【코코타임즈】 Hoping for preventing medial patella luxation(MPL) seems not impossible anymore among dog owners.
Modernwood, a local wood floor manufacturer in Korea, has launched anti-slip flooring that minimises slipping and tripping accidents at home.
“The Korea Consumer Agency asked us to find solutions to prevent slipping accidents at home,” Modernwood CEO Hwang Sung-hyun told the COCOTimes, the Pet Healthcare media in Korea.
The manufacturer, established in 2000, specialises in production and installation of exterior and interior materials. “We came up with our first anti-slip flooring in 2015, and we obtained four patents as well,” Hwang added.
The government then established the Korean Industrial Standards (KS) certification standards for non-slip flooring.
Designed for children, the elderly as well as dogs, the pioneer’s non-slip flooring attracted public attention flooring last November at the “2020 K-Pet Fair” in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. The event is one of the country’s annual exhibitions for pet industry professionals.
MPL is a condition where the knee-cap does not stay in its normal position in the groove on the end of the thigh bone. The knee-cap will luxate, or pop-out, to the inside surface of the knee. MPL may be due to a combination of congenital, anatomic causes and trauma.
According to Hanseo University’s research, dog slipping happens most often on house floors in Korea. It is mainly because people in the country have a habit of keeping the floor shiny and glossy. The most common injuries coming from dog slipping are luxation (14.4%) and fracture (11.2%).
Modernwood leads innovation
Hwang went through trial and error in order to achieve the best result. He came up with an idea of compressing the floor surface, making it uneven. Naming it “Soontantan,” the product is made with environmentally friendly water-resistant plywood. It also holds heat for a longer time.
The company’s anti-resistant flooring acquired fire prevention certification from Korea Fire Institute. Hwang then made a step further for dogs.
“I desperately needed something that could prevent my dogs from slipping,” the CEO said. “Dogs have hair growing between their toes, which means flooring may require higher friction.”
The manufacturer then went on to develop the slip-resistant flooring through laboratory testing and found the right coefficient of friction for both people and pets.
They also came up with a way of waxing gaps between floor panels when gluing these panels together. So it makes it easy to remove urine stains even when dogs pee on the floor.
“We installed our anti-slip flooring in a dog café in Seoul, and the result was amazing,” the CEO said. “Our product minimised slipping and tripping accidents, and the cleaning part became so much easier.”
Thanks to such safety and convenience features, Modernwood has seen a growing demand from people living in pet-friendly houses as well as distributors and companies jumping into a pet business.
Followed by the success, Modernwood plans to launch do-it-yourself (DIY) mats. “Our anti-slip mats, made with wooden cork, will come in standard sizes. It is recommended for those living on rent,” Hwang said.
‘Smart home’ technology
Modernwood is also a leader in information technology (IT) innovation. Starting with the CEO’s business card that connects to the company’s website when scanned using mobiles, the products will follow suit.
“Like most household appliances are produced with artificial intelligence (AI) integrated technology, we also wanted to apply such technology in our products,” the CEO said.
The company has worked with the Korea Electric Research Institute to come up with the IT-applied flooring.
“As people spend most of their time at home, we wanted to realise the ‘smart home’ and ‘smart city in 21st century’ concepts,” he added.
Modernwood is stepping up its efforts to expand its business in China and Southeast Asian countries, where the pet industry is growing rapidly.
“I think those living with dogs will find it more useful to have anti-slip flooring or mats than carpets,” Hwang said. “We will see how far our product can go in the future.”
