Süddekor’s specialist papers are printed with decorative structures for hardwearing surface finishing, printed by rotogravure. The resulting products, such as desktops, floors and modular furniture, can be found in most homes and businesses where the papers are used to finish surfaces such as particleboard and laminate.

Decor print specialist Schattdecor generates over 50% of its value-added abroad, thus helping to safeguard its headquarters in Thansau, Germany where many services and coordination functions are handled for the whole of the worldwide group; this family-managed, mid-sized, company is a good example of how expansion abroad creates jobs at home.

It started with a vision: an exhibition like a marketplace, an interface of supply and demand, the forum for face-to-face discussions. Away from the glitter of the usual large trade fairs, away from everything which might blur the vision, ZOW encourages concentration.

Are we slowly making our way out of the most severe economic recession? Based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) economic outlook, published in April 2010, it seems like it. Total global economic output (GDP) will continue to grow by more than 4% per annum until 2015. Developing regions (South America, eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia) will be the main contributors to growth, although the outlook for mature markets remains less optimistic.

The first studio to be opened by DuPont is in downtown Milan, with a further two located in Philadelphia’s Marketplace Design Center and in the visual arts-centric Flatiron district of New York City.
It says it was the pioneer in solid surfaces and engineered stone over 40 years ago with Corian. This renowned original resin composite still commands an enviable worldwide reputation today, while its complementary product, Zodiaq, combines the strength and beauty of natural quartz (95% of its composition), enabling designers and fabricators to create distinctive installations suggesting luxury and elegance, says DuPont.
Corian can be used to create flat and curved surfaces for furnishing and design solutions in residential and public applications. It is uniform throughout its entire thickness, is non-porous, does not require additional finishing, is easy to clean and, if necessary, repairable.
It can be thermo-formed into custom shapes and contours, sandblasted, routed, carved, laser-etched and back-lit.
The Corian Design Milano Store has an area of about 300m2 and exhibits a variety of products and systems: kitchens, bathroom decor, tables, lamps – made with Corian solid surfaces and Zodiaq quartz surfaces by client companies of DuPont, as well as installations created by designers from different countries.
The showroom’s interior design is the work of Catharine Lorenz and Steffen Kaz from the Lorenz Kaz Studio in Milan; two German designers who have been working in Milan for many years.
“Corian has a consolidated relationship to Milan, the world capital of design,” says Maurizio Solaro, country manager for DuPont Surfaces Italy. “DuPont has been presenting Corian and its great potential during design and interiors events and trade shows since 1998, in collaboration with world-renowned architects, designers and companies, including Ettore Sottsass, Zaha Hadid, Ron Arad and Marc Newson.”
The New York studio, which comprises 5,000ft2, is an interactive workshop where design influencers can consult with experts to address specific project needs and help bring their ideas and applications to life – from the most simple to the most advanced designs.
“Our collective vision was to create a place of interaction and experiment, where industry experts can collaborate and create inspirational environments with Corian and Zodiaq,” said Elizabeth Lawson, North America commercial marketing manager for DuPont Surfaces.
“The space will serve as the premier resource to demonstrate how DuPont Surfaces can be used as innovative, flexible and inspirational design materials.”
To provide consultation and project support for commercial designers and specifiers, Evans & Paul surfacing solutions experts are on hand and available by appointment.
“The Design Studio is a showcase for new offerings, fabrication skills and real life applications that convey how innovative designs can be flawlessly executed into striking spaces,” said Christopher Whitelaw, director of research and development, Evans & Paul.
Renowned New York architects Michael Morris and Yoshiko Sato of Morris Sato Studio custom-designed the Dupont Corian Design Studio using cutting-edge lighting, sound and shape technology to create a ‘sanctuary of experience’.
“We have defined the studio space through the Japanese concept of a borrowed landscape. Like a delicate garden, it is a sensory experience where designers can look, touch, feel and see the energy that Corian evokes,” said Mr Morris. “The specific technologies we have employed within the studio will actually draw people closer to the material, rather than farther away.”
One stand-out design feature of the studio is the starry sky lighting, featuring 74 pieces of thermoformed Corian. The ‘heavens’ above connect visitors to the application vignettes within the studio.
Another key focal point includes integrated, flexible, real-life applications for a variety of market environments, ranging from operating theatres, feature walls, hospitality, education and residential applications, to lighting, furniture and more.
Architects and designers in search of textured surface colours that can harmonise and invigorate an interior space can turn to the 2009 Dupont Corian Private Collection for inspiration.
The eight new hues – Witch Hazel, Sandalwood, Jasmine, Saffron, Elderberry, Juniper, Thyme and Rosemary – are a collection inspired by the subtleties of nature, with intricate browns, rusts, greys, blues and greens.
“Our emphasis was on expanding the Corian Private Collection to offer more flexibility, so architects and designers can achieve their creative visions,” said Elizabeth Lawson.  “The palette is bright and boldly neutral, infusing universal adaptable colours with shading, contrast and texture.”
Coolness, tranquillity and texture are characteristics that rise to the surface when describing Nutmeg and Savory, the two new 2009 colours of the DuPont Zodiaq Private Collection, says Ms Lawson.
Inspired by the restorative energy that emanates from trickling streams and rolling meadows, the quartz surface colours evoke a powerful yet refined aesthetic to catch the eye. Nutmeg and Savory aim to add a splash of calming movement to bustling lobbies, work spaces, retail stores and more.
“Architects and designers who envision interiors that are reflective of the graceful forces of nature will find these colours refreshing,” concludes Ms Lawson.

