FEATURE THE NEW REIGN OF LAMINATE
The New Reign of Laminate
With the launch of Quick-Step’s latest laminate collection, Majestic, we take a look into the complex manufacturing process behind UNILIN’s products.
In September 2016, UNILIN division flooring will be launching its brand new Quick-Step Majestic laminate. Combining extra-large planks with true-to-nature looks and practicality, the new collection is bound to revolutionise laminate flooring as we know it. At the same time, the advent of Majestic coincides with a new chapter in UNILIN’s innovative production process. With a new hi-tech production line (costing €10million), the flooring pioneer will safeguard its leadership position and continue to fulfil its promise of top quality and service.
In the last few years, interiors experts have witnessed a surge in popularity of large flooring planks. Quick-Step was one of the first to offer a valid response to this trend with its iconic Largo range. With Majestic, the brand goes even further by throwing water resistance, unparalleled authentic looks and unique bevel technology into the equation as well. However, introducing a new product, especially when it’s larger and more ingenious than anything made before, into production doesn’t happen overnight.
From Concept to Production
At UNILIN, manufacturing new laminate products is the result of careful coordination and collaboration between several departments: R&D and Design, Engineering, Information Systems and Plant Management. Everything starts, however, with UNILIN’s in-house design team, which draws inspiration from virtually anything, from nature to the latest trends in architecture and fashion. In this way, Quick-Step creates floors that are both trendy and timeless.
After capturing the right trends and ideas, the design team starts working on the prototypes. Original wooden planks, which serve as the basis for new laminate floors, are selected with the utmost care. The search for perfect originals is an intense job: from the iridescence, to the balance of the wood grains, cracks and nuts. Everything has to be perfect. In many cases, the best features of each plank are combined digitally to create the perfect plank.
Ruben Desmet, General Manager Laminate at UNILIN, explained: “Based on original wooden planks, the R&D team uses innovative techniques to develop a product that combines natural beauty with the practicality of high-end laminate.
“When the prototypes are finished, we need to find a way to produce this beautiful, high-quality product, so that it conforms with and exceeds our customers’ expectations. Together, we strive to create the best possible production scenario.”
44 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors Smart Factory
Through the introduction of new manufacturing technologies, UNILIN’s laminate production process increasingly focuses on automation and data exchange. On the renewed production line, a product announces itself at the main computer. The order assignment is then communicated to production operators via displays.
Ruben said: “We are steadily building a ‘smart factory’.
“Here, different production stations no longer work as islands, but communicate with each other and with human operators in real time. For an industry leader like UNILIN, this approach offers many advantages in terms of quality, flexibility, and preventive maintenance.”
Quality First
The most important aspect of production is to guarantee the quality of the end product. New products, like Majestic, need to meet Quick-Step’s stringent quality standards as well.
Ruben said: “Thanks to new technology, we now have more control over the production process. This allows us to create a product that is 100% stable.”
“Te search for perfect originals is an intense job. Everyting has to be perfect. In many cases,
te best features of each plank are combined digitally to create te perfect plank.”
Quality control itself is done mainly by in-line cameras that record every passing floorboard. They can identify an impressive range of common errors. Yet, a human touch is paramount as well. In the milling line, for example, a sample is taken every ten minutes and inspected by the operator.
www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com
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