Design ceiling provides better acoustics and working environment

Poor acoustics was creating distractions for the employees of Wacker Neuson, which produces and sells construction equipment. The design solution Troldtekt line became the elegant solution to the problem.

Many office workers know the problem – the noise of the open office environment can be deafening when colleagues talk to each other across the room or with customers on the phone.

It can cause extra absenteeism and lost productivity, concluded a study from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment. 

Noise level out of control

One of the companies that faced an urgent acoustic problem was Wacker Neuson, an international manufacturer and distributor of construction equipment with branches in Fredericia and Roskilde.

“At our head office in Fredericia, we have six to eight employees in an open office who spend much of the working day talking on the phone with customers. It was inappropriate and unproductive for us to be so close to one another in an open office with plaster ceilings that reflect sound rather than absorb it.

In our previous office environment, employees tended to speak louder so that the customer could hear at the other end, and thus the noise level increased further,” says Allan Nissen, Site Manager at Wacker Neuson in Denmark.

Troldtekt the problem-solver

To remedy the sound problem, management at Wacker Neuson turned their attention to the new design solution Troldtekt line. The ceiling could remedy the acoustic problem and also add an elegant look to the office in connection with a planned renovation. Troldtekt line is an acoustic panel with lengthwise surface grooves. The grooves are continuous along the entire surface, offering a seamless look.

At Wacker Neuson, white-painted Troldtekt line acoustic panels are mounted on a sloping ceiling in the open office, while for smaller office spaces, the classic Troldtekt acoustic panels were selected – also in white. 

“The design on the new ceilings is great and we all agree that the grooves in the panels give the ceiling solution an exclusive look that blends well with the overall modernisation of the office. At the same time, we can see that the ceiling has met the most important requirement – namely to remedy the sound problem. Together with an improved lighting solution in the ceiling, it has significantly elevated the working environment,” says Allan Nissen.  

The characteristic grooves in the Troldtekt line are also found in a number of other line variants among Troldtekt’s design solutions.