Exploring the new frontiers of materials and reinterpreting them, combining flexibility of processing with aesthetics, quality and sustainability: these are the goals pursued by Rehau, thanks to know-how consolidated over more than 70 years of activity.

Rehau's claim “Engineering progress. Enhancing lives” sums up well the mission behind all its activities: improving the quality of life through the use of innovative and sustainable technologies. This is also what emerges from the words of Andrea Bucciarelli, Director Furniture Systems at Rehau SpA, with whom we talk about innovation, circular economy, sustainability and customization.

At the last Sicam, innovation was the key word that emerged in all departments that makes one understand the great research work by companies in the subcontracting sector to develop new products. How does Rehau address these issues?

Innovation drives the Furniture Solutions division's research activities in the development of new products, including materials. As polymer specialists, we boast chemical expertise established over more than 70 years in the business. This know-how allows us to develop new formulas aimed at making our components for the furniture industry increasingly recyclable, stress-resistant with a higher level of quality that raises the intrinsic value of the furniture to which they are applied. For example, lately we have been focusing on edge paintability, a feature that is not easy to achieve in the REACH regulatory environment (ed. the acronym REACH-Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals-refers to the regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals).

Raukantex eco & evo edges honored with German Innovation Awards 2024
 

New technologies offer three-dimensional solutions in various fields of application, especially in the area of surfaces. How do you think they can be incorporated into your production reality?

From the market comes an ever-increasing demand for material surfaces, and Rehau is responding with its proposal of stone and cement effect surfaces: the aesthetics of natural materials are translated into polymeric solutions that are extremely light, flexible in processing and, therefore, capable of pandering to the most creative interior design projects in which glass, stone, marble and real cement would put manufacturers and designers up against objective limits. Among the latest developments in this direction, at Sicam 2024 we presented the new Rauvisio cube surfaces, characterized by a surface structure with natural air cavities that make each panel different from the other, for truly unique minimalist furniture.

The new Rauvisio cube surfaces

The topic of ecodesign also ran through all the departments present at Sicam. What are the necessary elements for a sustainable product to really have all the requirements?

The condition underlying sustainable furniture production starts with the supply chain of raw materials: our recycled polypropylene edgings, for example, are produced by integrating raw materials from carefully selected and certified suppliers. In my opinion, this is the necessary first step in making sustainable products, which is then followed by a production process based on the use of green energy.

The central theme of the upcoming interzum 2025 will be “Rethinking Resources: circular and biobased solutions.” Your company has already been preparing for this change for some time.

In addition to the issue of raw material sourcing mentioned above, at Rehau we have been oriented to circular solutions for years already, with the goal of constantly increasing the share of recycled materials and reducing CO2 emissions. Since 2020, all European plants where our edgings are produced have been powered by 100 percent renewable energy sources-generated at the plants themselves-a feature that has earned the Visbek production site ISCC PLUS certification. At the product level, Raukantex eco & evo ecological edgings, the first to be made from recycled post-industrial material and polymers produced from non-fossil raw materials, will soon be joined by Rauvolet eco shutters. Last but not least, Rehau Furniture Solutions' concrete commitment to the circular economy also comes through the ReTurn take-back and recycling program, in which we engage in the take-back of unused edgings, in their original packaging, by providing an appropriate reuse system, whether they are Raukantex edgings or from other manufacturers.

The Raukantex edge production facility

According to FederlegnoArredo's recent FURNCIRCLE research, 44 percent of companies in the sector have implemented ecodesign policies and 81 percent plan to do so by 2027. Certifications, training and circular economy are considered the strategic assets for the future.

Sustainability is an issue that is increasingly felt and in demand, and the entire Rehau Group, not just the Furniture Solutions division, has often been a pioneer in this field, investing in research and development, taking concrete measures and transparently reporting on goals achieved and future goals. This ongoing commitment is recognized through the certifications obtained by products, proving that our recycling policies are not just theory, but are put into practice every day.

Customization is a very strong trend in recent years, present not only at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and thus with the finished product, but also at Sicam. A product that is expressed through finishes, textures, colors, custom made products. How does Rehau address this theme?

We meet this very strong demand through an offer of trendy decors and a truly wide variety of finishes and colors: just think of the Raukantex family of edgings, which includes a range of over 2,000 decors in more than 200,000 variations. In addition, we have lowered the minimum production batches, thus favoring any kind of customization.

The Raukantex edge warehouse in Visbek

The latest economic data is certainly not exciting; in fact, negative signals are coming in from all sectors or indicating at best “cautious optimism” for the future. Your analysis of the market and possible future scenarios.

The many complex geopolitical events going on make it very complex to make predictions that are reliable. Personally, I am not particularly optimistic about the near future; the recovery I fear will be measurable in years, not months.

In light of Trump's election as president of the United States, what economic repercussions do you foresee for the wood-furniture supply chain?

Repercussions are expected at the export level, dependent on the protectionist policy of trade tariffs, and most likely also at the global commodity market level, an effect that tends to be underestimated. It will be necessary to wait and see what the Trump administration will do with respect to what was announced in the election campaign.