NO.

1
|
VOL. 71 JANUARY 3, 2022 • $4

The luxury flooring market has soared during

the pandemic, and experts report this trend will
F L O O R C O V E R I N G W E E K L Y continue into 2022. See the full story on page 6.
THE INDUSTRY’S BUSINESS NEWS & INFORMATION RESOURCE

NEW YEAR, FRESH START 11

OUTLOOK STORIES BEGIN ON PAGE 11

Mohawk takes to the road again 4

OPTIMISM AMID UNCERTAINTY 19
RESILIENT FLOORING PLANS TO RISE TO THE
CHALLENGE IN 2022

Loving long & wide planks 37

 THIS ISN’T A NEW CHAPTER.
THIS IS A NEW STORY.
FOUR BRANDS.
ONE POWERHOUSE.

FLOOR TO
H OW SE
EH
ES O
TH
W

FEB 1-3
ON

OU
W

LAS VEGAS
RB
VISIT SHA

RANDS

THE INTERNATIONAL
SURFACES EVENT
OR •
• WO

BOOTH
IAT
RK

#2647 | 2947 | 3247

NT
OGT

RE

TH FE
E

ER IF
AS D
YOUR ULTIMATE

© 2021 Shaw

Go South, Young Man
By Kermit Baker
N
ewspaper-
man Horace
Greeley is
credited with the
phrase “Go West, young man,” coined
to encourage greater migration of
young people to the up-and-coming
western regions of the country in the
mid-19th century. For many decades
now, net population flows overwhelm-
ingly have been out of the Northeast
and Midwest and into the South and
West. Western states in particular
have been the destination of a dispro-
portionate share of movers. However,
over the past two years the pandem-
ic has begun to shift these patterns,
with the South growing in popularity
as a destination for movers, and the
West declining.
Even as recently as the past two de-
cades, the western states of Nevada,
Arizona and Idaho were the top three
in terms of percentage increase in net
domestic migration. Colorado and Or-
egon were also in the top 10. However,
the pandemic has shifted mobility pat-
terns, the result being that key west-
SHAW PLANS SURFACES 2022 EXCITEMENT
[Las Vegas] “The band’s back togeth-
er” after a long 15-year absence at the
nation’s largest stage for flooring. Shaw
returns to Surfaces, bringing its residen-
tial and Main Street brands Anderson
Tuftex, COREtec, Philadelphia Com-
mercial and Shaw Floors. Attendees will
find them conveniently located together
in adjacent booths 2647, 2947 and 3247
on the show floor.
“We’re returning to the show as a
united residential division: four brands,
one ‘Powerhouse of Services and Solu-
tions’ to help our customers grow their
businesses. We’re excited about the op-
portunity to connect with customers in
person, particularly after the challenges
the past couple of years have brought,”
said Nina LoCicero, vice president of
marketing and digital commerce, Shaw
Residential. “We’re more bullish than
ever about delighting the customer
with leading innovations and superior
service. What better way to bookend
our 2022 market season with a return
to Surfaces than to showcase the latest
and greatest from Shaw?”
Shaw will continue to have its reg-
ular market season with regional
Showcase events at select locations
throughout the country during Jan-
ern states have seen slower growth or
even declines in net migration of their
domestic population, while several
southern states have seen a surge. Of
the top five states nationally with the
highest percentage of inbound moves
over the past two years, three are in
the South region (South Carolina,
Tennessee and Florida) according to
a national survey conducted this past
September. Moreover, the top three
metropolitan areas in terms of per-
centage of inbound moves over this
period are in the South according to
this survey (Sarasota, Fla.; Wilming-
ton, N.C.; and Fort Myers, Fla.).
Why is the South increasingly dis-
placing the West as the most popular
regional destination? There are three
interrelated reasons: the flexibility
of remote work, the desire for more
space in homes and the search for af-
fordable housing options.
Many workers have been work-
ing remotely during the pandemic,
and remote work will remain much
more popular at many companies
and organizations post-pandemic.
uary, including a
live stream event
from Dallas in
early January for
Shaw Flooring
Network (SFN)
members. Cus-
tomers may also
schedule curated
Nina LoCicero product sessions
with their Shaw territory manager for
a personalized market experience. “We
understand the importance of face
time but also want to make sure our
customers have a safe market expe-
rience that’s tailored to their comfort
level and needs,” LoCicero said.
Shaw said it plans to showcase more
programs and initiatives across its
entire portfolio of brands at Surfaces.
According to the company, these will
be true market solutions based on con-
sumer research and Shaw’s 50+ years
of market expertise. However, Shaw
said it will maintain brand differenti-
ation by leveraging social media and
other digital channels to share power-
ful storytelling tailored to each brand’s
target demographic. Its goal, according
to LoCicero, is to drive brand affinity
with consumers through more digital
Currently, a larger share of moves
are long-distance moves. This sug-
gests that these movers either are
changing employment or that they
plan to work remotely at their cur-
rent job. Their choice of location
now has more to do with their geo-
graphical preferences.
Also, the pandemic has created the
need for more space in homes to ac-
commodate their current uses: home
offices, at-home schooling, home ex-
ercise rooms, entertainment areas
for friends and family. This desire for
more indoor and outdoor space con-
tinues to be a key priority for house-
holds that are looking to relocate.
However, one of the keys to choos-
ing a location based on remote work
opportunities and the desire for big-
ger homes is housing affordability.
With house prices increasing at a 15
percent to 20 percent annual pace re-
cently, more and more potential buy-
ers are unable to purchase a home
in their current location. Homes in
the South are typically much more
affordable than homes in the West.
engagement designed to send people
in-store where RSAs can close the sale.
A full two-day schedule of demon-
strations featuring a variety of technolo-
gies and innovations will be on tap.
“Shaw is a customer-centric compa-
ny, and we cherish the face time with
customers and the opportunity to show-
case our latest and greatest products
and services, while also learning how we
can serve our customers better,” LoCice-
ro said. “Our theme for the 2022 market
season and sales training is ‘Reimagine.’
We’re asking people to reimagine not
only the market experience but all the
ways that business — and real-life —
HAPPY & HEALTHY 2022!
The team at Floor Covering Weekly
wishes you all a very Happy, Healthy
& Prosperous New Year! As we look
forward to celebrating 70 years of in-
dustry-leading reporting with you, we
are thankful for all who have gener-
ously shared your stories with us. We
look forward to sharing your strate-
gies, solutions, innovations and more
in 2022. Cheers to the New Year!
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022
NEWS
In the South, the qualifying income
required to purchase a typical home
is just under $51,000 according to
the most recent housing affordability
report from the National Association
of Realtors. In the West, it’s more
than $82,000, meaning many fewer
households can afford to purchase a
home there.
The South and West regions will
continue to attract a disproportion-
ate share of migrating households.
However, the pandemic has tipped
the scales in these decisions in favor
of affordable locations, particularly
for households where affordability
is a major factor in their decision. As
long as households have flexibility in
deciding where to locate, and house
prices are a major factor in that de-
cision, the South will continue to
attract a disproportionate share of
these movers.
Kermit Baker is the chief economist
at the American Institute of Archi-
tects. He can be reached by email at
kbaker@aia.org.
will look different post-pandemic.” She
noted that among product launches will
be a new sundries program designed for
simplicity and customer satisfaction,
as well as a new pet-friendly platform,
Pet Perfect, designed for specialty retail
and promising ultimate durability and
effortless cleanability.
“We have too much excitement
planned for Surfaces to summarize it
in a single sentence,” LoCicero said.
“But I’ll just say: Come see us at ad-
jacent booths 2647, 2947 and 3247
to learn why you’ll get leading inno-
vations, more sales and better service
with Shaw in 2022.”
Source: The International Surface
Event (TISE)
2022
3
NEWS

