lots of square metres with huge benefits from UV lacquering on site (speed, quality, and ecology). And so, there’s lots of potential for UV lacquering on site!

Floor Forum International 81

Review

DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR

OUTSTANDING RESULTS FROM DOMOTEX ASIA/ CHINAFLOOR 2016!

The 18th edition of DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR took place on March 22-24, 2016 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, gathering 1,303 exhibitors from 39 countries and attracting 50,398 trade visitors from more than 110 nations. An increase of 9.3% in the visitors’ number compared to last year, shows clearly an upward trend on the audience’s preference to the leading international flooring show in Asia Pacific. Both domestic and international exhibitors were highly satisfied both by the professional visitors’ turnout and their high quality, resulting in an outstanding onsite rebooking percentage of 62.8% on exhibiting space for 2017. “DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 2016 was another successful event which reconfirmed the leading position of the show in Asia Pacific. In particular, the increased number of both exhibitors and visitors were a clear indication of the confidence that the flooring industry players have on the show as the best platform to do business in the region“ said Mr. Martin Folkerts, Director of Global Fairs at Deutsche Messe, one of the organizers of the show. “We have got very positive feedback from

Floor Forum International 81

our exhibitors who have especially highlighted the high quality of the visitors and buyers for this edition. The show keeps increasing on both size and quality and we are committed to continue in the same pace for the future editions." Visitors from all around the globe discovered new trends, technologies and innovations in 12 halls covering a gross area of 140,000sqm and took part in more than 30 conferences, events and seminars regarding flooring practices, applications and modern day challenges, presented by world-renowned flooring experts, professionals and designers.

Quality International Networking and Business MatchMaking Events

The first North American distributor delegation, consisting of 12 of USA’s most prominent names in the industry, visited some of the biggest domestic exhibitors’ manufacturing sites right before the show and met with their Chinese and Asian peers during the show. The delegation was assembled with the cooperation of the Floor Covering Institute LLC, Floor Covering Weekly and The North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD). “I would like to

thank the organizers for putting together such a special program. The events and logistics were perfect and no detail was left to chance. Attending DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR was extremely beneficial and valuable and I look forward to coming back again” said Mr. Al Hurt, President of Ohio Valley Flooring and attendee of the delegation. An international delegation of bamboo flooring buyers was also assembled within the frame of the 2016 Bamboo Flooring Hosted Buyer Program, held in cooperation with the Anji Commercial Bureau. The buyers’ delegation was welcomed by the regions officials on the first day of the show while they toured the Anji Bamboo Pavilion which took up the entire E3 Hall. Right after the show, the delegation spent three days in Anji accompanied by DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR representatives to visit local manufacturing sites and discuss further business opportunities with the local producers. The sector of the Handmade Carpet was highlighted during the show with the Handmade Carpet Hosted Buyer Match-Making Event, a B2B casual networking event, held on the first day of the show at the Design Carpet Salon in Hall W5. Handmade carpet exhibitors participating to this event carried carpets from India, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal and Afghanistan, while the hosted buyers who joined the program were both from China and abroad. Events such as the World Flooring Forum, co-organized by DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR and the China National Forest Products Association shed a light on the Chinese wood flooring market’s status quo, while the China International WPC Development Forum 2016 gathered domestic and international leaders in the fields of WPC production, raw material supply, engineering, construction and research, setting up a communication platform where the industry’s investments, developments and innovations were extensively discussed.

Environmental Sustainability and Innovative Spirit With environmental protection and Innovation being the primary driving themes of the show, programs such as the GreenStep Asia Awards and InnovAction were designed to showcase new products that support these principals. The 4th Green Step Asia Awards in cooperation with Floor Covering Weekly gave flooring exhibitors a chance to showcase their sustainable development at all levels. The competition open to any manufacturer in the world who has manufacturing facilities in Asia, after a careful selection by an international authoritative and unbiased jury, comprised of Santiago Montero - Publisher & Editor in Chief of Floor Covering Weekly, Michael Martin -- President & CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association, Paul Kiely of the Australian Timber Flooring Association (ATFA), Jim Gould -President of the Floor Covering Institute, Ar. Mohd Zulhemlee bin An – President of the Malaysia Institute of Architects, Shantikumar Mansabdar – Publisher of The Wood Portal and Lucy Upward- Editor of Hali Publications, reached to a final list of winners in all award categories. Weihai Shanhua Carpet Group took the trophy for the Green Pinnacle category and Zhejiang Xingyue Carpet Industry was announced the winner of the Green Product. Zhejiang Kingdom Plastics were announced both the winner of Green Process category and honorable mention of Green Product category. Other honorable mentions were Beamy International for the Green Pinnacle category and Novalis Innovative Flooring for the Green Product category and InnovAction 2016 each year attracts a great number of enterprises following these principals who launch their products to the global market. Online and onsite voting for the best InnovAction products was concluded on the 23rd of March with a ceremony that awarded the winners of the competition. Thirty companies were awarded for their innovative products while only 3 companies made it to the top of the list winning the “Best of the Best” award: Wuxi Fuxing Carpet for the carpet sector, Hangzhou Dasso Technology

Visit www.floor-forum.com

for the wood sector and Zhejiang Hailide New Material for the resilient sector.

Co-located design shows Concurrent events alongside related industries increase the opportunity for knowledge exchange, education, cross marketing and networking among commercial industries that manufacture, sell, specify and use flooring products. Out of these concurrent professional events, two that stood out in 2016 are the Materia Exhibition and the cadex exhibition: - cadex, the exclusive event for architecture and design was launched successfully for the first time parallel to DOMOTEX asia/ CHINAFLOOR, with more than 50 innovative materials suppliers and more than 10 dedicated events, conferences and seminars that attracted some of the biggest architects, interior designers and property developers in the industry. - Materia exhibition, was established in 1998 in an effort to bring closer architects and new material producers. In 2016, during the three days of the show it brought once more the newest material innovations from around the world for a more beautiful, sustainable and high-quality built environment. It is worth mentioning, as a last note, that this successful 2016 edition of DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR provided an insightful experience to all attendees. Exhibitors had a chance to meet professional trade visitors ranging from flooring retailers and distributors to architects, interior designers and property developers in a larger scale than any previous edition. They enjoyed events catered for all kinds of flooring products, practices and technological innovations, gaining important knowledge and information for the upcoming year. The preparation for the 19th edition has already started and DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR will be coming back on 21st to 23rd of March 2017 with one more international flooring event that can’t be missed. For more information about the show visit www.domotexasiachinafloor.com

Adesiv

The Italian parquet chemical producer Adesiv looked back on the show with satisfaction. The Asian market is an important growth market for the export department. There were lots of attractive and qualified visitors and, generally speaking, they said that visitors showed more interest in the Adesiv products than in previous years. The producer exhibited its full range of products in Shanghai and highlighted mainly the range of 2K adhesives.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Pre-colouring : what’s on the market ?

PRE-COLOURING WOOD IS NOTHING NEW BUT THE USE OF HYPE AND TRENDY COLOURS IS STILL VERY NEW There was a time when people thought (and some still think) that wooden floors should preserve in full the look which is typical of the wood in question. In other words, don’t mess about with wood. And so, some people regard the colouring of parquet as a tawdry prostitution of the ‘elegance’ of the wood. Yet that is rather surprising. Many people still regard European oak as the most ‘elegant’ sort of wood, yet it is precisely this type of wood which has been pre-coloured in various ways for years. That’s the reality. The fact is that a wooden floor can be coloured according to taste and the industry supplies products and technology to do just that. This article provides an introduction.

Treatments for oak Oak has the big advantage that it can cope with various treatments. For example, partly due to oak’s fairly neutral grain, it is perfectly possible to make this wood look like a tropical wood. Below we outline some classic treatments for oak, which also provide three ‘traditional’ pre-colouring methods.

White wash A popular form of treatment for wooden floors is the so called ‘white wash’. The floor is polished using a white oil or wax. Then, some of the oil is rubbed away or polished in further. Due to the open pores, the white oil stays in the oak in the grain and gnarls. Moreover, if white chalk oil is applied to the oak white wash, the grain comes even more into its own. This gives a very decorative effect. To give the white wash wooden floor a protective finish, you can opt either for the soap layer or the new and highly natural matt lacquer. Apart from the use of the ‘white’ white wash, there’s also a ‘sandy’ variant. The sandy shade mixes perfectly with cream substances and paint colours. Unlike the coat of lacquer, which forms a film on top of the wood, oil penetrates deep down into the pores with no problem at all. Once the oil has dried, it provides a sturdy, almost everlasting, strong, and dirt-repellent surface. The oil helps to preserve the wood’s pliable structure and natural flexibility.

Smoking European oak is still the wood most used to smoke wooden floors. Smoking oak stresses the specific wood grain. It highlights the structure of each separate plank. In fact, each plank is distinct and has its own look. Sun, wind, rain, and soil have caused this natural distinction and smoking makes this all the more clear. The smoking process turns the plank darker. The difference is even more striking with double-smoked oak. Traditionally, smoking took place with the use of ammonia. Cups of ammonia are put in the room where the floor is to be fitted. The ammonia fumes cause a reaction with the tannic acid inside oak to turn its natural colour darker and make its surface more uneven. The wood grain is then clearly visible. The smoking process can take between two and eight hours.

Floor Forum International 81

Nowadays, there are several products which can act as an alternative to ammonia.

Lye Soaking wood in lye is a pre-treatment which provides ongoing protection against discolouration from sunlight. Lye doesn’t protect wood from dirt and damp. After a treatment with lye, the wood must always then be treated further with oil, soap, or lacquer. A very common method for treating wooden planks is the so called oil-soap treatment. This involves polishing oak planks with oil and/ or dye. The plentiful variety of oils means there is a wide range of shades available. Differences in colour can arise between separate planks because oak is still a natural product and each plank is different. A layer of soap is often applied to the oil for protection, and this renders the floor waterproof and therefore easily washable. If the chosen colour falls out of favour after a few years, it is always possible to sandpaper the floor bare and apply an oil in a different colour.

