Ajax, Ontario, Canada—Triforest Floors, makers of the Toucan brand of laminate flooring and SPC, on July 24 cut the ribbon on its new SPC manufacturing plant here—the first of its kind in Canada, according to the company.
“This occasion marks a significant milestone in Triforest’s commitment to North American manufacturing and innovation,” said Joyce Zhang, general manager. “The launch of this new production line not only strengthens our capacity to serve the Canadian and international markets with high-performance flooring solutions, but also furthers our contribution to the global export of Canadian value-added products.”
Triforest was established in 2013 as a Chinese manufacturer of laminate panels and flooring. In 2021 it launched its Canadian laminate production line to serve North America and reach the global market. Family owned and operated, the company now maintains eight warehouses across Canada and two in the U.S.: Chicago and City of Industry, Calif.
Triforest launches its North American SPC production with the ability to manufacture about 70 containers per month, according to Zhang. That equates to about 21 million feet per year.
While many companies have had their share of challenges with their North American SPC startups, Zhang is convinced Triforest has a distinct advantage because it is replicating what it has been doing in China for the last 10 years. “We have already established quality control with our 30-year experience, and we have almost 10 years of experience in China manufacturing SPC,” she told FCNews. “Also, we brought over the technician who has been in charge of our extruding and profiling in China.”
Zhang sees many advantages of doing business with a company that manufactures in North America. “Supply chain-wise, we’re local, and if people put in an order with us, as long as we have the film we can have product ready in a month,” she said. “Plus, from a logistics standpoint, there is less volatility in road transportation than ocean transportation right now. Given the current political climate, ocean freight rates are fluctuating, so we’re trying to eliminate all the risks. And we are here so we can react quicker in the event there is a claim—of which there are very few.”
Pricing on Triforest’s Canadian-made SPC is comparable to Asian imports, according to Zhang. “When you look at landed cost, it’s about the same,” she said. Obviously manufacturing costs and labor is more expensive than Asia, but the logistical advantage vs. shipping across the globe evens things out.
Triforest also prides itself on keeping up to date with the latest style and design trends. A design team ensures the company is offering the colors and designs the market is seeking. “We have a catalog of films and paper that’s renewed every year,” Zhang explained. “So when we attend Surfaces each year, we’re going to bring many color films to the market to give the customer a wide selection. And in the Toucan brand, every year we introduce a new line with 12 up-to-date styles.”
For the remainder of 2025, Triforest said it is focusing on OEM or private-label customers, particularly distributors with the goal of refining the manufacturing process to make it more smooth and efficient. “We’re also looking for large retailers in the Chicago area because we just opened a 28,000-square-foot warehouse,” Zhang said. “We have one sales rep there, but we’re looking for more to cover the upper Midwest.”
Triforest can also currently service large retailers in California out of its City of Industry branch. Plans are also in place to open a warehouse in New Jersey or the Philadelphia area to handle the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. “Without warehouses, it’s not easy to service them from here,” Zhang noted. Hence, the reason to target distributors, who can private label the line or utilize the Toucan brand.
Formula for success
Triforest is seeking to build off the success it has experienced with its innovative, Canadian-made laminate. As Zhang explained: “Many companies in Europe and most in China utilize four layers in the manufacture of laminate flooring: a wear layer on top, a decor paper in between, an MDF core in the middle and a balance layer on the bottom. Instead of four layers, we innovated to have three layers. We spray the aluminum oxide onto the decor paper to eliminate one layer, so it saves us some raw materials. The paper is already pretreated with aluminum oxide so we just laminate the paper onto the board. The wear layer will reduce the clarity of the color whereas our product provides more vivid color.”
Grant Heggie, president and CEO of Melmart Distributors, has been on board since day one. “I couldn’t believe they were building a laminate factory given that no one has built a flooring factory in Canada in 30 years,” he said. “In fact, laminate hasn’t been made in Canada in at least 10 years. So we came out here and were literally blown away by what we saw coming and the opportunity we thought it would represent.”
After securing a distribution agreement for the Canadian market, it’s been nothing but positive for Melmart. “We’ve been very happy with the way things have gone in just over a year,” Heggie said. “Since last summer we have sold over 5 million square feet of laminate. SPC is just about to start. That’s a big chunk of flooring coming out of this factory and moving across Canada.
“This business was all previously imported from all over the world. It’s a pretty major win that these are new jobs and products produced in this country. Plus, given the political climate, the timing couldn’t be better to have this opportunity to have product made right here in Ajax. It’s going to bring continued growth.”
Next up for Triforest are plans for an MDF production line in the Toronto area.