Mohawk takes to the road again

Momentum Roadshow 2022 kicks off in Philly
By Amy Rush-Imber
[Calhoun, Ga.] Coming off the widely
successful Momentum Roadshow in
2021, Mohawk Industries is taking its
new products and innovations to five
cities across the country this year, begin-
ning with Philadelphia.
Why start the year with another
robust program? “We never thought
twice,” asserted Trey Thames, senior
vice president of sales for Mohawk.
The company, he said, has always held
regional shows but COVID prompt-
ed a new approach. “We pivoted to a
more focused, controlled environment.
What we didn’t expect was the custom-
er experience — the experience for our
leadership and our customers was so
powerful, we won’t go back to the way
things were.”
Indeed, the approach to meetings,
product launches and innovative re-
veals was intentional. “Mohawk was
very lean in the number of corporate
employees on the road. They were able
to spend more time engaging with cus-
tomers in one-on-one conversations.
And it gave new leadership members
the opportunity to get to know the cus-
tomer. From all angles, you can’t beat
that experience,” Thames said, adding
that as the company looks to its Edge
Summit later in the year, it is identifying
ways to create that same valuable time
together. “We know that our customers
are taking time out of their showroom
to come to where we are.”
This year’s Roadshow also promises
important product launches across each
of Mohawk’s brands — Karastan, Pergo
and Mohawk. This, revealed Thames,
is “where we are excited about the in-
vestment of over $300 million in hard
surface capacity and over $100 million
in new soft surface product capability in
2022. You will be able to see the fruits
of that in product launches throughout
2022 across hard and soft surfaces.”
Attendance this year is above and
beyond where it was last year which,
he said, exceeded expectations. Still, the
company is taking every precaution, as
it did in 2021, to create a safe environ-
ment. Explained Thames, “We are mak-
ing the showroom hours longer and we
made the decision to stay with customer
appointments to provide that one-on-
one experience and accommodate any The Mohawk Momentum Roadshow stop in Dallas included large and interactive
potential last minute capacity restraints.” displays of the company’s products.

ROADSHOW STOPS
January 5-6 Philadelphia
January 12-13 Chicago
January 24-25 Huntington Beach
February 1-3 Las Vegas
February 22-23 Atlanta Mohawk created a safe environment filled with intentional product launches and the opportunity for one-on-one meetings.

WFCA’S PROFIT MATTERS model offers some incentive to achieve

ADDRESSING HOW TO PAY SALES
By Janet Herlihy
[Dalton] In the third installment of
the World Floor Covering Association’s
(WFCA) Profit Matters virtual series,
Steve Abernathy, CFO of the WFCA,
shared pros and cons of various sales
compensation models for retailers and
their impact on gross margins.
Abernathy explained each model
and its possible ramifications clear-
ly and concisely. Whether you are a
flooring retailer deciding on the best
way to pay sales staff or a homeowner
negotiating with a handyman, Aber-
nathy pointed out key considerations
in choosing a model.
4 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
A fixed salary or an hourly wage is
ideal for a company that needs staff
retention for stability, Abernathy ex-
plained. “It also allows for a no-pressure
shopping experience for consumers,” he
added. “This model offers better em-
ployee retention and gives fixed labor
costs but provides no incentive to staff
to achieve higher sales growth or profit.”
The salary only model creates a wide-
ly variable cost as a percentage of sales
and can have a significant negative effect
on gross margins if pricing constraints
aren’t defined, he warned.
The salary plus a discretionary bonus
higher performance, but because the bo-
nus is often vague and given at the end
of the year, effects are minimal.
A straight commission on sales can
be a “pay as you go” method that is often
used by startup companies that can’t
fund employee pay until after the sale.
This model can be executed as a “draw”
on earned commission and should
incorporate price negotiation limits.
Straight commission on sales provides
“The highest incentive to achieve high-
er top-line sales revenue,” Abernathy
said. But it can negatively impact re-
cruitment and retention in down times.
“Gross margins can be sacrificed for
higher commissions,” he added.
Hybrid sales models
Base salary plus commission on
sales can be ideal when sales reten-
tion is critical. “The company invests
in the success of the sales reps while
incentivizing their performance,” Ab-
ernathy noted. “The standard salary
to commission ratio is 60:40. This is
the most conventional and popular
model for sales compensation and
provides good incentive to achieve
higher top-line sales revenue,” Aber-
nathy said, but acknowledged, “Gross
margins can be sacrificed for high-
er commissions and if pricing con-
straints aren’t defined.”
WFCA has made this presentation
available at https://wfca.org/content/
profit-matters. The last models — Base
salary plus commission of profits and
Sliding scale commission on price point
— as well as a series of charts and exam-
ples can be seen online.
 GROW
WITH US
With our growing family of leading
brands proudly serving the residential
and commercial markets for over a
century, AHF Products is steeped in
hardwood craftsmanship, rigid core,
contract sheet vinyl/LVT, and laminate
flooring solutions. We’re proud of our
award-winning wood flooring designs,
innovations, product development,
manufacturing and services.
We create beautiful flooring to last
generations with our quality products
and a deep commitment to
outstanding customer service.

SEE HOW WE’VE GROWN.

VISIT US AT SURFACES,
BOOTH #2221.