Colouring wood As a rule, wood can be pre-coloured in different ways. Some methods relate purely to ‘pre-colouring’ and do not provide the wood with any further protection. In other words, a classical finish is still required in addition. Amongst other things, the above applies to soaking in lye and smoking. It also applies to ‘staining’, which has for some years been the most commonly used method of giving wood some extra colour. This doesn’t apply to colour oils, which give colour and protection in one product.

Staining Staining parquet gives the wood any colour as required, from black and blue-grey to white; anything is possible. The stain penetrates deeply into the wood, makes a nice contrast, and thereby highlights the specific wood structure. It can be combined later with oil, bees wax, or varnish. Stain is often a traditional product to ennoble wood which is based on natural linseed oil. This wood stain is ideal for colouring wood, parquet, and planks for both ordinary and noble wood sorts. Stains are available in a vast range of colours. In times past, most stains were available in wood colours. It was possible, for instance, to make a cheap pine floor look like oak by means of a dark shade of oak. Nowadays, colouring agents appear in a range of trendy colours. Each type of wood takes on a totally different appearance after certain colours are applied. For example, by applying a shade of red, you get the effect of American red oak. By colouring light types of wood extremely dark, they take on the allures of tropical wood. You have to be a connoisseur to draw a distinction, for example, between (almost) black coloured oak and wenge or between extremely dark coloured oak and panga panga. In this respect coloured (cheaper) types of wood can act as a substitute for often unaffordable tropical hard wood sorts, which cannot be matched in terms of hardness.

Colour oils With a coloured oil we apply protection and colour in one finish product. This method is suitable for all new wooden floors or recently sandpapered parquet in all wood sorts. Coloured oils exist in a wide range of contemporary and timeless colours. They are usually prepared through the addition of dyes to the natural oil. Most colour oils are transparent. This transparent colouring for wooden floors can be supplied in different colours, which can even be combined with each other. Moreover, a finishing coat with these oils provides a strong protective layer on top. Moreover, colour oils can still be combined with other treatments such as soaking in lye and smoking to obtain very distinct results.

What’s on the market? Blanchon People have used all sorts of preparations to change the colour of wood in every age. Natural resources have often been part of that. Modern chemistry has long used preparations with alcohol. In the past three decades, we’ve also seen waterborne colouring agents emerge, which are more resistant to light. Blanchon has a whole range of colourings and distressing products. Aqua Shade 2K is a waterborne colouring agent for parquet which can be painted over at once by any waterborne finish. There are six wood colours and six colour variations from white to deep black. Wood Shade (‘Teinte à Bois’) is for smaller surfaces (12 colours and 5 shades of grey). The Wood Distresser (‘Veillisseur Bois’) gives a distressed effect by highlighting the grain. The Reactives and Sheens (‘Réactifs et Patines’) are more complex shades which react to the tannic acid in the wood to yield various shades of colour. All these products still need a suitable finish. Blanchon is seeing growing demand for wood colourings, and makers are looking increasingly for new effects.

Briançon For pre-colouring parquet and wooden floors Briançon presents its Wood Aqua Shade (‘Teinte à Bois Aqua’). This pre-colouring is suitable for both floors and furniture. The product is odourless and offers high resistance to UV rays. Briançon has noticed a growing trend towards colours such as white and shades of grey. The product is usually applied on site using a roller or brush. It is semi-dry in half an hour, but the full drying time is six hours. This colouring can be applied with any finish.

Bona For pre-colouring parquet Bona offers Bona Craft Oil 2K, a dual component oil which can be finished later with Bona Traffic, Traffic HD, or Traffic Natural as extra protection. However, this is not per se necessary, since the oil can act as a floor finish on its own. Bona also offers several primers to give the floor a certain colour: Bona Natural with the look of untreated wood, Bona White for white floor colouring, and Bona Amber for darker floor colouring. This market has been around for a long time, but

the trend in colours differs sometimes. The biggest demand is for white or light grey shades, but, recently, Bona has also seen a renewed demand for darker floors. Bona Craft Oil 2K takes eight hours to dry (before lacquer can be applied). If oil is left as the top coat, the floor can be walked on after eight hours. The primers dry within two to three hours before they can be given a coat of lacquer.

Ciranova Ciranova has some unique colourings in its range. A distressing stain (lye stain) is ideal for distressing wood sorts such as oak and pine which contain tannic acid. This is suitable for indoor use only. Aqua Pad is uniform and easy to apply and provides an even look and helps the wood grain come into its own. Due to its special composition and easy use, Aqua Pad is ideal for colouring large surfaces such as parquet. Aqua Vintage is a waterborne reactive stain for giving the wood an aged appearance quickly and simply. This, too, is suitable for indoor use only. Vintage is a waterborne reaction stain for giving oak a weathered vintage look. Parquet floor fitters and manufacturers are searching constantly for innovations. Ciranova has some unique colourings, which offer lots of possibilities in combination with coloured oil. That’s why they are seeing more growth each year in pre-colourings. The products can be deployed both on site and in the workshop. How important is pre-colouring? A colour oil usually gives a less intense and deeper colour. Precolouring the wood will make the colouring even more intense. Furthermore, by combining pre-colourings with coloured oils, you can get lots of different finishes. If you finish colours with a waterborne varnish, it is always advisable to test it first. It is best to apply waterborne varnishes mechanically in order to prevent discolouration.

DevoNatural® For pre-colouring parquet and wooden floors Devomat offers its clients two ranges of products: DevoNatural® Easy Colour (a vegetable colour stain) and DevoNatural® Reactive (a reactive distressing product with smoked effect for ‘oak’ parquet and wooden floors). Since the launch of DevoNatural® Easy Colour, Devomat has noticed that more floors are being coloured again thanks to the convenience of the product. There is increasing demand for unique colour combinations e.g. the floor is distressed with DevoNatural® Reactive and then finished with a coloured DevoNatural ®High Solid Oil. For DevoNatural ®Easy Colour Devomat also offers the option of creating customised colours. Both product lines can be applied both on site and in the workshop or factory. DevoNatural® Easy Colour gives the entire floor a deeper colouring, since a colour oil will tend to highlight the grain and only to a lesser extent the surface. DevoNatural® Reactive is a reactive product and cannot be compared with a colour oil or colour product. The distressing effect is dependent on the tannic acid content and thereby differs from plank to plank. This gives a unique look to each parquet floor. Both

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Pre-colouring : what’s on the market ?

products can be finished with all DevoNatural ®finish products (lacquers, oils, and polishing wax).

Floorservice Floorservice Prime Design Line offers a wide range of pre-treatment products Prime Old Grey Gives oak a weathered appearance. The possibilities and variations are numerous and leads to various creative and commercially attractive shades. Prime Old Grey is available in three types, I, V en X. Prime Old Black Developed to provide a black base for oak. Finishing the floor with Floorservice Hardwax-oil offers the possibility of completely black floor or a black floor with a brown, grey, white or even metallic finish. Prime Colors Available in four colors: White, Black, Grey, Brown. When applying the Prime Colors, varying with the intensity of buffing allows for different effects ranging from very light, almost transparent up to full intense colouring. Prime Stain (new!) Suitable for mechanical application by either spray- or roller-coater. After the initial treatment with one of the Floorservice Prime Stains, the floor needs to be polished prior to application of the top-coat.

Hesse Benelux Hesse presents both stains and colour oils. These colour oils can be processed both on site and in the workshop (Pre-finish). Stains are a different matter. On site they use the WPB stains (these can be polished with water), which are applied with a buffing machine with a white pad. There are more options in the workshop, such as the traditional spray/sweep stains or roller colours. There’s always been demand for coloured floors and that will always be the case, but at Hesse they’re also seeing a demand for natural parquet. To that end, they have the varnish Pura Natura. Drying time depends on the product and the means of finishing. A longer open time/drying time is needed on site because there we are talking about bigger surfaces. Drying times are shorter in the workshop where the work is done plank by plank. Oils have the longest drying time and have to be left overnight in any case. Stains from Hesse can be finished using oil or varnish/lacquer. Oils are a finish in and of themselves and Hesse also offers primer oils. These oils can also be coated with varnish and are ideal for buffing a wooden floor which had previously been finished with oil or polishing wax.

Lecol Lecol offers two waterborne products for the pre-colouring of wooden floors: two reactive stains (Lobasol® Active Colour grey and brown) and one dye stain (Lobasol® Pre-Tone white). The reactive stains react to the tannic acid which is present to a greater or lesser degree in oak, for instance. Therefore, these two products can be applied only to oak floors. The dye stain can be applied universally to all types of wood. This market is definitely growing. These are relatively new products which make it possible to obtain an infinite number of colour effects and distressing effects. Over the past 15 years, they have sold a lot of distressed floors, which will have to be renovated sooner or later. These products offer more

Floor Forum International 81

possibilities after renovation for once again obtaining a distressed effect. Obviously, these products are also suitable for untreated new floors. This is really attractive to professionals who want to offer their clients something special and can also increase their profit margin considerably in this way. The products can be applied in the factory or on site. The unique method of applying the reactive stain can virtually eliminate the risk of stains and streaks for application on site. The average drying time is one night. These products penetrate deeply into the wood. They are then finished with a coat of impregnation oil, which soaks into the wood, but less deeply. This means there are possibilities for giving the colour oil better cover. The colours become more intensive and with certain combinations you get attractive duo-effects. Lecol advises you to finish these products only with the dual component impregnation oil Lobasol® HS 2K Impact Oil, which is available in 19 different colours.

