Domotex 2006 - New flooring generation...

Press - Release

November 2005

Domotex 2006

New flooring generation - strategic alliance enlivens the flooring market

Market launch of ceraclic®: New generation of products in the flooring sector

At Domotex 2006 the "new flooring generation", an alliance of the companies Knauf Integral, Resopal, Tarkett and Witex, is presenting a new generation of products for the flooring market: ceraclic® - a flooring element in new combinations of materials - consisting of Sound Protect to reduce the sound of footsteps, a highly compacted GIFAtec fibre-reinforced plasterboard as base material, an impact and wear-resistant decorative HPL surface and a specially-developed click joint.

The strategy for winning markets is every bit as new as the product. Manufacturers, materials suppliers and competitors have formed a sales alliance for the first time. The partnership known as the "new flooring generation" is making its first joint appearance at a Domotex joint booth under the slogan "partners for new flooring solutions".

With Witex as the inventor, Knauf Integral and Resopal as the materials suppliers and Tarkett as a sales partner, the market launch of this new floor covering is founded on four strategic pillars and exploits the advantages of the different sales channels of the parties involved. With ceraclic®, each of the four companies has contributed its particular skills to the "new flooring generation". The result is a product that should convince architects and interior fitters straight away.

Ceraclic® is to be launched in both the business premises and home market segments. The product's characteristics will therefore vary depending on their area of application. This applies to the material's thickness, its physical and technical resistance and also the designs offered by the two sales channels.

For Tarkett, ceraclic® is a new kind of product with which new market segments and niches can be occupied within the strategy of the Property Division. This new segment is specifically the real stone segment. Here Tarkett sees the time-saving replacement of traditional stone as one of the biggest advantages of ceraclic®.

With the development of ceraclic® Witex is showing once more that this Augustdorf-based company knows how to coordinate useful partnerships and to bring innovations to the market for everyone's benefit. Ceraclic also underline’s Witex’s move towards contract sector products, revitalising the Witex brand in the market place across Europe.

All individual components are tried and tested branded products of many years' standing. The GIFAtec base material from Knauf Integral KG offers certified biological and physical structural benefits in terms of indoor climate, noise and fire protection. Thanks to the high density of the material, the results of static load tests are exceptional. The HPL surface from the coating material pioneer Resopal, which is available from the market launch, stands out because of its great strength and resistance and the unlimited variety of its surface designs.

Thanks to its innovative product characteristics and advantages over existing systems, ceraclic® could revolutionise the floor covering market and change the traditional structure of flooring.

Witex International Flooring GmbH

Contact:

Mr. Markus Schätzle

Nord-West- Ring 21

32832 Augustdorf

Tel.: ++ 49 (0) 52 37/ 609-0

Fax: ++ 49 (0) 52 37/ 609-309

E-Mail: pr@witex.com

Internet: www.witex.com</font>

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