IKEA has started using a new painting method for kitchen fronts — the soft roller — that saves costs by reducing paint waste by 20% and CO2 emissions by 30%. Furthermore, paint drying has been reduced from 45 minutes to one minute using LED lighting. This is the outcome of a 12-year project to create a more efficient way of applying and drying paint.
“We are proud of the soft roller innovation — not just for what it means for our products, but for how it supports our suppliers. It reduces production waste, lowers CO2 emissions, and cuts costs. We believe it can open up new opportunities for our supplier base, and we are committed to working closely with them to make the most of it,” says Anna Henningsson, Category Manager Pigment and Veneer at Inter IKEA Group.
The IKEA Industry factory in Älmhult, where STENSUND, the kitchen fronts in green or white, is being produced, has recently implemented the new painting technique. Until recently, spray painting three layers on products with indentations and curved patterns was the most efficient method. Although efficient, paint waste was higher compared to painting flat-surfaced products due to overspray.
After 12 years of research, IKEA has rolled out a new painting method that uses a soft roller to apply the first two layers of paint instead of spray painting. The rubber-made roller presses paint into the curves and corners of STENSUND, while the last layer is still spray-painted to ensure an even coverage on the final product. This will reduce paint usage in STENSUND production in Älmhult by 20 tons annually, resulting in a 20% reduction in paint waste and a 15% decrease in costs. In parallel, IKEA is working on improving the efficiency of the spray painting.
“Although the project has been running for 12 years, the real breakthrough was made in 2025 when we managed to limit the spray painting to the final layer. It has been a long journey that required time and determination, and it’s exciting to see how this innovation continues to evolve. We are proud of the outcome and look forward to developing the method further as time passes,” says Kent Persson, Process Engineer at IKEA Industry.
In addition to the new painting technique, the drying process has been updated using specially made LED lights instead of traditional lighting. Although the LED lights come with higher upfront costs, they are far more precise and energy-efficient, reducing the drying time from around 45 minutes to only one. This new process reduces energy usage by a fifth. Furthermore, LED lights have a significantly longer lifetime than traditional lights.
Due to the reduction of paint waste and energy efficiencies, the overall climate footprint linked to the production of STENSUND has been reduced by around 15%.
The soft roller technique has been implemented in several IKEA Industry production sites, such as Paços, Portugal, and Älmhult, Sweden, where BODBYN and STENSUND are produced. External suppliers have also started using the technique, and trials to further implement it in the IKEA value chain are ongoing.
