Juunoo: circular wall systems for Europe
With 100 per cent circular wall systems, Kortrijk-based start-up JuuNoo aims to drastically reduce construction waste. Companies such as Renson, Showpad and VDAB have already (re)equipped their offices with the sustainable, innovative walls. A capital injection of 1.5 million enables JuuNoo to conquer other European countries after the Belgian market. The start-up has schools, care centres and shops in its sights.
Today, some 40 per cent of our total waste consists of construction waste. Every year in Belgium alone, 26 million tonnes of construction waste and €1.8 billion worth of internal walls are thrown away. The construction industry is searching in abundance for ways to work more sustainably. “JuuNoo wants to be at the forefront of that evolution with innovative and 100% circular wall systems,” says founder Chris Van de Voorde. “Companies are asking, even under the pressure of a new generation of employees, for high-quality circular solutions. But these must also be affordable. To make a real impact, you have to reconcile sustainability and cost efficiency. Our system makes it cheaper for contractors to reuse a wall than to demolish it and build a new one. When you no longer need them anyway, we buy them again.”
Increased productivity
Besides the growing demand for sustainable, circular solutions, JuuNoo is also responding to a second evolution: the uncertainty about what the office should look like now and after COVID. “We find that companies are consciously opting for flexibility; people are choosing solutions that are quickly installed and are not a waste of money when the office has to look completely different again later,” says Chris Van de Voorde. JuuNoo supplied office partitions for Showpad, Renson, VDAB and Cronos, among others. Installation is up to seven times faster than traditional systems. Moreover, the walls are easily adjustable, allowing them to fit neatly into any space. One can also evolve from a wall to a free-standing meeting box (and vice versa). All products received an excellent score for acoustics from the independent engineering firm Daidalos Peutz. Companies choose the technical requirements and the style themselves so that the walls fit seamlessly into the existing layout.
Capital round
The financial injection (1.5 million euro) came from Belfius, two West Flanders investors and PMV. The fact that this is a company with local production in the circular economy was an additional asset for PMV. JuuNoo used the money to recruit employees and launch the smart, circular inner walls in other European markets after Belgium. Late last year, it raised an additional half a million. Chris Van de Voorde: “Europe has finally realised that combining economy and ecology in products is the only solution to keep the planet liveable for our children. The construction industry plays a key role in that evolution. JuuNoo walls can drastically reduce construction waste not only in offices, but equally in schools, care centres, hospitals or retail premises.”
