floorcoveringnewsvolume 30/number 16 I fcnews.net I the publication more retailers prefer I February 1/8, 2016 I $2.00

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IN THIS ISSUE

NFA hosts record-breaking showcasePAGE 26

Virga reveals plans for Big Bob’s’ futurePAGE 32

How Tuftex stands outas ‘boutique’ supplierPAGE 34

Cast your ballots nowCast your votes in FCNews’Award of Excellence competi-tion. Log on to fcnews.net andclick on the Award ofExcellence link, or visit ourFacebook and Twitter pages.

by a panel of retailers who wereinitially tasked with narrowingthe entrants in each category tofive finalists by the start ofSurfaces. Specifically, they wereasked to delve through all submis-

Scan this QR code with yoursmartphone to link to our fea-tured site.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

LAS VEGAS—The InternationalSurface Event (TISE) was up10% in attendance this year, itshighest yearly increase in nearlya decade. But that was just anumber. What really definedSurfaces 2016 was the kind ofenergy and excitement thatmany attendees had not experi-enced for some time.

“It was over the top for us,”said Keith Campbell, chairmanof Mannington, which cele-brated its 100th anniversary with

a constellation ofnew products andoff-the-floor events.

“Surfaces isalive and breath-ing,” said TomLape, president ofMohawk Residen-tial, which made atriumphant returnto Surfaces. “It’s all about energyand excitement, and we hadplenty of that here. We werequite pleased with the turnout.”

Flooring dealers felt the posi-tive vibe as well. “I thought the

show was the best ithas been in a num-ber of years,” saidJim Mudd, presi-dent and owner ofSam Kinnaird’sFlooring, Louisville,Ky. “I thought hav-ing Mohawk andArmstrong and a

few others back on the mainfloor again was absolutely great.”

For the second straight year,TISE coincided with Design andConstruction Week, which fea-tured the co-location with the

International Builder Show(IBS) and Kitchen & BathIndustry Show (KBIS). ForInforma Exhibitions, ownersand operators of TISE, Surfacesmore than exceeded expecta-tions. “The show was amazingon all fronts,” said AmieGilmore, show director.“Exhibitors blew it away withtheir fantastic new boothdesigns and fabulous new mar-keting campaigns. We booked arecord amount of space on sitethis year for the 2017 show.”

The one-floor layout wasgenerally positive although

LAS VEGAS—Six companies werevoted best of class in the fifthannual Best of Surfaces competi-

tion co-sponsored by FloorCovering News and Informa, own-ers and operators of TheInternational Surface Event. Theawards have become the bench-mark for product excellence andbooth design at the industry’spremier trade show.

The winners were:•Innovation: Mohawk’sSmartStrand Forever Cleanwith All Pet Technology •Style & Design: Stanton’sSound Waves from theRelaxed Collection•Technology: Armstrong’sVivero Luxury Flooring•Sustainability: Mannington’sLVT closed-loop recycling

program•Best Booth Design Over1,200 square feet: JohnsonHardwood•Best Booth Design Under1,200 square feet: WichkamThe judging was conducted

Surfaces 2016 ‘amazing on all fronts’Return of major players to show floor fuels excitement

Best of Surfaces calls out leading products, booths at showJudges recognize excellence at Premier show across six categories

By Ken Ryan

By Steven Feldman

From left: A refreshed Pergo brand emerged with a mascot bearingthe company name; excitement both on the floor and in the air withQuick-Step, and Max Woods highlights its Made in the USA message.

From left: FCNews’ Dustin Aaronson, left, and Steven Feldman, second left, present the Innovation award to the Mohawk executive team with the help of Informa’s Lauren Wells.

Continued on page 28

Continued on page 8

Surfacesrecaps

Carpet...........................12Resilient.......................14Wood.............................18Laminate .....................20Tile ...............................22

14 I February 1/8, 2016 fcnewsresilientS U R FAC E S C OV E R A G E

better than laminate because iteliminates that Achilles heel.”

The company believes thereputation and familiarity of theCongoleum name will help dif-ferentiate its composite offering.“It’s a recognizable brand,” saidPat Buckley, vice president, prod-uct management. “More con-sumers recognize Congoleumthan some of the competitiveproducts. There are also opportu-nities to differentiate us by thedesign package. Triversa brings avery strong series of designsavailable in 7- and 9-inch widthsdepending on pattern.”

EarthWerks launched itsWPC product Parkhill last year;this year’s Surfaces saw the addi-tion of Sherbrooke, completingthe company’s 12-SKU compos-ite offering. Both collections fea-ture 7 x 48 planks with Parkhilloffering a 20 mil wear layer witha total 6mm thickness andSherbrooke a 12 mil layer with5.5mm overall thickness.Parkhill comes with a 30-yearcommercial wear limited war-ranty and lifetime residentiallimited warranty whileSherbrooke has a 20-year lightcommercial wear limited war-ranty and 30-year residential lim-ited wear warranty. All ofEarthWerks’ WPC products fea-ture the Valinge 2G fold-downinstallation system.

