European Union Projects
Having joined the Ecobulk project, we are now a member of an international consortium advocating for the current linear value chain in the furniture industry to transition to the circular model.
ECOBULK Project
Having joined the Ecobulk project, we are now a member of an international consortium advocating for the current linear value chain in the furniture industry to transition to the circular model.
Under the EU-backed project, we participated in the reinterpretation of existing furniture components according to the circular economy principles and developed special particleboard technologies.
We worked with partners such as Akzonobel and Cranfield University and the innovative adhesives we subsequently developed proved that waste particleboard use in manufacturing can be increased up to 50 percent using bio-based adhesives.
Other project partners developed new products for other furniture components such as joints and upholstery. We eventually extended product life and showed that circular business models are feasible in the furniture industry with designs that use entirely reusable or recyclable components. The product demonstrations produced as part of the project are currently exhibited in five different locations in the United Kingdom (2), Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
Figure 1. Attempt at Producing Panels Using Waste and Biobased Adhesives (Adana Production Facility)
E2COMATION Project
We are a partner to the E2COMATION project that focuses on energy consumption and environmental impacts of manufacturing processes. This project has recently merited funding from the European Commission.
As part of the project, launched in 2021, we will create digital twins of our processes, carry out data analytics and LCA modeling to further explore our manufacturing processes and develop optimization tools to reduce our environmental and energy impacts. Accordingly, we are cooperating with industry experts including the Italian research institute CNR STIIMA, KU Leuven University, and Software AG to drive innovative technologies.
Figure 2. E2COMATION Project Team’s Visit to Gebze Production Plant
WOODPRINT Project
Under the EUREKA-approved and the TUBITAK-backed WOODPRINT project, we categorized our work under the TEYDEB 1509 project titled “Improving Value-Added Wood-Based Panels Using Digital Print and Functional Coating.”
One part of the project was dedicated to the production of wood-based panels, used in furniture and laminate flooring manufacturing, by utilizing digital print technology. In the other part, we worked on the development and application of various functional coating formulations for value-added wood-based panels. We cooperated with Torrecid (Spain) and Kupsa Coatings (Spain), both highly experienced in their respective fields.
Figure 3. WOODPRINT Project Team’s Visit to Gebze Production Plant
