Dekton

The world leader in the production and distribution of quartz, natural stone and recycled surfaces, Cosentino launched Dekton by Cosentino in May 2014 to the market. Brand new to the market place, it has created a revolutionary new category of surface that is an ideal architectural and design solution for interiors and exteriors.

Dekton is the result of a €128million investment and 22,000 hours of research and development by the Cosentino Group, which should soon become a major part of its sales mix. A sophisticated mixture of raw materials that are used to manufacture glass, porcelain and quartz surfaces helps to create the ultra-compact surface. Dekton can recreate any type of material with a high level of quality and can be used indoors and outdoors thanks to its extensive qualities;

Dekton is highly resistant to ultra violet (UV) light and will not fade or degrade over time making it perfect for both indoor and outdoor applications.

While other surfaces are stain resistant, Dekton is completely stain proof. Even the most stubborn stains like wine, coffee and rust can easily be removed from the surface. As it has extremely low porosity and contains no resins, it is chemical resistant. Drips or splashes of common household chemicals like bleach, drain cleaners or oven degreasers won’t harm the surface.

Dekton is the most scratch resistant surface on the market and while the slip of a knife won’t damage the surface, cutting boards are still recommended to protect household utensils.

Dekton’s low co-efficient of thermal expansion makes it thermal shockproof from both extreme heat and extreme cold. Its natural resistance to ice and thawing makes it perfect for use in even the coldest environments.

Dekton features low porosity and never needs to be sealed. It naturally prevents liquids and gasses from penetrating the surface, making it a low maintenance surface that is easier to clean.

Dekton withstands high temperatures without burning, scorching or cracking. Hot pots and appliances can be placed directly on the surface with no worry of damage.

The manufacturing process used to make Dekton allows Cosentino to control the pigmentation and decoration of the material giving better colour consistency from slab to slab and resulting in a long lasting product that will not fade over time. The surface that is installed today will maintain the same new appearance for the life of the product.

Dekton is even more resistant to abrasion than granite making it the ideal surface for commercial applications and high traffic areas such as flooring. While other surfaces show wear over time, Dekton’s finish will last for the life of the product and never needs to be re-surfaced or re-finished.

Dekton’s manufacturing process is what makes this material so unique, and worthy of this award. Manufactured with advanced TSP (Technology of Sintered Particles; developed exclusively by the Group's research and development team), it uses an accelerated version of the processes of high pressures and high temperatures that Mother Nature applied for thousands of years to produce natural stone. With Dekton, the manufacturing time is reduced to 4 hours and the result is a low maintenance, long lasting product. This process sinters mineral particles so that they link up and change their internal structure. A new mass is obtained that is subjected to a process of ultra-compaction at high temperatures.

Dekton is manufactured with a mixture of raw materials that are found in glass, porcelain and natural quartz. These materials are mixed with several aggregates and water to create the new Dekton material. During the production process, 84% of the water used is evaporated, recycled and reused for the production of Dekton slabs. The ultra-compaction process consists of the raw materials being pressed to remove the air from the mass. The press has a capacity of 25,000 tons, 6 x more than the world’s largest press up to now. The slab is baked at high temperatures and a chemical reaction converts the mass particles into crystals. As the temperatures increase a glass mesh is formed. At maximum temperature – 1,200°c – the entire slab is liquefied just like the magma found hundreds of kms below the earth’s surface. As the temperature drops, the slab solidifies. A new factory has been built in the Cosentino Group Industrial Park in Almeria where 1500 slabs can be manufactured daily.

It is this superior manufacturing process that allows Dekton to be used for endless applications, including kitchen and bathroom worktops, floorings and coverings; exterior facades; floors and swimming pools, as well as in a variety of colours, textures and finishes. Ultra size and easy to install slabs (up to 1440mm x 3200mm) and three different thicknesses (from 8mm to 20mm) are also available for different application requirements.