This month, Autex is launching Frontier™ Raft, a reimagined version of a ceiling baffle system in their Frontier Acoustic Range, which, Marcel says, ticks all of the boxes. “This product is an evolution for us: a raft beam that has an elegant, streamlined profile, in three styles. Its suspended acoustic beams enable commercial projects like airports, theatres, atriums, and office buildings to achieve a better look and the feeling of a higher ceiling than traditional plasterboard, while also providing a great reduction in reverberation.”
“It’s all about supporting the local design community.”
“We’re always looking for ways to make our products better looking, easier for installers, more cost
Beyond looking better and sounding great, Frontier Raft offers significantly improved environmental and sustainability credentials. “Historically, our Fins & Raft Range has included an aluminium channel in the middle that holds the products together,” Marcel says. “Our goal was to decarbonise these products, so we are now using pelletised PET waste offcuts to do the same job. Our pelletiser has been in development for a few years, and in the last 12 months, we’ve created a system that uses those recycled PET pellets to make installation components like clips and fixings. This means that we can both assemble and mount our acoustic beams with recycled materials, reducing their embodied carbon by 63%.”
The potential environmental benefit of Autex’s sustainability-focused manufacturing approach is massive, Marcel says, as they look to roll out the new and improved Frontier Raft product in their New Zealand, Australia, UK and US branches over the months ahead. “It’s a pretty significant step for us. If you think about the size of all of those commercial markets, it’s acres of spaces that need acoustic treatment. As we start to manufacture and deliver those products at scale in ways that reuse our waste and reduce our embodied carbon, we can make a huge difference for both our customers and the planet.”
Autex also continues to work with the local market in New Zealand to create beautiful products that meet emerging aesthetic trends. “We’ve launched five new colours this year to better support designers: Marina (a desaturated powder blue), Park (an earthy green), Petra (a muted clay red), Colosseum (a heathered light greige), and Rushmore (a light grey with a subtle mottled texture).” Marcel says. “By providing an updated palette of options, we can make it easier for them to get exactly the look they want.
“By staying in close contact with our customers and manufacturing our products locally, we are able to really understand the needs of each market. Our New Zealand products are manufactured and sold right here in New Zealand. That approach reduces lead times, saves money, and avoids wastage. If you have a 2.9m ceiling, we’ll make you 2.9m panels, rather than importing a fixed-dimension product that you then have to rework on site to fit your project. It’s all about supporting the local design community and working closely with them to get the best result for their projects.”
Looking ahead, Autex is focused on continuing to expand their ceiling offering and further decarbonising their product range. “We’re quite established in the wall treatment space, with a lot of finishing options on those products: print, texture, form, and precision detailing; we’re looking at ways to bring that level of customisation to our ceiling offering as well..”
On the world stage, Autex is a smaller player knocking on bigger doors, Marcel says, with New Zealand benefitting from the exploration their international projects help to drive. “We invest heavily in prototyping and design, a lot of which translates into exciting product developments that we can put directly in front of local industry professionals through the comprehensive support from our New Zealand sales team. Whether you’re in Queenstown or Whangarei, we can get an Account Manager there doing a presentation, showing you exactly how the system could work for your next project.”
To learn more and connect with Marcel, visit https://www.autexacoustics.co.nz/product/frontier-raft/#raft or book a presentation today.