OUR FAMILY
OF BRANDS

Emily Morrow Home is a Trademark of EF Floors & Design, LLC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are owned by AHF, LLC, or its subsidiaries or affiliates. © 2021 AHF, LLC.
BUSINESS BUILDER

Luxury flooring stays strong
Pandemic-fueled luxury market continues to surge
By Sharyn Bernard
The luxury flooring market soared
during the first part of the pandemic
and shows no sign of slowing down.
“With the exception of a two-
month period, our business has been
on an upward trend during the en-
tire pandemic,” said Len Andolino,
vice president, decorative division,
The Dixie Group (TDG).
“We’ve seen a steady increase in
the business, even comping against
pretty high numbers for the back half
of 2020,” said Jason Randolph, vice
president of residential sales for Kara-
stan and Godfrey Hirst. He added that
the company has seen double digit
gains every month for the year. “We
have not seen any type of drop off.”
Indeed, while many thought the
surge in higher end products was a
temporary phenomenon due to more
time spent at home and more dispos-
able income from cancelled plans,
there has been virtually no abatement
Sales of premium flooring like Imperial Pecan by Anderson Tuftex have soared.
in luxury flooring sales.
“There has been sustainable de-
mand for high-end products,” said
Herb Upton, vice president of prod-
uct and channel strategy for Shaw
Residential. “Consumers are fo-
cused on home and willing to spend
more on a product that not only
matches their style preferences but
also their performance needs. Many
people are willing to select high-
er-end goods to ensure longevity in
their investments.”
Offered Patrick Bewely, vice pres-
ident of marketing for Duchateau,
“The almost two years that many peo-
ple spent in their homes has made
them eager to apply touches of luxury
to their surroundings, and we believe
the demand for high-end surfaces will
continue to grow.”
the short term, we will continue to see
an emphasis on terms of home spend-
ing. And luxury consumers have come
out of the pandemic in a very strong
position. They have pent up demand
and the ability to buy.”
What’s more, she said consumers
are expanding all areas of home they
are remodeling, with a renewed em-
phasis on outdoor spaces. Consumers
are adding entire rooms to outdoor
spaces, with everything from outdoor
showers to dining areas, bringing
more options to the flooring market.
The size and demographics of the
luxury market are changing, Dan-
ziger noted. “More consumers have
the potential to afford luxury prod-
ucts.” Millennials are now reaching
middle age and soon will be in their
highest earning years, which fre-
quently means trading up to larger
homes. “All of these things, not just
COVID, are providing the tail winds.
It’s an entire shift.”
The recent Bain & Co. report said
the next big wave of luxury consum-
ers will be those who are under 40 in
2021, with Millennial and Gen Z con-
sumers contributing 180 percent of
total luxury growth through 2025.

LUXURY BY THE NUMBERS

A recent report by Bain & Co. shows There’s a difference between true
year-over-year growth for luxury home- luxury consumers and affluent con-
ware and furniture of 13 to 15 percent sumers, pointed out Chris Ramey,
for the 2020-2021 period, while experi- president of The Home Trust. “Lux-

20.6 MILLION
More millionaires live in the U.S. than in the five next largest countries
ences and travel have plummeted. ury clients have not ceased being
luxury clients,” meaning shifts in
Home Benefits the market do not really affect them.
combined — 20.6 million compared to 14.9 million in the U.K., Japan, Pam Danziger, founder of luxury However, affluent consumers are fu-
France, Germany, and Mainland China. research firm Unity Marketing, said eling a significant part of the increase
(Source: Unity Marketing) the importance that the home took on because they feel the true impact of
during the pandemic has not waned. their monetary gains. Trips not taken
$380.7 BILLION
Americans spent $380.7 billion total on their homes last year, up 6.5%
That, coupled with the fact that many
affluent consumers’ financial position
during the pandemic translate into
true spendable dollars. “The econo-
strengthened over the last two years my and COVID takes credit for a lot
from 2019. That is about as much as the entire GDP of South Africa.
will continue to propel the luxury of their money.”
(Source: Unity Marketing)
market. “People are staying in their

$380.7 BILLION homes, it’s the safest place to be. For Continued on page 8

Americans spent $380.7 billion on their homes in 2020, with the largest single category
furniture and furnishings, accounting for 63% of this total.
(Source: Unity Marketing)

$471.1 BILLION
Add $90.4 billion spent on home services and the total U.S. home market
size is $471.1 billion – nearly half-a-trillion.
(Source: Unity Marketing)

TYPES OF CONSUMERS
Ultra-High-Net-Worth-Individual (UHNWI) – Net worth of $30M+
High-Net-Worth-Individual (HNWI) – Net worth $6M-$30M
High Achiever Not Noticeably Abundant (HANNA) – Net Worth $1M-$5M
Ultra-Affluent – Income $250K
High Earners Not Rich Yet (HENRY) – Income $100K-$250K
(Source: Unity Marketing)
Luxury home products like Duchateau’s Seasmoke have grown YOY since 2020.
6 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
 FLOOR SCRIPTER ™ HERO AR61 WALL REMEDY ™ HYDRO RD22 POOL DECKING COMMISSARY ™ REGENT HONEY CS34
BACK WALL PANORAMIC PORCELAIN SURFACES ™ ANTHRACITE CM85
BACK COUNTER PANORAMIC PORCELAIN SURFACES ™ CALACATTA CM04

WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU.

Join Daltile at the International Surfaces Event to get a
glimpse of new products, upcoming trends, and the latest
innovations in tile. Come see Daltile at booth 5603!

©2021 Daltile
BUSINESS BUILDER

Laminate’s place in the luxury market

By Lauren Moore-Brennan
From its high-end, realistic visuals, to
its performance story and scratch re-
sistance, to its relative ease of instal-
lation, there’s a lot to love about lam-
inate flooring. The category has gone
through a tremendous revival, and
laminate flooring is no longer simply
“the cheap option.” In fact, quality
laminate flooring is ripe for the luxury
market, particularly in high-end com-
mercial applications where real hard-
wood wouldn’t be practical.
Although laminate is not necessari-
ly the right fit for certain heavy-traffic
commercial settings, such as health-
care facilities, laminate is an excellent
fit for high-end businesses like salons
and boutique shops, particularly in
places where aesthetics are important.
In fact, its capacity for high-end
design is one of laminate’s strongest
features, said Derek Wellbourn, CEO
of Inhaus. “One of the core advantag-
es of laminate is the process of using
a thermal fused melamine top,” he
shared, which provides a high level
of transparency and means the prod-
uct’s design is only highlighted by the
Quality laminate products such as Inhaus’ Selkirk collection are a fit for high-end
installs where durability and aesthetics are priorities.
technology used to create it. “The use
of engraved stainless steel press plates
allows the texture and gloss level to be
tailored to the design also without los-
ing clarity,” he added.
And because laminate designs have
a higher print fidelity than a vinyl
film, laminate is often mistaken for
hardwood, pointed out Brian Parker,
vice president of product develop-
ment with AHF Products.
While design is a key priority for the
luxury market, laminate is more than
just a pretty face. Products featuring
commercial-grade abrasion criteria
(AC) ratings are among the most ro-
bust, durable, high-performing hard
surface products on the market. Travis
Bass, former executive vice president
of sales and marketing with Swiss
Krono USA, pointed out that today’s
laminate products have only continued
to improve, particularly in the face of
the explosively popular luxury vinyl
tile (LVT) and rigid core categories.
“U.S.-made laminate manufacturers
responded organically to the plas-
tic threat by simply getting better …
thicker panels, décor clarity, realistic
textures and water-resistance,” he said.
Laminate also has a place in luxu-
ry residential as well, particularly in
kitchens or other high-traffic areas of
the home — especially now that many
of today’s higher-quality laminate of-
ferings offer water-resistance against
normal household spills. “Being wa-
terproof means it can be installed in
bathrooms, areas where people might
be coming in from the pool outside,
anyone with pets or kids where spills
are prone to happen, etc.,” shared
Paige Nichols, director of product
management with Mohawk. “It high-
lights that the floor is able to with-
stand everyday life accidents.”