“Consumers are going to buyfrom EarthWerks because we areEarthWerks, the trusted name inLVT,” said Lindsey Nesbit, headof product development andmarketing strategy. “We’ve beenin the business for 32 years,developing the whole productcategory. Our products are instock, we have a strong distribu-

were trying to find loopholeswith their products’ cores beingmade from X, Y, Z ingredientswhich then eliminates themfrom any patent infringement onwhat we’ve established. I thinkthis last [patent] we’ve got solid-ifies what the construction isreally about.”

At the show USFloorslaunched two new COREtec col-lections: COREtec Plus HD andCOREtec Plus Design. The 15new SKUs from HD includewood visual planks featuringhigh-definition printing withembossed in register texturesand a four-sided beveled edge.The Design collection includes10 SKUs, both wood andtile/stone looks, in 5-, 7- and 9-inch-wide planks. The new col-lections are priced at about $.10more than the current best offer-ing, COREtec XL—the con-sumer would pay somewherefrom $4.78 to $4.98 for justproduct. Both XL and Designwill officially launch and beready to ship during Q1 2016.

Congoleum is one of manymanufacturers that launched aCOREtec-eque offering atSurfaces. Its new Triversa prod-uct is the best offering from itsTimeless LVT collection and willbe ready to ship this spring. The100% waterproof product has arigid core with SmartLock Clicinstallation, 20 mil urethanewear layer and cork backing.

“It’s that layered construc-tion that drives the performanceoverall,” said Kurt Denman, vicepresident, marketing and sales.“There is a volatility to [tradi-tional] LVT with expansion andcontraction, but the Triversacore stabilizes that. It performs

tor network and we stand behindour products.”

Mannington’s version ofWPC, Adura Max, is coming outas an extension of its Adurabrand (FCNews, Jan 18/25). The6 x 48 planks feature iCore Gen3technology with a HydroLoc coreand Ultra-Quiet pad to createexceptional water and noiseresistance. The ScratchResistlayer with aluminum oxide helpsguard the floor against scratchand wear.

“We’re trying to differentiatewith overall construction andquality,” said Dan Natkin,Mannington’s senior director ofresidential products. “The prob-lem with this new subcategoryis—kind of like the early days oflaminate—the wide range ofquality. You have to see whatlasts and what doesn’t. We’vedone a lot to engineer Adura Maxto make sure it’s very stable andof the highest quality.”

Adura Max, which featuresan extensive selection of variedwood visuals, will have its owndisplay and is expected to beavailable by late May/early June.

With its enthusiastic returnto the Surfaces show floor,Mohawk brought a preview ofGenesis 3.0, the company’sanswer to the composite subcate-gory. At this time Mohawk is stillinvesting in the research anddevelopment of Genesis, butattendees had the opportunity tosee what the product has in storeprior to its summer launch. “Itwill be a WPC-type product withan LVT top layer,” explainedTammy Perez, director of hardsurface. “When you look at thefirst generation [of WPC] a lot of

Composites begin to take hold over traditional LVTBy Jenna Lippin

Once again there was noshortage of LVT atSurfaces with many com-

panies continuing to innovateto capitalize on the category’ssuccess. That being said,resilient as a whole had a strongshowing with refreshed andnew sheet vinyl collections and,above anything else, a signifi-cant influx of WPC.

As the subcategory’s buzzgrows louder, Floor CoveringNews has started to investigateWPC/composites/enhancedvinyl—there are many differentnames for the product group. AtSurfaces there was an opportuni-ty to examine the latest andgreatest and see who is gettinginto the next phase of the floor-ing game.

Leader of the pack USFloorswas again a star player atSurfaces, not only because of itsactive booth and belovedCOREtec products, but alsobecause of some majorannouncements heading intothe show: It received its thirdpatent for COREtec, which cov-ers “Engineered WaterproofPlastic Composite Flooring andWall Covering Planks,” andgranted sub-license rights to

Unilin’s Flooring Technologiesand Valinge.

“The playing field is going tochange,” Jamann Stepp,USFloors’ director of marketingand product management, saidof the company’s recent devel-opments. “This last patentstrengthened the context of theprevious patent. Before people

IVC launches Text a Sample IVC US’ space was a popularshow floor destination onceagain, perhaps even moreso this year as it is now partof the Mohawk family ofbrands.

In addition to updatesto its exceedingly popularModuleo and Flexitec col-lections, IVC US is makingmajor strides in its market-ing efforts. Perhaps themost notable is its new Texta Sample program added todisplay sample labels,which allows consumers touse their smartphones tohelp see product in detail.

