FloorCoveringNews

by Melissa McGuire

Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong has come into 2012 loaded with significant introductions in its laminate and hardwood portfolios along with a focus on its 2011 Altera Reserve intros that are just now gaining traction in the marketplace.

With luxury vinyl tile all the rage these days, Armstrong believes Alterna and its step-up Alterna Reserve offer the best visuals on the market. As such, the company is positioning these collections not versus competing LVT but rather the real thing—the stones they emulate, according to Allen Cubell, vice president of residential resilient products.

by Louis Iannoco

As technology has allowed manufacturers to become more innovative than ever, one flooring segment that has benefited arguably as much as any is luxury vinyl tile (LVT). Its state-of-the-art designs allow suppliers to make the surface of the finished product consistently mimic the real thing. But, according to executives, this is just one of the many reasons why this segment is enjoying growth in both sales and popularity.

Norfolk, Neb. — We at MP Global Products, a manufacturer of quality acoustic floor underlayments, welcome you to join us on our newly launched Twitter and Facebook pages. We are now interacting online with industry professionals and consumers interested in learning about the advantages of and selection of floor underlayment for use under hardwood, floating wood, laminate, LVT or tile flooring. 

by Emily J. Cappiello

Baltimore—It takes more than a challenging economic climate to slow the Haines Loyalty Club’s momentum. The retail group arm of the nation’s No. 1 flooring distributor saw its membership increase from 272 to its current 288, according to Scott Roy, vice president of sales, marketing and customer service, and those members grew their businesses a collective 4% compared to the distributor’s retailers outside the program, who saw declines of about 5% in overall business.

by Matthew Spieler

Shanghai—With the U.S. economy starting to once again show signs of life and the Asian market continuing its strong growth trend, the 14th annual Domotex asia/ ChinaFloor (DACF) was filled with plenty of optimism.

The upbeat spirit was seen by both visitors and exhibitors and across all product segments on display—even by those who were not selling or buying products. “It’s been too busy,” proclaimed Bert Van der Stock, managing director of Flooring Industries, the division that handles the Uniclic licensing for Mohawk/Unilin. “I haven’t been able to leave the booth for the entire show.”

Armstrong Commercial Flooring announced the issuance of United States Patent no. D653, 4595 for its award-winning Casablanca design in the popular Natural Creations Luxury Vinyl Tile collection. The patent was issued on February 7, 2012. 

Proliferation of new suppliers runs the risk of commoditization

Nebraska Furniture Mart is pleased with the top brands it carries in the floating luxury vinyl tile (LVT) category—among them Mannington, Armstrong and Karndean—but that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from contacting senior flooring buyer David Snedeker on a regular basis. “There seems to be someone new—or at least new to me—calling every week with versions of their latest and greatest LVT.”

During the long economic downturn, few, if any, hard surface categories demonstrated the promise and robustness as vinyl, with LVT the leader. The popularity of glueless LVT and its various click systems has produced a swath of new entrants, some with little or no flooring experience. “We’ve seen furniture manufacturers getting into the market,” said Yon Hinkle, product manager, residential tile, Armstrong.

Ask Eric Demaree, president of Carpet One, what he is most excited about for 2012, and he cites no specific new product or program. Rather, he is enthused about the fact he believes Carpet One members are taking market share. “Our members will probably grow this year two to three times the independent channel as a whole.”

Chicago– Gerflor, a global leader in the design and manufacture of specialized resilient flooring, today announced the launch of its Creation Clic System to become the only true, high traffic vertical click flooring system on the market. Unlike other Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) and laminate, which use a slip in or horizontal locking method, Creation Clic System includes a fiberglass grid to provide unmatched stability. This 6 mm thick LVT wood plank interlocking system has a 0.7 mm wearlayer and beveled edges to make it ideal for high traffic commercial applications in retail, healthcare or hospitality spaces.

New York–Michael Raskin, who in 2007 pioneered the floating LVT category with the launch of Konecto, has taken the category to the next level via the launch of Elevations. The true loose lay product requires no adhesive strip or locking system. Rather, stability is achieved by virtue of a fiberglass sheet layer and non-skid attached PVC backing. The result is a faster, easier installation.

LANCASTER, PENN.—Armstrong announced it will initiate a 4% to six 6% price increase in the United States and Canada on residential luxury vinyl tile, laminate, residential sheet and tile, and select commercial sheet products. In addition, a 2.5% increase on commercial vinyl composition tile, and a 3% to 10% increase on installation, maintenance and accessories (IMA) products, beginning with shipments on January 23, 2012.

SALEM, N.J.—Mannington Mills announced today the issuance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent covers PVC planks, including LVT planks with a tongue and groove connection, a system which has been gaining in popularity for floating flooring.

