Special edition for the 50th birthday of norament rubber floors
Weinheim, November 2017 – There are many quality German products that are used synonymously to stand for a whole group of products. One word is enough; almost everyone knows what it means. There is also one such classic products among resilient floor coverings: the pastille flooring from nora systems.
The rubber flooring with round pastilles was the first product released in the norament series, and is still one of nora’s calling cards. This year, the high-pressure-printed rubber tiles celebrate their 50th birthday. Over the past five decades, this line of coverings has firmly established itself in the global architectural business – many important buildings of various functions and sizes have been equipped with norament.
Wherever floors have to withstand extremely high loads, architects, planners, and builders rely on the rubber flooring from Weinheim, which is not only resilient, but extremely wear-resistant. The reliability and the versatile and flexible design possibilities of this flooring have made it a true design classic. This is why the pastille flooring is still available in 20 standard colors. And now there is also a twenty-first: to celebrate this birthday, nora systems has brought a new color onto the market. Shimmering particles made of real granite are incorporated into the high-quality stone gray rubber tiles for the special edition. “The new design with its extraordinary look is ideally suited for showcase areas,” according to CEO Andreas Mueller.
Germany’s largest airport provided the breakthrough
Norament flooring can be found in a variety of buildings all over the world: in airports, hospitals, schools and universities, office buildings, shops, and museums, as well as in research facilities, industrial buildings, and sports venues. Everywhere it is found, norament stands for quality “Made in Germany.“ The floor coverings with the pastille design have left their stamp and made the nora brand famous in a way that no other product has.
A major project from the early years played a decisive role in this: Frankfurt Airport. The black norament tiles have proved over several decades to be virtually indestructible. Even the name of the covering is special: because it was the first, the pastille flooring is the only product that was given only a number: norament 926 – this is the standard pastille flooring. Today, the classic pastille flooring accounts for only a small part of norament production. “Hammered surfaces, developed in the mid-1980s, have been our most popular product for many years, and have replaced the pastille flooring as a moneymaker,” explains product manager Simon Rau.
In the 1990s, nora also started frequently mixing granules into these floorings. What began as an ecological use for scraps has quickly developed into a design element loved for the special optical effects it creates. The small granules measure 1.2 to 10 millimeters in diameter. Customers can choose between contrasting designs such as norament grano or a matching-tone look such as norament satura.
New designs open up multiple creative opportunities
The basic principles of norament production – mixing, calendering, vulcanization – have not changed substantially in half a century. However, nora systems has made continual adjustments to improve efficiency and functionality. For example, a hollow fluted design along the edge means that the pastilles are much flatter than they used to be. This means they can be cleaned more easily. The types of rubber used have also changed and developed as new technologies became available.
In terms of design, norament has also changed with the years: the color selection has increased dramatically. New structured norament surface variations – in addition to hammered surfaces there are, for example, relief structures such as those found on norament arago, the newest addition to the product range. These offer architects and builders a variety of design possibilities.
The special anniversary edition, available now, is no exception. “Stone gray is universally applicable and has therefore always been the most popular color in the norament series,” explains Rau. “With its shimmer effect, the new design is not only a birthday gimmick, but it will certainly be able to find a permanent place in the collection as an attractive eyecatcher in the most diverse buildings.”
And so the “50” marks another milestone on norament’s long road to success.
Visit our special anniversary site at www.nora.com/50-years-norament to find more information about norament and the pastille design, useful facts, funny stories, top international references, and a birthday video.
