Cologne/Kaisersesch, May 9, 2023. This year, the CLASSEN is participating for the first time in Interzum, the world’s leading trade fair for furniture manufacturing and interior design, in Cologne. The family-owned company from the Eifel region received its first piece of good news even before the fair opened on May 9: The in-house developed tile alternative CERAMIN® Tiles has received the internationally renowned Interzum Award for its exceptionally high product quality. The prize is awarded by a distinguished international jury of experts for outstanding products. Ultimately, CERAMIN® Tiles scored highly across all evaluation criteria—from product innovation and functionality to material quality and sustainability. Various companies participated in the competition with a total of 144 submissions. On the eve of Interzum’s opening, 52 products from around the world were honored during the awards ceremony.

“The start of our trade show debut in Cologne couldn’t have gone better,” comments Céline Quervel, Head of Marketing at the CLASSEN . “We are delighted that the expert jury recognized our passionate commitment to this sustainable, easy-to-handle product, designed with attention to detail, with this award.” In this alternative to natural stone wall and floor coverings, the plastic content of CERAMIN® Tiles already consists of more than 60 percent recycled material. The resulting comparatively low weight also makes them very easy to install. Since the ultra-thin plastic tiles, made from the eponymous, toxin-free material CERAMIN®, can even be installed over existing tiles, they have become extremely popular, especially for renovations and refurbishments—whether done by homeowners themselves or by professional contractors.

Seven renowned experts from the fields of design, materials science, and architecture evaluated the products submitted for the interzum Award based on their design and technical quality, as well as their sustainability. The jury members include Vito Orazem, Managing Director of Red Dot and Executive Director of the Design Zentrum NRW, as well as Hon. Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters, author of numerous reference books on sustainable materials and one of the leading materials experts and trend scouts for new technologies. In its overall assessment, the jury emphasized that the high quality standard of the competition entries confirmed the industry’s potential and the significance of design as an economic factor. This makes CLASSEN win of the interzum Award CLASSEN this demanding competition all the more impressive. The award was presented at the Congress Centrum of Koelnmesse.

The jury’s evaluation criteria for the interzum Award read like the list of requirements drawn up by CLASSEN product developers and designers. As a technology leader in the flooring industry, the CLASSEN holds a wide range of patents, some of which are made available to the entire industry through licensing agreements. This also applies to the innovative CERAMIN® material and the backing boards. Combined with their exceptional product properties, CERAMIN® Tiles boast an extremely high degree of innovation. Their ease of handling and installation, light weight, and simple processing with a standard utility knife ensure optimal functionality. In terms of material quality, CERAMIN impress not only because they are free of harmful substances but also due to their robustness and durability of up to 20 years, enabling such a long service life. The surfaces are designed with attention to detail and a sophisticated digital printing process that allows for a wide variety of custom designs. CERAMIN® Tiles therefore stand out in terms of design not only due to their ultra-lightweight nature but also because of their distinctive appearance. At the same time, digitalization has naturally found its way into product development, thereby creating genuine added value. However, one of the most important aspects in the development of the CERAMIN® material was and remains sustainability. The use of recycled materials, the absence of PVC, full recyclability, the product’s lifespan, climate-friendly production, and a transparent supply chain that prioritizes suppliers from Germany and Europe—all of this makes CERAMIN® Tiles a sustainable, consumer-friendly product that fully meets the demands of neo-ecology.

CERAMIN® Tiles will not only be on display at the CLASSEN booth (Hall 1.2, Booth B021), but will also be featured alongside the other award-winning products during interzum (May 9–12) in a dedicated exhibition on the trade fair boulevard as well as in the online exhibition at www.interzum.com.

This video demonstrates how easy it is to renovate a bathroom with CERAMIN :