December 14, 2007—UPM ProFi, an environmentally appealing wood/plastic composite, stood the test of hundreds of stiletto heels and dozens of active children at the opening of the recent Design Miami, reports the company. The new product, primarily used as decking, has been gaining popularity in Europe as an attractive, “green” building material. It was introduced to North America at the Miami show.
“We couldn’t have planned a tougher test,” said Edward Robinson, Sales and Marketing Director for UPM ProFi. “The UPM ProFi surface was unmarked by the high volume of traffic at Design Miami. Even when beverages were spilled, no one slipped on the high-friction surface of UPM ProFi.”
Guests at Design Miami mingled in an artfully designed pavilion called “The Space of Silence,” built entirely from UPM ProFi. The new product is manufactured from surplus materials, primarily paper and plastic, left over from the production of self-adhesive label stock by UPM Raflatac, the Label Division of UPM. The process residue is sent to UPM ProFi’s production facility where it is recycled and molded into patio decking and corner protector profiles.
The pavilion is the result of a partnership of global forest industry leader UPM, renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, and Finnish design company Artek. It was decorated with Artek’s 2nd Cycle furnishings collection with UPM Raflatac RFID (radio frequency identification) tags. The RFID tags are embedded into Artek’s furniture and can be read or uploaded via mobile phone, revealing the history of the item.
For more information visit the UPM Web site.
