Exhibitors' news #SICAM2023

04/07/2023
The new extension work, which will be completed in 2023, will increase the production space with the introduction of a new automated production line that will complete our production department. In addition, the new latest generation anodic oxidation plant, of course automated, with tanks up to 6 meters, will allow us to satisfy the growing demand of our customers and to offer a greater variety of high-quality products obtaining a wide range of finishes, even customized.

INNOVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Nowadays a priority for our company is the achievement of a sustainable development in our everyday lives in order to protect the environment and the people social and economic well-being by adopting green practices. A new photovoltaic system covering all company warehouses guarantees greater energy efficiency by producing green and clean energy. This is associated with the use of a 100% recyclable material such as aluminum, the elimination of plastic and polystyrene using only recyclable cardboard for packaging.
The new anodic oxidation plant is also environmentally friendly, reducing the emission of organic substances into the atmosphere, limiting gas consumption and ensuring the purification cycle of waste water.
A large green space will surround the new production site, and even more! A large green area will be created inside the new building on the ground floor and also a winter garden in the new showroom space on the first floor for the well-being of our employees.
12/06/2023
The innovating, changing and digitalizing world also reveals generational differences. I can say that agile organizational transformation is inevitable especially in companies that want to reach the Z generation, which we call the new generation and define technology as an indispensable part of their lives.

With the agile organization, which envisages changes in teamwork, cooperation, compliance with change and simplification of processes, which spread to all units of the companies, an increase in the success and happiness rates of its employees occurs. In the system, which is based on taking the guard off early on the negativities that may occur in any time period, where short terms are chosen instead of long terms in order to guide the future maps of the companies, the employees take charge as more dominant and possessive about the work they do. Thanks to the teams working with their own project owner, a noticeable increase in quality and efficiency is achieved.

While the teams that adapt to the agile organization, which brings cooperation, harmony and innovation, and which requires rapid adaptation to rapidly changing environmental conditions, stand out as +1, unfortunately, the teams that cannot adapt to these methods are one step behind by not being able to adapt to the conditions of the period. Finally, with the agile organization, which is seen as a management style that increases employee happiness and loyalty to the company, increasing success rates in companies will be inevitable.
12/06/2023
The term "customer experience", which we have been hearing too often recently, will most probably be more significant in the following days, and it seems like it will be a concept that will be included in the main strategies of the companies. So, what does this "customer experience", which is vitally important for enterprises? Although there are many descriptions for this concept, the below definition is enough for its essence.

" The total of the experiences that the consumers have during the relation they establish with the company they make use of its product/service." Researches show that the most exciting opportunity of a business is the customer experience. The researches that are done by American Express reveal that the 60% of the customers are willing to pay more Money for a better experience. A questionnaire done by Bloomberg Business Week announced that "presenting an excellent customer experience" has become a strategic objective, and another up to date customer management IQ questionnaire shows that 75% of the leaders and managements gave 5 for customer experience on a scale of 1 to 5.

How different is customer experience than the customer services?
In most cases, the first contact of the customer with a company is by an interacting with an employee (This can be in a store or by talking on the phone). This can present a perfect customer service for your company, but the customer service is only an aspect of customer experience. While customer service generally contains standard characteristics, the customer experience is presenting something special to the person, taking the time into account, too. For example, while the sincere and helpful interest of a telephone agency when you make a bus ticket reservation is customer service; customer experience is to make a reservation from the frontmost seat for a customer who says that he/she has bus sickness.

In today's severe competitive conditions, the sustaining and growing of the companies is directly linked with " to what extent that satisfy the customers", and this will always be indispensable. The customers prefer to evaluate their experience positively or negatively, apart from the price and quality of the product. At this very point, the aim should be focusing on welcoming the customer requirements, not selling product or service. A research done by the journal of consumer research reveals that more than 50% of an experience is based on emotions. This is significant, because emotions influence the decisions. Although the importance of this concept is known very well, the actions directed to increasing the desired loyalty and caring are not that emphasized. You make a discount and someone else makes more of it; you say that the product is of high quality, someone else say that he/she has more quality; you make an innovation and someone else comes up with a different novelty, and while the circle is going on like this, the recompense of the spent time and money cannot be received. At this point, we face with the term "employee experience(EX)", which is something many companies miss out and only some of them can realize. The place where the customer experience grow and improve is the employee. If your employees consist of people who feel that they are respected and appreciated, if they trust their leaders to a level that they can dedicate themselves to their corporation, the customer experience occurs on its own. The best customer experiences only ensured with the experiences of employees, who can show empathy. If the subject in question is ignored, no matter how special software, internet tools and security equipment are used, they will not be enough for achieving and sustaining the customer experience. It is a high possibility that the perfect employee experience makes way for perfect customer experience.

