Jukka Laari, Volar Plastic Oy
When you want a stylish look with good sound absorption properties, there is no material like felt. It features excellent acoustic properties and is easy to shape, which means there are no limits for interesting designs. In the presses at Volar Plastic, felt is turned into wall panels, furniture and upholstery panels for different kinds of vehicles.
People often assume that felt consists of natural fibres without exception, but the felt we use is made of polyester fibres. More than half of it is recycled material, coming from PET soft drink bottles, which are familiar to everyone. Today, environmental issues are becoming more and more prominent and it is very important for our customers that we prefer ecological options when we choose raw materials. Therefore, we utilise plastic waste and create entirely new products from it. For many people it is a complete surprise that an old soda bottle can end up, for example, as polyester felt on the headliner of a Valtra tractor or on a designer chair by Kola.
Intermedius is an expert in the production of polyester felt. Our close partnership has already lasted for years, and during that time we have solved different challenges by developing new and innovative solutions. It has been important for us to work with a partner who commits to our success. This makes cooperation more flexible and issues are easier to discuss, since both sides really understand what the other means. We are also able to respond to the needs of our customers more quickly when the partner is literally close to us.
Intermedius’ new felt machine line triples their manufacturing capacity and opens up entirely new possibilities for our cooperation. It also gives a significant competitive advantage to Intermedius relative to their competitors. When Intermedius invested in a new felt machine line, it felt like they were investing in our needs.
We look forward with great enthusiasm, and I believe that the new felt machine line will enable us to take new leaps ahead in our cooperation. We will also continue with product development together to ensure that our customers receive even better felt solutions in the future.
Volar Plastic Oy
Volar Plastic, which operates in Lahti, Finland, is a subcontracting company that produces plastic and composite parts for industrial customers. Using vacuum moulding, felt pressing and composite manufacturing techniques, they create products for the furniture, automotive, military and aviation industries, among others. The company, which employs about forty people, has operated under its current name since 1993, but the company’s history goes back to the 1960’s.
Characteristic to the products manufactured by Volar Plastic is sleek appearance combined to good sound absorption properties. The company is renowned for innovatively applying new manufacturing methods and materials.
