desso

1. Cradle to Cradle® business case
Tuesday March 24th 2015
during the
Comeniusproject “sustainability” of

3. History
Key milestones in the history of Desso:
1993 Desso was acquired by DLW (Deutsche Linoleum Werke) and removed
from the Amsterdam stock exchange.
1998 DLW/Desso was taken over by Armstrong World Industries Inc.
(NYSE:AWI).
2007 In April, Desso became independent again after the acquisition by NPM
Capital, a Dutch investment company.
2010 Desso Group acquired the profitable activities of Enia Carpet NL Holding
BV in February 2010.
2011 Since April 2011, Desso shares are held by Bencis Capital Partners
(majority shareholder) and the current management board.
2014 In February 2014, Desso strengthens its US market position through an
agreement with The Dixie Group.
2015 Desso becomes part of Tarkett Group

4. Corporate strategy
Custom made wall carpet
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Netherlands
1. Operational excellence
2. Innovation
 Creativity
 Functionality
 Cradle to Cradle®
3. Expansion
 Geographic expansion
 Channel expansion
4. Communications

5. Desso Group
2012 figures - % of total sales
Business Overview
Carpets 90%
Business Carpets 65%
Hospitality, Marine & Aviation 12%
Consumer Carpets 13%
Sports Systems 10%
2012 figures (end December) - % of total sales

6. Desso focuses on superior floor design and Cradle to Cradle, in providing high quality carpet tiles and
broadloom.
Our commercial product offering, business carpets, represents more than half of total sales and can be found
in offices, banks, retail units, public buildings, schools, universities and care centers.
Carpet Tiles 94%
Broadloom 6%
Business Carpets
2012 figures (ytd October) - % of total sales

7. Hospitality
 Desso Hospitality has earned a global
reputation for supplying the world’s finest
hotels with luxury woven and custom made
carpet solutions for more than 75 years.
 Whether 5 Star, mid-scale, or economy, we are
committed to developing our customer
relationships, working in close partnership with
designers, owners, developers, and project
managers.
 Design, comfort and functionality are key
elements for our products.
 Desso can provide hospitality carpeting
solutions to satisfy a wide range of budgets
and applications, spanning from ballrooms to
lobbies, and guest rooms to corridors
Waldorf Astoria Berlin, Germany
Custom made Axminster

8. Marine
 For over two decades, Desso has been enjoying a global reputation for our custom made floor coverings as
well as our stock selection, which we supply to cruise liners and ferry operators worldwide.
 At Desso, we are committed to meeting its exact requirements in a direct and open manner, while we work
continuously on innovative solutions.
 Desso offers both woven and tufted wall-to-wall carpets and carpet tiles for cabins, providing a complete
package for the floor covering of all areas of the vessel.
Custom made Axminster

9. Aviation
 Desso has more than 20 years of experience in creating aviation carpeting and looks back on a successful
history of being a true partner to the leading airframe manufacturers and to numerous airlines throughout the
world.
 With our focus on quality, flexibility and expert carpet design we’ve grown to a top three position in the
aviation market.
 With a thorough knowledge of the market, we translate its values and inspiration into commercial and
practical solutions with truly innovative designs.
Wilton Aero 850

10. Consumer carpets
Desso Consumer Carpets is represented by three
strong brands: DESSO, Parade and Bonaparte, all with
a rich history in designing and manufacturing high-end
consumer carpets.
 The DESSO collection is inspired by the latest
trends in structures, materials and colours seen in
interior design.
 Parade is characterised by its rich and luxurious
products which meet today’s need for warmth and
comfort.
 Bonaparte, with its colourful collection, represents
an expressive lifestyle that varies from the trendy
to the more romantic.
For more information, please visit our websites:
www.dessohome.nl
www.paradefloorfashion.nl
www.bonapartetapijt.nl

11. Sports Systems
 Desso Sports Systems has more than 30 years
experience in the sports surface market,
supplying artificial grass and hybrid natural
grass systems
 The product portfolio also includes DESSO
GrassMaster®, a sports field of 100% natural
grass reinforced with Desso synthetic grass
fibres.
 Today, Desso Sports Systems is one of the
world‘s largest manufacturers with over 50
million square metres of installed sport pitches
for football, hockey, tennis, American football,
rugby and multi-purpose use.Wembley Stadium London, UK
DESSO GrassMaster®

12. Desso Group
Employees: 1000
Carpet tiles: 9.000.000 m2
• Tufted products 90%
• Fibre bonded products 10%
Broadloom: 2.500.000 m2
Artificial grass: 1.800.000 m2
Woven carpets: 750.000 m2

13. According to the Cradle to Cradle® principles, products are made from pure
components that are easy to disassemble, so that new products can be made
from them (= up-cycling) in both the biosphere and the technosphere.
Michael Braungart
William McDonough
What is Cradle to Cradle®?

