EGGER, the wood-based panels manufacturer, has commenced the production of the first Eurolight lightweight building boards already earlier than scheduled at the end of August. After just a few months of construction work, the world’s first large-scale industrial production plant for lightweight building boards, at the company’s St. Johann site in the Tyrol, is now complete. The plant components, which were subjected to preliminary acceptance tests at their respective manufacturers’ sites in June, were installed during July and August. Test operation has been underway since mid-August. The first customer orders will be delivered shortly and following a further optimisation stage, full acceptance testing is to be carried out by the end of October. The press was supplied by SHS Siempelkamp and the frames were inserted by Homag.
The plant’s daily capacity for the production of large-scale lightweight building boards (5610 x 2070 mm) is more than 1000 m3. Frameless boards for further processing can be produced in thicknesses of between 15 and 100 mm. The EGGER Eurolight project was first presented to the industry at the ZOW 2006 trade fair in Bad Salzuflen, Germany. Since the fair, numerous manufacturers from all sectors of the furniture industry have expressed an interest in this development, thus ensuring that the capacity of the impressive new plant will be well utilised right from the very first shift. Various feedback activities gathered from companies in the market, in the run-up to this autumn’s furniture trade fairs give further indication that EGGER’s newly-created capacity will achieve full utilisation in the short term.
A new era has dawned for the furniture industry
Michael Egger talks about a new era in the market for wood-based products: “We have clearly established ourselves as a top innovator. Eurolight is a major boost for the market, and it will have a profound impact on the world of furniture construction in the years to come.” Not least because of the rising prices of energy and raw materials, this lightweight board will meet the needs of furniture manufacturers, logistics partners and consumers alike.
Eurolight in a decor combination with a melamine-faced outer layer of just 4 mm
Eurolight is a sandwich construction with outer layers of very rigid Eurospan 2000 thin chipboard, or Formline 2000 or Formline 3000 thin MDF board, and a middle layer of cardboard honeycomb. Eurolight, the greatest wood-based innovation of 2006, can be used for shop and exhibition fittings, internal doors, tables, shelves, variable office furnishings, contemporary living concepts and, last but not least, kitchens and worktops. Eurolight will be available as a raw board to which the furniture industry can then add the necessary finish – laminate, film surface, lacquer or veneer. But EGGER will also offer Eurolight as a completely new product in decor combinations with melamine faced boards with an outer layer thickness of just 4 mm. This gives the furniture industry maximum design flexibility. Eurolight is perfect for use in decor and texture combinations with the whole of the melamine faced Eurodekor range; there are laminates as well as melamine and security edgings available to match.
Processing with or without a frame
The new production plant in St. Johann allows frames to be inserted into the boards, thereby making traditional furniture designs, fitting attachments and joining solutions possible. In the first production step, a full-size board of dimensions 5610 x 2070 mm and a thickness of between 15 and 100 mm will be produced. The guaranteed plant capacity of 30,000 m² per day means that every day approx. 1000 m3 of 30 mm board can be produced. In the second production step, frame materials are inserted using a postframe process: depending on how the board is to be later processed and used, Egger will use standard frame thicknesses of either 10, 38 or 65 mm.
All conventional types of decor edge can be easily fitted to the 10 mm stabilising edge. If a 38 mm frame is inserted then the boards can also be postformed – up to a board thickness of 80 mm, depending on the profile. The process also allows security edging of the same decor, or contrasting edges, to be applied to the long sides using PU bonding, up to a board thickness of 80 mm. Solutions of this kind involving straight edging are increasingly popular in modern kitchens. EGGER sees itself as a partner to the furniture industry in terms of adding value to its products, and thus will also carry out further processing of its lightweight products to produce prefabricated furniture components in milled, drilled or free-formed designs in thicknesses up to 60 mm.
Solutions for the lightweight worktop; Innofix system ready for series production
Following the presentation of an initial prototype at the ZOW in Bad Salzuflen in February 2006, EGGER has now completed development of its new INNOFIX worktop connector in cooperation with Merkt. Extensive market testing together with fabricators and representatives of the furniture industry has led to optimisations allowing even quicker assembly and better precision levelling, meaning that the Innofix worktop connectors will be available for series production for 38, 50 and 60 mm lightweight and solid core worktops from September 2006. A new patented T-shaped profile has been developed for cut-outs for sinks and hobs. Eurolight worktops therefore guarantee increased pressure stability in the cut-out area and reliable protection against expansion. The plastic T-shaped profile, which is tailored to Egger’s Eurolight worktop range and comes in thicknesses of 38, 50 and 60 mm, allows quick and flexible assembly.
Network for frameless lightweight building boards
The fact that the development of lightweight building boards is still in its initial stages is reflected in the efforts that manufacturers of fittings, edge banding, adhesives and machinery are investing in finding the appropriate system solutions. EGGER is working closely in this area with the market leaders and top innovators in the industry, striving to develop complete solutions for the furniture industry in cooperation with its network of partners. Lively debate and knowledge transfer are currently underway. The aim is to be able to introduce frameless lightweight boards as a “standard product” in the furniture industry.
01.09.2006 
