On the Horizon for K&B: SieMatic

Sara Pepitone -- Interior Design, 9/1/2012 5:39:00 PM

By carefully manipulating the heat and pressure applied to bond the plastic sheeting to the panels, SieMatic has developed an innovative veneer laminate that not only looks but also feels like a real, grained wood.

"Laminate, in the U.S., can be considered a dirty word," says Hans Henkes, president and CEO of SieMatic Möbelwerke USA. "But Europeans know it's easy to clean, fairly durable (kids can drive Matchboxes over it), and they don't look low quality anymore."

SieMatic introduced ZeroMatic SelectSurfaces - seamless cabinet panels - to the market this January. New laser-edge-banding production technology, quickly becoming industry standard, results in an absence of edges (glue always leaves a visible joint), making laminates look like the lacquer or veneer they're meant to represent. And no one is sad to skip the glue step.

At SieMatic this finish is available across the entire line, which Henkes says is part of the larger move to eliminate misconceptions about laminates. "It's a tall order to change consumer impression," says Henkes. "It's not that the quality itself was actually low, but ZeroMatic takes laminates to another level. This is what a quality finish should be."

The future is bright and textural for laminates.

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