Polarstone has been developing a new generation of aesthetics with improved key performance properties and increased design possibilities. For several years the Polarstone product and manufacturing teams have been working on creating a superior quartz surfacing material capable of new application possibilities. The results are expanding the horizon for premium marble and quartzite designs while enhancing the performance of quartz surfacing for countertops.
Polarstone has been a leading and innovating company in the quartz industry since it launched the first accurate Calacatta marble design quartz in 2014 which was a result of several years of machine development with only the end product in mind. Polarstone was the original innovator to recognize the need for accurate marble design quartz surfacing. The quartz industry until this time had focused on granite designs, but Polarstone understood the gap in the marketplace for marble. The Polarstone team had the idea to create machinery that could make marble designs with veins that flowed across and through the surface similar to three-dimensional natural stone rather than the “stamped,” homogenous look of the available quartz designs. During this same time, the Polarstone team was still in the same research and development mode that developed the original and still best-looking marble designs.
Since the development of high-quality marble design quartz four years ago, the Polarstone team has developed its 4th generation quartz surfacing technology. This 4th generation technology provides multi-color and multi-layer veins that refract light mimicking three-dimensional stone formation. This new technology also provides higher performance properties like flex and impact strength which allows for use of thinner surfaces that enhance the design flexibility.
After making a significant investment in an exclusive raw material supply, Polarstone was able to create new romantic marble designs previously unachievable in the marketplace. Using their exclusive raw materials, advanced robotics and thermo-cure process, the Polarstone 4th generation products achieve a new level of translucency. These thin slabs allow back-lighting with a variety of colors to illuminate the surface for visual impact.
Purposeful design harmony from slab to slab alleviates the waste issues of laying out natural stone while maintaining the composition of premium marbles. With the translucency and strength now achieved with these improved properties, Polarstone US will introduce a whole new quartzite series of designs available in a thin format.
In addition, Polarstone US will be upgrading many current popular colors to the new 4th generation quartz surface designs in the same popular 2 and 3cm thicknesses.
Polarstone US anticipates tremendous value to specifiers, fabricators, installers and project managers in the “thin countertop” offering. The weight advantage combined with the superior performance and handling properties of this quartz surfacing will offer new applications, easier fabrication, installation and cost value. Interior applications that use porcelain slabs can now consider Polarstone thin slab wall cladding, shower and tub surrounds. Turn-key cost to use thin slabs for these applications are competitively priced.
The company found most interesting that 1.5cm thick slab material can be used on horizontal surfaces like kitchen countertops, without the need for underlayment. Using thin quartz slabs provide decrease in overall cost and weight while still allowing for traditional edging with vein through body and undermount sinks. A 1.5cm thick countertop can include a 3cm build-up edge to utilize standard 3cm tooling.
Based on initial reviews from select commercial and residential fabricators Polarstone US believes this product will be enthusiastically received by the market. These same fabricators have been struggling with porcelain slabs due to underlayment, edge detail limitation and anxiety about irreparable cracking and chipping inherent during fabrication
and installation.
The improvements that have been made by Polarstone US in raw material supply coupled with the re-engineering of the manufacturing process helped to create a more durable surface with increased performance properties at a surprisingly affordable cost.