Luxe flooring trend, “I don’t want to discount the

Continued from page 6
Serving the market
Several luxury flooring categories
have performed particularly well during
the pandemic, notably luxury carpets.
One of the reasons for this trend is that
many of these products are made in the
United States so the supply chain woes
that have plagued other categories have
not impacted carpet.
“We are seeing more people move
back into carpet,” Randolph said.
While comfort and noise abatement
might have some influence on this
Luxe manufacturers like The Dixie Group are expanding their high-end carpet looks.
8 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
availability of carpet. It’s domestically
produced and that is playing into it.”
Added Ramey, “American-made
products are being delivered and you
can get carpet because it’s made in
the U.S.”
Manufacturers are venturing be-
yond traditional carpet looks to attract
luxury and affluent consumers, adding
patterns and other elevated designs.
“We are adding all sorts of visuals to
broadloom,” Randolph said, noting that
the company will add more than 30
new styles. “Our entire focus is grow-
ing the fashion side of the business.”
He said the company also will launch a
new merchandising program
for Karastan to elevate the
brand, as well as new retailer
and consumer web platforms.
Hardwood and even high-
er end LVT are still strong
and are fueling another
luxury trend — custom and
oversized rugs. “Every time
a hard surface floor is sold
you have an opportunity for
an area rug,” Andolino said.
He said TDG is aggressively
targeting this niche and will
continue to expand this seg-
ment. Still, he noted 60 per-
cent of sales are wall-to-wall
luxury carpet.
Rugs “have turned into a
nice service industry,” Ran-
dolph agreed. “It’s another
way to provide a touch point
for the customer. They want
it done for them.” He added
Karastan is focused on elevating its luxe visuals.
that most major retailers
have surge operations to make the rugs comfort. “People are looking to sim-
and about 50 percent of the rugs sold plify their environments without
are made in-house by the retailers. compromising on quality and indi-
He noted that hardwood has been viduality,” Bewely said. “Luxury, what
strong in the luxury remodel segment we find covetable, desirable, rare and
as the U.S. housing market cannot meet special, can speak to our times. It feels
demand for new homes. This has led to like luxury when you bring natural
strong sales in hardwood and also rugs. elements like a hardwood floor into
Wood also connotes luxury and your environment.”
 Two great
products from
Tarkett Home.

TruTEX™
LUXURY SHEET FLOORING
Beautiful and healthy
for those you love most.™
Trust TruTEX™ to go where other floors
cannot. From kids’ bathrooms to damp
TruTEX™ | FARMHOUSE PINE | SUNLIGHT basements, the TruTEX™ moisture
management system enhances the life,
beauty and performance of your floors.
Plus, it resists stains, mold and mildew
while delivering Beyond
Tough performance.
TruTEX™ is built to last
and is CERTIFIED asthma
& allergy friendly®
by the Asthma & Allergy
Foundation of America.

NuGen™
RIGID CORE FLOORING
Perfect for 3-season rooms.
Tough enough to stand up to the rigors of
daily wear, yet beautiful and comfortable
enough to be used in any room, NuGen
gives you the best of both worlds. With
easy, no-mess installation, guaranteed
long-term wear, and beautiful, authentic-
looking wood designs, NuGen delivers a
better flooring experience every step of
the way.
Scan this code to visit
www.tarketthome.com
Connect with us
@ TarkettHome

NuGen™ | PINE OAK | DRIFT

The CERTIFIED ASTHMA & ALLERGY FRIENDLY Mark is a Registered Certification Mark
of ASTHMA AND ALLERGY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA and ALLERGY STANDARDS LTD.
©2021 Tarkett North America.
BUSINESS BUILDER

Premium hardwood products shine

By Lauren Moore-Brennan
There’s a reason hardwood flooring
is considered the aspirational floor.
In addition to bringing warmth and
beauty to a space, it’s the only floor-
ing that adds value to the home.
When treating the home as an in-
vestment — and for most homeown-
ers, it’s the single biggest investment
they have — spending the money on
a premium flooring product makes
sense. “You could argue that a cubic
zirconia ring looks the same as a di-
amond ring, and maybe it does. But
how would that go over in real life?”
Brian Carson, president and CEO of
AHF Products posited.
Ken Freedman, North American
director for Barlinek, agreed that
hardwood is perceived as an invest-
ment. “Hardwood products repre- High-style, high-end hardwood products like Anderson-Tuftex’s Imperial Pecan in Harvest are driving the category’s success.
sent quality and investment that can
be seen in the home. They want to
make sure they’re bringing a quality
product into the home — one that’s
“HOMEBUYERS HAVE LONG ASPIRED TO HARDWOOD FLOORS. HARDWOOD FLOORS ARE A
sustainable, eco-friendly — and TIMELESS LOOK THAT WORKS WELL FOR ANY KIND OF DECORATING STYLE. THE RETURN
hardwood puts that light on in a lot
of people’s minds,” he said.
ON INVESTMENT OF HARDWOOD FLOORS IS A MAJOR SELLING POINT. HARDWOOD
Even when disregarding resale value FLOORS WILL PAY OFF IN RESALE VALUE.”
— for homeowners looking to stay put
for the long haul, for example — there
— BRIAN CARSON, AHF PRODUCTS
are plenty of consumers who want “the
real deal,” and who are not looking to shines. “We’ve seen the demand for tor of wood and laminate with Mo- On the sales floor, hardwood should
compromise on cost or style. “Today’s lower price point hardwood shift hawk Flooring, agreed. “Our higher be offered as a luxury product, said
consumer is looking for the features toward other categories over the end visuals are really gaining traction Michael Martin, president and CEO
and benefits of a high-quality hard- last few years, but demand for high- in the market,” he shared. of the National Wood Flooring Asso-
wood floor,” pointed out Pat Oakley, er price point hardwood remains Said AHF’s Carson, “We see real ciation (NWFA). “Training sales staff
vice president of sales and marketing strong,” said John Hammel, senior interest in higher end goods and to offer a model with an ‘A, B, and C
with Mullican Flooring. director of hardwood and laminate quality goods. Demand for our wood (or good, better, best)’ option can only
For suppliers, the luxury or premi- with Mannington Mills. continues to be strong and we only raise profits and customer satisfaction
um price point is where hardwood David Moore, senior product direc- expect that to continue.” for retailers in the long term,” he said.

