Egger Flooring—a Germany-based, private-label manufacturer of laminate flooring—has serviced numerous clients in the U.S. market for many years. With its manufacturing expertise and deep category knowledge, the company has long been a preferred source for brands seeking to enter the market without investing in their own laminate flooring manufacturing plants.
Earlier this decade, Egger decided to pause its direct involvement in the U.S. laminate market, primarily due to the rapid growth of the red-hot resilient flooring segment in the States—especially the popular WPC and SPC rigid core sub-categories, which directly compete with laminate. For private-label suppliers like Egger, shifting market dynamics made it prudent to focus resources elsewhere at the time.
Recently, however, Egger has chosen to re-enter the U.S. laminate flooring arena, aiming to capture opportunities in a category that has experienced a resurgence in America over the past few years. As many firms specializing in laminate flooring and related components like medium- and high-density fiberboard have observed, renewed interest in laminate is being driven by challenges with some low-quality SPC products, prompting retailers and distributors to revisit laminate options. This shift has revitalized the laminate flooring category, and suppliers are responding to the rising market demand.
Already, Egger has attracted interest from several major players in the big-box retail sector, as well as established manufacturer brands eager to capitalize on laminate’s renewed popularity in the states. The introduction of tariffs presented challenges for importers and exporters, temporarily slowing momentum for some distribution channels. “Importers and retailers have put major decisions on hold now until there is clarity regarding tariffs for laminate flooring,” said Alex Decarie, business development, flooring, North America.
Despite these challenges, Decarie and Egger remain committed to re-establishing a strong presence in America. The company is particularly interested in working with large-format retailers and is open to partnerships with significant importer distributors, OEMs and large retailers.
Regarding distributor partnerships, Egger evaluates opportunities based on the distributor’s profile and regional considerations. While the company prefers working directly with larger retailers and OEM customers, it is open to direct container-type opportunities with large importer distributors, OEMs and sizeable retailers.
Long legacy of innovation
Retailers and OEM clients considering a partnership with Egger will find significant advantages. Decarie highlighted the company’s long manufacturing legacy and history of innovation, not only in laminate flooring but across other building materials. In the furniture/interior finishes category, for instance, Egger said it is the global leader in melamine-faced chipboard (MFC). In flooring, it is the fourth-largest producer of laminate flooring worldwide, and in building materials it ranks as the fifth-largest producer of OSB globally.
“It’s a family-owned business founded in the 1960s, so the Egger family is very conscious of product quality; their name’s on the box,” Decarie said. “I’ve visited many laminate factories and seen how Egger runs its operations and produces its products. It’s best in class. The Germans and Austrians perfected laminate flooring as a product category.”
Egger is also recognized for its environmental responsibility. “We actually don’t cut down any trees to make our product,” Decarie explained. “We’re neighbors to the largest hardwood sawmill in Europe, so we take all the residue from the hardwood sawmill and turn that into high-density fiberboard (HDF). So there’s a sustainability advantage there.”
Egger’s advanced manufacturing capabilities enable the company to produce a wide range of formats for both retailer and distributor partners. “When it comes to product specifications, we make everything from 6mm to 12mm thick, in different widths and lengths with different finishes,” Decarie said. “We also have some really great visuals as well.”
With 24 factories—23 of which produce laminate-based chipboard for the furniture industry—Egger leverages its expertise to drive product development in flooring. “Egger’s experience in decorative panels for furniture trickles down to the laminate side of the business,” Decarie explained. “Having access to designers helps us develop laminate flooring with great styling, and that’s due to our strength in the furniture industry. So the product is very highly styled, the quality is there, the cost advantages are there, and we have an advantage when it comes to sustainability.”
Form and function
Egger also excels in water resistance, a key attribute in today’s laminate flooring market. “We have two different types of water-resistant products—there’s a 24-hour and a 72-hour product. The 24-hour product is standard HDF, but with a special locking system, and the 72-hour product is actually a very low-swelling core board. Egger produces its own glue at the factory that’s used in the production of our black HDF. The swell rate is below 6%, which is best in class in the industry.”
Egger is confident that these strengths will appeal to both specialty retailers and the DIY market. “We’re bringing to market a very cost-effective product that’s very high-quality, made in Germany, and it’s sustainable,” Decarie said. “We have extra capacity, and we’d love to talk to certain customers that may have an appetite for laminate.”
As long as the laminate category continues generating interest in the U.S. market, the greater the outlook for Egger. “We keep hearing laminate is coming back in America, and that there’s strong demand for laminate flooring,” Decarie said. “We’re just looking for a few good customers in the U.S., and we’ll hopefully have some good conversations.”
