Successful switch to TEKNOSAFE

Simonin S.A.S. is one of the largest French manufacturers of exterior wood formwork. Since 2017, the company has been using an innovative fire-retardant TEKNOSAFE coating.

"The fire-retardant TEKNOSAFE coatings have secured us many new customers and projects in France", explains Yves Trias, Sales Director at Taylux, the French sales partner of Teknos. A typical example is the wood structure specialist Simonin S.A.S. In 2017, the manufacturer stumbled across TEKNOSAFE systems while searching for a modern, fire-retardant coating for its exterior formwork - and has placed its trust in Teknos solutions ever since.

Imposing wood structures

Simonin has been developing and manufacturing laminated wood structures and wooden components for more than 50 years. One typical example is the impressive wood structure of the French pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan. International references are numerous with all types of public and private buildings including shopping centers, hotels and housings. Examples of airport terminals in Reunion and Equatorial Guinea are significant.

In addition to project-related structures, the product portfolio includes prefabricated laminated wood components, wood-based sandwich panels for roof insulation, floors and interiors partitions as well as external wood cladding.  Simonin supplies carpenters and builders throughout France and abroad.

Modern technology and outstanding craftsmanship

The 20,000 square meters factory premises in Montlebon are equipped for the full transformation of timber: Systems for bonding, milling and finish application with two coating lines, a mechanical workshop, a design department and even a test laboratory. Simonin has been using CNC technology since the 1990s and today operates four CNC machining centers for producing workpieces in a range of exceptional shapes and complexity.

Exterior cladding represents a significant part of the production. Simonin manufactures two product lines: Classic Funlam® finger jointed boards cladding, and Openlam®, open work style finger jointed full boards cladding. Both product lines are manufactured from carefully selected spruce, larch or Douglas fir wood from sustainable sources and then planed, cut and predrilled in the factory to ensure accurate, uniform assembly.

Alternative to fire-retardant coating

In addition to opaque and translucent colors, Simonin also offers exterior cladding with a fire-retardant coating. While the company was searching for an alternative to conventional pressure impregnation with fire-retardant salts, Yves Trias presented the innovative TEKNOSAFE solutions in Montlebon. When exposed to heat, TEKNOSAFE special primers swell to form a resistant layer of microporous carbon foam, which insulates the wood and restricts the further spread of fire.

"The solution is extremely interesting because the fire-resistant properties and topcoat allow you to work in an end-to-end system", explains Didier Droz-Vincent, manager of Simonin. "You do not need any special high-pressure systems either because the elements can be coated in the standard coating line."

Proven in practice

The representatives at Simonin were also impressed by the practical tests. The Teknos application engineers were able to find the right system. The elements are first primed with TEKNOSAFE 2407 to a minimum layer thickness of 350 g/m² and then coated with AQUATOP 2600-23 to a maximum thickness of 150 g/m². The fire-retardant properties of the TEKNOSAFE system have allowed Simonin to offer softwood cladding elements reaction to fire classification Euroclass C,s1,d0 according to the requirements of the French market. The same goes for the Sapisol® insulated roof panels and interior wood claddings that receive another range of Teknos coatings for internal use and reach a fire reaction B, s1, d0.

"The combination of fire retardant primer and topcoat by Teknos achieves a better surface quality than with the pressure impregnation technique previously used", says Didier Droz-Vincent.  "The coating is very attractive in appearance and offers effective protection against the weather. The Teknos solution is also much more adapted in the production process."

Successful collaboration

Simonin has particularly focused on Teknos solutions, and not only for fire-retardant coatings. At present, all opaque Funlam and Openlam versions are coated with AQUATOP 2600-23. Depending on requirements and the target market, the boards are primed either with AQUAPRIMER 3130-00, ANTISTAIN AQUA 5210-00 or the fire-retardant special primer TEKNOSAFE 2407. Simonin offers eight standard colors that Teknos has developed according to company specifications and provided as a formula for the tinting machine that Simonin operates at the production facilities in Montlebon. Here, more than 1,000 individual colors can be tinted according to a color scheme offered by Simonin for customer-specific orders.

Simonin is also currently testing Teknos systems on other product lines. "We have always had very good experiences with Teknos solutions", explains explains Didier Droz-Vincent. "The products match our high quality standards and the technical support we receive from Teknos is outstanding."

© Images by Simonin