Süddekor GmbH plays a dominant role on the world stage of decor printing and surface finishing. It says its yearly trends always reflect a grasp of design flair which is appropriate to the time period it represents. 2009 is no exception, says the company

By focusing on architects and interior designers, the ZOW show in Bad Salzuflen has been on a
trend-setting journey since 2006.
The architectural lounge – which will be bigger and more informative than ever before, says Survey – will offer visitors an attractive point to start discovering the diverse ZOW product range in Hall 22.2.
Guided tours around the exhibition will start here, design highlights will be presented here and special talks run in cooperation with selected partners will also take place here. The architectural lounge is billed as the perfect place to pick up ideas and exchange impressions.
Lightweight construction is now said to be the latest hot topic and this will set the scene at ZOW. Both young and well-known companies in the international supplier industry will present their newest
solutions in lightweight construction, which apparently are all set to revolutionise the furniture and interior world in the coming years.
As well as offering simple handling, it is primarily the low transport, energy and packaging costs which make lightweight construction solutions so interesting.
The Lightweight Network (IGEL) will form the focal point of the exhibition, which encompasses many companies involved in lightweight construction.
The step from lightweight construction to material is not a large one. At ZOW, for the first time, visitors will have the chance to attend a material exhibition entitled ‘materialZ’ in Hall 23.2, organised by the German subsidiary of the world famous Material Connexion
material library in Cologne.
Material producers from Germany and neighbouring countries will present the highlights from the international material scene. The exhibition will look at the latest trends including topics such as smart materials, sustainability, acoustics, new surfaces and structures. So ‘materialZ’ will offer architects and designers a new forum for individual design ideas.
Bar codes are yesterday’s news, but RFID is the technology of tomorrow. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, an identification technology based on electronic data exchange.
With this technology you can quickly pinpoint the location of a product anywhere in your company without having to handle each item individually.
Horst Koitka, the managing director of Löhne-based IT company ‘abaco’, will be demonstrating, together with his partners, how RFID technology works. At the RFID factory in Hall 19, he says visitors will be able to discover the benefits of this
innovative technology.
RFID is already in widespread use in other industries but is still relatively new in the furniture sector. The demonstration that Horst Koitka will give will be on an impressive scale: The RFID factory is about 30m long and traces the route taken by a furniture item through the supply chain, from the supplier through industry to the trade, including transport by a haulage company.
E3S European Solid Surface Show in Hall 22.2 will display the trends in solid surfaces and engineered stone which have taken place at ZOW since 2006.
Here, manufacturers and suppliers will present new products and technologies from this universally used material.
‘iFurn’, the online database for the
day-to-day work of designers and
planners in the furniture and interiors industry, is celebrating its birthday.
One year after its premiere at ZOW 2008, the ‘iFurn community’ is getting together in hall 32.1 for this celebration. Virtual communication through the exchange of data is aimed to become a physical meeting place to swap experiences.
It’s hard not to think that furniture and modern entertainment systems are somehow meant for exclusive use only. Why else should the industry continue to supply furniture that takes the old cathode ray tube TV sets which are long gone from the market, and why else do end customers still have to drill a hole the size of your fist into load-bearing elements to feed through the cabling? The fact that none of this has been necessary for some time now will be evidenced at the new Mediapoint feature at ZOW.
This special exhibition will demonstrate how these allegedly irreconcilable realms of technology can function together.
The challenge facing furniture manufacturers and the supply sector is what do I need to do or take into account to support the trend toward providing universal access? What requirements does my furniture need to meet in this age of multimedia? Mediapoint is a display of specific interior settings which demonstrate how living rooms and workspaces, kitchens and bathrooms, can be designed and fitted out right now to support media access – and networked with each other.