A RAINBOW OF COLOR
EXOTIC CANARYWOOD FLOORING ELEVATES MARTHA’S VINEYARD HOME
[Oak Bluffs, Mass.] It’s not a secret, bordering the Nantucket Sound. tion of Oak Bluffs. A seasonal port for world as part of their “deeper niche”
especially in the construction industry: “We really wanted something that Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs is also vision to offer uncommon flooring
finding the right product is critical. would stand out,” Charter said. “A tru- a leading attraction for visitors want- woods not found from other sources.
It’s especially critical — not to ly stunning addition to the designs of ing to explore the cultural district’s From Elemental, Charter first
mention difficult — when there’s a Sullivan & Associates Architects, who wooden shipbuilding, home goods learned about Canarywood, with
global pandemic, supply chain issues, are renown throughout Cape Cod for and one-of-a-kind boutiques, shops, its stability, durability and visually
and lumber and labor shortages. their ability to innovatively blend galleries, studios and businesses. stunning array of gold, red, purple,
Ed Charter, the owner of Arrow- Martha’s Vineyard’s unique Victorian Armed with a thorough under- green, orange and brown tones. Un-
head Homes Construction in Oak architecture with the contemporary, standing of the area’s unique artistic like the visual of any other wood
Bluffs, Mass., was aware of the chal- upscale wishes of clients.” appetites and buying preferences, species, Canarywood, called Tarara
lenge when he researched the exot- In addition to constructing near- Charter began to search for unique Amarilla in its native Bolivia, has
ic hardwood flooring options for a ly 200 homes throughout the area flooring options which he found in the been used for centuries for cabine-
new 3,400 square foot home he was since 1996, Charter is the owner of Elemental Hardwoods exotic flooring try, fine woodworking and even mu-
building on Martha’s Vineyard in a 2,800 square foot Greek Revival line. Elemental’s offerings include a sical instruments. In addition to its
Edgartown, Mass., a former whaling former whaling captain’s home built wide variety of high performing wood high Janka rating and stability, El-
port and leading tourist destination in 1859 in the historic East Chop sec- flooring species from around the emental Hardwoods’ Canarywood is
10 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY

New Year, Fresh Start
What will 2022 bring?
By Amy Rush-Imber
All of the stress and all of the strate-
gies that industry leaders employed
in 2021 should set them up for what
is forecasted to be a strong 2022.
But if there is one thing this indus-
try has learned, expect the unex-
pected and be prepared.
“The last two years have taught us a
lot about ourselves as a company, and
as we come out of 2020 and 2021,
we should be a stronger company for
forest-friendly, sustainably sourced
from FSC certified forests in Bolivia.
Canarywood is an excellent choice
for any environment seeking to
showcase its flooring like a grand
piece of artwork on the floor. Like
most woods, Canarywood is slight-
ly photosensitive and over time will
“caramelize” with some of the bright
colors turning golden-caramel tones,
while maintaining its gorgeous grain
figure for decades or even longer.
“I was immediately taken by the
beautiful flow of exotic colors and
dramatic ability to highlight any
room,” Charter said. “We also want-
ed a highly durable wood that would
look great for decades, with minimal
upkeep. The Canarywood checked
all these boxes so well that I even
installed it one of the bedrooms in
it,” noted Michel Vermette, president
and CEO of Armstrong Flooring.
“I know that there are still lin-
gering issues with costs and supply
chain disruptions, but I feel that we
are well-positioned to continue our
growth across all channels of the
business,” shared Karndean Design-
flooring’s CEO Bill Anderson. “We
will have to watch the economy very
closely and continue to keep an eye
my Oak Bluffs home.”
Stocked with 3,000 square feet of
Elemental Hardwood’s solid natu-
ral prefinished Canarywood, Charter
completed his latest creation that in-
cluded four bedrooms, a media room,
great room and open concept interior
space last summer. The home sold
within 10 days of being on the market
for $2.1 million. “The Canarywood
played a big role in the sale,” Charter
added. “The new owners fell in love
with the floor the second they walked
in the door. It has a real ‘wow’ factor
and fit with the space and design per-
fectly. This wood makes a beautiful
one-of-a-kind flooring showpiece that
illuminated the whole house with a
spectacular display of varying colors
and patterns. We couldn’t have asked
for more, the new owners love it.”
OUTLOOK 2022
consumer, reported Scott Sandlin,
executive vice president for Shaw
Floors. “There may be some fatigue by
inflation, but a couple key things will
drive business — the balance sheet
of the consumer is strong. On top of
on the housing market, along with that, they feel that home is one of best
interest and unemployment rates, places to put their money. I think the
so we may see some of our growth outlook is very positive,” he said.
areas shift, but I still believe there is There are areas within Shaw’s of-
a ton of potential for 2022.” fering that are particularly well-po-
Mohawk president of residen- sitioned for next year, he added.
tial Jeff Meadows likewise believes “We’re excited about the upper end
2022 will be up compared to 2021 of the business and we’ve worked
which ended strong, despite con- on new designs and styles,” Sandlin
tinuing challenges. “There are price said, adding that COREtec will be
increases so units might be flat-ish among the key initiatives for 2022.
but things look Russel Grizzle, CEO of Manning-
really good and ton, said that one area of concentra-
new home con- tion for the company in 2022 will be
struction com- the continuing integration of recent
panies are very acquisitions of Phenix and Atlas/
bullish,” he said. Masland, specifically when it comes
Offered Bob to areas such as order input systems
Shaw, founder as well as bringing down the back log
and CEO of En- of orders and emphasizing service.
gineered Floors, But like last year, 2022 won’t be
“We believe without its challenges. Explained
both residential Russ Rogg, president of Metroflor
and commercial (part of HMTX Industries), “For
businesses will 2022, there is one macroeconomic
continue to grow concern I worry about and that is
next year. We the ramifications of inflation. If it
are continuing continues on this path, the fear is
to launch prod- consumers will begin to spend less
ucts that utilize money. None of us can control that
our patented and we are watching out to the best
Twist-X technol- of our ability.”
ogy, which has Added Brian Carson, president
seen tremendous and CEO of AHF Products, “We are
growth over the looking forward to a strong 2022.
past 12 months.” We expect 2022 to continue our
Home will re- growth beyond 2021, which sur-
main vital for the passed 2019.”
Canarywood, called Tarara Amarilla in its native Bolivia, makes for a visually
stunning floor in this Martha's Vineyard home that sold for $2.1 million.
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022 11
SHOP TOMORROW’S BEST FLOORS,

Caboodle | 00753 Grounded COREtec Originals | Irene Walnut

 FROM TODAY’S BEST BRANDS:

ReEmerge + ReAlign (EcoWorx® Tile) | 00505 Change Intricate Trace | 103 Marble
Quarter Turn

