It's all in the details

Products are extensively tested before entering the range

To still stand your ground as a smaller player in a competitive market with many large companies, you have to be of good stock. LoCra has been an established name for decades when it comes to products for interior and exterior finishing: window finishing, window sills, door panels, sandwich panels, gutter cladding, façade finishing and even garden fences and terrace planks. Quality, inventiveness, flexibility, reliability and knowledge of the market and the product are the cornerstones of Lode Craenen's company. The manager prides himself on the fact that none of his own products or partner's solutions are included in the range before he has tested them extensively. With attention to such details, he makes the difference. 

Quality, inventiveness, flexibility and reliability

I am not meeting Lode Craenen for the first time and each time I get the same feeling: this dedicated man knows his trade through and through. He grew up with it, as his father had an engineering and architectural firm and his uncle a carpentry shop. However, he gained the most experience and knowledge as a representative of window and door profiles. He dealt with a wide variety of customers and had his own ideas about product development. 

"This eventually formed a solid basis for starting my own company with a range that combines my own developments with products from a number of other production companies. I consciously choose to work with family companies that share my vision and are committed to quality, inventiveness, flexibility and reliability," says the manager. 

"I make no compromise when it comes to the quality of my products. Therefore, no in-house development or partner's product comes into the range if I have not tested it extensively first. For example, I assembled our cladding and gutter cladding assembled from Tricoya^® Extreme and finished with a UV-resistant renolit film first on three different facades of a house, exposing them to the sun and other weather situations. That way I could see for myself, what the quality of this product was."

Service and support

LoCra focuses on the customer: not the do-it-yourselfer, but the professional trade and the craftsman, with whom a suitable solution for each specific project is sought together. A large part of the points of sale come from the network that Lode Craenen built up in the past. 

"We are happy that a lot of customers prefer to work with a small partner like LoCra, because the lines of communication are shorter and we can also respond more flexibly to requests for different customized solutions. We take care of our partners. 

For example, if for the first time they were to cover a terrace with Lignodur terrafina^® (Supersize) decking boards, we help with them on the construction site. That way they know exactly how we install these products and can complete further projects without any problems," Lode Craenen says. 

"After all, a good result depends not only on the quality of the product, but also on its proper installation. That's why at a fair like Polyclose, where processors and installers come, I want to show our products as they are integrated in real situations on construction sites."

Innovative solutions for indoor and outdoor applications

Besides the quality of product and service, LoCra's strong reputation is also defined by the drive for innovation, with which they are not inferior to many international competitors. This is expressed in the development and launch of new products, but also in the efforts to improve existing products and processes. Sustainability has long been a theme here, but today the circularity of products is also being considered.    

"In Belgium, people are much more conservative than in the Netherlands, so they are less likely to reach for another solution once they have chosen a particular product. New customers tell us more often, however, that they really should have taken that step a long time ago," Lode Craenen points out. "In the meantime, we offer a wide range of products for interior and exterior finishing, which we have once again highlighted at Polyclose this year."

Under the new name of LoCra Window Finishing, the specialist showed at its booth a range of finished, preformed window trim, wall mouldings, shutter boxes made of moisture-resistant green MDF V313, covered with a plastic renolit film in various colors. LoCra has also been supplying window sills for more than 20 years. For example, the Lignodur^® topline LD 36 and masterline LD 40 series available in different models, widths and colors. 

"In terms of door panels, we also offer a wide range, both classic inset panels and sash overlay solutions. We can custom design and personalize any door. Thanks to a specially developed production technique, the film continues in the flexible alignment of the grooves, which gives the door panel an extra dimension," he explains. "The door panel technique is now being extended to a completely new product in our range, namely sandwich panels with an outer plate in high-quality aluminum with a thickness of 2 mm. We made the conscious choice of this thicker cladding in order to be able to guarantee our customers the highest quality here as well."

In addition to these products for interior building applications, LoCra is also investing in specific solutions for exterior applications. For example, at this anniversary edition of Polyclose, facade and gutter cladding, assembled from Tricoya^® Extreme highlighted. This unique board material, coupled with the Accoya^®-technology of acetylated wood fibers, has superior dimensional stability and excellent durability even under the most changing weather conditions.

"Since a lot of attention is also paid to patio covers and patio roofs at the fair, we chose to provide sufficient space for our LoCra garden screens and Lignodur terrafina^® refugio 2.0 garden fencing as well as the crack- and splinter-free, easy and quick-to-install Lignodur terrafina^® patio boards. After all, we have noticed that companies increasingly want to offer their customers a total package with roofing but also flooring and finishing. The latest generation of terrace boards under the name terrafina^® lounge was actually never shown in full at a trade show before. Shortly after its launch,
After all, COVID-19 threw a spanner in the works. Polyclose was a good time to unpack those innovations as well," Lode Craenen concludes. 

"The impact of the pandemic has been greatly reduced, but today there are other elements that cause people and society to be under pressure and an economic recession seems inevitable. However, I know from experience that every crisis also has its benefits and creates new opportunities for companies that think about their products and processes in an innovative way."