New Orleans—Visitors to the recent 2024 National Wood Flooring Association Expo here recently had the opportunity to partake in a host of educational sessions, networking activities, keynote presentations and other special events. They also got the chance to sample new products.
Following is a sampling of some of the latest visuals, styles and wood flooring formats featured on the trade show floor.
At the Kährs space, the spotlight was on the Sweden-based company’s new Estate collection—the by-product of a partnership that marries domestic production with its storied European manufacturing prowess. As the name implies, the company’s latest offering was inspired by historic estates with a decidedly European design influence.
“That’s where that naming and coloration of the whole Estate family will come from,” said Renee Tester, vice president of marketing at Kährs. “We’re taking all that knowledge and expertise that we’re known for in the European market and combining that into domestically made product. We’re going to have several oaks in that lineup while still focusing in on those lighter, neutral, fashionable tones as well. We will also have some maple and hickory species in there, too.”
As far as formats, Estate comes in 9 1⁄2-inch-wide planks at the top end, but also 7 1⁄2- and 5-inch widths as well.
One of the primary benefits of working with a stateside supplier, according to Tester, is having the ability to quickly adjust colors, patterns or designs to ensure the products are in keeping with the tastes of U.S. consumers. “The good thing about doing this here is we can be more nimble on the color range, which gives us a quicker turnaround,” she explained. “We definitely leveraged what we know based on our existing colorways and what’s trending in the European market to develop some of the colors that we’re seeing here.”
More importantly, Tester noted, the partnership demonstrates how serious the company is about doing business in the North American market. “We’re obviously still focusing very heavily on all the products that we bring in from Sweden but the Estate collection allows us to be more flexible and offer different platforms. With this product installers can go with the nail-down, staple and even a full spread glue, but they’re really designed for floating. So it adds more installation options depending on the application.”
New colors, formats and expanded offerings were also on display at the Mirage space. Here, the company showcased a new color (Galena) in its Escape Collection. Inspired by structures in the Illinois town bearing the same name, Galena reflects the combination of red oak and rich, gold tones. Galena, an engineered product, is available in a 5-inch width as well as 3 1⁄4- and 4 1⁄4-inch widths in the company’s Classic technology, which features its signature Cashmere finish.
In addition, Mirage also launched the “Exclusive” grade in its popular DreamVille and Muse collections. According to Jérôme Goulet, marketing director, this grade presents a clearer look than the character grade but provides wood planks with pronounced and nuanced coloration with a limited range of color variation. Both the DreamVille and Muse collections boast eight trendy, neutral colors available in TruBalance Lite technology and come in 5- and 7-inch widths as well as 5-inch herringbone. A 5-inch-wide format featuring the company’s DuraMatt finish and user-friendly locking systems is also available. DreamVille also comes in Mirage’s “Classic” technology in a 4 1⁄4-inch width.
For other exhibitors, the NWFA convention represented a valuable opportunity to get in front of a captive audience of professional hardwood flooring contractors—a specialized segment of the market. That was certainly the case for AHF Products, which demonstrated its ability to provide an array of products in various constructions to suit the needs of the pro contractors and, by extension, their customers.
The key, according to Brian Parker, vice president of product management, is offering differentiated products in both solid and engineered constructions across a variety of widths, lengths and species. Looking for products that compete with waterproof resilient look-alike floors? AHF has that covered as well. “Professional flooring installers who are strictly focused on hardwood are competing against all these vinyl waterproof products, so we offer numerous waterproof wood collections based on our Densified technology,” Parker noted. “In fact, our entire engineered portfolio now has Hydropel technology and the eight-hour waterproof performance that comes with it. It’s a peace-of-mind insurance policy for the consumer.”
At the end of the day, according to Parker, it’s all about helping consumers land on the right product for them. “We offer the wood flooring contractor three solutions: Densified wood technology for customers who are afraid of wood because it might dent; customers who want waterproof have our Hydropel technology; and products in widths wider than 5 inches for site-finished flooring.”
