Page 44 - CFA_SG25

FLOORCOVERING MANUFACTURERS’ VIEW

Sustainability, durability and design excellence are key for Swedish hardened
wood flooring manufacturer Bjelin

Woodura® technology, developed by Bjelin’s Bjelin also uses the parts of the log which
sister company Välinge Innovation, lies are unusable as planks in its production
behind the Swedish company’s hardened processes.
wood flooring range. The great idea of “The bark mainly goes for the production of
Woodura is that it is based on making more energy, which is used for heating our factories
out of less. We spoke to Hannes Boman, and also drying the wood,” says Hannes
Head of Design at Bjelin to find out how this Boman.
design philosophy feeds into the company’s “Also you have to split the log in various
mission to bring more sustainable wood sections to get the slicing cut and that does
flooring products to market and operate a produce some sawdust. We use this in the
more sustainable business. powder, which goes underneath the veneer as
If we consider how a traditional parquet
product is made, the basic process involves part of the Woodura technology. In this way,
sawing the individual lamellas, so first of all waste products can be recycled.”
these are quite thick, and secondly from each If any waste that is produced can be
lamella you get a lot of fine particles as a used to make new products, that is the ideal
result of the sawing process. This is wasteful solution. In fact the Woodura technology
and, because you are working with a thicker certified wood from the Croatian forest, which not only uses waste produced by Bjelin, but
lamella, you are getting less surface area out is responsibly managed. also waste material from other companies’
of the log in the end. “FSC is a label from a recognised third production processes.
The principle of the Woodura technology is party. They check how the forest is harvested Some of the colours which the company
that you are slicing the lamellas, so there is no and verify that it is sustainable. Our factories develops, for example, are achieved by
waste. The process allows you to use a really in Croatia are very close to the forest. No log sourcing waste from cacao bean production,
thin top layer, meaning you can get ten times is transported more than a few kilometres which is readily available and is also
more surface area out of the log, compared from the forest to the sawmills, and the basic inexpensive, showing that being sustainable
with a traditional parquet product. principle is about ensuring that you have can be cost-effective as well.
“Both of these factors together allow you to more growth in the forest than you actually Looking to the future, Bjelin is running
make more out of less,” says Hannes Boman. take down, saving critical areas of the forest trials on even thinner veneers than its current
Another factor is about ensuring that what to maintain biological diversity. So it’s about 0.6mm standard, which is already market
you make lasts longer as well. That is the keeping the forest healthy.” leading in terms of its economical use of
hardening process and is key to the Woodura The company also makes sure that it fully materials.
44 technology. utilises all the parts of the log, using different
“We are hardening the top layer so it gets gradings and formats, because this approach Bjelin firmly believes that sustainability
three times harder than the traditional parquet is crucial, if you want to use the whole log. and innovation go hand in hand. One of
product,” says Hannes Boman. “This means it Bjelin is known in the market for its large full sister company Välinge Innovation’s new
is very resistant to indentations and damage. plank formats, but in order to meet market technologies, Nadura®, started as a recycling
We understand that if you buy a product which demand and help use all of the log, it has project.
is made in a really environmentally friendly added a number of smaller formats. Bjelin’s aim is always to produce a more
way, but it has to be changed after two or “We started with the XL and XXL formats,” aesthetic product which is also more durable
three years, then that is not good for the say Hannes Boman, “but now we have Large, – this shows that innovation, design and
environment.” Medium and Small, as well as Herringbone. sustainability go hand-in-hand at Bjelin.
Consideration should also be given to the This means that we can make use of a lot
raw material itself. Bjelin works with FSC™- more of the log.” https://us.bjelin.com/en/environment

CFA Guide to Sustainability 2025/26