One of the leading decor printers in the world is the Interprint Group. Its myriad of styles can be seen decorating the surfaces of numerous materials made from derived timber products, including living room, kitchen and bathroom furniture and laminate flooring. It can also be seen in the interior furnishing of trains, shops, aeroplanes and in the automotive industry.
Headquartered in Arnsberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1969, Interprint has seven locations with its own production facilities, sales and service departments plus an additional sales and service office in Italy. The company is also represented on all continents by sales agencies and has in total some 830 employees.
Interprint is wholly owned by the Arnsberg family-managed company Wrede Industrieholding, which has more than 125 years experience in derived timber products. Interprint prints on a total of 23 production machines with an overall capacity of 109,000 tonnes.
The Arnsberg location has recently been awarded the “Highly Protected Risk” rating by the property insurer FM Global. The worldwide property and business-interruption insurer grants the HPR award only to those locations that, by means of concrete measures, have minimised the probability of occurrence, and the extent of potential damage, in the best possible form.
After Interprint USA, Interprint in Germany is the second location to have achieved the HPR status. Now, the remaining Interprint production facilities are to follow.
Gerhard Hochstein, chief technology officer at Interprint said: “At Interprint effective risk management is practiced every day. This includes organisational and technical measures which either already existed or have been worked out in close cooperation with the FM Global engineers”.
Since the beginning of 2006 the company has had an in-house engraving centre equipped with both a conventional system for electromechanical engraving and a direct laser system, making Interprint the first decorative paper printer with in-house laser engraving capabilities. Laser engraving allows precise printing and an even faster decor development, says Interprint.
Another development is in the area of mother-of-pearl and metal effects which have increasingly been used in furniture design. Because the process can sometimes present problems with production flow, Interprint sought to solve this by seeing what their research and development department could come up with.
The result is Pearl Perfect, which optimises resin flow behaviour during pressing. Typical blemishes like cloudy, spotty surfaces and pressing or condensation stripes are either minimised or avoided altogether with conventional production methods, says Interprint.
Printed decors aim to be exact reproductions of wood, stones and creative design which can hardly be distinguished from the original material. Decor paper and foils from Interprint are the central decorative element for surfaces such as derived timber products, for which there are unlimited design options.
Everyday, inhouse and external designers dedicate their creativity to new decor
developments which reach Interprint’s customers via the company’s international distribution network.
Elisabeth Zenker, Interprint’s international design director, says: “Communication does not have any national boundaries at Interprint – our thoughts and actions are international. We work with design professionals around the world. This creative pool is very rich in ideas and visions for new decors. We can choose the best designs from that variety and turn them into successful products for the customer”.
Hardly any other colour is as effective as white, says Interprint, which is why furniture design currently presents itself in this refreshing colour. The new Interprint collection shows how this colour trend can be transferred on to wood. From almost pure white to beige shades, to nuances of honey, the decors on fronts and surfaces tend to be rather light. Even striking woods such as core beech and hazelnut are giving off more lightness than before.
Classic oak is exceptionally versatile and is compatible with lots of different trends. Interprint’s Banstead Oak, for example, is rich in contrast without producing an
impression of restlessness. From light beige to honey-coloured, the new Interprint pattern unfolds a beautiful play of colours, says the company.
Another variant in the oak spectrum is Salina Oak with narrow flower shapes, slight reflection and a balanced plan effect.
White Wash Wood is a striped, brushed pinewood that has been given a chalk effect. On furniture surfaces, the decor is said to show clear pores and high colour quality.
Also following the trend towards light colours is the new maple pattern Samira Maple. Overall, it looks restrained due to the filigree grain and fine pores but the sophistication lies in the detail of cut-in flowers and the dark beginnings of branches.
Two-dimensional core parts that flow into classic beech structures characterise Rosemoor Beech. This combination produces an harmonious impression that is not too
strongly dominated by core parts.
The hazelnut decor Clifton Walnut is predestined for high quality modern furniture construction, with its natural brilliance of colour arising through an alternation of light and medium hazelnut shades.
A variety of stone elements come together in Botticino to form a structure that is reminiscent of the design of the 60s. The grains and stones embedded in a fine chalk are between two millimetres and five centimetres in size. Botticino is said to be particularly well suited to pepping-up worktops.
Coobers Cube is a name that reminds one of the opal city of Coober Pedy in Australia, but it is glass bricks, not precious stones from the outback, that give this Interprint decor its glamorous appearance. Refraction and changing colours produce an interesting mosaic-like structure. Coobers Cube gives a creative, new look at structures
and epitomises the ‘Go closer!’ aspect of the Interprint design philosophy, says the company.
‘Go closer! Discover a new dimension of design!’ was Interprint’s show motto at the ZOW 2008 furniture components trade fair exhibition held in Bad Salzuflen, Germany earlier this year. The wording of the motto extended across an entire wall. Facing this was an 18m-long row of black tables divided by high decor presentation drawers printed with photos. The photo motifs consisted of strongly coloured close-ups of abstract and concrete structures from daily life that inspire Interprint’s new decors which, consequently, could be pulled out of the drawers.
Visitors were impressed with the stand concept and the exciting new decors, said Interprint’s sales and marketing director, Holger Dzeia: “Our participation at ZOW was a great success. We were very satisfied with the response produced by our presentation concept and our new decors. Interprint concentrated on its design competence and it was that which attracted many visitors.”