Design in Manufacturing Award for lightweight board developed jointly by FINSA and BASF
- BASF’s Kaurit® Light technology forms the core of FINSA's Superpan® Star board
- Added value for customers throughout the value-added chain
- Award presented at W12 (Furniture Industry Suppliers Exhibition) in Birmingham, UK
Ludwigshafen, Germany and Santiago de Compostela, Spain – The Superpan® Star lightweight board won a very special award at W12 in Birmingham on October 9, 2012. The Design in Manufacturing Award recognizes products that offer functional benefits throughout the value-added chain – in this case from the manufacturer and the processor to the end consumer. Superpan® Star scored in several respects, offering the advantages of BASF's Kaurit® Light technology – a lightweight middle layer made of wood chips, a polymer and a binder – combined for the first time with an MDF surface (MDF=Medium Density Fiberboard). This gives the board excellent bending strength while making it 20 percent lighter than particle board.
The significant weight reduction saves transport costs. Additionally, the material also offers enormous advantages in terms of processing, whether it be screwdriving or decorative coating. Its edge machining suitability has been tested by a number of renowned machine manufacturers, including Homag. The material is also compatible with standard fittings and screws, as demonstrated by tests performed by manufacturers such as Häfele.
Before being added to the wood chips, Kaurit® Light is foamed in a so-called pre-foamer. The rest of the manufacturing process is identical to that of conventional Superpan® board. The usual machines and materials can still be used even during further processing. Superpan® Star board can also be recycled and processed for heat recovery just like conventional particle boards.
The lightweight board has numerous applications in traditional furniture manufacturing, countertops, interior fitting, trade fair design and fitting out commercial premises.
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
About FINSA
FINSA is the leading chipboard and MDF manufacturer in the Iberian Peninsula. The company, founded in 1931 as a small sawmill, has maintained a sustained growth since that time up to now. Currently, FINSA manufactures a wide variety of wood-derived products. During the last years FINSA has concentrated in the development of new solutions and value-added products. Thanks to all this, FINSA is today an international referent in the wood sector.
Press contact at BASF:
Birke Pietschmann, Tel: +49 621 60 92833, Fax: +49 621 60 6692833, birke.pietschmann@basf.com
Press contact at FINSA:
Laura Fuentes, Tel: +34 981 050 249, Fax: +34 981 050 723, l.fuentes@finsa.es
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