In conclusion, we live in a time when the expectations of the customers are higher than ever, and the experiences are quickly spread by Word of mouth m
12/10/2023
Continental at the Sicam Show in Pordenone

Sustainable Surfaces for Furniture: Continental Focuses on Tactile Qualities and Performance
- Sustainable materials and high technical standards set to bring fresh energy to the world of furniture in 2024
- Holistic approach to sustainability covers raw materials, manufacture, usage and recycling of the furniture film
- Variations with grooves and ribs add visual accents

Hanover/Pordenone, Germany/Italy, October 12, 2023. Continental will be presenting sustainable approaches for furniture in 2024 at the Sicam international exhibition of furniture hardware and accessories. A selection of surfaces and decors will offer tactile experiences and excellent technical performance. More than 650 exhibitors are expected to attend the fair in the north Italian town of Pordenone from October 17-20.

"Consumers are looking for sustainable products - and furniture manufacturers are seeking companies who produce the components needed to make them," explains Jörg Biller, Head of Interior Living EMEA at Continental Surface Solutions. "This is why we have developed many of our products to embrace and continue this trend." One example is skai rPET PureLux, a plain-colored design laminate with anti-fingerprint effect and soft-touch feel made from 100 percent recycled PET material in the polymer. This furniture film helps to conserve natural resources thanks to its high proportion of recycled material and is manufactured in Germany in environmentally and socially responsible conditions.


staynu technology enables exceptionally resistant surfaces

Besides shrinking its carbon footprint and establishing a circular economy with materials such as skai rPET PureLux, Continental also believes firmly in achieving a positive sustainability impact during product use. This involves incorporating special properties into materials, such as antibacterial coatings, an anti-fingerprint effect and resistance to disinfectants. The staynu technology, which combines these properties and forms the basis for high-level technical performance, plays a key role here. Surfaces treated with staynu are remarkably resistant to dirt, very easy to clean and scratch-proof, while the anti-fingerprint effect puts an end to the irksome task of wiping marks away. These properties help to give furniture surfaces a long life, making them sustainable in the truest sense of the word.


Design trends: reinterpreting classics

As well as sustainability and technical performance, Continental's team of surface experts also focus on producing special designs. Ultra-matte surfaces that invite the user to touch them are the current trend, along with grooves and ribs. "They exude a sense of safety and security," explains Jörg Biller. skai Milano uses natural-looking wood decors combined with individually selectable colors, with the chosen shade providing a visually defining feel-good factor. The new ribbed structures creating both pale/dark and light/shade effects enhance the homely feel.

Also included in the company's exhibition portfolio is the furniture surface material skai Casella Eiche - a reinterpretation of a classic that leaves its rustic roots far behind. The focus here is on a natural feel. With its matte finish and unusual veneer styling, this decor demonstrates that oak can also have an understated, elegant effect. "The natural feel of the wood grain adds an exclusive and modern touch to the classic oak across a full color spectrum ranging from light bleached to dark brown," says Biller. "Minor inclusions and cropped flowers bring movement into the design."

The wood decor skai Milano produces an interplay of light and shade with its grooves and ribs, creating the impression of organic depth in the process. This can be used to bring deliberate emphasis to interior design. Furniture fronts, carcasses, partition walls and large wall panels are just a few examples of applications that can be given a more vib
04/10/2023
08/09/2023
Greengridz®: sustainable kitchen worktop
Greengridz® is a innovative, award winning and patented core material for kitchen worktops that can be laminated with TopLaminate®, DecorTop® or FENIX®. This sustainable, waterproof material leaves a smaller ecological footprint than plywood, which is commonly used for kitchen worktops. Greengridz is also more economical and has many other advantages:

- More resistant to impacts than plywood
- More resistant to water than plywood
- More stable and lighter than plywood
- More affordable than plywood
- Available in thicknesses of 20, 32, 38, 50, 60, 80 mm

The green advantages of Greengridz
The production of Greengridz® requires less raw materials compared to traditional worktops. That makes its ecological footprint relatively small. But it also has many other green properties. The production process, for example, is green. It's FSC and Carb2 certified and because Greengridz® is lightweight, less fuel is required to transport it, which further reduces CO2 emissions. And it's less costly than conventional core materials.

