Timberman Denmark specialises in wood, cork and vinyl hard-floor coverings. Pictured is a grey, washed oak plank floor.
The climate positive future of cork Timberman Denmark A/S has provided hardwood floors to private and commercial projects since 2001 – always with a sharp focus on sustainability and social responsibility. But when it included cork flooring in its product portfolio one decade later, as part of its joint venture with Amorim, the world’s leading cork manufacturer, it took its business to new and even more climate-positive levels.
more CO2 than they emit throughout the entire production cycle, which makes it the world’s first climate-positive flooring,” explains Fisker.
By Camilla Pedersen | Photos: Timberman Denmark A/S
Not only does each square metre of cork flooring do good for the environment; the production of cork is also climate friendly, as it doesn’t involve wood cutting or machines. “Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. Oak harvesting is a profession that is passed on from generation to generation. The harvesters split off the outer layers of a cork oak tree by hand, using an axe without damaging the rest of the tree – a delicate process that requires skill, precision and practice. A cork oak tree can be harvested when it is 25 years old, and then every nine years. A
While wooden floors are still an important part of Timberman Denmark’s product portfolio, the Jutland-based company sees a growing demand for cork flooring – a trend that only proves that a strong foundation of cork is future proof. “Cork is one of the most sustainable materials available, but Amorim has been using it for 150 years, so it’s interesting to see how it has now become a material that everyone talks about and appreciates for its versatility and many positive impacts 14 | Issue 134 | March 2020
in their quest for a more climate-positive future,” says Mogens Fisker, managing director of Timberman Denmark A/S. While the company has offered a variety of cork floors since it joined forces with Portuguese Amorim in 2011, the most recent product addition is truly ground-breaking. “Amorim WISE is our new range of cork flooring, which has a carbon-positive footprint. It is made of cork and recycled materials that absorb
From bark to base