SCAN EACH QR CODE ABOVE TO DISCOVER YOUR NEW FAVORITE FLOORS FROM YOUR TOP-VOTED BRANDS.
OUTLOOK 2022

Firm Foundation
Tile looks to its roots for growth
By Ryane DeFalco
In the face of an unpredictable supply
chain, the tile industry is leaning on
its unwavering style and performance
benefits to grab consumers’ attention.
What’s more, tile products are set to
fulfill today’s consumer needs.
Scott Maslowski, senior vice pres-
ident of sales, Dal-Tile Corporation,
predicts the tile industry “should have
a very good year in 2022 with both
new and residential remodel continu-
ing to grow while commercial should
continue with momentum that began
on the back end of 2021.”
Mara Villanueva-Heras, Emser
Tile’s vice president of marketing,
agreed saying, “At this time we see
continued optimism in 2022 for con-
tinued growth and expansion.” This is
especially true for new introductions
that are aligned with expected trends
and colors, she added.
“I view 2022 as another strong
year for tile,” said Greg Mather,
president of Crossville. “The con-
struction industry is forecast to
strengthen while larger sizes and
new finishes make tile appealing for
more surface applications.”
He added that the new year pos-
es new opportunities for tile to per-
form, and possibly take back some of
its share from the resilient category.
“LVT has grown significantly in re-
cent years and likely will continue to
grow, but I really feel like customers
are much more educated on the trade-
offs of tile versus LVT. This is a good
thing for the flooring industry in gen-
eral but also for the tile industry, as
the durability and ease of maintaining
tile is going to continue to support the
category growth.”
According to Perry Yancovich,
senior vice president of business de-
velopment at Jeffrey Court, “The tile
industry has been quick to publish
optimistic forecasts, especially as it
looks for ways to leverage aggres-
sively growing competing product
categories. We have witnessed shifts
in how even the most traditional tile
and stone distributors and import-
ers go to market. The fact is that
most are growing within our respec-
tive approaches, some more rapidly
than others. Whether your business
model is to be all things to everyone
or specialize in a particular corner
of a segment, that growth, man-
aged profitably, is the task at hand
in 2022.”
CONTINUING CHALLENGES
While the large demand of the pre-
vious year is expected to carry over
into 2022, many of the issues that
impacted the market have yet to be
resolved. In fact, tile suppliers don’t
see an end yet in sight when it comes
to supply chain disruptions or issues
with cost.
“We are seeing the transportation
and supply chain issues continue
across industries and expect it to
continue into the future,” shared Vil-
lanueva-Heras, adding, “We expect
labor will continue to be a challenge
for the construction industry into
2022 as well.”
Said Paulo Pereira, senior mer-
chant for MSI, “Product availability
and cost increase
issues will con-
tinue to dominate
the news during
the first semes-
ter.” However, he
said MSI tends
to thrive in these
conditions due to
its economies of MSI’s newest introduction for 2022 includes its Kaya
porcelain collection, shown here in Onda Gray.
scale and strategic
partnerships with vendors. “We will expect the new year to be much the
continue to explore different avenues same without relief until Q3. Unsta-
to improve availability and drive down ble intermodal transportation costs
costs to continue offering affordable will continue to create challenges
and accessible products to our cus- for operations and overall pricing.
tomer base.” From there, he expects In this perfect storm we are current-
to see some uptick. “With the demand ly riding, raw material shortages,
corrections expected to hit the market labor deficiencies, COVID-related
during the second semester, we believe shutdowns at the factory level will
the tile industry will thrive during the surely drive a wedge into several
second half of 2022.” segments nationally, only to be wel-
Maslowski told FCW that while comed by the winter season for first
the supply chain will continue to be quarter of 2022.” Still, he said reno-
a challenge both domestically and vation and builder projects make for
internationally, this poses an oppor- “profitable growth to chase through-
tunity for the company’s products out the U.S.”
that are produced in North Ameri- A representative from Ceramics of
ca. He added, “Inflation continues to Italy said that residential projects could
be a headwind as prices are rising at be a key driver for the tile category in
unprecedented rates which is putting 2022 explaining, “Next year, ceramic
pressure on the whole construction manufacturers will have the opportu-
cycle from manufacturing to installa- nity to become leaders in the kitchen
tion. We are working around the clock and bath space. On top of the aesthetic
to bring down costs and maximize and functional benefits of ceramic tile,
productivity to minimize the burden the wide variety of large-format sizes
on our customers.” makes them incredibly versatile and
Jeffrey Court’s Yancovich men- suitable for installations ranging from
tioned how the “turbulent” previ- floors and walls to custom furnishings
ous year inspired the company to like bathroom vanities, kitchen coun-
strengthen its business model. “We tertops, islands and tabletops.”

Daltile’s Scripter Hero on this floor makes for the
perfect transition from dining area to outdoor space.
14 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
DESIGNED TO DOMINATE
With the supply chain causing so much uncertainty in the market, tile suppliers are relying on new design capa-
bilities and consumer demand to drive the tile category forward. According to Ryan Fasan, ceramic tile specialist
and consultant to Tile of Spain, the performance of tile products will present the category as a top performer for
projects in 2022. And new styles that answer consumer demand will be a primary factor of growth.
“Porcelain pavers and slabs have been on a steady growth-path since their introduction because of their perfor-
mance and functionality gains over competitive products,” Fasan said. “Pavers, despite being twice as thick and
therefore twice as heavy as traditional tiles, are a fraction of the weight of stone or concrete pavers for exteriors.
As retail and hospitality adjust to the new normal, we will see an increased focus on expanding exterior spaces
and this category allows for visual and technical continuity across the threshold as well as the ability to remove or
reconfigure due to the mortarless installation style.”
MSI senior merchant Paulo Pereira emphasized how consumers are eager to revitalize their homes and will
continue to take on projects in the new year. “We expect large size tiles in high-end marble looks in both polished
and matte finishes to continue the success they experienced this year.”
Laura Grilli, director of product design for Dal-Tile Corporation, expects consumers to “gravitate toward things that
help them feel comfy, cozy and safe at home. They will seek out style and design elements that help create cocooning
spaces; welcoming rustic Mediterranean chic and soft atmospheres; calming colors; and spa-like bathrooms. Consum-
ers will continue to want antibacterial products and materials that foster cleanliness.”
 EVERLIFE® LVT CYRUS BROOKLINE
EVERLIFE® LVT CYRUS GRAYTON

R
WATERPROOF REDEFINING WORRY-PROOF FLOORS
*NEW BRIANKA
*NEW DUNITE OAK

*NEW BROOKLINE

*NEW KARDIGAN

*NEW RUNMILL ISLE

*NEW WALNUT WAVE

*NEW GRAYTON

Kid-proof, pet-proof, low-maintenance,

MSI’s worry-proof Everlife® LVT
combine with top-trending looks
to create the hardest-working floors on
the market. Among the most
sought-after H2O-friendly surfaces
in design, these household phenoms
take a beating year after year and
still look fresh. All 7 colors are avaliable
in Cyrus, XL Cyrus, Prescott and
XL Prescott Collections.
Visit one of over 35 MSI showroom
and distribution centers nationwide.

