Friday, September 8, 2017
Schattdecor’s newest flooring product Proflex 3D is a product from the area of Finish Flex. Its base is a PP (polypropylene) foil that is printed with our conventional rotogravure presses and subsequently covered with a thermoplastic wear layer. The customer gets a flexible, elastic surface that is characterized by its durability.
Their new product is PVC-Free and plasticizer free, does not contain chlorine, nor any solvents. One could say that it is a “healthy floor”. This is achieved by using harmless base materials. The base of Proflex 3D is a polypropylene (PP) foil that they print with their conventional rotogravure presses. To do so they use their traditional, water-based inks. “We then apply the molten polymer to the foil. An embossing roller, the so-called embossing calender, presses the wood-pore structure into the wear layer. This creates the haptic effect,” explains Project Manager Tetiana Borozniak.
During the development of Proflex 3D a great deal of emphasis was placed on the importance of keeping the product PVC and chlorine free. “As a customer I don’t know which base materials or plasticizers are used in vinyl or PVC floors and what effect they might have on my health. A lot of floors containing PVC are sold for that reason. The customer is not sufficiently informed. But in the future, environmental compatibility will become an increasingly important argument, I am certain of that,” stresses Tetiana Borozniak.
Next to its “healthy” properties the floor is also durable, low maintenance and is warm to the touch as well as noise absorbing. “Compared to laminate, thermoplastic surfaces are slightly less sturdy, but much easier to clean – spilled liquids, for instance, are not a problem.” The floor was tested with iodine, shoe polish, hot coffee, acetone and ballpoint pens, among other things. None of these things damaged it.
Another advantage: Proflex 3D doesn’t break as easily as laminate and is a little less sensitive to dents. “Depending on the sub-base, a dent will flex back to a certain degree,” explains Borozniak. Moreover, Proflex 3D is suitable for damp spaces and therefore can be used in bathrooms.
Proflex 3D is .5 mm thick and very flexible. It can be rolled out without getting damaged. It is then shipped to the flooring manufacturer in rolls of up to 2.05 m wide. According to Borozniak, one advantage of such a floor is its flexibility. It is very thin and can also be pulled over edges. Depending on the supporting material it is mounted on – which can be a hard or a soft supporting layer – it can be manufactured as a plank or in rolls.
Proflex 3D is currently used exclusively with Canyon decors and it is purely a flooring product. But in the future, thermoplastic surfaces by Schattdecor may also become of interest for use on furniture. “Proflex 3D represents the first step in imprinting and processing of thermoplastic printed materials in the Schattdecor group. This modern product area of thermoplastic substrates will surely continue to grow,” says Roland Heeger, Chief Technical Officer.
Tags: “healthy floor”, Finish Flex, newest flooring product, plasticizer free, PP (polypropylene) foil, Profilex 3D, Project Manager, PVC-Free, Schattdecor, Tetiana Borozniak
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