Unilin, a leader in innovative and sustainable interior and construction products, has announced a €20m investment at its Bazeilles production site in France for the industrial upscaling of its groundbreaking recycling technology for MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), HDF (High Density Fibreboard) and laminate floors.
The new industrial installation converts MDF and laminate floors (with an HDF core) into fully recyclable products. What is more, the patented technology also constitutes a major milestone for the industry as a whole, because Unilin will also share its knowledge through licences to stimulate global recycling efforts to the maximum.
The new installation will be operational from September 2025.
In 2021, Unilin announced a "world first" recycling technology for MDF and HDF: "Until then, it had been technically impossible to recycle MDF and HDF on an industrial scale."
With its first pilot line at its largest MDF/HDF production site in Bazeilles, the company has further industrialised and fine-tuned the technology over the last two years.
Now Unilin is taking the next step with an entirely new industrial installation at its Bazeilles site. This also means that laminate floors, such as those from Unilin’s Quick-Step brand, can now be recycled into entirely new products, as they have an HDF core.
Veronique Hoflack, president of Unilin Panels, explains: “We know that today the recyclability of MDF, HDF and laminate floors is sometimes called into question. After two years of testing on our industrial pilot line, we have been able to ascertain the efficiency and quality of the new technology.
"This investment proves that MDF and HDF are fully recyclable. An absolute milestone for the industry! The new investment will have a capacity of 70,000 tonnes of wood fibres per year, or almost 30% recycled fibres on the production line where the technology is deployed.
"The next step consists of collecting sufficient MDF waste to drive our recycling installation. To collect this waste, we are setting up several take-back programmes with our customers and partners. We also hope to find an ally in the government by recognising the recyclability of MDF, HDF and laminate floors in order to motivate the general public to sort their waste. This way we hope to avoid the unnecessary incineration of valuable waste streams.”
The €20m investment at Unilin’s largest MDF/HDF production site – one of the largest MDF/HDF plants in Western Europe – confirms the strategic importance of the production site in Bazeilles, which will become the world’s first circular MDF/HDF plant.
Unilin says it will not only scale up its patented technology to recycle MDF and HDF in its own production environment, but will also make it available to the industry through licences. This way the company aims to advance the circular economy within the panel and flooring industry as a whole.
Unilin CEO Wim Messiaen elaborates: “Innovation is central at Unilin. And we are definitely not keeping that innovation just to ourselves. As with our invention of the click system in the 90s, we believe our recycling technology will drive the industry forward so that everyone benefits.
"The breakthrough in the recycling of MDF and HDF is a crucial step in the ongoing process of making panel and laminate floors more sustainable – on the one hand because the wood retains the CO2 longer, but also because the technology will lower the energy consumption for the production of MDF and HDF. Unilin is continuously looking for ways to further reduce the carbon footprint of its products.”