Everlife
WATERPROOF FLOORING
SCAN &
FROM MSI
GET STARTED.

Attending Surfaces?
Please stop by and see us
at Booth #4525 & 4625
STYLE & DESIGN

Fashion Forward
Emser puts emphasis on aesthetics
By Lauren Moore-Brennan
[Los Angeles] Ceramic and porcelain tile are known for their design versatility and Emser Tile, based here, is capitalizing on it in 2022. In addition to being available
in a veritable rainbow of colors, tile has the ability to emulate a range of surfaces, including wood, natural stone, concrete, marble, fabric, metal and more — a portfolio
that Emser is poised to deliver on.
“For 2022, plan to see a wide range of fashion forward products for both indoor and outdoor projects,” shared Suzanne Zurfluh, director of design and trend with
Emser Tile. “These looks will include stunning field and wall tiles, decorative mosaics, pavers and stone in stylish shapes, patterns and colors.”
Tile designs and colors inspired by natural materials that stimulate the senses with textural and visual interest will be trending this year, Zurfluh said. And
as outdoor areas continue to gain significance in the overall design of a space, more products will be developed for this application. She added that many of these
products will likely coordinate with Emser’s popular indoor looks to create a cohesive architectural style by connecting the outdoors with the interior area. Zurfluh
noted three key overarching design themes for 2022, highlighting Emser collections that complement each of these trends.

authentic Materials
The trend of Authentic Materials is inspired by natural, handmade materi-
als with highly tactile textures that are charmingly imperfect, Zurfluh shared.
“Simplicity and comfort are at the root of this trend with the use of materials
such as rustic stone, molten metal, pitted concrete, handcrafted ceramic ef-
fects and wood grain visuals.”

Heirloom porcelain tile showcases a natural, elegant wood look in an
8˝ × 35˝ plank. Available in three shades – Larch, a warm, honey tone;
Poplar, a medium-tone brown; and Fir, a cool gray, Heirloom can be
installed in both floor and wall applications.
Emser’ss new Ironworx series was inspired by molten metal and infuses
Emser
an aged yet organic feel to its surroundings, Zurfluh said. Available in a
range of sizes, including large formats with a matte finish to decorative
mosaics with a geometric overlay, this glazed porcelain collection can
be installed both indoors and out.

One with nature

Complementing the
trend toward natural ma-
terials, One With Nature
speaks to the restored de-
sire to connect with the
outdoors, as well as our ex-
tensive focus on sustainabil-
ity and organic materials in
design, Zurfluh explained.
While this aesthetic can be
achieved by incorporating
vegetation and botanical
elements, natural lighting,
as well as other experienc-
es of the natural world into
interior, this trend is also
influencing more outdoor
projects as many individu-
als are enjoying the benefits The 9˝ × 9˝ Passion porcelain tile has a
of outdoor living. nonuniform, handcrafted aesthetic with a The many benefits of tile extend to the outdoors, as showcased in Emser’s
dramatic variation in color and shade that Immerse 6˝ × 6˝ porcelain tile. Designed for walls, this collection is also
gives the installation an organic feel. pool-rated and available in three water-inspired shades of blue and green.
Continued on page 18
16 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
Go Digital
For Real
Cutting-edge Digital Printing
Technologies

SPECTACULARLY
REAL OPTICS &
HAPTICS

ALL MATERIALS

LESS WASTE

i4F licenses the world’s most advanced digital printing technologies delivering
results so close to the real thing it’s almost impossible to tell the difference.
Cutting-edge technologies available from i4F enable the creation of unique
designs and avoid unnecessary inventory on pre-printed materials.

i4F’s strong digital printing portfolio now also includes exclusive access to all
Hymmen digital printing technologies, including its award-winning Digital Lacquer
Embossing (DLE) technology offering unbelievably real optics and haptics.

I4F.COM THE FLOORING INDUSTRY’S INNOVATION PARTNER OF CHOICE

STYLE & DESIGN

Fashion Forward GETTING GLAM WITH GROUT

Continued from page 16
Tranquil SpaceS
The trend of home as sanctuary will continue into this year. “Tranquil spac-
es with a modern and luxurious appearance will continue to gain momentum
as individuals look to create their own sanctuary,” Zurfluh said. Marble- and
stone-look tile complement this trend by adding a touch of classic opulence
and timeless elegance.
Choosing the right grout color is an important step when installing tile or
stone — one that can dramatically change the outcome of the final design.
With that in mind, Emser decided to develop its own exclusive Designer
Grout Collection in partnership with Laticrete. “This specially created cu-
rated collection of stylish and unique hues allows us to offer our customers
even more unique design driven products to complete any of their tile and
stone projects — all from one resource,” shared Suzanne Zurfluh, director of
design and trend with Emser Tile. The five specialty colors were inspired by
nature, wellness and sustainability, and formulated to coordinate with many
of Emser’s most popular collections. “The collection of five unique colors
gives Emser the opportunity to showcase grout as a design element — one
that can easily change the finished look of tile projects,” Zurfluh said.

With the look of natural marble but the easy care of porcelain tile,
Emser’s Vara features subtle veining and crisp coloring, creating a
stylish environment.

The cool blues, greens and grays of the variation and veining in
Emser’s stone-look Kudos porcelain tile lend a spa-like feel to both
residential and commercial spaces. Emser’s Passion product in Verde paired with Botanical grout

