The TFI acts as a platform for the industry. We bundle the expertise of the industry network. We are your contact for research, testing, certification, qualification and production. Our focus is on people & space, sustainability, digitalization and technical innovation.
TFI conducts research to develop future-proof technical solutions for our industry and to design the best possible interiors. To this end, we focus on issues of sustainability and the circular economy, health, safety, comfort and design. New materials and products, innovative production techniques and technologies as well as testing methods are developed in cooperative research projects.
Health, safety and quality aspects are of central importance to TFI in testing, monitoring and certification. Our testing laboratory is accredited in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025
TFI is your competent partner for the certification of indoor building products. We can help you find out which certification options are available, for which products and which product properties you need or want to certify.
In the area of qualification, we support you on your way to becoming a sustainable, agile and creative organization. We offer further training formats for manufacturers, retailers and tradespeople. We cover the following topics: Sustainability, digitalization, testing, certification and research.
TFI develops prototypes and samples according to specific customer requirements, develops test carpets, distributes standardized dirt dust and provides support in the construction of special machines and test equipment on customer request.
Our work can be found in a wide variety of means of transportation. Immerse yourself in a world of efficiency and sustainability and discover how we at TFI want to help shape the future of mobility. You can find our projects/services in airplanes, cars, trains and ships, for example. To find out more about our projects, click here.
Especially in houses and buildings, the TFI is represented in many areas with the specification on floor and room systems. Whether classic carpet coverings, new sustainable projects or innovations for a carpet blind guidance system, the TFI has a full range of exciting projects. Whether in the further development of new sustainable projects for interiors or test methods for fire/flame protection of carpets, TFI can be found in many areas. To discover more TFI projects, click here.
- CISUFLO
- Interior -> Helix yarns
- Home -> Scratching furniture -> µ-scratching
- General textile floor covering -> alNop
- Windows -> Textile heat exchanger
- Interior, floor covering -> Guidance system for the blind -> ModulLeit
- Fire / flame protection test -> InFlameTex
- Commercial, home, separate rubber from mats and rubber can be renewed, separation of raw materials -> SKL-Mat
- Dry disinfection of textile floor coverings using inverse streamer corona discharge
The TFI is also represented in industry, through projects such as in sewage treatment plants, in test laboratories or classically in the carpet industry.
- Sewage plant -> Textile curved screen
- Carpet industry -> Ressource T-EXDIZ
- Test laboratory, production process, product launch -> ELSAfloor
- Production -> Ressource T-EXDIZ
- Coating Adhesive, sustainable eco-based alternative for latex -> EcoCoat
We have a wide range of sports flooring projects, whether for typical indoor surfaces or innovative artificial turf systems, which fall under the TFI’s remit.
- Sustainable artificial turf -> BioTurf
- Simplification of production -> Ressource T-EXDIZ
People & space:
- This area of expertise deals with the effects of space on people. This means, for example, how rooms should be designed in terms of health and wellbeing or what “healthy living” materials/building products should ideally be used.
- Using methods of architectural and spatial sociology, we deal with the topic in publicly funded projects or in research and development commissions from our clients and publish articles, podcasts and invite people to information events in this area
Sustainability:
- The topic of sustainability is a top priority at TFI. When developing innovative production technologies and concepts for recycling-friendly product designs and when using new materials, the impact on the environment and economic efficiency are crucial for the efficient use of resources.
Digitization:
- Digitalization is the basic prerequisite for maintaining competitiveness in the current and future market. This runs through the entire value chain, from raw materials to production and technology. One of our tasks is to record all material and process variables for analogue and measurable values and parameters and to digitize them. We also highlight the opportunities that digitalization offers companies and support them in implementing their own projects.
- This is how we create the conditions for greater productivity, sustainability and flexibility
Technical innovations:
- Innovations are the driving force for securing jobs and production sites. The TFI supports industry in this field of expertise through public and contract-based research in the areas of product development, mechanical engineering, process optimization and the development of testing and measurement technology.
