What is laminate?

History of laminate flooring

The first laminate floor was developed in 1977 in Sweden, but first arrived on the market in 1980. This new kind of flooring quickly spread to other countries in Europe. The laminate of the early years was not of the high quality that it is today – but thanks to on going developments, by the end of the 1980s visible advances had been achieved.

Today laminate is one of the most popular floor surfaces in the world and Kronoflooring GmbH, Lampertswalde is one of the global market leaders. What has not changed since the 1980s is the composition of laminate flooring. The general composition of laminate is composed of three layers.

The base layer of laminate is an impermeable, layer underneath the base that improves its structural stability and serves as a moisture barrier. The thick, middle layer is a wooden composite base. The topmost layer of laminate flooring is the wearing surface and the decorative layer that, depending on the production process, can consist of several layers. It consists of a special resin-treated cellulose and gives the floor a tough, durable surface and makes it visually attractive.

Especially on the surface, the differences between inferior laminate flooring and the high quality laminate from KronoOriginal® become clear. In particular for the design: a good laminate floor feels comfortable and demonstrates a natural-looking structure. At the same time, the high quality finishing of the laminate provides many advantages.