BELGIUM – I4F®, a group of companies providing patents and technologies to the flooring industry, announced that it has entered into a patent partnership with Hymmen GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, a leading global digital printing systems provider, specialized in flooring.

This new strategic partnership gives I4F exclusive licensing rights for all Hymmen’s digital printing patents and technologies for flooring production, including Hymmen’s award winning Digital Lacquer Embossing (DLE) technology. This represents an important addition to I4F’s comprehensive digital printing portfolio that already includes market leading technologies from Classen, Kronospan and Benchwick.

Hymmen has established itself as one of the world’s leading providers of industrial digital printing for flooring and won an Interzum Red Dot Award for its patented DLE technology in 2019. Hymmen is completely dedicated to flooring and has provided most of the digital printing lines in the global flooring industry. More than 80% of digitally printed flooring around the world is produced using Hymmen technologies.

In addition to its exclusive licensing rights, I4F will work in close collaboration with Hymmen to promote digital printing opportunities in the flooring industry and will represent Hymmen on future patent protection related issues. Historically, Hymmen has maintained a strong IP position including, for example, its recent filing of a patent infringement lawsuit against Barberán S.A. at the District Court in Düsseldorf.

Digital printing will play a more crucial role in the future of flooring as it enables unlimited design flexibility and can be applied to a wide range of materials. This facilitates faster response times to market demands and trends while reducing material waste.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. René Pankoke, CEO and President of Hymmen, says, “I4F is the perfect match for Hymmen as we share the same passion for innovation and continuous development within the global flooring industry.  I4F is recognized as the technology leader in the flooring industry and will support us on developing and further expanding the market for digital printing.”