Loba Loba offers two waterborne products for pre-colouring wooden floors: two reactive stains (Lobasol® Active Colour grey) and one dye stain (Lobasol® Pre-Tone white, brown, and black). As regards preference, there are quite a lot of regional differences. In the USA and Canada they prefer coloured floors. That is less of a preference in Europe, but there is a move towards colours. Lobasol® Active Colour is a waterborne reactive colouring. Amongst other things, it reacts to the tannic acid in the wood. And so, the colour effect depends on the type of wood. Lobasol® Pre-Tone is a waterborne and dyed colouring. The colours are more uniform and clear. The products prevent the wood from turning yellow. Both products can be finished with colour oils. Subject to the use of Lobadur HS 2K Intensive A.T. as a middle coat, it is also possible to finish Lobasol® Pre-Tone with lacquer.

Osmo Osmo offers different products for applying a coloured base coat to wooden flooring: Oil Stain, Polyx®-Oil Tints, Polyx®-Oil Effect as well as Wood Wax Finish. With Oil Stain, Polyx®-Oil Tints and Wood Wax Finish, different colour intensities can be achieved from transparent to intensive and even opaque; depending on the product and the application, different results are created. Shimmering gloss effects are made with Polyx®-Oil Effect Gold/ Silver. Wooden floors treated with Polyx®-Oil Effect Natural look if they are almost completely untreated. The final coat should always be carried out with a clear Polyx®-Oil. The products can also be used by professional craftsmen as well as by end consumers.

Pallmann Pallmann presents its dual component oil primer Pall-X 333 Colour in six colours: natural, black, dark brown, light brown, grey, and white. There is a growing interest in the colour possibilities from various countries. The product is usually applied on site. However, it can also be applied in smaller workshops where floor fitters or stair makers

work. The drying time for Pall-X 333 Colour is 12 hours. The colour effect is stronger if a Colour Oil finish is applied. The primer can also be finished with the Pal-X 98 Gold lacquer or the dual component Magic Oil 2K. Both of them protect the dyed surface from mechanical wear and tear.

Rubio Monocoat Rubio Monocoat Colors: the only limit is that of your imagination! Rubio Monocoat is known for its wide range of colors. The Oil Plus 2C for interior use consists of 40 standard colors that can color and protect the wood in 1 single layer. In order to create special contrasts, one can opt for a pre-coloring from the RMC Precolor Easy palette. These are designed to be used in combination with our oil finish. As a consequence, the molecular bonding of the oil remains guaranteed, providing maximum protection of the wood. The option to choose a combination of no less than 14 different RMC Precolor Easy shades with a finish in one of the 40 colors of the RMC Oil Plus 2C range allows unlimited creative possibilities. And for those wanting to stretch their creativity even further – all colors with¬in the RMC Precolor Easy series can be mixed together.

Saicos There are also lots of options at Saicos for colouring wooden floors. For example, you can obtain almost all wood shades with the Premium Hard Wax Oil as well as black or white. A speciality is the Hard Wax Oil Pure, which protects the wood and suppresses the flamed effect. The wood seems to be untreated. Saicos has Ecoline Oil Ground Coat for oiled and lacquered floors. All these products are made for use on site. The drying time is between three and five hours. Premium Hard Wax Oil must be finished with an oil, whilst Ecoline Oil Ground Coat can be treated with oil or lacquer.

Stauf Coloratum Oil is a single-component, coloured finish based on natural oils and wax. It is used for parquet, cork and wood floors in living areas with normal or moderately heavy use. The product contains no lead-based or cobalt-based dryers and is

Visit www.floor-forum.com

pigmented. The finish is multi-functional. It can be used as a stand-alone product, or mixed with other oils. The combination of STAUF Oil in One and STAUF Hardwaxoil achieves a restrained spread of colour on floors in the shades, Black, Grey, White, Wenge, Dark Walnut or Teak. The finished surface has a silky feel and is also dirt-resistant and water repellent.

Unipro Unipro presents Pall-X 333 colour, which makes it easy to cover big surfaces. This is a solventless, 2-component oil pre-treatment for colouring parquet. It eliminates streaks and any colour overlapping, so it’s really easy to apply. Unipro offers this in six different contemporary colours. They give the wood a good shade and a natural and intense warm colour. Afterwards, the floor can be finished with the Unipro lacquers or oil. Last but not least, there is Pall X pure parquet lacquer in which the colour dye is integrated into the lacquer to render pre-colouring superfluous. This is a parquet lacquer with a natural matt look of untreated wood. More and more end users are opting for the low maintenance of a lacquered floor. And so, a pre-colouring which is easy to apply was more than welcome. The pre-colouring can be applied manually on site or industrially in the floor fitter’s workshop. And so, afterwards, the floor can be finished with one of the Unipro lacquers or the colour or colourless oil (which gives some extra colour variants).

Vesting Vesting has products for pre-colouring parquet using water and reaction stains under the name Vesting Hydrostains. These products make it possible to pre-colour the wood as required. With Vesting Hydrostains you get pre-colouring from pigments in the water stain. Reaction Stain contains additives which enter into a reaction with the content substances of the wood and therefore ensure a natural pre-colouring of the wood. At Vesting they’ve noticed that consumers are no longer really enthusiastic about only a colour oil. It’s getting harder to get the right colour for consumers. Pre-colouring the wood with Vesting Hydrostains means there are lots of new colour options. It is advisable to use these products only in the workshop. Since water stains soak into the wood very quickly, they can overlap where the stain is already dry and a new stain is applied. The average drying time for these stains is two to three hours. Vesting Hydrostains ensures a more natural colour look than if only a colour oil is used. Vesting Hydrostains cannot be finished with all products. Multi-layer finishing products Lacquers and Hard Wax Oils are no problem. Single coat systems are often too porous so that moisture can still penetrate the stain coat and can therefore leave streaks.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Suppliers of mops and cleaning tools in kit form

MOPPING AND CLEANING KIT MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING SYSTEMS GENERATE EXTRA ‘BUSINESS’ The range of maintenance and cleaning systems and products found even in your run-of-the-mill supermarket is always impressive. An entire department which you have to pass through to find the right product category, and then within that category there is fierce competition between top brands and private labels. With a little good fortune, someone has thought about ‘category management’ which guides clients in their decision to make a purchase. There is a group of products and systems which have been devised specifically for parquet and other ‘sensitive’ types of flooring. A mini-department in the supermarket, a genuine specialist shop within the showroom of floor fitters, or in specialist parquet stores.

Floors which breathe There are no ‘dead’ building materials, that’s for sure. ‘Everything’ contains a certain amount of water and is therefore constantly in motion to some extent as a result of varying climatic conditions. One product category is more sensitive to those fluctuations than another. For instance, the operation is minimal with ceramic tiles and natural stone. Whenever we talk about maintenance and cleaning, it is a question of how the floor differs in terms of its porosity and the nature of the surface. A wine stain does not penetrate into a glazed tile, but it does leave traces in a number of natural stones which are difficult to remove. Types of hard flooring are particularly resistant to chemicals and moisture. We must keep a watchful eye when it comes to certain products on solid wood, derivative types of flooring, and flexible floor coverings. The strength of the floor surface can often be attributed to the density of the flooring material and the surface protection used. For example, any surface protection applied to wooden flooring also affects maintenance work. Products and ‘tools’ for maintenance work also require specific attention.

‘Maintenance’ or ‘cleaning’? Nobody worries about maintaining ceramic tiles. Any detergents or solvents can and should be applied. Stains can even be removed using white spirit, a paint thinner, or something similar. In other words, consumers are merely looking for a product which works, and which ideally is not the most expensive unless it imposes itself and clients feel under pressure to buy it as a result of all types of shrewd marketing techniques. The ‘smell’ is normally decisive, and a splash of ‘bleach’ on top gives an even stronger impression that it is both ‘clean and fresh’. We are talking here about ‘cleaning’ as opposed to ‘maintenance’. As far as natural stone is concerned, consumers then become prone to a certain reluctance across the range of cleaning products. After all, suppliers of natural stone have made it clear from the outset that not everything hits the spot. The result is that makers of cleaning products designed specifically for natural stone are those who come out on top. They have found a niche and provide cleaning and nourishing products specifically for natural stone.

Wood as an ‘outsider’ Wood is purely natural. Here we are not only talking about ‘cleaning’, but also about ‘maintenance’ or even ‘nourishing’. Customers know that their floor cannot be tackled with any old product. Here, the big

Floor Forum International 81

chemical giants, who dominate the cleaning product market, are no longer playing a major role. That task is reserved for chemical companies who specifically (or at least partially) are geared towards products for fitting and finishing wooden floors. These are the ‘names’ from the industry, you could say. Cleaning and maintenance products are directly dependent on how the parquet or wooden floor has been finished. The cleaning aspect is of major significance with varnished floors, whereas the ‘nutritional’ elements have the upper hand with oiled or waxed floors. Varnished floors reduce routine maintenance work to daily ‘swiffering’ or vacuum cleaning and slightly damp mopping once a week. This means that you can essentially use any cloths which absorb dirt and any type of detergent. Yet specialist makers have also made significant strides where this is concerned. Maintenance work for oiled or waxed floors is normally based on the product which has actually been used for the finish itself: oil, hard wax oil, wax, or soap. This means that consumers are bound entirely by the makers of the applied finish, and they usually don’t have a problem with that.

Maintenance of design floors Just as an oiled wooden floor needs some maintenance oil from time to time and varnishes can use certain nutrients to ensure that they remain darker, LVT floors also have specific needs. The need to ‘nourish’ a surface is all about porosity. Highly porous surfaces can contain a lot of dirt and therefore need to be saturated in one way or another. PVC has virtually zero porosity. There is therefore no real need to nourish it, but only to clean it. On the other hand, vinyl is (often) highly absorbent and porous, and requires maintenance work which can be compared to the pore filler of wooden floors before a so-called ‘metalliser’ can be applied in order to protect the floor continuously against dust and the formation of stains.

