Cologne/Kaisersesch, May 9, 2023. This year, the CLASSEN is participating in Interzum, the world's leading trade fair for furniture manufacturing and interior design, in Cologne for the first time. The family-owned company from the Eifel region received its first piece of good news even before the start of the trade fair on May 9: the self-developed tile alternative CERAMIN® Tiles received the internationally renowned Interzum Award for its exceptionally high product quality. The prize is awarded by a renowned international jury of experts for exceptional products. Ultimately, CERAMIN® Tiles scored highly in all assessment criteria – from product innovation to functionality and material quality to sustainability. Various companies took part in the competition with a total of 144 submissions. On the eve of the start of Interzum, 52 products from all over the world were honored at the award ceremony.

"The start of our trade fair premiere in Cologne couldn't have been better," comments Céline Quervel, Head of Marketing at the CLASSEN . "We are delighted that the expert jury has honored our passionate commitment to this sustainable, easy-to-use product, designed with attention to detail, with this award." The plastic content of CERAMIN® Tiles, an alternative to natural stone wall and floor coverings, already consists of more than 60 percent recycled materials. The resulting comparatively low weight also makes them very easy to work with. Since the ultra-thin plastic tiles, which are made of the pollutant-free material CERAMIN®, can even be installed on existing tiles, they have become very popular, especially for renovations and refurbishments—whether done by homeowners themselves or by professional contractors.

Seven renowned experts from the fields of design, materials science, and architecture evaluated the products submitted for the interzum Award in terms of their design and technical quality as well as their sustainability. The jury included Vito Orazem, Managing Director of Red Dot and Executive Director of the Design Zentrum NRW, and Hon. Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters, author of numerous specialist books on sustainable materials and one of the leading materials experts and trend scouts for new technologies. In its overall assessment, the jury emphasized that the high quality standard of the competition entries confirmed the potential of the industry and the importance of design as an economic factor. This makes CLASSEN win of the interzum Award CLASSEN this demanding competition all the more impressive. The award was presented at the Congress Center of Koelnmesse.

The jury's evaluation criteria for the interzum Award read like a list of requirements for product developers and designers at the CLASSEN . As a technology leader in the flooring industry, the CLASSEN holds a large number of different patents, some of which are made available to the entire industry through licensing agreements. This also applies to the innovative material CERAMIN® and the carrier boards. In combination with their exceptional product properties, CERAMIN® tiles are extremely innovative. Their ease of handling and installation, light weight, and simple processing with a standard cutter guarantee optimal functionality. In terms of material quality, CERAMIN are not only impressive because they are free of harmful substances, but also because of their robustness and durability of up to 20 years, which enables such a long life cycle. The surfaces are designed with attention to detail and a sophisticated digital printing process that allows for a wide range of individual designs. CERAMIN® tiles therefore score points in terms of design not only because of their ultra-light weight, but also because of their distinctive appearance. At the same time, digitalization has naturally found its way into product development, creating real added value. However, one of the most important aspects in the development of the CERAMIN® material was and remains sustainability. The use of recycled materials, the absence of PVC, complete recyclability, the product's service life, climate-friendly production, and a transparent supply chain that places particular emphasis on suppliers from Germany and Europe – all this makes CERAMIN® Tiles a sustainable, consumer-friendly product that also fully meets the requirements of neo-ecology.

CERAMIN® Tiles will not only be on display at the CLASSEN stand (Hall 1.2, Stand B021), but will also be featured alongside other award-winning products during interzum (May 9 to 12) in a separate exhibition on the trade fair boulevard and in the online exhibition at www.interzum.com.

This video shows how easy it is to renovate a bathroom with CERAMIN :