“Right now we don'toffer take-home samples onany of our products,”explained Bart Rich, seniordirector of marketing. “WithText a Sample a consumer will get a link to a high-resolution digital sam-ple to use to compare products, colors, paint swatches, etc. It also con-nects to a room scene and a Find a Retailer function.”

Take-home samples are hard to manage for both the consumer andretailer who has to keep large pieces of product organized and in stock.With the Text a Sample function dealers not only offer instant sampleswith ease, they can also capture where the text request came from todetermine a shopper’s area, send coupons, request ratings and more.

“We now have them engaged,” Rich added. “We’ve completed that cir-cle—getting the customer into the buying space, getting them to theretailer and ultimately buying our product. We are touching on some-thing people do every day.”

A Moduleo product sample bearing alabel with the code to text for a digital

sample and room scene.

Mohawk previewed its Genesis 3.0 compositeproduct, illustrating how it will rival existing WPC.

Some EarthWerks’ WPC flanked byJonathan Train, president and CEO, and

Lindsey Nesbit, head of product development and marketing strategy.

Jamann Stepp, USFloors’ director of marketing and product management,

with the latest COREtec display.

Continued on page 16

companies have focused on prod-ucts being 100% waterproof butwhat they don’t tell you about isheat. If you are installing thistype of floor in Florida orCalifornia or anywhere that getsvery hot and it is in areas underwindows, for example, the floorbegins to cup. The second gener-ation of product starting to comeout now is trying to correct thatissue, along with some telegraph-ing problems. Once we are ready

we are going to hit the groundrunning because we want todeliver a well-rounded productthat doesn’t just focus on beingwaterproof but also installationin hot areas. We will create ourown story because we feel likewhat we have in our core will bea much stronger story thanWPC.”

Genesis 3.0 will also featurethe Uniclic Multifit locking sys-tem which will provide easyinstallation thanks to the abilityto install at different angles.

Similarly, Armstrong’s returnto the Surfaces show floor wasnot without some noise from itsown “enhanced flooring,” Vivero(FCNews, Jan. 18/25) with livedemonstrations and a Best ofSurfaces win (see story on page1). However, its best-sellingLuxePlank product garneredsome attention as well with itsnew Rigid Core technology.

Continuing on its key sellingpoint of easy installation (previ-ously focused on FasTak),LuxePlank’s Rigid Core technolo-gy is the solution to subfloorirregularities, explained JeremyKleinberg, product manager, res-idential LVT. “If you’re going overan existing floor with tile or anembossed felt sheet you can laythis over the top and there won’t

with other products in the mar-ketplace even though it is uniquein terms of construction andwith the Dream Click four-sidedclick installation system. Pure isalso 100% waterproof and offers

impressive sound ratings. While Pure has been deliver-

ing to the “overwhelming plankdemand of the market,” the prod-uct will soon be offered in a tileformat as well.

be any telegraphing.”LuxePlank with Rigid

Core includes a polymercomposite core with atraditional LVT layer,durable wear layer andfactory-applied coating.The cork backing pro-vides acoustic benefitsthat deaden the trans-mission of sound tospaces beneath the floorand makes it quieter towalk on.

Kleinberg pointedout that LuxePlank selec-tions are more for “spe-cialty installation applica-tions.” In terms of pricedifference, LuxePlankwith FasTak and withRigid Core cost roughlythe same as the betterlevel of Vivero.

After previewing itsPure program last year,Beauflor is now ready totake orders and ship theproduct in the U.S.According to the compa-ny, Pure differentiatesitself from the many compositeproducts on the market becauseof its extruded rigid backing andthe vinyl used, which are bothmade in Beauflor’s own facilitiesin Belgium. It is cost competitive

Continued from page 14Resilient

16 I February 1/8, 2016 fcnews

Quick-Step enters the LVT gameAlso part of the Mohawk family ofbrands, Quick-Step made its forayinto resilient with its own brandedLVT. The official launch will comethis summer as the company is stillfine-tuning product attributes thatdifferentiate Quick-Step LVT fromMohawk’s and IVC’s, in addition tocompetitors in the industry.

According to Dave Thoresen,senior vice president, commercialhard surface, Mohawk Industries,Quick-Step’s LVT is “the most dimen-sionally stable product in the mar-ketplace. It is five times stronger,more durable, than any other LVT. Ithink it takes on WPC to some degreebecause of the dimensional stabilityin addition to the Multifit click sys-tem which is Unilin’s best technologyright now.”

The collection consists of 16SKUs with 6 x 48 planks, 4.5mmthickness and 22 mil wear layer. “It is very North American in style but with a lotof European influence since this is being manufactured in our Belgium plant,”Thoresen noted. “The sweet spot in the market in terms of price will be the mid tolow $3 range.”

Dave Thoresen, SVP, commercial hardsurface, Mohawk Industries, withsome of Quick-Step’s new LVT.

Triversa from Congoleum is thecompany's new ‘composite

engineered flooring.’