Cruise Ship Interiors Expo London – Trade Fair Premiere a Complete Success
At the end of November/beginning of December, the elite of the cruise ship industry met at the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo in London. During the fair and the Sustainable Design Summit held the previous day, the high-caliber visitors concerned themselves intensively with the latest interior design trends. The main focus was on the topic of sustainability. For the first time, Continental also took the opportunity to present a selection of innovative and sustainable surface materials to the international audience.
Thanks to the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo (CSIE), London was for three days the place to be for shipping companies, shipyard operators, designers and suppliers – in short, the English capital was the most important location for all companies active in the cruise sector. Surface specialist Continental was also represented for the first time. The aim of the world-renowned technology company for the fair premiere? To present the international audience with sustainable solutions that are gentle on people and the environment, while also being convincing at all levels in terms of feel, appearance and functional properties.
Based on this, Continental presented, among other things, the sustainable artificial leather skai® Evida, which is suitable for a wide range of different upholstery applications thanks to its particularly abrasion-resistant and flame-retardant surface. Sustainable, environmentally friendly and high-performance – these keywords ideally describe this sustainable skai® product line, because more than 80% of the components used in skai® Evida are made from natural and renewable raw materials. The material with an organic cotton backing is Ökotex certified and impresses not only in terms of sustainability, design and comfort, but also thanks to its excellent technical properties such as robustness and resistance to disinfectants.
The breathable upholstery fabric skai® VyP Coffee also scored points for sustainability at the CSIE. For this new variant utilizing laif technology, used coffee grounds are re-used as a raw material for the first time along with other recycled and natural components to produce materials. More than 65% of conventional chemical raw materials are replaced by natural and recycled ones. By using coffee grounds, waste is prevented and no greenhouse gases such as methane or carbon dioxide are produced. skai® VyP Coffee thus ensures optimum seating comfort in the cafés, restaurants or bars found on cruise ships.
The third trade fair highlight was the newly developed upholstery surface skai® Toronto EN featuring staynu technology. This material has been specially developed for use in high-traffic and high-stress public areas. The special staynu technology also makes this artificial leather extremely easy to clean as well as tear, scratch and abrasion resistant. Typical applications for skai® Toronto EN are therefore particularly heavy-duty seating furniture for commercial fit-outs. On cruise ships, the material can thus demonstrate its strengths to the full.
“The Cruise Ship Interiors Expo is the main hub for the entire industry. We made numerous valuable and top-level contacts during the three days of the fair. Our exhibits absolutely proved their worth here, as they provided the perfect inspiration for talks and in-depth discussions,” says Norbert Müller, sales manager responsible for the Cruise sector at Continental.
But valuable exchanges of ideas on an equal footing did not only take place at the trade fair itself, but also at the Sustainable Design Summit. This was held the day before the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo at “The Brewery,” a former brewery in the heart of London. On board: the “who’s who” of the cruise ship industry. Shipping companies, designers, furniture manufacturers and major suppliers from around the world gathered for networking and interactive breakout sessions. At the event, Continental was one of 14 exhibitors to have the privilege of presenting skai® VyP Coffee as part of a product showcase for sustainable products – with great success. Norbert Müller looks back enthusiastically: “The combination of lectures, panel discussions and networking was something very special, because everything took place in a very informal atmosphere. Interestingly, although the Summit focuses on the cruise ship sector, we were also able to make some exciting contacts in the aviation sector.”
The Cruise Ship Interiors Expo 2022 London was a first for Continental. But above all, it was one thing: a complete success. It is therefore already clear now that Continental will be back at the cruise ship fair in 2023.
