Flexible and rigid panels with wool felt layer

Acoustic material with many application possibilities

What do wool felt and wood veneer have to do with each other? Together, they are an award-winning combination! Bringing Hollandfelt's wool felt together with Plexwood creates panels that improve acoustics, as well as being decorative. 

When Plexwood started around 2000, green thinking was not yet in vogue, according to Marketing Manager Marielle Reuwer. "People were skeptical, and that's not even that long ago! We were a forerunner then, because we thought sustainability was important from the beginning. This manifests itself in the natural materials we use, but we are also already more than carbon neutral as a company. We want to show that sustainable products can simply be very beautiful and versatile." 

The Plexwood material is a 100% natural wood veneer composed of head and longwood veneers that are cross-glued. It is available in nine different wood species, offering endless variation possibilities. "Our wood comes from sustainably managed production forests. Almost all of our woods are supplied as semi-finished products, with the exception of acoustic products; with the finish, our customer determines the color and sheen of the wood. Plexwood is suitable for floors, stairs, stages, (partition) walls, doors, ceilings, furniture, letters, logos and many other applications, providing unlimited design freedom and flexibility. We customize everything for architecture."

Lots of support in product development

Marielle recounts how Plexwood started acoustic products in 2017. "We are always innovating and became interested in wool felt, as a natural and sustainable material to develop acoustic panels with. It is a great product because it is naturally fire-resistant, pliable and acoustic. Different standards apply in Europe and America, but this material meets requirements worldwide. In addition, Hollandfelt's wool felt is available in more than 100 cool colors." 

She says the cooperation with Hollandfelt and Plexwood was very good from the beginning. "The company took all the time to help us as a manufacturer, providing us with technical information. They are specialists in wool and know all the properties of the material. That helped us a lot with the development of our products. They put a lot of time and attention into us, and were willing to think with us. That was invaluable." 

Ultimately, Plexwood decided to use the wool felt in two ways. Plexwood Acoustic - Wool felt is a 2- or 3-layer wood product, consisting of a 100% natural wool felt layer and a Plexwood veneer on one side, or a backing panel with an intermediate layer of wool felt and a Plexwood veneer on one side; both variants have a linear groove pattern that reveals the wool felt. The 2-layer variant is extremely flexible, while the 3-layer variant is rigid. Plexwood received the German Design Award for these innovative acoustic wool felt panels.

With the flexible boards you can create beautiful shapes, to improve acoustics," Marielle explains. "Even if there is little budget for this. Think of a cabinet, for example, with a layer of wool felt only on the rounded corners. We can then ensure that the acoustic material flows seamlessly into one of Plexwood's other materials. The possibilities are endless! For example, the flexible version can also be easily attached with double-sided tape. This encourages the sustainable use of materials, because you simply take those panels back with you when you move." 

Plexwood continues to develop new products. They are likely to be introduced during Milan Design Week in 2024.