Extra business Has anyone noticed this? For a few years now, vacuum cleaner accessories have invariably included a special brush component for vacuum cleaning parquet. This is a sign on the wall because it tells us at once that wooden floors deserve special treatment when it comes to mechanical resistance. Specialist makers of products, systems, and tools designed for this floor category include all the necessary ‘weapons’ in ready-to-use ‘kits’. Useful tools which can be used for both rapid cleaning and intensive maintenance, including the use (application) of specialist products. That’s easy for consumers, whilst for floor fitters it means an additional ‘source of income’. Mops or swiffers, special pads in a number of colours, dosing units for detergent or oil, it’s all there in ‘handy’ and ‘manageable’ systems. These are for wooden floors, but also for design floors, LVT, PVC, etc.

What’s on the market? Blanchon Anyone in a hurry will find the solution at Blanchon with Lagoon®. This product is sprayed onto the floor and then the floor is mopped using a micro-fibre cloth. Blanchon offers Lagoon® in a kit with a broom with micro-fibre cloths (500 x washable) + the spray. Lagoon® can be deployed on both oiled and lacquered floors, and that’s attractive for retailers! For lacquered floors Blanchon has two detergents: the Satin

Renovator for semi-glossy or glossy floors and the Matt Renovator for matt floors. Both products are suitable for renovation since they are capable of sealing small cracks and restoring worn lacquers to their original look. For regular cleaning there’s the Lisabril Cleaner® which is used diluted. This product has recently been given a new formula to make it even more suitable for large surfaces such as sports floors. The Acid De-greaser (formerly Sure Cleaner) is a power cleaner which nevertheless doesn’t harm the lacquer. This has been given a new composition. For oiled floors and floors finished with wax-oil Blanchon promotes its Maintenance Oil. For regular cleaning they recommend the Natural Soap, whilst for removing stains (and old coats) they recommend the Intensive Cleaner. If you don’t know which oil finish has been applied, there’s the new Universal Maintenance Oil. Finally, for polished floors there’s the Blanchon Liquid Wax. Blanchon has developed a presentation cupboard for the maintenance range. The cupboard can be filled and organised to your liking, if necessary in combination with other products such as varnishes or oils.

Bona Bona presents a full maintenance packet with the Spray Mop taking centre stage. The Spray Mop from Bona enables clients to clean and maintain their wooden floors in no time at all. It is ergonomic and easy to use. The Spray Mop can be assembled quickly and the specially developed cartridge can be re-filled quickly with Bona Wooden Floor Cleaner. Bona Wooden Floor Cleaner protects and cares for wooden floors. It removes stains, dirt, and grease without leaving any marks. The Bona Micro-fibre Cleaning Pad is part of this kit. The rotating base of the mop makes it very easy to clean under and around cupboards and furniture, and there’s no need to strain your back lifting a (heavy) bucket of water. The Micro-fibre Pad, which is attached to the foot with Velcro, can be washed up to 300 times in the washing machine. The cartridge met Bona’s safe, pH-neutral floor cleaner can be refilled using the 4 litre refill can or you can fit a new cartridge, which is available separately.

Ciranova The range of cleaning and maintenance products from Ciranova can be subdivided into three ranges, namely oiled, lacquered, and waxed floors. Ciranova has a separate range of maintenance products for each type of floor treatment. For oiled floors there is Maintenance Oil, Oil Refresh, Parquet Soap, and Intensive Cleaner. For lacquered floors Ciranova offers Hard Floor Fresh, Hard Floor Cleaner, Hard Floor Polish, and Unicare X-Matt. For waxed floors, the range includes Liquid Parquet Wax, Wax Refresh Spray, and Liquid Bees Wax. For wholesalers, parquet traders, and retailers, Ciranova has an attractive

display cupboard for presenting all these products. Ciranova offers maintenance flyers and a kit in which the products are offered per range. Maintenance products ensure repeated sales since consumers should clean and maintain floors regularly. It’s also important to promote cleaning and maintenance products when a parquet floor is sold. Once clients are used to a certain maintenance product, they will usually stick with it. And so, offering three cleaning and maintenance products in a handy maintenance box is the ideal way of promoting this sale.

DevoNatural® Devomat provides two different mops, depending on the floor finish and the maintenance product. The DevoNatural ®Spray Mop with Hard Floor Cleaner is designed for cleaning varnished parquet, laminate, cork, vinyl, LVT, ceramic tiles, sealed natural stone and all other impervious hard floors quickly, conveniently, and ecologically. The DevoNatural® Spray mop with its Oiled Floor Cleaner is also specifically designed for cleaning oiled parquet and wooden floors quickly, conveniently, and ecologically. The DevoNatural® Hardfloor Cleaner and DevoNatural ® Oiled Floor Cleaner are available as a natural replacement for both variants. The DevoNatural® Hardfloor Cleaner is a ready-to-use ‘cleaner’ for use with the DevoNatural ®Spray Mop or cloth. It is suitable for regular maintenance of stone floors, cast floors, varnished parquet, bamboo, cork, vinyl, and laminate floors. This cleans without any streaks! The DevoNatural® Oiled Floor Cleaner is also ideal for oiled parquet, wooden floors, and absorbent natural stone. The kits and refills are part of the DevoNatural® product range. Devomat also gives in-store presentations for premium and maintenance dealers.

Irsa Irsa provides ten attractive combinations of products in boxes. Irsa Maintenance 1 is intended for manually lacquered floors and includes Irsa Aqua Star, Irsa Grundreiniger G88, and a maintenance instructions booklet. Irsa Maintenance 2 is intended for oiled or waxed floors and includes: Irsa Pflegemilch, Irsa Seifenreiniger, and maintenance instructions. There are also kits with products for deckings. This range from Irsa is obviously more extensive. There is also Irsa Aqua Clean, Irsa Cork Clean, and Irsa Aqua Cleaner 5000, the cleaner for any floor. For product presentation, Irsa provides attractive displays in stainless steel. Irsa wishes to promote the brand under its own image. The presentation and the quality of the products work in tandem to ensure that they sell again and again.

Lecol Lecol includes the Loba Spray Mop in its programme. This comes in a nice box which contains a packed spray mop in two parts. There is also a cleaning coat and one LOBACARE © refill bottle inside the box.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Suppliers of mops and cleaning tools in kit form

The LOBACARE © refill is a cleaning concentrate which, mixed with water, yields four litres of cleaner which can be used in the spray mop. This LOBACARE © refill can be supplied separately. The spray mop can also be combined with products from the Lecol range, namely Lecol Clean OH-49 (a cleaner for lacquered and oiled parquet floors), Lecol Refresher OH-70 (an anti-static cleaner for laminate floors), and Lecol PVC Cleaner OH-59 (specifically for cleaning PVC floors).

Saicos

The maintenance and cleaning kit from Loba features a spray (ParkettRefresh) for varnished floors and for oiled floors. For wooden floors and all waterproof floors there is Parkett Cleaner, which is particularly powerful and provides a pleasant aroma. The Spray Mop set comes with an integrated spray supply. And so, the Mop complete is suitable for the application of all Lobahome products. This mop is washable. Loba offers an attractive display for boosting sales both for the refill and for Lobahome products.

Saicos presents two distinct boxes for oiled floors. The ‘Floor Care Set’ includes the ‘Wash Care’ for regular weekly cleaning and the ‘Wax Care’ for revitalising those barren spots about twice a year or whenever required. The ‘Floor Clean and Care Set’ includes the same ‘Wax Care’ and the ‘Magic Cleaner’ for extremely dirty surfaces. The latter can often do the job when people think that only scouring will help. Saicos also has maintenance products for varnished floors. These are part of one range. There are a number of short videos on the web site and on You Tube, which demonstrate maintenance work. These can be found via the QR code on the packaging. The assets of these products are demonstrated in the shop to prevent end users being tempted by cheaper products.

Osmo

Vesting

Osmo offers many different products as well as accessories, such as the Spray-Mop, for cleaning and maintaining wooden flooring. The Maintenance Kit for Floors contains all the products needed to clean and maintain wooden floors: Wash and Care is an especially developed cleaning and care concentrate for wooden flooring. Through the use of natural oils, it prevents floors from drying out. With Liquid Wax Cleaner Spray as the three application cloths, the flooring can be intensively cleaned and at the same time the protective oil-wax layer is restored. For the optimal flooring cleaning, Osmo also offers the Opti-Set. It contains a mop with a telescopic handle, a dust and wet mop as well as an active fibre cloth. Both kits are optimally geared towards each other.

Vesting presents a maintenance package with maintenance resources for oiled floors. This package includes Maintenance Oil, Wax & Clean, Intensive Cleaner, and a pot of Hard Wax Oil natural. A Scotch Brite Pad and fluff-free cloths have been added to repair surface damage to the oil. And so, this package belongs to the Oil line. The maintenance resources can be used universally on all floors treated with oil or hard wax. Presentation tools can be supplied on request. Lots of retailers want a customised solution. That’s why Vesting has also opted for a solution which is offered in consultation with the client. Presentation is always important. Selling involves a combination of emotions and the look ensures that the emotions are addressed. And so, clients will prefer to opt for a product which is neatly and attractively presented. Vesting takes advantage of this with its look and high-quality products. The company stands out because the maintenance products are of a high quality and can be used on all floors treated with an oil or hard wax oil.

Loba

Pallmann Pallmann presents its Clean & Go. kit for rapid routine maintenance of wooden floors. This kit includes a cleaning mop with a handle, a spray with a 750 ml ‘wood cleaner’, a cleaning pad (damp), and a dust removal pad (dry), along with a brochure on how to maintain wooden floors.