- In close cooperation with our industrial partners, we analyze the challenges posed, develop proposed solutions and implement them on a laboratory scale.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/tfi-aachen-gmbh-institut-für-bodensysteme-an-der-rwth-aachen-e-v/mycompany/
https://www.youtube.com/@TFIAachen
https://www.instagram.com/tfi_aachen/
Geotextiles for green facades
We are also able to develop geotextiles for the greening of roofs and facades.
If you are interested in the development of geotextiles in this area, please contact our research team.
Geotextiles for reinforcing embankments, e.g. on roads and motorways
We are also able to develop geotextiles for reinforcing embankments on roads and motorways, for example.
If you are interested in the development of geotextiles in this area, please contact our research team.
Geotextiles in coastal protection and hydraulic engineering
If you are interested in the development of geotextiles in this area, please contact our research team.
Competence from a single source!
TFI - the institute for building products focusing on interior design
Floor - Wall - Ceiling - Interior
WELCOME TO TFI
We are the institute for research, testing, certification, qualification and production in Europe for building products in rooms, specialising in interiors. With our developments, we shape the future of building products for floor and room systems and enable manufacturers of building and furnishing products to produce responsibly and sustainably – for the living and working of tomorrow. The commitment and expertise of our employees and our network will continue to ensure the quality of our actions in the future.
Our services
Research
With our research, we develop innovative materials, products and technologies as well as test methods. In doing so, we develop solutions for:
- Sustainability and circular economy,
- health,
- safety,
- comfort and
- design.
Testing
At TFI, we test your building and interior products.
We are here for you in the following areas and more:
- health and safety
- chemical and physical properties
- performance and use
- functional and qualitative properties
- acoustics and heat
We are accredited according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025.
Certification
The TFI offers certifications of interior building products.
We are a certification and/or surveillance body for:
- CE / EU Construction Products Regulation
- TÜV Interior – Emissions
- TÜV Interior – Quality
- Sustainability
- German State Building Regulation / MVV TB
We are accredited according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065.
Qualification
In the area of qualification, we support you in becoming a sustainable, agile and creative organization.
We offer further training formats for manufacturers, retailers and tradespeople on the following topics:
- Sustainability
- Digitalization
- Testing
- Certification
- Research
- or design these together with our customers
Production
TFI develops prototypes and samples according to specific customer requirements, develops test carpets, distributes standardized dirt dust and provides support in the construction of special machines and test equipment on customer request.
- Prototypes and samples
- Standardized dirt dust
- Test carpet
- Special machine construction
- Test equipment construction
News
Workshop offer – the new EU Construction Products Regulation
The new CPR entails far-reaching changes for the European construction sector. Among other things, it aims to make sustainable products the norm in the EU and promote circular business models. The Green Deal has also had a significant influence on the new Construction Products Regulation: the gradual mandatory declaration of defined environmental indicators for construction products is planned. In addition, product-inherent requirements and the concrete implementation of the digital product passport have been introduced as innovations.
As announced, the TFI is offering workshops on the new EU CPR for manufacturers and retailers.
The aim of the workshop is to work out the differences between the new CPR and the "old" one and to recognise the main points of action for manufacturers and retailers. A list of priorities for implementation in companies will be drawn up based on the significance of the changes.
The next workshop dates in German are:
- 18.02.2025 in Aachen
- 05.03.2025 in Aachen
- 12.03.2025 in Frankfurt
If you are interested in a workshop in English, please contact us. Find all information about the workshop and registration here.
ALPA started
We are investigating the potential of polyamide 12 (PA 12) as a raw material for the development of textile floor coverings. Thanks to its low moisture absorption, PA 12 achieves high dimensional stability and stain resistance, thus creating the conditions for extending the lifespan of floor coverings. One focus of the project is the transfer and adaptation of established manufacturing processes, such as thermobonding and dyeing, to the specific properties of PA 12. In particular, a new testing method is being developed to evaluate the dimensional stability of the novel raw material under practice-oriented conditions. The result is a recyclable textile floor covering with a surface layer made of PA 12.