On October 14th the new “Furniture Laboratory“ of Catas was inaugurated, a very modern building in San Giovanni al Natisone that rises from the ashes of the fire of December 20th, 2016.
In less than two years since that dramatic event, the new “Furniture Laboratory“ has been built with an investment of 4 million euros, entirely covered by Catas' own resources.
The new Furniture Laboratory is a two-storey building of over 4,000 square metres. On the ground floor there is a 2,300 square metre laboratory with controlled temperature and humidity, a fibre optic data transmission system and about one hundred machines and equipment for networked testing according to Industry 4.0 standards. In the basement there is a warehouse of 2 thousand square meters and spaces for meetings and training sessions. A 320 kW photovoltaic system has been installed on the roof to produce energy from the sun.
Catas could not better celebrate its fiftieth anniversary since its foundation: the inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of numerous representatives of the institutions and the Italian and international furniture world.
“We faced the difficulties together, teaming up and continuing to work, testing and responding to the needs of our customers as the new laboratory grew day by day,“ said Bernardino Ceccarelli, President of Catas.

A new chapter in the history of Catas

A new chapter in the history of Catas is opening, with 54 employees and more than 50,000 tests every year for 2,000 customers worldwide, with a turnover of more than 7 million euros. The new laboratory will make it possible to further enhance the “productivity“ of the institute.  From January 2020, the laboratory will also be able to count on thirty new test machines for the analysis of formaldehyde emissions and VOC (volatile organic compounds), a subject, that of “indoor pollution“, very much felt in the world of furniture. A positive look towards the future is also testified by the purchase of an area adjacent to the laboratory on which possible future scenarios are already being studied.