All Pallmann maintenance and cleaning products are geared towards extending the wooden floor’s lifespan. To help boost sales, Pallmann provides a display which is both eye-catching and can be put in the shop at once. There are instruction brochures for both oiled and varnished floors to be handed over to clients. Good presentation is extremely important for the sale of these products.

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet and laminate in the hotel sector

WOODEN FLOORS AND DESIGN FLOORS ARE POPULAR IN HOTELS ‘HYGIENE’ IS A PRIORITY DEMAND FROM CLIENTS

Photo – Parqueterie Janod

Choosing a floor in a hotel is a process which is subject to a whole series of parameters and where various parties play a decisive part. Hotel owners and operators have decorative and functional expectations. Hotel guests also have expectations, but it has emerged that hygiene (clinical, yet warm) is an essential parameter for most clients. It is the job of architects and designers to reconcile all those desires in the correct choice of material. Parquet, laminate, and the increasingly popular design floors such as LVT and linoleum are doing very well due to their intrinsic properties.

A cascade of arguments Decorative/Corporate identity We don’t need to point out that the aesthetic look of the interior for a hotel is important. A hotel is a place of rest where people stay temporarily when they are on holiday or engaged in business activities. In both cases hotel guests want to feel at ease. In this respect, the interiors of the lobby, reception, bars, and restaurant are the immediate points for attention. They are followed by the lifts, corridors, and rooms. Whereas until a few years ago there was still a noticeable

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet and laminate in the hotel sector

difference (in terms of facilities) between business guests and tourists, that distinction now seems to be blurred. Just think about it: There is free WIFI just about everywhere. ‘Stars’ often make a difference. Tourists are affected by that solely in terms of their budget. Amongst business clients there is a difference between guests who will be receiving ‘clients’ or business relations in the hotel or those who simply consider their budget. There is another important difference. Hotel chains are often bound to a corporate identity. The architect will be given a set of precise specifications which must be observed almost to the letter. Obviously, individual hotels have much more freedom. Specifically with regard to the ‘corporate identity’, developments in digital printing have certainly proved to be an asset for floors such as laminate, LVT, and other floors which require the use of print.

Maintenance Maintenance is one of the decisive parameters in the choice of a floor by the hotel manager. Maintaining floors involves heavy costs. As a hotel gets busier, maintenance costs rise. We often see several rounds of maintenance per day for the same communal areas. This means it has to be possible to clean/dry/maintain the floor quickly (time is money) in such a way that hotel guests experience as little inconvenience as possible. Strictly speaking, we can say that just about all floors which can be ‘dry-cleaned’ (e.g. with a swiffer/vacuum cleaner) have an advantage. This definitely applies to parquet and laminate, LVT, and linoleum, bamboo, and cork.

Renovation If the look of a hotel plays a major part, it goes without saying that the more hotels are occupied, the more they want to ‘continue’ to surprise their guests. To do that, they need a thorough makeover of the interior every now and then. This surprises the guests on time with a new ‘experience’. An interior which always stays the same starts to look and feel ‘ordinary’ after a few years. Here, ‘floating’ floors are obviously the best. It goes without saying that hotel managers want to ensure that the hotel stays open during interior renovation work and that guests don’t experience too much inconvenience. Floating floors mean it is possible in the extreme to renew a hotel room by room without guests even noticing that work is in progress. Here, floating floors have the advantage that they can be removed and replaced without a lot of dust, demolition work, and noise. And so, we think of floating parquet, laminate, LVT, PVC, click linoleum, and all other floors with a click system (cork, bamboo, and coconut).

both ‘insulation’ and ‘absorption’. They will look for a certain acoustic serenity in communal areas such as the lobby, bar, restaurant, and corridors and landings. As for the rooms, insulation (against external sound) and impact sound insulation (against noise from the room below) are absolutely essential. In this area fully glued parquet scores better than floating parquet, unless subfloors can give you a satisfactory result. The same applies to the ratio of glued vinyl/floating LVT. Here, laminate depends entirely on the acoustic qualities of the subfloor.

The need for hygiene Now we come to a crucial element, namely the need for hygiene. Here, we need to draw a distinction between ‘effective hygiene’ and the ‘perception of hygiene’. This is once again something which we learn from experience. This editor’s father is 84 years of age and he enjoys excellent health for his age, but he is mildly allergic to ‘lots of things’ and has a certain degree of asthma. He cannot bear any house dust mite, dust, or even mild dustiness. The Belgian coast is his favourite destination and, in keeping with a long family tradition, ‘Den Haan’ is his regular seaside resort. This gem on the North Sea has a nice range of hotels, but there are only two on the seafront. One is rather antiquated, the other is absolutely top class. It was Albert Einstein’s favourite port of call and is now loved by tourists from all over the World (especially regular guests). This hotel is the crème de la crème. However, it is still not an option for this ‘grandpa’, who has plenty of financial resources at his disposal. Recently, all the rooms had to be renovated and, unfortunately, the decision-makers chose to fit wall-to-wall carpet just about everywhere, including in the corridors. The ‘fear’ of dust alone creates a threshold here. The hotel managers can prove ‘in black and white’ that these carpets repel dirt and that they are cleaned daily, but it makes no difference. The ‘perception’ here is stronger than the reality. Yet the technological claims regarding wall-to-wall carpet are clear: They talk of special fibres with an antibacterial effect. However, it’s hard to persuade the client.

Ideal hotel floor solutions in practice Lamett

Resistant against … It’s clear that a floor in a hotel comes under more pressure from the ‘occupants’ than a floor in a residential setting. Not only are these floors used intensively, but also hotel guests (unfortunately) are less considerate in taking care of the floor and, therefore, show less respect. The ‘caution’ with which we treat our parquet floor at home disappears somewhat in a hotel. Hotel floors have to stand up to marks and scratches, stains from normal use (e.g. coffee or wine), chemical influences (cosmetics), and such like. Most of the aforementioned floors will be given a good degree of protection by the quality of the finishing coat. In recent years, most finishes have got stronger and stronger. The density of the floor also plays an important part in resistance to any mechanical impact. Hard wood sorts, veneer floors, and laminate are certainly big hits here.

Acoustics In a hotel we want peace and quiet. With the design of a hotel, clients and architects will usually study the acoustics. They will consider

Floor Forum International 81

Lamett has definitely recorded an increase in the use of laminate and parquet in the hotel sector, both nationally and internationally. Increasingly, managers want to create an atmosphere in which clients enjoy an ultimate experience as regards an interior. In recent years, Lamett has also seen a resurgence of products which radiate a certain ‘authenticity’. Within the Lamett parquet collections, they are talking specifically here about the Farm and Country collections, whilst

project developers for laminate prefer the Colosseum collection. Thanks to the unique production properties, this high-quality laminate (durability class 33 – intensive commercial use) can be fitted in big rooms without using the normally obligatory dilatation joints. Furthermore, the laminate can also be fitted in a bathroom. The surface is sealed by two waterproof coats, which, in combination with the rigid click system, ensure that this floor is suitable for damp rooms. Products which come under FSC/PEFC, especially in accordance with the chain of custody or good forestry, are somewhat more expensive, even though this isn’t a basic requirement for project development. Such certification tends to be required more within big European building markets.

Parcolys Flooring

past, often herringbone, but distressed floors are also sometimes chosen. A spokesperson from Parketfabriek Lieverdink comments: ‘Obviously, it is something of a “luxury”, but wood gives just that little bit extra, also with regard to the interior. The classic look can be highlighted here very nicely, especially in older premises which have a lot of character on the outside.’ At Lieverdink, they believe that demand is rising because there are architects who prefer wood to cheaper looking materials such as laminate and PVC, and because the genuineness of wood and designs is hard to match. Certification is requested, if possible. Certain wood sorts are difficult to acquire in FSC (think of teak and wenge), whilst their oak is PEFC from France. Most of the floors are in oak or are processed from oak. Obviously, bamboo, too, has a favourable ecological rating. The somewhat more expensive wood is often not a hindrance, because the mark of quality is more important. An attractive project for Parketfabriek Lieverdink was the Post Plaza Hotel at Leeuwarden, carried out by Lippe Projects from Drachten, where oak was fitted double smoked/distressed.

Parqueterie Janod

Parcolys Flooring has certainly noticed an increase in hard floors in the hotel sector. Parcolux is used a lot in hotels and related applications. In fact, this is an ideal project product. They find it hard to say whether or not this is a more general trend since they tend to operate mainly in renovation. The low maintenance and the speedy fitting are certainly arguments in favour. After all, fewer and fewer new hotels are being built, since they belong to a renovation market. The floors are not necessarily in class 33 (for example, the rooms don’t need it, but the lobby, lounges, and corridors do. Some certification demands are not applicable here, since this is not necessary for a hard synthetic floor consisting of a resin with PVC, titanium, and acrylic.

Parketfabriek Lieverdink

As a manufacturer of solid parquet, Parqueterie Janod has noticed that top class hotels and luxury establishments, in particular, have a clear preference for quality parquet such as ‘Versailles’ or Hungarian Point. These hotels wish to preserve and cherish the spirit of the building, such as the Haussmann style, for instance, and, in particular, they wish to radiate quality. Investors in the sector do feel that the initial cost is high, but especially that a wooden parquet floor of 22 or 23mm can be renovated several times without replacing the floor completely, so that the durability of the floor and therefore the profitability of the investment is much higher. Parqueterie Janod has also noticed that there is a growing demand for certified types of wood such as FSC and PEFC. And so, the company uses types of wood from forests where the origin is guaranteed. Parqueterie Janod has an outstanding list of references, such as, for instance: - EINSTEIN Hotel, Saint-Gall (Switzerland) – 1500m² of doussie parquet 23 x 70mm. - Sunways Hotel (Switzerland) Degraded Oak 23 x 70mm. - LE LAGON Hotel – Dakar (Senegal) – 300m² of first choice oak parquet and merbau. - LE MEURICE Palace Paris – Versailles Panels. - Le Petit Jardin restaurant (Montpellier) – 300m² of palisander 14 x 120mm.

