4 minute read
Innovative eco-flooring Kronotex
INNOVATIVE ECO-FLOORING
The Kronotex Group of Germany is a global leader in the development and manufacture of laminate flooring and insulation materials. Today it is setting new standards in the production of eco-friendly products, as Philip Yorke reports.
Kronotex began life as a manufacturer of medium density fibreboard (MDF) and was founded in Heiligengrabe, Germany in 1993. The company expanded into the manufacture of laminate flooring in 1995 and has continually increased its capacity, whilst at the same time improving product quality and introducing new, innovative products.
Today Kronotex remains a privately owned, family managed business that offers customer-focused eco-friendly wood-based products. The company has seen consistent growth and has become a major global player with 12 manufacturing facilities in seven countries that between them produce more than 70 million square metres of laminate flooring per year. The Kronotex Group constantly re-invests its profits in order to provide customers with optimal quality and innovative eco-friendly products, which are supported by a wide range of consulting and after sales services.
Multi-functional eco-insulation
Recently Kronotex launched its latest groundbreaking product: the Silverline range of ecofriendly wood fibre insulation for floors, walls and roofs. Thanks to its excellent insulation properties it is ideal for installation beneath laminate flooring for highly efficient soundproofing. This multifunctional capability is down to a special aluminium lamination layer that is attached to one side of the material without the use of adhesives.
The new wood fibre floor insulation offers a wide range of user benefits, the most important of which is its ability to reduce attenuated footfall sound by as much as 20dB, thus significantly decreasing the noise levels in rooms below. In the case of reflected walking sound from noise within the room itself, these are reduced to lower ranges that are less audible to the human ear. The aluminium lamination also acts as a vapour barrier, making it possible to dispense with the need for additional PE sound membranes.
Kronopoly Silverline from Kronotex is currently the only eco-friendly wood-fibre insulation that is effective in blocking ‘electrosmog’, which means that it reduces electromagnetic radiation by at least 99.999 per cent. As a result it has been awarded the coveted IGEF test mark for its effective shielding effect. “No other wood fibre insulation performs as many functions as our natural healthy product,” said Uwe Jost, managing director of Kronopoly and Kronotex. “It combines highly effective
insulation, a vapour barrier and protection from electrosmog and therefore meets the needs of architects, planners, users and builder-owners.”
Balanced innovation
In addition to its successful Silverline range of eco-friendly insulation products, Kronotex has launched its Greenline eco-range, which is a new ultra-thin acoustic insulation material. Boasting a precisely balanced combination of the optimal thickness (just 1.8mm thick) and density (384kg/m3), Kronotex Greenline insulates on all levels, significantly reducing impact sound by as much as 22.2dB, and reduces reflected walking sound by more than 42 per cent.
Wood and vegetable starch are the raw materials used in the manufacture of Kronotex Greenline and it is produced using an ecofriendly process. The boards are extremely durable and completely compostable. This 100 per cent natural product contains no contaminants and releases no emissions whatsoever, making it ideally suited for bedrooms and nurseries. The Greenline’s guaranteed anti-static properties also qualify it for rooms in which computer systems are in operation.
To mark the 20th anniversary of its state-ofthe-art production facility at Heiligengrabe, Germany, Kronotex has unveiled a new logo that incorporates the phrase: ‘Floors for Liv-
ing’. This will be on display at the forthcoming Bau-Munich trade show in January 2015.
Innovation and tradition go hand in hand at Kronotex and the company continues to optimise its research and development activities. This yields a steady stream of value-added, eco-friendly and innovative products that are readily adopted by world markets.
Today Kronotex offers laminate flooring that is rugged, eco-friendly and compressionproof. They are also abrasion resistant, flame retardant, lightfast and non-staining, as well as being easy to install and clean. “Our world is innovative and eco-friendly, colourful and communicative. This finds expression in our ambitious designs and a plethora of value-added products designed for healthier living,” said Jost. Kronotex also places a high priority on the quality of its raw materials and the companies that supply them, as well as to those carefully selected companies that provide it with machinery, packaging and logistics services. Dedicated customer services
Kronotex has an unusually large customer mix and is able to cater for the specific needs of any of its diverse range of customers. It also has its own Innovation Centre in Germany so that clients can trial and test their own products before rolling them out into their own specific markets. Kronotex believes that new product development and dedicated customer services are the key to the future of its business. It operates twelve facilities in Europe including two in France and one in the Ukraine and is represented by its network of distributors worldwide. Jost added, “Looking ahead, we will continue to foster a highly motivating climate of creativity in order to successfully introduce new, progressive ideas to the market in eco-friendly, wood-based materials.” n
For further details of Kronotex innovative products and services visit: www.kronotex.com
