When Nordic flooring installers refused to be using cold welding products due to its hazardous chemicals, Bolon and OHLA Plast understood that something had to be done immediately in order to ensure the health and safety of flooring installers.
Cold weld, what is it?
If you haven't been involved the installation of vinyl flooring, you might not know what 'cold weld' or 'cold welding' is. Cold welding is a method of joining two plastic materials by using a liquid substance called 'cold weld', or 'chemical weld'.
Let's say you're sealing two different vinyl floors and want nearly an invisible seam without using heat welded seam treatment – then cold welding is the most useful technique.
How it works:
By overlapping two sheets of flooring, double cutting and applying a cold weld, you'll get an almost invisible seam.
Among most flooring installers, cold welding has been considered a superior technique and the cold weld liquid an essential accessory for a successful seam sealing of vinyl flooring. A welded seam has much greater strength than one that is not welded, and won't allow any future dirt accumulation in the seam.
In recent months, the general view of cold welding has changed drastically with Nordic flooring installers refusing to use cold welding products due to its main ingredient; Tetrahydrofuran.
Tetrahydrofuran; a hazardous substance
One of the main ingredients in cold weld, tetrahydrofuran (THF) is a hazardous chemical that poses danger to humans, animals and the environment. Often referred to as neurotoxic, THF is a flammable solvent that may lead to irritation of the eyes, sore throats and breathing problems. Recent studies have found that exposure to THF can damage the central nervous system and impact negatively on the human brain as well as cause injury to liver and kidneys.
The classic cold weld for vinyl flooring. Photo courtesy of Carpetandflooringtools.
This is an extremely serious issue, as many flooring installers come into daily contact with welding products and ultimately, the dangerous effects of THF. Therefore, in early 2016, Bolon in partnership with Swedish manufacturer, OHLA plast, initiated a conversation on how to address the problem. Would it be possible for Bolon, accompanied by OHLA plast, to come up with a healthy alternative that is not extremely flammable, nor posing any danger to people, animals or environments?
Bolon Green Weld - a truly unique product on the market
In October 2017, Bolon and OHLA Plast launched the first green product of the market. Although it was only launched on the Swedish market to start off with, the product launched globally in January 2018 and there's been a very positive response among flooring installers so far.
Torbjörn Klaesson, Supply Chain and Technical Officer at Bolon is happy with the result.
"We have received a very positive response so far. The most important thing is that flooring installers won't skip the welding process due to the hazardous substances the products contain. Apart from creating a healthy cold weld that is not flammable, we also the value of making the installation more efficient", says Klaesson.
Bolon green weld is a natural step in Bolon's efforts towards a future without environmental footprints. Flooring installers' health is a top priority in all aspects of the installation process and we are proud to have launched a great alternative to dangerous cold-weld-products.
Bolon Green Weld has been available on the Swedish market since October 2017 and launched internationally early 2018.