Trap Flooring Parquet is still doing well in the hotel sector. The better hotels sometimes opt for a new and authentic look with designs from the

Trap Flooring has at least three impressive references to prove that parquet is suitable for hotels. In Le Manoir in Oxfordshire they fitted a

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Parquet and laminate in the hotel sector

the heart of London at King’s Cross St. Pancras. They’ve converted it sublimely into a luxurious boutique-hotel a mere 25 metres from the Eurostar terminus. Trap Parket supplied a total of 1,400m² of flooring. This was multi-layer parquet (20mm/6mm top layer) in American walnut with a UV oil finish. They supplied both planks and variable widths as design floors. All this is a ‘select’ quality, a top range with a maximum of 30% sap.

Zabolak

Trap Flooring multi-layer parquet floor (20mm/6mm top layer) with a black UV oil finish. They also fitted the gym in Dubai’s renowned Pullman Hotel in solid parquet (20 x 110mm) in American walnut and the reception in multi-layer parquet (15mm/4mm top layer) in the same type of wood. Another impressive project was the renovation of the Great Northern Hotel in London. This was once a station building in

Zabolak is not aware of whether or not there has been an increase in parquet and laminate in the hotel sector. They have noticed that what they produce at Zabolak is used in the hotel sector or the public sector. People often like to have a warm and homely look, and you can certainly get that by using wood. Depending on the chosen finish, class 33 can be obtained: Zabolak produces lacquer floors for various projects all over the world where Klumpp lacquer (class 33) is used. Specific demands such as PEFC or FSC are now within reach. Zabolak believes it is quite normal for the cost of gaining and keeping this certification to be passed on to clients. If this is charged per square metre, the differences are only minimal. A spokesperson from Zabolak says, ‘Large fitting companies often make use of the floor fitter’s knowledge and expertise, and floor fitters are often hired for specialist work. It’s up to the floor fitter’s enterprise to attract the attention of those offering work.’

Visit us at the fair Carrefour International du Bois : Hall 3 - Booth 4

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Producers of profiles for PVC, LVT and vinyl floors

PROFILE MAKERS FACE NEW CHALLENGES THINNER LVT, PVC, AND LINOLEUM INDUCES WIDER LIMITS There was a time when doorsteps often adorned door openings of all rooms in houses. Whatever the floor type, doorsteps appeared in marble, bluestone, or another type of stone. With parquet and wooden floors, a wooden doorstep usually stood laterally to the floor direction. Those ‘ fixtures’ have now largely disappeared. The age of the ‘continuous’ floor dawned a while ago, so you might expect a big drop in the number of profiles needed. Yet the real significance of the connection has changed. A combination of various forms of flooring means there is an even bigger need for threshold profiles.

buildings, for instance, the trend is to move the old ‘upstairs room’ into the interior by means of a platform. The edges are finished with an angle or slot edge profile.

The continuous floor

Expansion profiles

The transition to continuous floors was a daring feat of structural engineering. It meant parquet floors going through living rooms, corridors, offices, and other rooms with no doorstep. Expansion joints ensure that planks can move; expansion profiles give an aesthetic transition. Today, continuous floors might ‘seem continuous’, but in reality they comprise many elements; mixes of parquet and laminate, LVT, PVC, and linoleum, all neatly in one wood colour and decor. Profiles absorb swelling and ensure a ‘smooth’ transition. Threshold profiles have eliminated (reduced) height differences since time immemorial, but floors like LVT, cork, and linoleum only make those differences bigger.

Expansion profiles are actually threshold profiles. The more technical name indicates the purpose of these profiles. Expansion profiles ensure that, with larger floor surfaces, it is possible to make an aesthetic design for the required expansion joint, which has to absorb floorboard movements.

Types of profiles A profile is necessary with scores of structural floors. Profiles ‘connect’ situations, from product X to product Y, from ‘something’ to ‘something else’, from ‘something’ to ‘nothing’, from high to low, etc. The most common profiles can be summarised in about five types.

Stop or end profiles Stop profiles or end profiles form the threshold between floor and wall. End profiles can also serve as skirting boards in some ways. If the existing skirting boards cannot be removed, an end profile will be necessary. This may be the case in renovation if you want to preserve a stone skirting board (e.g. for its decorative or antique value). If there is a bare wall, new skirting board can replace the end profile.

Threshold profiles Threshold profiles link either two different floors on one level (e.g. parquet and carpet) or any two floors (different or the same) on two levels. They provide protection, since they help to keep the edge of the top floor undamaged, and also safety, since they prevent occupants or visitors from stumbling over the difference in level. Obviously, threshold profiles also have an aesthetic function since they conceal the difference in level. Threshold profiles often appear in the form of T-profiles.

Angle profiles Angle profiles or slot edge profiles are used to finish edges of raised floorboards or platforms. With the renovation of old farmhouse

Stair nosings Stair nosings are angle or edge profiles specially for staircases and are available in different materials and colours. They form the transition from the stair to the slot edge and guarantee the staircase a longer lifespan. Furthermore, stair nosings also provide safety in two ways: If they are a different colour to the stairs, they make each step more visible, and they are often designed to be anti-slip.

Trends … … as regards materials and colours As regards materials, the classic solutions (wood, PVC, etc.) are still in use. What stands out here is that aluminium and stainless steel are particularly popular, as are bendable profiles. What’s also important is that both the material and the look blend into each other. Those who don’t opt for aluminium go for an alu-look. Metal colours continue to prove their popularity, and what also stands out, apart from the classic shades such as aluminium, bronze, silver, and a whole series of wood decors, is that ‘black’ is also establishing its own market share. Digital printing is also influencing trends here. After all, digital printing facilities make it possible to develop profiles which comply for 100% with the look of the floor or deviate from it completely. Exclusiveness is the motto here.

… as regards form and function The major difference between profiles for laminate and parquet and those for vinyl and linoleum lies in the height of the floors. And so, we see that producers pay special attention to the development of profiles specially for LVT and linoleum which provide for differences in height to be bridged by means of low thicknesses from 2mm (for glued vinyl) or 5mm for floating tiles. One producer offers a threshold profile to cover thresholds from 1 to 13mm.

What’s on the market? Perfilstar For Perfilstar, each floor has its own characteristics. The accessories which you develop for each floor have to be suitable. You can’t make profiles for vinyl which aren’t waterproof, since that is one of the main

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Producers of profiles for PVC, LVT and vinyl floors

assets of this type of floor. And so, support materials have to determine the properties. With laminate it’s the price, whilst with wooden floors it’s the quality. Perfilstar has profiles for every imaginable structural situation. Multifunctional profiles provide a solution for small shops, but bigger specialist traders opt for qualitative and specific solutions.

Decruy

decor foil, a PVC instead of a paper foil. Decruy N.V. has been working for over five years on a concept to produce skirting boards and profiles from LVT, cushion vinyl, DPL, CPL, veneer, and HPL panel material. This creates numerous benefits. It means there is no need to fit a separate supply of paper or CPL foil. Moreover, the profiles have exactly the same structure, decor, and scratch-resistance as the floor covering and, therefore, also the same lifespan. There’s no longer any need to spend time designing or printing foils, which, in many cases, still don’t match the relevant floor panel perfectly. Finally, the floor manufacturer has perfect access and control of the store of raw materials. These profiles were presented to a very select group at Domotex 2015. People soon realised that this was going to be a big hit.

FN Neuhofer Holz

Just like wooden and laminate floors, vinyl, linoleum, and PVC floors also need to be finished. Certainly if we are talking about thick vinyl or LVT material which needs to be shortened using an electric saw, it is desirable to supply a finish in matching skirting boards and profiles, as also happens with laminate. Just like laminate, vinyl and LVT swell and shrink, so an expansion joint should be fitted. To finish this expansion joint, you need skirting boards and profiles in suitable decors. Vinyl and LVT are waterproof. That’s why fitters look for skirting boards and finish frames in a waterproof bearer material such as PVC or WPC and, as a

The major difference between laminate and parquet profiles and those for vinyl and linoleum lies in the height of the floors. Therefore, FN Neuhofer has developed various profiles for these floors (and for all problematic issues) with due regard for the limited thickness of these floors (about 2mm for glued floors and about 5mm for floating floors). As for materials, the stress is on HDF and aluminium, whilst as regards design the choice is infinite (anodised or printed decors). The circumstances in which there is a need for profiles are so varied and extensive that demand for multifunctional profiles is still very high. Multifunctional profiles also ensure that end users cannot go wrong. For example, there is the FN Six-pack which you can use to transform a reduction profile into a T-profile or end profile. This is also the best-selling profile at FN Neuhofer Holz and is designed in aluminium.

Prinz Perfectly combinable with skirting boards - or used stand-alone. The LUXline LED duct brings light at any angle. The LUXline LED duct can be combined with all skirting boards that

Your complete supplier for flooring accessories

ACOUSTIC Acoustic underlays for highest demands

SPECIAL Underlays for special application areas

PROFI NATURAL High-quality products for Underlays out of natural different requirements raw material

The complete underlay collection encompasses with currently 36 sales-boosting products solutions for almost all applications.

