ICA Group Introduces Urban Matter Material-Like Coatings
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CIVITANOVA MARCHE, ITALY --The world of ICA Group is continually evolving, with an unerring focus on the latest design trends and on the requirements flagged up by designers and architects. For this reason, the R&D laboratory has dedicated its energies to the development of wood coatings with a distinctly metropolitan flavor.

The Urban Matter range – composed of high-impact, material-like effects – embodies a style that's at once contemporary, refined, realistic and "imperfect" (due to the deliberate unevenness of the coated surface). It's a style that's very much inspired by the everyday. Using this range, it is possible to produce surfaces with Cement and Corten effects, retaining the rough appearance of the material being simulated while also offering the warmth to the touch that only wood can provide. The Urban Matter range can be deployed for a plethora of creative uses, giving the imagination free rein, with the potential to come up with an infinite variety of ever-changing and unique effects.

Cement Effect

An industrial look and “powdery” colors characterize the cement-effect finish. The range encompasses three gray tones, which are the fruit of ICA Group's research into the latest trends in contemporary interior design.

The effect is produced through a coating cycle (on MDF panels or melamine paper) that combines the use of the water-based base coat, mixed using a spatula, with the special effect Vellumatt, in three different shades.

Spray and spatula application.

• An effect that – in tactile and aesthetic terms - is comparable to cement.

• Unique effects can be achieved by mixing the water-based base coat with a spatula.

• Very smooth to the touch.

• Good chemical/physical resistance.

CORTEN EFFECT

This effect embodies a contemporary style that is even more "lived-in", with an uneven surface characterized by light and dark nuances that reproduce the deep coloration of natural Corten steel.

The effect is produced through a coating cycle, on MDF panels or melamine paper, that combines the matt black base coat with water-based aging agents, flower yellow and oxide red, with the color movement being generated by means of a jet of compressed air on the coated surface.

Spray application

• An effect that - in tactile and aesthetic terms - is comparable to Corten steel.

• Creation of unique effects by adjusting the following variables: compressed-air jet, color tone of the polyurethane matt base and of the aging agents.

• Excellent resistance to light.

• The warmth of wood and the stability of the effect over time, with respect to Corten steel.

About ICA Group:

ICA Group, based in the central-Italian city of Civitanova Marche is a leading European name in the manufacture and marketing of special coatings for wood. In 2012, through its 3 manufacturing plants - two of which are located in Civitanova Marche, with the third being situated in Romano D’Ezzelino (in the Veneto region) - ICA Group posted a turnover of €104.6 million, 42% of which was generated through export markets. ICA Group has a 16% share of the Italian market and employs a workforce of 380.

Its products stand out for their quality, high level of innovation and deep-rooted commitment to the reduction of environmental impact.

For the three-year period 2011-2013, the company earmarked investments of €9.3 million for growth, research and product innovation. Currently, 42 professional researchers are based in the central laboratory in Civitanova Marche, with another 14 based in the R&D Center in Romano D’Ezzelino, all of whom work on the development of new, highly eco-compatible products that are geared towards enriching and prolonging the lifespan of the treated wood.

In 1995, the European Union awarded the LIFE mark to ICA's range of bicomponent water-based coatings, thereby providing official recognition of the company's “durable and sustainable development”. ICA's bicomponent coatings were the only products to be given the award in the coatings sector.

ICA North America is based in West Lorne, Ontario, Canada.

Source: ICA Group

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