Desso, a Dutch producer of carpets, carpet tiles and sports pitches and Bonar, a performance technical textiles producer, have signed a long-term cooperation agreement to participate in a product development programme for the next three years with a view to developing a range of (primary) backings for Desso's carpet products.

Bonar has already been a preferred supplier for Desso for quite some time and the producer of textiles such as Colback, a leading nonwoven product for backing carpet and carpet tiles, will be developing product specifications in close collaboration with Desso.

"This agreement also allows us to formally confirm our strategic collaboration with Bonar," says Desso's Director Operations Willem Stas. "For us, Bonar is an important and appealing partner, partly because of their unique two-step production process, the process technology which they use and their experience of product development. This will allow us to increase the design possibilities of our products still further, also for special designs. We believe that this long-term structural alliance will allow us to develop and guarantee even higher levels of sustainable quality. We therefore look forward to seeing the results of this promising collaboration."

"We are delighted with this structural alliance in our European domestic market as we are in a position to satisfy Desso's requirements, partly thanks to our Research, Development & Innovation department. Together with Desso, we will use our best people to make Desso's product ranges for both the consumer and business markets even more comprehensive, more sustainable and stronger than they already are. I have every confidence that the added value of our partnership will quickly produce fruitful results. We are already working on a number of developments which, if successful, will also allow Desso to lend new meaning to the concept of market innovation," says Marc Krauth, Bonar's Interior & Transportation Global Business Director.

Desso is a global carpets and carpet tiles company, active in more than 100 countries. Its products are supplied to corporate offices, education, healthcare, government, homes and also hotels, cruise liners and airlines. It also produces sports surfaces such as the DESSO GrassMaster, which has been installed at the grounds of leading football teams.

Bonar is a leading producer and supplier of high-quality synthetic nonwovens for flooring, automotive and construction applications and three-dimensional polymeric mats and composites for civil engineering, building and industrial applications.

The company's production facilities are based in Emmen and Arnhem (the Netherlands), Lokeren and Zele (Belgium), Obernburg (Germany), Tiszaujvaros (Hungary), Asheville (USA) and, through joint ventures, in Jiangsu (China) and Yanbu (Saudi Arabia). Regional sales offices are located all over the world. For product and application development, the company maintains Development and Application Centres in Arnhem, Zele and Asheville.

Bonar is a subsidiary of Low & Bonar, a group of leading global producers and suppliers of performance technical textiles. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Low & Bonar employs more than 2,000 people worldwide.