There were good reasons for this decision. Standards are getting stricter, so you have to respond accordingly. That applies particularly to the project market, where the use of flame-retardant and fire-resistant lacquers and oils is becoming increasingly mandatory.

CEO and managing director Tassilo Hochstein of this company, which was formed back in 1952, gives more details about the products launched for these floors and goes into more depth about the flame-retardant Natur Hartwachs Fire Protec FP-8713-0112, Natur Reaktiv Öl Fire Protec FP-1387-0112, and Natur 2K Ölfinish Fire Protec FP-8525-0112.
The first product is a single-component wood finish for parquet, based on renewable raw materials. The second is a reactive, hardening, and natural oil where the binding agent consists of durable raw materials. On parquet and wooden floors you achieve much greater scratch resistance than you can achieve with a classic oil coating. The third and last product is a wood finish which is made according to the latest know-how in the field of natural surface coating on wood and is based on renewable raw materials. It is designed for high-traffic surfaces and makes the floor highly waterproof.

Industrial partners especially, but also parquet floor fitters
‘We work mainly for industrial partners, usually for three-layer parquet traders. Moreover, we also supply parquet floor fitters who want to apply a finish on site,’ says Tassilo Hochstein. ‘This range, in which we are heavily committed to the use of ecological components, has developed because clients are still making specific demands.’

‘Fire resistance has become hugely important for various reasons. One of the most important ones is that an increasing number of buildings are being constructed in wood. In addition, there is also an explicit demand from the project market. Think here of buildings for the government, schools, blocks of flats, museums, and such like. Fire resistance is strictly regulated in those categories, so you have to adapt your products accordingly.’

‘We launched our products about two years ago because we saw a clear trend and assumed that demand would continue to grow. In the meantime, that growing demand has been confirmed and that comes as no surprise, certainly not if you also see how the trend towards ecological construction is gaining the upper hand.’

Responding to legislation: CFL and BFL
Obviously, we wanted to know how Heidelberg Coatings has responded to the legislation.
‘Europe is our biggest market and you need permanent certificates to trade there. If we trade outside this market, we send samples which are usually analysed in the testing institute of the country in question and, depending on the size of the client, we help to cover the costs. That has happened recently with a client in Albania, for instance.’

‘It’s important to add that we have our products tested in accordance with both CFL and BFL. Most clients ask for CFL because with BFL the wood has to be at least 5mm thick. Most products in multilayer floors are only 3mm thick and the tendency now is even only 2mm because producers are saving on the amount used due to the rising prices of raw materials. To be absolutely clear, some of our clients work with solid wood, certainly in Belgium where there are still a lot of traditional parquet floor fitters. BFL then comes into play to ensure the correct fire resistance class.’