The world bestseller noraplan stone celebrates its 25th anniversary
For its 25th anniversary, the rubber floor covering noraplan stone from nora systems will be presenting itself with a revised colour range and two surface versions. This nora flooring with its characteristic granular design has now been on the market for a quarter of a century, and still ranks among the world’s bestsellers. It is equally at home in rail vehicles and buses in New York, China, and São Paolo as in schools, universities, hospitals, old people’s homes, and industry. In the meantime, over 20 million square metres of this rubber flooring have been sold – which is approximately the area of the Republic of Slovenia.
All-rounder for all areas of application
“noraplan stone is an all-rounder for all areas of application and still ranks among the highest selling floorings from the noraplan series,” said noraplan Product Manager Dirk Oswald. “Over many years and even today there have been many attempts to copy this original design, and there are countless imitations on the market.” Yet nora systems repeatedly puts even its bestsellers to the test, modifying them to the current market requirements and trends. “As a result, we can now offer noraplan stone with the classical refractive surface structure as well as a new, smooth variant,” explained Oswald. Whereas the former meets above all the demand for special slip resistance, for instance in trains and school buildings, the smooth, extremely easy care version is ideal where high hygiene requirements must be fulfilled, for example in hospitals and medical practices. Whichever the case, the dispersed granulate is excellent at hiding dirt and dust so that the floor always looks clean even under heavy use by large numbers of people. Yet another advantage is presented by a further innovation. Instead of many colours, the makers are now using exclusively black and white granulate, for more calming and homogeneous effects.
Trendy colours supplement classical hues
Also the colour range for noraplan was revised for the anniversary. In addition to timeless, discreet grey and beige tones, vivid colours like Kiwi Green or Aquamarine provide appealing accentuations in the room. Here, the product developers at nora systems have taken up current colour trends. The customer can now choose from a total of twenty different colours in the standard range of refractive surface variants. According to nora Head of Design Dieter Rischer, the trend is currently returning to “daring, powerful colours”. Nevertheless: “The colour favoured by customers hasn’t changed in all these years. Since the introduction of noraplan stone, Stone Grey still tops the list,” said Oswald. Of course, this colour is also available for the new, smooth surface of noraplan stone. Stone Grey is only one of seven other different colours for this version.
Like all nora floor coverings, this classic product is also free of PVC, plasticisers, and halogens, for healthy indoor air. Its extremely dense sealed surface, of course, also makes noraplan stone highly durable. The classical structured version of this product is still available in an electrically dissipative and a noise reducing design.
Its diversity and continued, consistent refinement are the key to the success of this noraplan product, even after so many years: “noraplan stone,” explained product originator Rischer, “will lose none of its timelessness over the next 25 years either.”
