Uses of Cork

• One of the main use of cork is in low temperature insulation, the insulation is used in water coolers, around the pipes of mechanical refrigerating systems, cold storage warehouses. When using cork for insulation it is first grounded up, pressed into molds and baked with its own natural resins into slabs of the desired shape.
• Cork sheets or cork tiles are used in soundproofing and as floor coverings.
• Cork is used to make stoppers for bottles and barrels. Cork composition is used to line metal caps for sealing bottles.
• Other product that also uses corks are floats, innersoles for shoes, gasket, washers, fishing poles grips, bulletin boards, cork paper for cigarette tips.

Harvesting and Processing of Cork

• When the cork tree reaches its maturity at 20 years old, it is ready to have its outer bark removed for the first time. Cork is harvested during the month of July and August. The first bark is coarse and uneven and is mainly used for ground-cork products.

• After about 10 years, the tree is ready to be stripped again. During this time the cork is of better quality. Cork trees are usually stripped of their bark every 10 years, until they are 100 to 500 years old. The workers make a cut around the trunk and down its length, dividing the bark into suitable sections. Workers are careful not to injure the inner bark because the tree will stop producing cork at the scared portion. The sections are removed from the trunk by inserting the flat handle of the cutter's tool between the cork and the inner bark.
• After the cork is removed from the tree, it is then boiled to remove some of the tannin and to make it flexible. The rough outer bark is scraped off, and the sheets are flattened and tied up for market.
• When it is received in the factory, it is steamed to soften it further, then sliced into strips to prepare it for various mechanical operations such as cutting and tapering.
• Cork stoppers are made by machine, then washed and dried.