About Dekker
Greengridz is a brand form Dekker Zevenhuizen. Dekker was founded in 1930. A family business, specialized in processing high-quality materials into customized worktops. Reducing material use, looking for materials that are reusable and have a lower footprint, developing new products from residual materials: we are committed to this on a structural basis. Together with our partners in the supply chain, we develop and distribute new circular concepts.

About CHT
, distributor of Greengridz in Italy, was founded in the 50's as a components producer for both kitchens, bath and furniture in general. In 2010, CHT starts with the production of multiply wood jointed panels and worktops made with those panels, instead of the traditional chipboard, resulting in a more natural and ecological product, as well as in a higher quality. In 2023 CHT has started to test the usage of Greengridz for its products, always focusing on the creation of items always more and more eco-friendly and recyclable, trying to give each product the longest possible life-cycle.
20/06/2023
Evertree, a pioneering designer of plant-based resins, and Seripanneaux, a panel
manufacturer, have joined forces to develop PANTair, the first 100% made-in-France
bio-based particleboard. This is a much-anticipated development for the furniture
industry that will help accelerate its shift toward sustainability.
made from processed wood panels that use 100% petrol-based resins which, in addition to
Evertree, the pioneering creator of the first plant-based resin made from sunflower and
rapeseed, and Seripanneaux, a producer of high-quality particleboard, have
developed the first 100% made-in-France, bio-based particleboard to respond to the
challenges faced by the furnishings industry. "Our two companies are united by a desire
to innovate, to promote local and sustainable industrial solutions and to anticipate market
changes in order to deliver products that are better for human health and the environment,"
explains Nicolas Masson, Chief Executive Officer of Evertree.
After several years spent researching and developing a high-performance plant-based resin
and nine months of industrial collaboration between the two companies, high-performance,
bio-based PANTair particleboard was born. The furnishings industry has been eagerly awaiting
a product like this, as particleboard is used in 63% of all furniture manufactured for the
European market. "Over the past few years, Seripanneaux and other panel manufacturers had
tried to incorporate more environmentally-friendly resins into their processes but the conditions
were not quite right. Now it is possible, thanks to Evertree's comprehensive solution," explains
Manuel Pasquerault, Sales Director of Seripanneaux. "PANTair particleboard is a solution that
meets the industry's needs. How can you change everything without changing a thing?
By making a panel that delivers the exact same quality and performance as those made with
petrol-based resins while being better for human health and the environment."
Indeed, most furniture is
adding to the carbon footprint of the finished product, also emit harmful VOCs like
formaldehyde.
Evertree x Seripanneaux Deliver the Pioneering, Innovative Vision the Industry Has
Been Waiting For
PANTair - An Industrial Revolution Rooted in Flowers and Forests
Made from locally sourced, renewable resources, Evertree resins were developed using a
clean, readily available raw material - flowers! More specifically, sunflower and rapeseed
The overall carbon footprint of Evertree's bio-based resins is 80% smaller than that of "traditional" resins that are
100% petrol-based.
The use of all these French-grown, plant-based raw materials significantly reduces CO2 emissions from transportation and, as a result, the overall size of the carbon footprint. This means that the 98% bio-based PANTair particleboards boast
a footprint that is 30% smaller than the industry standard.
oilcakes, which are byproducts of the vegetable oil refining process.
This made Seripanneaux a perfect fit, given that the company (based in
the southwestern region of France) uses wood from sustainably managed forests in the Landes
department sourced from first-stage processing (byproducts from sawmills and thinning cuts)
to produce its high-quality panels.
PANTair is making a name for itself in the furniture industry as the first 100% made-in-France,
bio-based particleboard with no added formaldehyde or isocyanate (A+ indoor air quality
rating) and made from locally sourced renewable resources. Combined with the MDF panel
Evertree developed two years ago using these same bio-based resins, this innovation will
revolutionize our kitchens, bathrooms, closets and children's rooms and enable the furnishings industry in France and around the world to accelerate and expand its transition to greater environmental sustainability.
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