Desicor is a renowned Portuguese producer of furniture and decorative panels. The sheer quality of its furnishing components makes it a market stand-out. It manufactures over 40,000 pieces a week and exports 99.8% of them worldwide via its Oneskin brand.

Desicor wanted to renew its production line and obtain high-quality surface finishes: deep matt, hard-wearing and scratch-resistant. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to merge the most recent drying technologies with those already used by the company and help workers get used to the new system.

Integration of the innovative, patented ExyDry oven into the existing coating line has allowed Desicor to provide the market with an ultra-matt product, even with objects that have complex shapes.

The excellent results stemmed from close collaboration with the customer up to full adoption of the new plant, an approach designed to continuously maximise productivity.

Innovative products

Desicor is now able to offer retailers innovative products and strengthen the reputation of its Oneskin brand. It has overcome the pitfalls of integrating new technologies into an existing production framework and its personnel are now skilled, trained and able to use the new line confidently.

On the one hand, there is awareness that technological innovation will yield competitive advantages, such as higher productivity, better-quality products or a broader product range to offer the market. On the other hand, companies need to carefully consider the return on investment and the impact new production lines can have on established business processes.

Those who turn to Cefla can count on straightforward ROI estimates: simulations performed in our lab allow solutions to be tested with the customer’s products, thus streamlining the calculations. However, that same mathematical precision cannot be applied when calculating the impact of the new line on the company’s production ecosystem.

To respond to this uncertainty, Cefla Finishing offers customer service and assistance throughout the life cycle of the new line. While there is no mathematical formula to support this statement, there are plenty of case studies we can turn to – such as Desicor – that offer tangible proof of it.

Finishing line

Desicor chose Cefla Finishing as its technological partner for surface finishing operations. In 2019, the Portuguese company decided to renew the production line to give its furniture range distinctive characteristics and ensure ultra-high quality.

To be more specific, Desicor was interested in Cefla’s flat panel and 3D finishing technologies, which provide ultra-matt, soft-touch, anti-fingerprint and highly scratch-resistant finishes.

Furthermore, the company wanted to produce self-healing surfaces and edge finishes that match the panel surface to perfection. To achieve those goals, Cefla came up with a customised solution that could be combined with the existing technology to give rise to a new production line.

The new finishing process starts with cleaning of the panel, which has already been prepared with a primer, then comes spray application, followed by an evaporation stage and final drying with an excimer oven and ultra-violet lamps.

A combination of innovative coatings and complex technology proved to be a significant challenge, as this was particularly evident in certain product categories, such as doors with glass panes or doors pre-drilled for hinges.

So addressing these challenges to ensure that the new plant becomes a true asset, as opposed to a hindrance, for the company and workers was a bigger task.

Getting an innovative new finishing line up and running offers a great opportunity to boost productivity and ensure higher-quality results is the solution.

Having said this, it is important to understand that this process often requires significant commitment and effort on the part of the entire organisation. That is why it is vital to choose a technological partner who can provide close support throughout this transition phase.

Cefla’s strength lies in the relationships it establishes with customers. Being a true partner, not just a supplier, means sharing and cooperating, not just to identify the most advantageous technological solution but above all to overcome the difficulties and solve the problems companies can encounter.

Lasting partnership

This is exactly what the company has done for Desicor, by providing training, close support and assistance, both on-site and remotely. After almost 10 years of partnership, Pedro Ramos, Director of Process Engineering, believes the just-described challenge has further strengthened the bond of trust between Cefla and Desicor.

What makes Pedro confident that Desicor and Cefla will remain partners for a long time is, above all, the excellent assistance he has received over the years: in Cefla there’s always an expert available, well-prepared on the latest technology and ready to help.

In the case of Desicor, the Excimer matting technology was extended to all three axes, resulting in a high-performance surface finish for long-term scratch and abrasion resistance.

The new production line offers a soft-touch, fingerprint-proof effect even on raised panels, a deep matt finish reaching below-5 gloss (on a 0-100 scale), and minimal nitrogen consumption (65% less than average) that reduces costs.

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