14. Desso has been making a difference with eco-
efficiency for years. These are examples of what
we do in the area of eco-efficiency:
Energy consumption
32% reduction in energy consumption per
carpet tile produced from 1998-2013 in
Waalwijk, the Netherlands.
Recycling
100% recycling of pure textile manufacturing
waste at Desso’s production plants.
In 2013, 98% of all packaging materials were
recycled
Eco-efficiency
DESSO AirMaster® 9502, 9504

15. 1. Positive footprint
2. Improve quality of life and environment
3. Re-utilize all materials used in the product.
Design criteria: easy disassembly
4. Use post-customer materials as raw material in
the product
5. All raw materials should be 100% safe for
humans and environment
6. Use renewable energy in all stages of the cycle
Eco-effectiveness
It’s all about Eco-Effectiveness

16. Strategic plans
Energy
 2020 100% durable energy
 Biomass
 Wind energy
 Solar energy
 Start in Waalwijk JV with Host/ENECO
Biodiversity
 Increase biodiversity in industrial
 environment.
 First “green roof” done
 Focus on certain species

17. Solar panels

19. Prototype with paper yarn

20. Prototype with bamboo yarn

21. Prototype from jute

22. Technical cycle

25. OPTIMAL
OPTIMIZING
TOLERABLE
IDENTIFY THE BEST: ABC-X CATEGORIZATION
NOT ACCEPTABLE
NOT
CHARACTERIZED
PROGRESS OF QUALITY FROM CRADLE TO CRADLE WITH
TIME
Clients and
suppliers are
regarded as
partners to reach
quality.
ECO-
EFFECTIVENESS
Create ‘Passive Positive List for
existing products
Analysis of all raw materials
Use only positively defined materials
Phase out non-acceptable raw
materials
No need to be perfect from day one!

27. Traditional carpet tile

28. Handmade carpet tile with Polyolefine backing

29. Desso Cradle to cradle carpet tile with Polyolefine backing

30. Optimal situation

31. Over 90% of Desso’s carpet tiles are
Cradle to Cradle® certified

32. Future objective

33. Future objective

34. Future objective

36. Refinity

37. Refinity

38. DESSO Refinity®

39. Take Back™

42. Cradle to Cradle® Roadmap to 2020
Positively defined = is
based on current used
raw materials and hazard
assessment (calculated
by mass)
C2C Products certification
= based on sales volume
in m2 (2012 figure is
based on actual sales
volume)
All Cradle to Cradle®
objectives as mentioned
in the Roadmap are
subject to commercial and
technical viability.
© July 2012 DESSO®
Commercial carpet tiles

44. Mckinsey report
Arsenal FC
Microsoft
 Report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
 McKinsey & Company worked on the case examples
and analytics
 Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos
 The report claims that businesses can save up to $630
billion per year in the EU by moving to the circular
economy
 The report cites Desso as one of the pioneering
companies that is leading the charge to the new world
Download via: http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/

45. The Circular Economy
Arsenal FC

46. Closing the loop: C2C chalk in
carpet tile backing
True example of the Circular Economy
powered by C2C
 New circular economy material stream of up to 20,000
tonnes of chalk from local water companies
 Positively defined recycled content – material health
is key!
 Collaboration and innovation has made this
development possible

47. Carpet Lease
 Carpet Lease is launched together with global financial solutions partner DLL.
 The solution enables you to free up cash and contribute to the circular economy at the
same time.
 It also allows companies to concentrate on the core business and outsource the flooring
to the experts. By leasing the carpet, you will:
1. Support the environment and the circular economic model
2. Gain financial flexibility
3. Contribute to employee health and wellbeing
4. Enjoy hassle-free flooring

48. Was it a good idea...?

57. Generates publicity

58. Generates publicity

66. Cradle to Cradle Café

67. Different sales advisors

68. Hilde Roothart

70. The artist Petra Blaisse

71. Royal visit

72. Crowning of the new King

74. Our vision
How to make the floor work for our health and wellbeing?
We want to be the world leader in making environmentally responsible
flooring products.
Today, most people spend 90% of their time indoors. We believe it is our
responsibility to develop products that contribute to a healthier living and
working space.
At Desso, we say ‘The Floor is Yours’ to underline the fact that we maintain
a relentless focus on our customers at all times.

