U.S. office furniture producer Paoli has switched to a formaldehyde-free wood coating system supplied by AkzoNobel that meets the latest indoor air quality standards and exceeds the levels of product performance of the previous system.

As well as complying with  industry regulations, the move will enable Paoli to meet growing customer demand for products that meet the indoor air quality standards of groups such as BIFMA and the Greenguard Environmental Institute.

“The challenge was to develop a new system that would work on Paoli’s existing finish lines and maintain the high quality look and performance achieved with the existing system,” explained Ron Cooper, North America Regional Sales Manager for AkzoNobel’s Wood Coatings business.

“We worked closely with the finishing team at Paoli, which has been a key AkzoNobel customer and development partner for more than 30 years. The experience of their finishing staff and leadership team was vital in helping to develop and implement the new formaldehyde-free system.” 

Paoli initially ran both systems side by side, but decided to convert entirely to formaldehyde-free when it became apparent that it offered significant benefits over the previous system. 

“The new AkzoNobel system has allowed us to achieve indoor air quality certification, while improving the finish with better clarity, depth and durability,” said Troy Apple, Finishing Supervisor at Paoli. “We were also able to reduce material usage compared with the previous system. The conversion went smoothly and the product looks great.”

Commenting on the announcement, Volkan Goren, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Wood Coatings business, said: “This partnership underlines our Planet Possible approach to working together with our customers to deliver breakthrough sustainable solutions. It is very gratifying to see that we can collaborate and develop a solution that provides an economic benefit to our customer while delivering sustainable solutions.”