natural corks power point

8/11/2019 Natural Corks Power Point

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NATURAL CORKS


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SOURCES 2,200,000 hectares of cork forest worldwide:

33% in Portugal, and 23% in Spain.

The process of making natural cork stoppers beginsin the Montados' or cork oak (Quercus suber)

forests through Western Europe and Northern

Africa along the Mediterranean

coast.

In Portugal forests are

protected by law.


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FORESTRY AND HARVESTING OF BARK

Cork harvesting is an environmentally friendly process during

which not a single tree is cut down.

A cork oak begins life as an acorn.The tree needs a lot of light, relatively little rain.

Once the cork oak tree reaches 25 years old the bark is then

harvested once every nine years.


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STRIPPING OF THE BARK The centuries-old tradition of harvesting

requires the delicate stripping of the outer

bark by skilled workers using specialised corkaxes.

The stripping is carried out mid

May or early June until the endof August (in spring or summer)


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SEASONING AND SORTING OF BARK The bark is stacked in piles and seasoned' for at least six

months.

Planks are stacked on concrete in the factory yard.

Planks are then sorted to select high-quality bark.

Lower grades of cork are used in other products.


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BOILING AND SELECTION FOR WINE CORKS Corkwood is boiled in closed steel tanks.

The planks are stacked and allowed to dry and stabilise.

Each plank's border is prepared.

The planks are sorted.


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PUNCHING THE CORKS

The cork planks are sliced into strips

Cork punching is done by automatic machines or hand-controlled

punching machines The corkwood left over from punching is sent for granulation.


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POLISHING, SORTING AND WASHING Using an abrasive stone, the punched corks are polished.

They are then washed in a solution of hydrogen peroxide.

The corks are dried in industrial ovens.

The moisture level is stabilised thus maximising the stopperperformance.


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FINISHING THE CORK The corks are again sorted, this time by hand.

They are branded or printed.

A thin film of paraffin wax and/or silicone is applied to each cork.

Batches of corks are packed in plastic bags with sulfur dioxide(SO2) (a gas that blocks microbiological proliferation)


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STEPS OF MAKING NATURAL CORK


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BIBLIOGRAPHY www.ilovenaturalcork.com

www.masilva.com

http://www.corkqc.com/production/production.htm

http://www.corkstore.eu/articles/

5-advantages-of-cork-stoppers
http://www.ilovenaturalcork.com/http://www.masilva.com/http://www.corkqc.com/production/production.htmhttp://www.corkstore.eu/articles/http://www.corkstore.eu/articles/http://www.corkstore.eu/articles/http://www.corkqc.com/production/production.htmhttp://www.corkqc.com/production/production.htmhttp://www.masilva.com/http://www.masilva.com/http://www.ilovenaturalcork.com/http://www.ilovenaturalcork.com/

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