75. The challenge of poor air quality
Aspiring to build the ‘Great Indoors’ can make a huge
difference to people’s health and wellbeing as well as work
efficiency and creativity.
One key issue is poor air quality.
1) WHO, 7 million premature deaths annually linked
to air pollution, 25 March 2014, News Release.
2) Most EU city dwellers suffer bad air days’,
Euractiv.com, 24 Sept,
2012. http://www.euractiv.com/sustainability/third
-eu-city-dwellers-suffer-ba-news-514957
3) William J. Fisk and Arthur H. Rosenfeld of the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in
Berkeley in California, US.

76. AIRMASTER®
Functionality

77. The open product structure ensures that dust is easily released during cleaning, to ensure maximum regeneration of the carpet’s
filtering functionality.
Very fine dust is captured and retained
in the fine yarns of the DESSO
AirFiltersTM.
Coarser fine dust is captured in
the thicker yarns of the DESSO
DustCollectorsTM.
The unique structure of DESSO
AirMaster® prevents the dust from
becoming airborne again.
How does it work?
Enlarged profile of DESSO AirMaster®
Fine dust (< 2,5 μm)
Fine dust (> 10 μm)

78. What is Particulate Matter?
PM10 Inhalable particles, with an aerodynamic diameter of up to 10 μm (all smaller particles are included).
Particles of this size cause health problems, because these are the particles that generally pass through the throat and enter
the lungs.
PM2.5 Fine particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm. Particles of this size or smaller can have effects
to the respiratory and cardiovascular system.

79. DESSO AirMaster® is 8 times more effective in
capturing and retaining fine dust than hard flooring solutions (PM10)*
DESSO AirMaster® is 4 times more effective in
capturing and retaining fine dust than standard carpet solutions (PM10)**
* Based on tests performed by GUI, with DESSO AirMaster® versus standard PVC hardfloor.
** Based on tests performed by GUI, with DESSO AirMaster® versus standard structured loop pile carpet.

80. 1 Particulate matter enters our respiratory (lung) system through the nose and throat
2-3 The larger particulate matter is eliminated through coughing, sneezing and
swallowing
4 Smaller particulate matter can penetrate deep into the lungs. It can travel all the
way to the alveoli, causing lung and heart problems and delivering harmful
chemicals to the blood system.
How
particulate
matter enters
your body

81. Scientific research in the field of indoor air quality is done on this topic by a variety of
scientists and institutions.
The World Health Organization stated clear guidelines on fine dust concentrations in
indoor air.
Air quality is one of the areas in which the European Union has been most active.
* Source: World Health Organization Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, global update 2005.
Regulation
is established

84.  DESSO SoundMaster® offers an impact sound
insulation value (ΔLw) up to +15 dB above the
standard value*, thereby setting a new industry standard
in carpet performance. Carpet in general reduces the
impact of sound by between 20 and 30 decibel.**
 DESSO SoundMaster® achieves an improvement in
sound absorption performance up to +0.15 (αw)*,
equivalent to up to +100% improvement in comparison
to standard carpet designs (αw value between 0.15 and
0.20).***
Expertly designed to
create quiet spaces
* Tests performed at SWA (Schall- und Wämemessstelle Aachen GmbH) – Institut fuer
schalltechnische und wärmetechnische Prüfungen-Beratung-Planung
**To compare: other flooring solutions (non-carpet) generally give a value between 5 and 10 dB.
***To compare: other flooring solutions (non-carpet) generally give a value between 0.05 and 0.10.

85. External and independent tests have been performed to determine the effect of the DESSO Light Reflection Master®.
The use of DESSO Light Reflection Master® can increase the brightness of a room by up to 14%.*
As a result lighting costs can be reduced by up to 10%*, while cutting down on the quantity of energy related CO2
emissions.
European office buildings use 50% of their total electricity consumption for lighting.
The effect of DESSO
Light Reflection
Master®
* Data based on calculations made with DIALux software, based on closed cell office without furniture and without windows. The results depend on the size of the room, the height of the ceiling, the
amount of light coming in from outside and the general nature of the surroundings.

86. Design CenterTM
Arsenal FC
 Desso’s new Design CenterTM to be launched in
May 2014.
 Based at our HQ in Waalwijk, the Netherlands.
 The Design CenterTM is custom-built to further
stimulate innovation and partnerships with our
customers.
 It will play a key role in the continued
development of our innovation strategy.

87. Luminous Carpets™
Luminous Carpets™

89. Technically :
Second half of 2014 – Desso carpet tile products will
contain on average more than 50% (positively
defined) recycled content in line with C2C principles ;
Financially :
Increased profitability of Desso in general and more
specific for the Carpets division (Ebitda from 3% in
2006 to more than 10% in LE 2014)
Proving that circularity works...

90. Desso, part of
Best result so far…....
A Tarkett Company

91. For more information, please contact us or visit our
website: www.desso.com
Thank you!
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