Cleaf: that’s how we dress up panels…

Increasing customization, more design, for increasingly wide and diversified markets. And behind that, strong research for creativity and technology, rooted in a corporate history that fully fits into the made-in-Italy design tradition.

Cleaf, based in Lissone (Monza Brianza), founded in the Seventies to sell particleboard, has become a synonym for furniture surfaces and interior decorations, with one peculiarity: total control on the entire value chain.

Talking about decors is minimizing, the innovative definition for Cleaf’s products is “thermo-structured surface”, flexibly produced according to customer requirements, from top brands to high-quality retail. Placed at the heart of Brianza, the home of furniture, Cleaf had a clear mission from the beginning, constantly pushing its activity not only in terms of research, but also for technological development.

The company’s production assets have been recently expanded with a new hot lamination press for panels measuring 3500×2070, a single-daylight model reaching 100 kilos pressure by square centimeter with high flexibility; it can laminate panels from 3 to 50 millimeter thickness, featuring 65 positions for different coatings and the possibility to emboss at different depths. The panel is not laminated, it’s thermo-structured. The new cycle has been set up at the new Lissone site, large production halls, a wonderful showroom and areas to meet, understand, create, design…

This is the new frontier for Cleaf, reasserting their great innovation skills and specialization in the service of design and architecture with custom products. A big challenge that Alessandro Carrara, general manager, is taking seriously, as he explains in this interview.

 

Mr. Carrara, can you say that your technology serves creativity?

 

The surface-product evolution has been very strong, especially in recent years.

“Laminated surfaces have acquired an added value of innovative surfaces.The innovation game is now played on surfaces, on furniture doors.I’m talking about visual impact, tactile sensation, texture and structure of a surface.At Cleaf we do great things because we know the entire cycle, from raw panel to finished furniture items.In our plants, we don’t just laminate, we cut to size, we edgeband, we post-form, we bore… we can even deliver a finished prototype to our partners.

In this way, we can meet any request, we can test, understand and offer the best response to architects, designers, customers”.

 

Like many others, or even before, you have moved towards decors…

“It was a forced decision, if I think about it.We have never been a company with large production volumes, as we are not backed up by panel or chemical production expertise, which is essential to carry on specific projects.This has characterized our story of “processors” of semifinished materials.We have leveraged the skills, the know-how of our district, Brianza, boasting deep and strong roots in the furniture culture.

We are historical suppliers of industry leaders; we have lived parallel lives, we have grown and developed together.I can say that Cleaf is behind much of Brianza’s design, with our desire to be part of a project, to go in certain directions.Now it’s almost taken for granted talking about solutions for one “big brand” or another, and it’s normal for them to think of us, but there is a huge effort behind, a deep culture of work, an industrial and technological policy that – let me tell you – only few have.The product must be accurate, clean, close to perfection.We pay great attention starting from raw materials:we certainly don’t look for cheap products, only those that are most suitable for the results we want to achieve”.

 

It must be difficult to be competitive with your kind of product…

“It’s true, but we have found our own niche of original creations, a tailor-made offer that puts us on a different level.We are exporting more than 30 percent of our production, also to emerging countries, where we are collecting increasing requests.We sell a package based on a “technological” panel, as we call it, and with suitable plants our customers can make high-quality front elements and surfaces, offering great visual impact all around the world.

We are doing very well in the United States, for instance, and we have recently closed an agreement with some Brazilian manufacturers.Important joint ventures, if you want to use this definition:we supply materials they cannot produce, as they don’t have plants with suitable flexibility, but rather technology designed for large volumes.The Chilean giant Masisa, for example, will distribute Cleaf products in Brazil, and we are also considering joint production for some articles in that region…”.

 

This industry is looking ahead and is also a factory of taste: is it difficult to combine these two aspects?

“No.It’s easy if you have people who believe and an organization up to the situation.At Cleaf we work well, we are a good team.In our “Cleaf Lab” we support the visual impact of our products with an accurate study of materials, to ensure consistent improvement; research is part of our dna, supported by the enthusiasm and long-sightedness of our owner, Luciano Caspani, who has always invested in technology and advanced plants”.

 

It seems that veneers have lost the battle, considering what can be done with new decors…

“Many companies have missed the opportunity to use technology materials to make quality furniture, exclusively focusing on cost saving compared to veneer.It’s happened in Italy, less in Germany.Research on materials and lamination was more limited, we missed opportunities running after lower prices.A pity..:

 

Who sets trends today? Architects, big contractors, the contract sector?

“Trend is a word that must be taken with caution.Often someone has gone wrong and other have followed without realizing that the real market was not interested.The market is the world and the elements involved are many, and very different.Today we use innovative materials to do what used to be done with wood.In our opinion, no material should be excluded for furniture surfaces and interior decorations:glass, plastics, iron, aluminum, stone, fabric, melamine, laminates, paints, lacquers… you have to understand and learn how to use them.The surface communicates emotion and performance to the customer, even if it’s furniture for the retail channel.A melamine panel, properly made, has a dignity and performs a function”.

 

What about the next “Interzum”?

“We are introducing different products.The Cologne review is a place where you can meet the whole world.We will bring several color combinations, some of them already exhibited at the Saloni in Milan, where we were directly or indirectly exhibiting in eighty booths!A figure that is making us very proud.

 

Mr. Carrara, are you optimistic about the future?

“Sure, the world is big.We are not going to stop furniture production, we have to change the production method and focus more and more on surfaces.The boutique of panels is good, but we should not forget that, behind it, there is an industry that works, makes profits and invests to carry on.We must be flexible, with flawless and undisputed service, following – or better, anticipating – the needs of our customers.The Italian market will never be again what it used to be in the past decades, and to establish yourself abroad, you need years, a strong organization and image.We expect 30 percent export growth, keeping a strong focus on quality and research, thus increasing our credibility and reliability”.

 

Hall 6.1 – Stand C30