GERMANY -Sonae Arauco has been honored with the Interzum Award in the category “High Product Quality” for its three-dimensional fiberboard 3DF. The award underlines the importance of design as a value-adding factor in form and function and is chosen by a jury of experts.

The design competition, which Koelnmesse organized in cooperation with Red Dot, was held for the tenth time this year. The thermoformable wood-based panel 3DF convinced the jury, consisting of six respected experts from design and architecture, and is now officially one of the best products in the international furniture supplier industry.

3DF is a wood fiberboard that can be molded in many different ways by applying temperature and pressure (compression molding) and is used to achieve deep structures and large diameters very quickly and productively. This technology makes it possible to replace conventional processes such as plywood forming and CNC (computer-aided milling) and leads to outstanding improvements in productivity, quality, design options and environmental friendliness.

There is a wide range of uses for 3DF, from furniture fronts, chairs and wall cladding to applications in the construction and automotive industries. In addition, the product surface created is perfectly suited for painting and powder coating and can also be faced directly in the molding process with 3D foil or CPL.

3DF materials have already been awarded first place at the AVK Innovation Award 2017 in the category “Innovative Products/Components and Applications”. The product, which is now ready for the market, is currently being successfully tested by some of Sonae Arauco's industrial partners such as Light Weight Solutions GmbH, Kreutzfeldt GmbH and Jetclass Group and used in various products such as chairs and furniture fronts. The wood-based composite is manufactured in Sonae Arauco’s MDF plants and is available in large quantities.