UPM to supply bio-based fillers to rubber flooring company Artigo

Helsinki – UPM is to supply renewable functional fillers (RFFs) to Artigo for use in the Italian rubber flooring company's ‘next-generation’ flooring collections for 2025.

The wood-derived fillers are being supplied as sustainable alternatives to fossil-based carbon black and precipitated silica fillers for polymer applications.

By incorporating ‘BioMotion’ branded RFFs, Artigo will achieve CO2 footprint savings of up to 0.5 kg CO2e/m2, the Finnish supplier said in a 29 May release.

Furthermore, it added, the RFFs have enabled the Carpeneto, Italy-based company to reduce the weight of its products by up to 5% per square metre of flooring.

According to the Finnish supplier, RFFs deliver “the same technical performance as precipitated silica in aiding flooring durability and elasticity.”

Furthermore, they provide an added benefit of being “up to one third lighter” compared to precipitated silica.

BioMotion RFF is certified by Din Certco conformity consultant and is sourced from "sustainably managed" forests, UPM also stated.

The fillers help improve “the sustainability and technical performance” of flooring, said Michele Andolfo, chief executive officer of Artigo.

By helping to reduce the CO? footprint and weight of products, the RFFs meet “the needs of contemporary architecture,” according to Andolfo.

UPM said the collaboration with Artigo marked a ‘milestone’ in the commercialisation of RFFs: providing a significant new application in the building & construction sector.

In addition, noted the supplier, the products can be used as reinforcement in materials for the production of automotive profiles, hoses, precision sealings and footwear.

UPM is investing €750 million to establish the “world’s first” large-scale biorefinery to transform woody biomass into a range of chemicals and materials.

The 220 kilotonne-per-annum facility in Leuna, Germany was initially scheduled for start-up at the end of 2022, with ramp-up scheduled for 2023.

In its latest announcement in March, UPM said that wood-handling and processing activities had started as part of the commissioning and start-up work for the biorefinery.