BASIC Cost-effective underlays

ACCESSOIRES Moisture protection, self-adhesive tapes and protective sheets

www.parkettfreund.com info@parkettfreund.com

have 19 to 22 mm floor covering. The skirting board of choice is then mounted on top. On the front, the LED duct is fitted with a removable flap to allow easy access at any time. The perfect emergency lighting. The LUXline LED duct provides the perfect lighting for night time or emergencies. “Dark” is in the past but today there is safety with light. Of course, the LED duct can also be fitted separately on the floor, wall or ceiling, wherever light is desired. A corner piece can be added to the system for use in an inside or outside corner, at an end section or exit.

Progress Profiles Progress Profiles supplies profile solutions for all situations to the most demanding clients, and these range from decorative strips to solutions for all technical problems. Progress Profiles has an extensive range for minimal thicknesses. Differences in height from 4 to 19mm can be treated. Furthermore, they also take stock of aesthetic objectives (aluminium, bronze, steel, real wood, etc.). Moreover, there is also an extensive range of colours and finishes, including 30 wood shades. All profiles are tested in line with the highest quality standards. Non-toxic and high-quality raw materials are part of the secret. The profiles most in demand are ‘threshold profiles’ between different floor types. Whilst they recognise that multifunctional profiles are handy, they pay more attention to elegance and design. Progress Profiles can present no fewer than 12,500 references.

best-seller here, but growth in sales of floating floors such as floating LVT means that demand for profile solutions is also growing.

Proline Systems For Proline Systems, the basic difference between profiles for LVT and those for other floor types such as parquet and laminate is the height of the profiles. That’s precisely why it’s such a big challenge to produce high-quality profiles for these floors. As regards material, Proline Systems believes that the best quality profiles are made of aluminium. The most important profiles are designed to create thresholds between floors, absorb differences in height, and give the end of the floor a nice finish. Proline Systems offers all this. The company has a full range for all situations. Some of those ‘solutions’ are unique and, obviously, licensed. The best seller at Proline Systems is the PROLINE Pro-cover Series in different varieties.

www.progressprofiles.com

A World of warmth and comfort in the respect of the nature

With a glance always oriented to the future.

Küberit In terms of profiles, Küberit sees differences mainly between laminate on the one hand and vinyl, linoleum, and PVC on the other. After all, the latter are generally glued, whilst laminate is fitted floating. This means that the profile solutions also differ. For floating floors they have mainly profiles in MDF and aluminium. For glued floors they have only metal aluminium profiles finished in bronze or stainless steel. Amongst other things, profiles act as an expansion solution or to protect corners, but especially to ensure safety on staircase steps. Küberit presents an extensive range of profiles for just about all types of floor. Küberit was the first manufacturer to launch multifunctional profiles 20 years ago. These profiles offer a solution for various applications in just one profile. Standard profiles are still the

PRODESO® HEAT SYSTEM A floor and wall electric heating system designed with ecological sustainability and efficiency in mind. Made in Italy alternative PRODESO HEAT is an innovative electrical floor and wall heating system that allows you to have in a short time and with lower cost a warm and welcoming floor surface. A smart and and responsible choice that brings ecological sustainability, energy efficiency and the latest trend in design architecture and home automation. Prodeso Heat system can be installed on any tipe of substrate thanks to its uncoupling properties. The latest generation of thermostats allow for a complete control of the temperature and schedule to optimize its cost of operation.

Progress Profiles SpA

Certificated company UNI EN ISO 9001:2008

Floor Forum International 81

∂ Industry news Amorim Wicanders invests 1,2 milion euros in its fastest-growing line of product

The MMFA – the Multilayer Modular Flooring Association, based in Bielefeld – has expanded its English/German language website www.mmfa.eu and updated the content. From now on, the annual sales figures for Ordinary members will be shown under the new menu heading “Statistics”. The figures will be grouped by MMFA product class. The “Products” section has also been extended and now provides a lot of useful specialist information on innovative MMF floor coverings: at the top is a definition of MMF floors, then an explanation of the three MMFA product classes followed by a description of the key characteristics of the modular multilayer flooring classes, and now users can delve deeper into the major topic sections “Underlays”, “Installation” and “Cleaning & Care”. Each area displays comprehensive sub menu items with specialist information, illustrations, images and charts. The corresponding Technical Bulletins issued by the MMFA are stored here as PDF files which can be downloaded free of charge. The website is regularly updated in line with the latest technology and new content is added when required. www.mmfa.eu

The Portuguese Amorim Revestimentos is the world leader in flooring solutions with cork technology incorporated and has a long record of success with its premium brand Wicanders. Nonetheless, the water resistant Hydrocork has set a new record: in only one year, it proved to be the fast-growing product in the company's history. Its demand is expected to keep increasing in the near future and Amorim responds to that by investing 1,2 million euros in the production infrastructure and procedures.

Blanchon - a full house for the Technique and Decoration days 2016

Soudal

Blanchon, which shares its ‘Passion for Parquet’ with its clients, organised its annual meeting with its specialist parquet floor fitters (this year there were almost 200 from France and the rest of Europe). For two whole days, they discovered the Cimethane UV (glazer and oil) and its immediate availability with 100% ultra-performances and got to know the Natural Effect (4% gloss, as glazer and as oil), new trends in the area of Shades, Reagentia, and Distressing Agents, and the new Oil-Wax SD (for use both on site and in the workshop), whilst they exchanged knowledge with each other as professionals in a pleasant atmosphere. The visit to the laboratories and the production plant and logistics sites, which concludes the sessions, is always greatly appreciated.

Floor Forum International 81

Soudal begins its 50th anniversary year with excellent figures Turnover growth of €65m to €630m with more than 2,400 employees worldwide. The Belgian manufacturer of sealants, adhesives and PU-foams had an excellent year in 2015 with new records in turnover and net result. Soudal continues its strong growth strategy with an increase in turnover of 12%, of which the net result increased to €23m. Soudal has 54 subsidiaries and 15 production units worldwide. Festive year 2016 Soudal celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016: Vic Swerts founded the company on the 19th of September 1966 as a one-man company. The first year’s annual turnover was equal to the current turnover that Soudal has in 15 minutes! The objective is to reach a turnover of €700m in 2016 as part of the plan to reach €1 billion by 2020.

Special

Hungary

HUNGARY IS STILL A SOLID TRADING PARTNER INDUSTRY AND CONSTRUCTION ARE MAJOR GROWTH SECTORS

In 1989, Hungary transformed its economy in the direction of a ‘market economy’. In March 1995, the Hungarian government launched a policy of economic reforms. The so called ‘Bokros package’ was designed to stabilise the economy and reduce the budget deficit and national debt. The people of Hungary suffered long and hard in those days under this harsh, but necessary package of measures. After 1997, those measures started to bear fruit as GDP rose by almost five per cent and inflation and unemployment fell. In recent years, the Hungarian economy has grown considerably. There is a strong focus on export, partly due to the country’s central location.

Background On the world map Hungary (its official name is ‘Magyar Köztársaság’ = Hungarian Republic) is a republic in Central Europe, which lies at the heart of

Visit www.floor-forum.com

the Danube basins and is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. On average, Hungary is 530 kilometres long, 270 kilometres wide, and has a total surface area of 93,032km². Hungary is completely landlocked and therefore doesn’t have a coastline. The country borders on Slovakia in the north (677 kilometres), Ukraine to the north-east (103km), Rumania to the east (443km), Serbia to the south (151km), and Croatia (329km) and Slovenia (102km) in the west. Natural borders are formed by four rivers: the Danube and the Ipoly in the north and the Drava and the Mura in the south. Hungary consists largely of a lowland plain, the so called Pannonian Basins.

Eventful years Hungary probably has one of the most eventful histories of all Central and Eastern European countries. Although Hungary did enjoy a brief taste of independence in 1920 just after World War I, after World War II, the country experienced a highly repressive communism under the yoke of Russia, which maintained fierce control after the ‘Hungarian Uprising’ in 1956. Today, the Hungarian

Floor Forum International 81

Special

Hungary

economy is the third strongest in the region after Poland and Czech Republic.

A trade junction Thanks to its favourable geographical location, Hungary has all the ingredients to act as a European trade junction. The country has adopted a major role in the storage and transport of goods for the entire European market. This is partly why more and more big foreign companies are opening offices in Hungary, such as companies from the car production and electronics industries. The vast majority of production is destined for export. Budapest is still the biggest industrial region in Hungary.

Economy: recent and close up Hungarian economic growth relies mainly on exports, especially exports to Germany, which account for 25% of all Hungarian exports. In 2012, the Hungarian economy faced a severe economic crisis caused by a loss of confidence on the part of consumers and company managers, the tightening of financial and credit conditions, the reduction of company and private debt, a major reconstruction of the budget, and, furthermore, the general situation in the euro zone. Despite growth of 1.7% in 2011, GDP was still -0.9% in 2012.

Important parameters Hungary’s major economic partners are Germany, Slovenia, Austria, and Rumania. The most important corporate sectors are those of chemical products, industrial installations and machines, transport, and synthetics. Since the country’s admission to the European Union in 2004, as

regards its budget deficit, it has been involved in a so called prohibitive deficit procedure. In view of the crisis, the government has tended to opt for measures to stimulate the economy rather than use cutbacks. Early in July 2015, the government announced a daring plan which is designed to preserve jobs and get the economy moving again. The plan is based on a reduction in the cost of social services and a simplification of the tax system for small businesses.

Automobile industry The automobile industry is one of the most well developed industries in Hungary and represents 20% of all exports. Over 600 companies employ a total of about 100,000 people in this industry. Three major companies have invested heavily in Hungary, namely Suzuki, Audi, and GM. In 2008, Daimler also decided to invest in Hungary. In 2012, the company produced over 100,000 A and B class cars in the Kecskemét region. Since lots of car manufacturers have chosen to invest in Hungary, this has also attracted a large number of industrial electronic apparatus manufacturers. Lots of car industry companies, both great and small, have established themselves on this market and have benefitted from lots of facilities. This has made them strategic partners within Eastern Europe for future export.

