Portugal is the leading producer of softwood all around the world and also a pioneer in the cork industry.
Cork is staged in Portugal as valuable natural resource. Today, cork has become one of the most important export products in the world.
Cork is kind of sustainable and recyclable material. It has great significant impact on environmental protection. With the increasing attention to environmental protection, the value of cork has increased dramatically, which stems from its distinctive features. First, it can automatically repair tissue and grow new bark after harvest. Second, every harvest we do does not cause any damage to the growth of the tree. In general, cork is renewable natural resource.
Cork is a kind of pure natural polymer material. There are only two kinds of subtropical bark in the world, which can be used to process cork products. The cork oak body is treasure. The leaves can raise silkworms, and the shell bucket can be used to extract valuable tannins raw tannins. The fruit is a superior feed, wood is a high-grade material for the construction and production of furniture, and its bark is made of softwood products. It is also rare and precious resource. It has the title of “soft gold” and is becoming more and more popular in the international market.
Cork application:
In the 1000 BC of Egyptians, Phoenicians and Persians have begun to use softwood fishing floats, which are also used to seal the mouth of the bottle and the roof of the building. In Greece, it has been found that the mouths of some Roman cans are sealed with cork.
The most representative and popular usage of cork is French monk D. In 1680, Pierre Pérrignon made the first successful “Champagne”, but he found that the traditional wooden cap was covered in the sparkling wine bottle. The cap will be pulled out due to gas impact. So cork becomes his best choice. Cork is also the best choice for wine stopper and now plays an irreplaceable role in people’ s normal life.
In 1863, Walton of the United Kingdom invented the oil blanket.
In 1891, John Smith of the United States unexpectedly discovered purely condensed cork.
In 1909, Charles invented synthetic coacervate cork. The first producer of cork bricks is German company, Grunzweig & Hartmann.
In 1900, the American Armstrong Cork had its own partner, and began the production of cork board.
