Furniture from beer and wine bottles - Startup company from Čačak makes sustainable building material

(Photo: Marija Marković)

Trying to solve the problem of glass waste in the house, but at the same time to finish her final work for the exhibition, the artist Marija Marković, with her partner in business and life, Pavlo Milošević, an economist and advocate of sustainability, and then, with the help of science and scientific experience, developed a product made of recycled glass bottles and jars, which has even reached some homes in Norway today. It is a "fragment" board, which, in addition to cement and other binders and materials, also contains recycled bottles and jars. They make up as much as 73% of the product.

The idea for this product, according to Pavle Milošević, one of the founders of today`s startup company Fragment Incorporated d.o.o. and actually the initiator of this business idea, was created during preparations for one of Maria`s numerous exhibitions.

- For her final exhibition, Maria was trying to make a sculpture out of glass and cement, which was constantly falling apart. We started researching and realized that glass and cement are inherently incompatible and not easily bonded. And then we turned to a professor from the Technological and Metallurgical Faculty in Belgrade for help - Pavle reveals.

This was followed by an application to the Fund for Innovation Activities and in 2020 they were granted a grant, and then a partnership with the incubation startup center Science and Technology Park in Čačak followed.

Fragment boards are most often used for making tables and kitchen surfaces (Photo: Marija Marković)

Three years of research and 2,000 experiments

- We spent three full years in the research and development phase, and in the end, as a result of the cooperation of an artist, an entrepreneur and a team of scientists, this innovative construction product was created, which is intended for a new generation of consumers. Besides being aesthetically attractive, it is also environmentally responsible and has excellent technical performance - says Milošević.

The product was developed in theirs, as well as in the laboratory of the Innovation Center of the Technological and Metallurgical Faculty in Belgrade. As Milošević says, they started the initial sales at the end of 2021, but after that they improved the product and then certified it. The sale of such a certified product, with a guarantee, started a year ago.

- After more than 2,000 experiments and 18,000 laboratory measurements, we have successfully developed a material that exceeds industry standards of aesthetics and quality. And for its production, a team of more than 10 engineers and 4 partner companies constructed special machines - says Milošević.

At Fragment, they point out that their mission is to intercept part of the glass waste on the premises and use it as the primary raw material for "fragment" panels.

Recycled glass makes up 73% of the product (Photo: Marija Marković)

- In this way, we give new life to discarded beer and wine bottles, jam and honey jars. The glass content in our product is 73% - points out Milošević.

By the way, cement, 15 specific additives and three rare materials are used for the binder, and after these boards are made, they usually continue their journey to architects, contractors, interior and exterior designers, as well as furniture manufacturers.

- These panels can be placed on all types of tables, kitchen and work surfaces, decorative walls, fireplaces and fountains, garden furniture, windowsills and bar counters. The possibilities are countless, and the fact that each plate is unique gives it a special charm, because the exact position of the glass elements in the finished product can never be predicted - Milosevic points out.

From exhibition sculptures to unique pieces of furniture (Photo: Marija Marković)

They also reached the Norwegian homes

According to him, their product is most often ordered by furniture manufacturers, designers and architects from Serbia, but an architect from Norway also heard about their product.

- He insisted that our "fragment" board has to be imported to Norway for some landscaping, and that`s how the cooperation with architects from this part of Europe, whose population shows a strong awareness of ecology, began - concludes Milosevic.

D. Stanimirović-Gavrilov