A leading international carpet manufacturer has utilised new technology to develop a next-generation carpet backing that absorbs sound.
DESSO is a leading international carpet manufacturer whose products can be found in offices and public buildings, schools and universities, retail outlets, hospitals, as well as domestic interiors.
The new development is SoundMaster, an advanced carpet backing that offers a 60% acoustic improvement over standard carpet ranges – enormously reducing the impact of noise in busy open plan offices, or other environments where noise can be distracting, intrusive or damaging to health.
SoundMaster is made from a special layer construction and is uniquely designed to provide optimal sound absorption and insulation. It is made from 100% recycled polyester that also offers eco-efficient benefits, and is now available with many of DESSO’s existing ranges of carpet tiles.
Standard carpet gives sound reduction properties of between 20 and 30 decibels. SoundMaster gives a further reduction of 10 dB or more, which means the sound is ten times less loud.
This significant reduction makes it one of the most sound absorbent options on the market – and in many cases could make it unnecessary to install other sound reducing strategies.
SoundMaster was developed in strict compliance with DESSO’s Cradle to Cradle philosophy of sustainability, and which was first advanced in 2002 by the German chemist Michael Braungart.
Its central premise is that products should be conceived from the start with intelligent design and the intention that they will eventually be recycled in their entirety – a birth to rebirth philosophy that excludes waste from the production cycle.
Cradle to Cradle therefore means that valuable materials do not end up in landfill sites or incineration at the end of their supposed ‘lifetime’ or ‘down-cycled’ into lower quality materials.
“At DESSO, we listen carefully to customers, interior designers and architects and use their insight to help direct our research programmes. SoundMaster has come about as a result of that process of listening, and both will be welcomed across a wide range of markets internationally,” said Andrew Sibley, DESSO’s regional sales and marketing director.
“We have given carpet a new and impressive advantage over existing carpet and other floor covering options, with products that will open up new markets and, potentially, change perceptions about what carpet can achieve,” he said.
DESSO is a leading manufacturer of high quality carpet tiles and broadloom carpets and has been in operation for 80 years. It has two factories in Europe, with its headquarters in Waalwijk, The Netherlands. DESSO has built an enviable reputation as a reliable partner producing quality flooring for a range of applications. Its products can be found in offices and public buildings, schools and universities, retail outlets, hospitals, as well as domestic interiors. Clients include Allianz, Canon, EDF, HSBC, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, SNCF and many more.
DESSO’s creative carpet design and service oriented approach means that it has become a market leader in creating solutions for the Hotel, Marine and Aviation (HMA) sectors. DESSO’s HMA division works with companies such as Hilton, Intercontinental, Maritime, KLM, Virgin, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Holland America Line.
DESSO Sports Systems leads the market in the provision of artificial turf for sports fields and reinforced natural grass systems that provide the perfect surface at every level of sport. Our product range includes DESSO GrassMaster®, a sports field of 100% natural grass reinforced with DESSO synthetic grass fibres. DESSO Sports Systems is an international success, with the football clubs of Arsenal FC (Emirates Stadium), Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, PSV, Feijenoord and RSC Anderlecht all choosing DESSO pitches for training or competing.
As part of its ongoing corporate philosophy of safeguarding the environment, DESSO has signed a partnership agreement with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA). DESSO is the first carpet manufacturer in the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) to adopt the EPEA’s Cradle to Cradle design. Marking a radical and ambitious decision, the company plans for all DESSO carpets to be Cradle to Cradle certified by 2020. In the Cradle to Cradle ethos, products are made from components that are easy to disassemble in order to create new products in both the biological and technical cycles.
