Kährs - Being A Revolutionary Brand For 150 Years
Kährs leads its beginning in 1957 with its founder Johan Kähr in the small town of Nybro, Sweden, where he started with a small shop making handmade wooden utility goods like parts for spinning wheels.
Fast-forwarding to 1919 when Gustaf Kähr has continued his grandfather's vision and established the company AB Gustaf Kähr. As a subsequent of his great leadership, the company has become a well-recognised producer of wood doors, furniture, flooring and toys. He had one persistent goal and that was to find efficient ways to increase the wood sustainability as raw material and improve the stability of wood when it's used as a building material.
A dream has come true when his newly invented multi-layered laminate was granted a patent in 1937.
His next success was winning the fight with gapping, twisting and cupping, common problems when dealing with solid wood floors. By inventing today's modern engineered hardwood floors Gustaf Kähr got his another patent in 1941 with the ground-breaking multilayer design which unarguably proved to be unbeatable.
Usually, the procedure for installing a new wooden floor would consist of installing the bare wood, then sanding it to even the surface and then applying the lacquer on site. What Kährs did was to revolutionise the process by producing an already finished product making sure the top layer was smooth and consistent in use. So basically in 1958 Kährs reached an apparelled accuracy in wood production and processing in their first factory-lacquered wood floor.
Another breakthrough in Kährs initiative for sustainable living is their entirely solvent-free lacquers in 1984. They were well aware of the problems caused by solvent lacquers due to the toxic gases evaporating from the drying floors.
An inspiring world innovation granting Kährs a leading place among the best manufacturers in the world is their world's first wood floor with a glueless Woodloc® joint in 2000. The revolutionary technology was rooted in the way it shortens the installation time while still leaving perfect results, it also pretty confidently removed any problems concerning gapping between boards when there is a climate change.
In 2004 Upofloor which is part of Kährs Group become the first ever to introduce PVC-free floors designed for heavy wear areas thus creating an environmentally friendly alternative to a product dominated by PVC.
Wood floors made from dual FSC® and Fairtrade-certified wood are presented in 2011 thus continuing the environmental trend by restoring biodiversity in the forests and presenting jobs for local people to have an income.
Easy to care for and extremely durable to staining and scratching yet easy to install and use, this is how the world's first PVC-free homogeneous contract sheet flooring had become famous in 2014.
Currently, Kährs' hometown has been granted a status of a city and as a manufacturer of wood flooring products, Kährs has become the biggest employer. Surprisingly though the town is famous as 'The city within the Kingdom of Crystal' due to the several glassworks factories which have become their main tourist attraction.
Product type
Up to 2015 Kährs got certification for several lines of its products under the FloorScore® standard which is a system for certifying low VOC emissions of resilient and hardwood flooring systems.
Warranty
Kährs has 3 types of warranty depending on the line of products and their supposed use. For Kährs LINNEA the guarantee is 15 years, for Kährs SPIRIT 20 years. For commercial areas is 5 years, the same for areas for sport. Though, some flooring can have up to 25 years, so check specifications before choosing. It is important to note the fact that each floor comes with a manual on how to be installed and maintained. If the guidelines are not followed then the warranty might become void.
Construction
All Kährs real wood flooring is based on Kährs patented parquet flooring technology and has a multi-layer structure that provides the correct balance between the top, core and back layers and makes the floor even and stable. Crossed layers counteract the natural movements of the timber. Varying the direction of the fibres in the timber in various layers contributes to the durability of floors which are less affected by changes in the indoor climate. Kährs parquet flooring is also eco-friendly as the fast-growing wood species such as pine is used for the intermediate layer.
Advantages
- Stable shape because of the climate-controlled production processes
- Kahrs Patented Woodloc system
- Hardwood at the short ends makes joints even stronger
- Available in more than 40 patterns and types of wood
- Up to 30 years wear warranty in a domestic environment
- Easy to clean
- Can be relacquered or oiled over time