nir-vana innovation network

The Dutch ceramic tile producer, reknowned for its innovative approach and worldwide reach, has been active since the late 1800’s at the current and only production facility. In more than 50 countries, its tiles decorate inner and outer floors, walls and terraces of public, private and commercial buildings. Sustainablity has a top priority for the company, which has not stood in the way of producing high-quality tiles with a timeless Dutch design. Research, design and production are based on the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) philosophy. The client company is the only C2C Gold certified ceramic tile producer in the world, which is applicable to the majority of its product portfolio. To enhance this title and expand its use in the product portfolio even more, the company continuously strives to find innovative ways in recycling materials that could be used as input for the production of tiles. The ambition is to support customers in the best possible way in order to create characteristic buildings. In the construction sector, the renewal time of various applications is much shorter than the lifespan of the clients’ tiles. This may result in the renewal of tiles within a period of 5 to 10 years. The client company thinks that their tiles deserve a longer life or a new destination, since the tiles are qualitatively sufficient to be used elsewhere. To ensure the continuous premium quality standards in a C2C-way, the company already uses waste tiles in its production process. The company’s ceramic tiles consist of very high quality building materials, which have to comply with strict purity standards while excluding any form of harmful materials. Tiles that have been contaminated with harmful materials, mortar, tile adhesives or prefixes are therefore not suitable to serve as input for the production process. To prevent their used tiles being applied as waste under tarmac, the client company is looking for a better and more sustainable recycling option for its tiles. For this, the company would like to collaborate with firms that can provide smart and realistic solutions. IMPORTANT NOTE: This technology request is part of an innovation challenge and is published on an open innovation platform from the 29th of August and will close on the 3rd of October. If an organization does express interest in collaboration with this company before closing date, it will be guided through this open innovation platform and be introduced to the company’s experts. Mind that posts on this platform are not confidential. Next step is that the company will select the SMEs with whom they would like to cooperate in the development of the solution.