NEW YORK—Michael Raskin knows a thing or two about floating LVT. After all, as the former president of Metroflor, Raskin in 2007 pioneered the category with the launch of Konecto. So after breaking from the company earlier this year to launch his own brand, the question was how he would take what he started to the next level.

NORWALK, CONN.—Metroflor Corporation named the Cronin Company as its new distributor in servicing the Pacific Northwest, and has expanded the territory of one of its existing distributors, Tri-West Ltd.

Eager to learn where the market is from the retailer’s perspective, FCNews set out to learn what the top-selling styles are across the U.S. Surveying specialty dealers from the Redwood Forests to the Gulfstream waters, from the Florida panhandle up the Appalachian Trail to New England, carpet maintains a stronghold for many states in the union. Some things are predictable: New England is mostly conservative with wool loops and Berbers; Midwestern consumers favor domestic hardwoods, and the West is eco-conscious, focusing on natural fibers.

When Belgium-based IVC wanted to put a recognizable face on its U.S. operations, the company turned to industry veteran Paul Murfin, who had spent the last six years as vice president of sales and distribution for industry-leading Armstrong World Industries’ flooring operations. Murfin, who also had high- level stints at Beaulieu of America and former Midwest distributor Misco Shawnee, joins a company that is certainly in growth mode having just completed the construction of a $75 million plant in Dalton. FCNews editorial director and associate publisher Steven Feldman recently caught up with Murfin to talk about his decision to leave Armstrong and essentially trade volume for potential.

Since the economic downturn began the resilient category has been just that—resilient. Not only has the segment picked up market share it lost the previous decade, it has done so with technologically advanced products in an array of high end offerings.

Consumers may have become more cost conscious in recent years, but what they are most interested in is a product that provides great performance for the price. And manufacturers say this is a key ingredient as to why resilient has seen a surge in consumer acceptance.

As one of the strongest categories across the flooring industry, resilient producers are introducing a number of new collections and updates this fall. Focusing on a strong value proposition, stone and wood looks are the popular visuals, while easy installation features seem to be en vogue from a technical perspective.

Many companies are also introducing goods for the commercial side, or warranting performance with light commercial guarantees. With the residential market scraping along the bottom, suppliers are providing retailers with products that can yield the greatest profit at all points along the channel.

(Second of two parts)

SALEM, N.J.—“Elevating flooring” is the mantra at Mannington for 2011, and the mill has done so with a rounded product portfolio aimed at gaining the consumer’s interest and market share. Recognizing one of the most important links in that chain—the retailer—the company has taken care to present stories that relate to the consumer’s preferences visually, environmentally and financially.

Dan Natkin, manager of hardwood and laminate business, highlighted its True Bamboo, premiered at Surfaces 2011. He said older methods of bamboo construction were prone to performance challenges like cupping and moisture issues, but at the same density as stranded bamboo the Mannington method of manufacture allows for below-grade installation with a three-ply construction.

Dallas—Flooring Industries, the intellectual property company of the Unilin group, has recently signed new license agreements with several manufacturers of luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products. These companies will from now on be allowed to manufacture LVT products with Unilin’s patented glueless “clic system” and will be provided with Unilin’s expertise during the start-up phase.

VIKEN, SWEDEN—Välinge has signed a license agreement with Chinese vinyl producer Taizhou Huali Plastic Co. to use Valinge’s patented mechanical locking system in a new line of luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products.

Lancaster, Pa.—Armstrong is introducing 115 new designs in its Natural Creations commercial LVT collections, ArborArt, EarthCuts and Mystix, that incorporate designer preferred features and customer feedback.

“Designers and customers will love how easy our new Natural Creations designs and colors coordinate with interior finishes,” said Laura Gemperline, commercial flooring design. “Larger sizes, lower gloss, unique patterns and textures. With such a large collection of design and visual options, Armstrong can provide a flooring solution to fit the design and performance needs of any space. Designers are only limited by their imaginations.”

by Warren Tyler

Regular readers are well aware of my areas of expertise: sales, service, management, motivation. Rarely do I touch on actual flooring products. That’s because attitude is the foundation of all effective training.

However, this column is different. Making the rounds of industry shows, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the quality, innovation and choice of flooring products—a major reason to attend Surfaces and Coverings.

Though some buyers are looking for deals, choice flooring in the home adds a certain something beyond higher prices. That something is identified as the “wow” factor by Paul Mixon, manager of resilient business, Mannington. Beautiful floors that catch a visitor’s eye are not only good for the buyer, but ultimately for the retailer. A successful installation in the home is a great product display for new buyers. “This is the best kind of referral and will result in a motivated shopper who knows what she wants, where to get it and is ready to pay.”

High-end floors also help retailers distinguish themselves from other stores, particularly big boxes. “They send the message that a retailer carries only quality products and can be trusted because they only sell the best,” said Gary Finseth, director of marketing, Tarkett Residential. This kind of recognition is another way to generate referrals from satisfied customers.