Attended by leading figures from DEFRA, The Environment Agency, AXA Insurance and partners in the project, The Flood Resilient Home was launched recently at the Building Research Establishment Innovation Centre near Watford.

Dr Peter Bonfield, CEO of BRE, was first to take the stage in a line up of speakers providing an invited audience a deeper insight into the background of the project and the products used. Among the flood resilient products featured in a house refurbished in a way to offer greater protection and quicker recovery times for victims affected by floods, is the Puustelli Miinus kitchen range.

Present at the launch, Tony Lonnqvist, Puutelli Miinus Project Manager, stated: ‘We’re extremely proud to be among the product partners featured in The Flood Resilient Home and honoured to be here at it’s launch. It’s such an important initiative designed to help victims in flood risk areas and although Miinus was developed on ecological grounds, the kitchen has excellent water resilience qualities".

The Puustelli Miinus range is the result of a €1.5 million investment R&D programme to develop a material to replace the standard Melamine Faced Particle Boards that make up the majority of kitchen cabinets.

UK Sales Manager for Puustelli Miinus, Paul Morrice, said "Our involvement in the Flood Resilient Home project is a wonderful opportunity for us to work alongside other partners in the project to offer an effective means of minimising flood damage more speedily than ever before. The kitchen is at the heart of this and is the vital engine of every home and we look forward to providing a solution to the misery suffered by many victims of flooding.”