“With a proportion of at least 50 percent recycled materials, we use as few new materials as possible. In doing so and in combination with the lightweight construction principle, we save weight, freight costs and improve the CO2 footprint.“
Johan Engström, Spaljisten
The company Spaljisten manufactures refined fronts for bedroom, kitchen and living room furniture. With their sustainable kitchen fronts, the Swedes are a driving force in their markets and send a clear message in favour of the resource-saving production. The “RAUKANTEX eco“ edgeband by REHAU, made of 50 percent post-industrial recycled materials, is an integral part of this project, explains Business Development Manager Johan Engström during an interview with HK magazine.
Johan Engström, Business Development Manager, Spaljisten
Mr. Engström, what prompted Spalijsten to apply this comprehensive sustainability management in production?
At the beginning of 2017, we set a new vision for our company, “Spaljisten is a company that manufactures first-class furniture fronts with the next generation in mind”. Since then, we have really tried to deliver this as our brand. We are working with well-known and demanding customers and together with the knowledge from our key suppliers, we have been able to meet and fulfil all the targets.
What is the core expertise in your product portfolio?
We have developed a concept called “Thinner, Lighter & Recycled” without compromising on quality and this really makes sense for our customers. We use as little new materials as possible in our components with a proportion of at least 50 % recycled content in all the products.In doing so and in combination with the lightweight construction principle, we are saving weight, freight costs and improve the CO2 footprint for our kitchen fronts. For the foil, we have used recycled polymer and for the edgeband, we have used the sustainable REHAU edgeband RAUKANTEX eco.
Where are your customers based?
We are supplying our products worldwide and provide a 25-year warranty for our products.
For your surfaces, you are using sustainable edgebands from REHAU, one of the leading suppliers in the market. What are the decisive arguments in favour of this product?
In this project, we have really met ours and our customer’s expectations and goals when it comes to thinner, lighter and recycled material. We use 30 percent less material and over 50 percent of it is recycled. Our suppliers should translate our ideas into suitable products. Our engineering teams at Spaljisten and REHAU were operating on the same level to develop products and drive production at the same time, to achieve the perfect solution. The new edgeband product line RAUKANTEX eco is an innovative, high-quality and sustainable product made of 50 percent post-industrial materials but also fulfills the specifications in terms of colour, surface and processability.
Sustainable edgebands really show off their advantages with the joint-free processing of the components. Do you work with laser technology in edgeband processing for surfaces or do you opt for conventional methods?
We are working with PUR-hot-melt technology and that meets the customer requirements as well as the production speed that we need.
© Magazin HK, Ausgabe 4/2021