Electronic and electrical industry Various multinationals have opened research and development centres in Hungary. This list includes Audi, Bosch, Knorr-Bremse, Magna Steyr, Thyssen-Krupp, Denso, Continental, Visteon, and Telefunken. The electronic industry is one of the most well developed industries in Hungary and represents 25% of all Hungarian production. Almost 3,300

heywood VLOEREN

Bespoke Hardwood Flooring

Oak Elegance ‘Orinoco’

DUTCH DESIGN Wide Plank

www.heywoodvloeren.com Floor Forum International 81

The Netherlands

+31(0) 412 657 428

companies specialise in electrical networks and provide work for about 10,000 people in Hungary.

to the fourth last place just ahead of Belgium, Czech Republic, and Switzerland.

Pharmacy

Hungarian parquet consumption

The pharmaceutical industry has been in existence in Hungary for about 50 years and has established a good international reputation because lots of clinical tests are carried out here. The medication market is one of the most well developed in the European Union. Most major pharmaceutical companies have an office in Hungary. Moreover, 82.6% of production in Hungary is destined for export. This represents a value of 2.5 billion euros. Most employees are based around various scientific units in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged, and Pécs.

In terms of consumption, the country’s share in the total European consumption and the number of square metres are comparable to what the country produces. In 2011, the Hungarians together purchased 420,785m² i.e. 0.46% of all European consumption. In 2012, Hungary’s share in consumption fell to 0.32% (280,028m²).

Food

TRAP HOUTINDUSTRIE

The food industry provides work for over 97,000 people. The income from this export sector is essential for maintaining Hungary’s trade balance on an equal footing. This industry produces 7.3% of the products which the country exports. Most food companies (over 85%) are small companies which employ fewer than 10 people. However, the industry is largely controlled by multinationals, which occupy themselves with the production of vegetable oils.

Hungary, Germany, and refugees

Hungary and parquet Production in the FEP zone amounted to about 70,713,000m² in 2011. In 2012, that figure was 68,266,133m², a drop of no less than 4.7%. The total European production (FEP + other European countries outside the FEP) is estimated at 75,000,000m². The fall in consumption is even greater. Whilst the total consumption was a good 91,475,000m² in 2011, the same figure in 2012 was 87,509,000m². That means a drop of 5.88%.

Hungarian parquet production In 2011, Hungary produced 2.52% of all European parquet. That represented 1,781,967m² of wooden flooring. In 2012, the country’s share of the production dropped to 2.34%. And so, in 2012, Hungary produced 1,597,427m² of parquet. The country has dropped

WOOD C RA FT

NV Frans Trap is a typical Belgian family business which has now been in operation for three generations and over 70 years in the TOP QUALITY WOOD import and processing W of hardwood. From three W W A P. B E .T R offices in Belgium (two in Mechelen and one in Ciney, Wallonia), Trap produces and distributes mainly solid wood worktops; frames and parquet (multi-layer and solid wood) in a very extensive range of over 30 sorts of wood. In view of their strong international orientation (over half of the company turnover comes from exports) and the unfair competition from low-wage countries, business manager Marc Trap and his father JeanPaul decided two years ago to invest in new production abroad, especially in Hungary, due to its outstanding logistical connection. The new factory (a 4000m² production hall on premises of 20,000m²) will treble the company’s capacity and is located in the north-west of Hungary about 70km from the Austrian border in an area with a lots of forest and a long wood tradition. Production of glued panels started early in October 2014 and parquet production has also been completely operational since February. Customised frames and wedge jointed and glued beams will be produced in Hungary (contract work will be possible from 10m³). The Belgian offices will continue to concentrate on stocking, service provision, and the production of smaller series such as customised worktops (the Topwood Panels range) or special finishes (e.g. on parquet).

SHIP FROM EU AN RO SM

CE 1948 SIN PE

Hungary and Germany are both major victims of the huge waves of migrants, who have come to Europe from the East and South. The Hungarian premier Victor Orban has had enough of the influx and has recently built a huge perimeter fence to keep migrants out. Those who do enter his country are urged to travel on towards Austria and Macedonia. Not only do Germany and Hungary show similarities in the area of migration, but also the economic parallels are becoming increasingly striking. So much so that Hungary could even perhaps become a new Germany. Not only are the public debts of Germany (74.7%/GDP) and Hungary (76.9%/GDP) still relatively low as compared to other European countries, but also Hungary and Germany both have a good trade surplus. They export much more than they import. Hungary is also seeing very large quantities of capital enter the country. Moreover, there is also a monetary liberalisation in progress in Hungary. The Financial Times has announced that the Hungarian central bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) has once again lowered its base interest rate to 1.35%. The Hungarians have systematically reduced their exposure to foreign debt. The central bank, and therefore the Hungarian economy as a whole, experiences very little pressure from what other central banks do. For example, the FT analysts claim that an increase in interest rates in America will not have any immediate adverse effect on the Hungarian banks and economy. Spending power in Hungary has increased strongly over the past two years, so there’s a future even for those who want to open a chip bar in Budapest.

Floor Forum International 81

∂ Product news ADESIV ADEFLEX MS Powerful, solventless parquet glue for several applications Adeflex is a new 1K silane parquet glue specially for situations requiring great adhesive strength. This waterless glue (EC class 1) contains no isocyanates or amines and dries quickly. It is suitable for both absorbent and non-absorbent subfloors (marble, ceramic, concrete, anhydrite, or calcium sulphate floors) and with floor heating. Adesiv recommends this adhesive for fitting lamparquet, mosaic, solid parquet with or without tongue and groove or also finished multi-layer parquet and for wide planks.

AMORIM Waterproof flooring by world leading producer explores cork's natural properties Hydrocork's is now GreenTag certified The Portuguese Amorim Revestimentos is the world leading producer of cork flooring solutions and its Hydrocork waterproof line is setting records as the company's fastest-growing product in Wicanders history, its premium brand. All that Hydrocork was missing so far was the Global GreenTag certification, something that has just been achieved, adding extra value to a product already presenting unique comfort, thermal and acoustic features due to the incorporation of a natural material (cork) guided by principles of sustainability and eco awareness.

ADESIV ICE Waterborne 2K parquet lacquer with high durability and low VOC emissions ICE is the new waterborne 2K parquet lacquer from Adesiv for high-traffic locations. ICE preserves the original colour of the wood, is easy to apply (with a roller or brush) and yields a nice uniform result. ICE is the perfect finish for high-traffic wooden floors and requires only two coats once the Adesiv primer Fondo WB Mono has been applied first. You can walk on the floor within 24 hours. This lacquer is available in four variants: matt, semi-matt, semi-glossy, and glossy.

CIRANOVA New waterborne reactive stain, also for other wood-species then European oak Aquavintage 2C is a new waterborne reactive stain, especially suitable for the ageing of wood in a simple and fast way. Aquavintage 2C is a positive stain which accentuates the wood grain and gives depth and a warm, unique texture to the wood. Different colours are available to give the wood an authentic aspect.. The Aquavintage 2C consists of 2 components : A-COLOR + B-ACTIVATOR, has no potlife and always must be mixed with each other in the ratio 1/1. Aterwards the Aquavintage can be finished with a Hardwaxoil, lacquer or wax.

CIRANOVA The new color chart “Get Inspired” As we are known for our excellent reputation in the development of unique and special colors, we made a completely new color chart with high quality pictures of our available colors of stains and oils. In the Color chart you can discover the colors of the Reactive Stains, the new Aquavintage 2C, Aquapad and Vintage. You can also see the colors of the different oils : Hardwaxoil, HWO Magic, the one-coat oil UN1CO. To answer the market demand, we made some changes in our UN1CO-colors. We made the extra white more intensive white and we added the color SMOKE as a popular light grey.

Floor Forum International 81

NEXT EDITION OF

EFWEX

MARCH 2018 - FLANDERS EXPO GHENT (BE) TESTIMONIALS OF SOME EXHIBITORS FROM THE 2016 EDITION: Ciranova : Many new contacts, national as well as international, have been made during this fair. CSP Engineering : Our expectations in visitor numbers was not completely answered, although quality stays of higher importance than quantity for CSP Engineering. Our final conclusion is that EFWEX 2016 has been successful for CSP Engineering! DeckWise International : First orders have been received in the meantime and we are looking forward to join the third edition of the EFWEX in 2018. USfloors – Yepp : Both flooring companies looked back upon EFWEX with satisfaction: ‘It’s the only reputable trade fair in the Benelux for wooden floors, laminate, vinyl, and accessories. Jan Dossche, president of US floors was highly satisfied with their participation at EFWEX: ‘The second edition of EFWEX received a favourable report from both the COREtec vendors and agent Yepp. The show location, the range, and the catering formula all proved popular. Our participation in this edition of the show was a direct hit. Rubio Monocoat : We can look back with great satisfaction on Efwex, where we met a lot of existing as well as potential customers. Both groups were very eager to start working with the Rubio EasyBond range. Unipro : Unipro has a positive experience of its participation at EFWEX. Although we were a bit disappointed by the number of visitors, the quality of the visitors was very good. We had a lot of good contacts with existing and new customers. Primaverde : Looking back at EFWEX, Primaverde was pleased with the interest shown in the cover materials of the brands Permafix and Prima Cover. Lalegno : The Lalegno-Chimiver combination proved a success! Despite the disappointing number of visitors during EFWEX, Lalegno and Chimiver did make some interesting links. Abetech : Abetech confirmed in its questionnaire answers that it plans to return to EFWEX in 2018. They thought that the number of visitors was low, but those visitors who did show up were high-quality people of influence.

Ultrabond

Bring the sky into the room.

Ultrabond Line, for a perfect bond to guarantee hold, quality and respect for the environment with every type of parquet. Product info