Cork Underlayment and Cork Flooring Underlay

Over our 130 years in the market, we have built up a Database that records a historical assessment of the quality and reliability of raw materials, as well as the efficiency and responsibility of each supplier.

The systematic analysis of information sustains the work of a vast team of technicians specialized cork purchasing. We search the forests in a permanent and exhaustive process of sample analysis. We select raw materials of the best quality and we carry out, on all the batches acquired, rigorous quality tests.

After the extraction process has finished, we transport the cork planks to our units in Ponte de Sôr and Coruche, where they remain for six months.

The planks are stored on an incline, with improved air circulation and drainage, until they are used. The part that is in contact with the ground is destined for the production of cork flooring and insulation. From now on, and until the processing starts, the cork used for the production of cork stoppers is always moved on stainless steel pallets.

After the stage in which the raw cork is stored and dried, comes the fundamental stage of boiling the cork planks. It is during this operation that the cork is washed, disinfected and freed of all volatile contaminants lodged in the lenticels, in particular TCA. CONVEX is a highly innovative system, offering a new approach to this stage of cork processing. The system is equipped with four stainless steel boilers in a closed circuit, (repetição) The water used in the boiling is filtered on a continuous basis and purified of all volatile compounds, including TCA.

The method consists of the immersion of cork planks in stainless steel tanks full of water heated to 95°. In each boiling cycle, batches of only up to 2 tonnes are used -in order to maintain optimum water circulation and increase the f contaminant and tannin extraction f the cork. These are eliminated by rapid evaporation. A filtration system eliminates all solid residues extracted from the cork, cleaned regularly by mechanical and thermal means. The water used in the boiling is purified and recycled, after each cycle.

Consequently, CONVEX has proved to be a particularly efficient system for cleansing cork planks :

- It permanently purifies the water used to wash the cork planks, thus increasing the cleanliness of the cork
- It enables cork planks to come out of the boiling with less moisture;

The storage time for the cork (the stage during which the risk of mould growth is higher) is therefore considerably reduced: 3 storage days is sufficient.

The unique natural qualities of cork underlayment make it a most effective material for the control of sound transmission in hard surface flooring applications. The physical structure of cork underlayment, with nearly 200 million completely sealed air filled cells per cubic inch, makes it a very effective acoustic insulating material. This same physical structure also provides cork with the ability to be repeatedly compressed and yet recover nearly 100% of its original shape and size. These combined benefits make cork an ideal and time tested choice for sound control underlayment applications. Millions of square feet of AcoustiCORK™ products have been successfully installed under a wide variety of finished flooring materials in projects all over the world.
Cork Underlayment Info Sheet (PDF)

Cork underlayment and underlay is a truly renewable resource. Unlike solid wood, composite wood products, paper and other so called "renewable resources"; no trees are cut down to make cork products. In fact, Cork Oak trees in Portugal and other cork harvesting countries are protected by law. The product that we know as cork consists of the bark of the Cork Oak tree. The bark is stripped from the trunk of the tree every 9 to 12 years. This process actually enhances the life span of the tree. Without being periodically harvested, the life span of a Cork Oak would be considerably shorter than the 150 to 200 years seen in cultivated trees. Also, the manufacturing process of cork products produces a near zero waste stream and results in no toxic emissions.

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