Although the professional kitchen sector is considered to be quite conservative, Lithuanians are changing the trend and introduce a new generation of sustainable table top solution to the world.

Helping to reduce emissions

Today, sustainability is not only a value choice, but also a necessity if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement to make the European Union (EU) the first climate-neutral economy and society by 2050. Innovative Kaunas-based developers are already bringing a new generation of sustainable table top to the market today.

According to Mindaugas Jonuškis, the managing director of UAB Novameta, a manufacturer of customized stainless steel equipment for professional kitchens, the search for this solution was prompted by both the wish to offer more environmentally friendly products to the market and the desire to continue maintaining a leading position, making the company’s products the market standard.
“There isn’t a single professional kitchen that doesn’t have a simple worktable with stainless steel table tops. We estimate that we sell up to 15 000 square meters of table tops a year. It’s the most recurrent product, therefore making it more environmentally friendly, lighter but stronger has been a 25-year dream.

Today, we are proud that we have finally succeeded in creating a new generation of multilayered table tops with a thickness of 2 mm, made from recyclable materials. It does not contain wood panel, which often contains harmful formaldehyde, and silicone is no longer used.

It will be possible to simply melt new table tops at high temperatures and the materials will be brought back to life. It’s an environmentally friendly solution that has retained all the advantages of the existing table top,” he says.

Tailored to all markets

In addition to being environmentally friendly, the company’s engineers also took the needs and standards of different markets into account when developing the new product.

“We used to have several different types of table tops, some of which were in demand in Lithuania, others in Scandinavia while others in Germany etc. Our engineers have had to perform many different tests, from acoustic to robustness, flexibility and more, and our manufacturing processes have changed, but today we have all the top solutions from different markets in a new generation of table tops to create a unique and versatile product. 

In Germany, for example, a special table top edge is very much needed to prevent water from getting under the table top. This prevents bacterial build-up, unpleasant odours and makes the product more durable. In many Western markets, this is exclusively a restaurant standard. But from now on, all of our table tops will be made with such edges. At the same time, it will be up to 80% lighter and fully waterproof, heat-resistant, made of recyclable materials and will retain all the complementary solutions of our former table tops,” says Jonuškis.

According to Jonuškis, the new product will be adaptable without having to redesign the entire kitchen.

“The new design is distinctive in that the table top can be mounted on most frames, even if they are not made by us. This will allow restaurant and café owners to easily and cost effectively renew only the table tops instead of replacing the entire equipment, to have more environmentally friendly solutions and to be more responsible with their consumption. This is how we are solving future problems of our customers today,” says Jonuškis, the managing director of Novameta.

According to him, the change in this product will have a major impact not only on Novameta, but also on the market as a whole, which is also slowly moving towards sustainability.