São Paio de Oleiros, Portugal—Authentica, the latest flooring range from the Wicanders’ premium brand, has been selected to appear on the shortlist of Muuuz International Awards in the Natural Floor Covering category. Organized by ArchiDesignclub and d’a magazine, this is a top architecture and interior design international event that this year has recognized 33 products from 15 different countries. The Authentica series from Amorim Revestimentos (Wicanders’ parent company) stood out among 2,500 competing products from 600 manufacturers. Each product is scored on design, originality, usability and technology.
The innovative Hydrocork flooring collection also received an accolade in the Natural Floor Covering category at the Innovation and Construction awards in Portugal. This event is a joint project between Jornal Construir, Anteprojectos magazine and Projectista, a building product search engine. This annual awards event, now in its third year, is aimed at recognizing and awarding the efforts and commitment of companies operating in Portugal that are developing more sustainable solutions and taking construction to a higher level of innovation.
Pedro Pinho, chief marketing officer at Amorim Revestimentos, said, “We are pleased to witness this niche market place more value on the innovative flair underlying the newest ranges of Wicanders’ cork flooring products. The innovation has a direct impact on the well-being of consumers, either as a result of a higher technical performance or more robust sustainability credentials of our cork flooring, in addition to a very strong alignment with the trends in our major markets.”
Launched at the beginning of 2016, the Authentica series features cork at 4mm thickness divided into two separate layers. The addition of a second cork underlayment has an impact not only on the environmental footprint, but also on the technical performance of the floor, offering additional benefits in terms of thermal resistance and sound control.
Hydrocork’s innovative nature has been widely recognized by the market. The inclusion of a new water-resistant solution in a flooring option with a core of composite cork (thus allowing to expand in an unprecedented way, bringing cork flooring to all spaces), a total thickness of only 6mm (making it an ideal solution for renovation projects) and an easy-to-install PressFit compression system make Hydrocork one of Amorim’s products in higher demand, with sales that account for more than 10% of Amorim Revestimentos’ overall sales.
As a result of this rapid growth, Amorim has made a new investment of approximately EUR 1.2 million with a goal of increasing production capacity for Hydrocork to meet the expected increased demand.