Without a doubt, the largest manufacturer of cork products is Portugal. Montados is the term used to describe cork oak forests so popular in Portugal. One might think that vast areas of forests are being cut down in order to get cork. But the truth is, that the cork itself is the top-most layer of the oak tree. Every nine years this layer is manually sliced apart, without doing any harm to the tree itself. Then the tree re-generates the cork layer and the process continues on and on, without any harm done to the environment, but with lots of ecological, naturally-looking and multi-functional products that are of great use in interior design.

Cork has honeycomb-like structure. Its' empty spaces are filled up with gas (around 89% of its volume) resulting in a low density of the material. Its structure and volume give it some unique properties that are hard to find in any other material all at the same time:

- Cork is a natural isolation material. Due to its structure it does well in keeping warmth and at the same time it is a good sound isolating product.
- Also, due to its structure, cork's abrasion coeffitient is high, which makes it also a durable material.
- Thanks to the flexibility of its intracellular membranes, cork is naturally elastic. It is difficult to deform cork. When you bend it, it naturally comes back. These qualities make for perfect flooring underlay material.
- Cork is naturally water and gas proof, due to suberin. It is a waxy substance found in cork, and basically it is a mixture of organic spirit and fatty acids.
- Cork does not absorb dust. It is perfect for alergic people.
- It provides therapeutic effect to human's musculoskeletal system due to its amortization characteristics. If used in home flooring, one will feel soft amortization effect which is pleasant and healthy at the same time.
- It is non-toxic if warmed up or even burned. It does not decay and is resistant to mold.

Today, cork has found a widespread use in various products, even in shoe fashion. Its natural apperance is pleasant to the eye, it is soft and warm when you touch it. No surprise that today we see many uses of cork in interior decoration: wall panels, underlays, interior decoration elements, technological cork flooring.

For many years we have been partners with a portuguese company that specialises in various cork products - Granorte. Its products are of great quiality and design. Granorte's offer ranges from decorative wall panels to technological cork flooring. Granorte underlays have become a popular product in Moldova. Also, our customers enjoy the esthetics and quality of Granorte wall-panels.