18 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY


Optimism Amid Uncertainty
Resilient flooring plans to rise to the challenge in 2022
By Kacey Perinelli
Resilient flooring, like other flooring
categories, was challenged in 2021 by
supply chain issues, raw material and
transportation costs, and overwhelming
demand, to name a few. As the industry
looks toward 2022, there are a lot of un-
knowns about what is on the horizon.
While 2022 is looking like it will be
a better, more “normal” year, there are
worries about looming pandemic-re-
lated disruptions and continued un-
certainty in the supply chain. However,
resilient remains a strong growth cate-
gory, and resilient suppliers are taking
the lessons of 2020 and 2021 and ap-
plying them to their business strategies.
Noted Michel Vermette, president
and CEO at Armstrong Flooring, “Sup-
ply chain will be a major focus in 2022.
While we’ve seen some break in pricing
and more availability, we still anticipate
dealing with container shortages and it’s
hard to project when things may come
back to what we consider normal.”
The unforeseen and the fear of the
unknown are still big challenges, as is
inflation shared Sam Kim, vice presi-
dent, product, national, MSI. “But we
have proven to be able to tackle these
issues and find winning solutions and
expect to continue to do so in 2022.”
The growth rate of resilient flooring
may also slow a bit. Jason Train, vice
president sourcing for STC, said, “I
don’t expect to see the same growth rate
we’ve seen the past couple years, but the
category will still grow. Extraordinary
freight, raw material spikes and supply
PVC SUPPLY STRAIN
Many formats experienced increases in
prices in this past year, and resilient was
no exception. In addition to increases in
freight costs, one raw material — PVC
— increased exponentially in 2021.
“PVC has definitely seen signifi-
cant increases and supply challenges
this year which has added cost to all
vinyl-based products,” said Jamann
Stepp, vice president hard surface,
NovaFloor’s Dansbee collection was inspired by Southern California living. This
collection feels relaxed and upbeat as we move into 2022.
limitations have allowed other products
to make a re-entrance in the market.”
And other formats may be gaining a
bit of ground. “While resilient flooring
will continue to grow, water resistant
laminate is making an impact due to im-
provements in performance and value,”
said Ana Torrence, hard surface category
manager, Engineered Floors.
Diversifying Manufacturing
2021 was a year of challenges with
the supply chain and as such, over the
course of the year many manufacturers
looked to places outside China to man-
ufacture resilient flooring, both domes-
tically as well as abroad.
“When you look at the pace of new
facilities coming online in North Amer-
ica in the last two years and with sever-
al of those by Chinese and other Asian
producers, it’s clear that investment in
The Dixie Group.
Bill Anderson, CEO of Karndean
Designflooring, offered, “We’ve expe-
rienced a couple minor hiccups with
sourcing raw materials since the begin-
ning of COVID, but nothing that has
significantly affected our manufactur-
ing rate. Although manufacturing has
kept up, we have seen numerous price
increases based on overall supply and
demand issues with PVC production.”
Metroflor Corp.’s president, Russ
Rogg, said taking freight out of the
equation, the rising cost of PVC was
likely to blame for the price increas-
es this past year. “I think [when you
look at] September of 2021 compared
to September of 2020, PVC has about
doubled. It didn’t happen all at once,
but systematically over the year there
North American capacity is likely to
continue,” said Bill Blackstock, incoming
president and CEO of the Resilient Floor
Covering Institute (RFCI). However, he
noted that China will continue to be a
major player while demand requires
more flooring to be produced than do-
mestic manufacturing can provide.
Domestic plants were big news in
2021. Offered CFL president Barron
Frith, “A particularly big milestone for
us will be Phase 2 for our U.S. factory in
Calhoun, Ga. [which opened in 2021],
doubling our current output of rigid
core flooring and already under con-
struction.” He said Latin America and
Turkey are likely to be prime locations
for resilient production going forward.
“While world-wide investment is
expected, there will be an emphasis
on domestic facilities,” particularly
as transportation problems continue,
have been multiple price increases from
[PVC] manufacturers.”
Rogg said too that PVC makes up
about 25 percent of the vinyl mixture,
which means it has a meaningful effect
on the price of the overall product. “If
we see PVC to continue to go down,
we’ve told our customers we will pass
on a price decrease if we can. We don’t
want to margin grab or increase prices
for the sake of increasing prices.”
Adam Ward, Mohawk’s vice presi-
dent product management, resilient,
said PVC will likely be an issue into
2022. “I’d say 2021 was hopefully an
extraordinary year with the Texas
freeze impacting things at the start of
year, a fire at one of the vendors in the
middle of the year and hurricane this
fall — that was kind of a triple punch.”
He said while of course events like this
can happen any year, hopefully 2022
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022
OUTLOOK 2022
said Carole Shealy, Tarkett’s director
of marketing.
Domestic production is also a stra-
tegic advantage. “The biggest thing
that we have done to set ourselves
up to successfully meet those market
needs is the building of a manufactur-
ing facility and innovation center do-
mestically in Dalton. Thus, increasing
our capacity while placing ourselves in
a location to make it easier, faster and
more efficient to reach our customers,”
shared Novalis’ director of marketing
and creative design, Kimberly Hill.
The new year will see both new in-
vestments in Asian manufacturing out-
side of China as well as domestic invest-
ments, predicted David Sheehan, vice
president of residential hard surface,
Mannington Mills. “There is expan-
sion in Asia (outside of China) and we
are expecting to see more competitors
establish facilities in the U.S.,” he said.
Noted Russ Rogg, president of Met-
roflor Corp., “I think you’ll see more in-
vestments in Vietnam and South Korea
in particular and more in the United
States as well.” He explained that many
of the investments made in U.S. manu-
facturing have not yet yielded much pro-
duction, so we will also see the results of
previous investments in the coming year.
Agreed Mohawk’s vice president of
product management, resilient, Adam
Ward, there is sort of a wait and see ap-
proach currently happening. “I would
say while demand stays strong, you’re
going to see further [domestic] invest-
ments if manufacturers feel they need to
add capacity.” He said too there will like-
ly be other investments made outside
of China, but there are those who want
Continued on page 22
will show an improvement.
PVC will likely remain an issue at least
in the first half of the year. “PVC, resins
and plasticizers have been a struggle
throughout 2021 and we expect that this
will continue into the first half of 2022.
In some cases, we are on allocation for
raw material supply and this impacts
our ability to satisfy market demand,”
said Mannington’s David Sheehan, vice
president of residential hard surface.
Brian Parker, director of product
management, AHF Products, said this
particular challenge might benefit do-
mestic manufacturers. “In addition to
freight challenges from China, there will
be a larger demand than there is supply.
Typically, this dynamic will impact pric-
ing. This supports plant construction in
the U.S. because now U.S.-made product
is not only more available than product
from China, it’s also price competitive.”
19
 Next Stop: Las Vegas
Mohawk is taking the momentum to Surfaces – with
more innovative products and powerful brands that
you won’t get to experience at the other stops.
 Register
egister today!

Simply open camera,

came a, open came
tap link

Philadelphia • Chicago • Huntington Be

Beach
ach • Las Vegas
egas • Atlanta

MohawkMomentumRoadshow
MohawkMomentum Roadshow.com
oadsho com
OUTLOOK 2022

NEW HOPE “I’m looking forward to engaging

“Being at the helm of RFCI for
Despite the frustrations of the last two years, the industry is looking to the with our customers at our Showcase
events and at Surfaces after a the past 15 years has been an
future with optimism. FCW asked some of its leaders what they are most
restful holiday with family and extreme pleasure, and I am
looking forward to, either personally or professionally, in the new year. delighted that Bill Blackstock
friends. Shaw has a lot of exciting
things on the horizon and several is on board as he is well
“People are getting out more and we appear to be qualified to lead RFCI to its
innovative new products in 2022
headed towards more ‘normal times’ with visiting family next generation of growth and
from our residential and Main Street
and friends. I personally look forward to spending more through the challenges that
brands that I think our customers
face-to-face time with customers and colleagues as we will arise in the years ahead.”
will be eager to experience.”
hopefully put this pandemic behind us.” — Dean Thompson, RFCI
— Herb Upton,
— David Sheehan, Mannington Mills Shaw Industries

“Good health, “We have a very positive outlook for

major relief from the
COVID pandemic and
getting our lives back
to a ‘new’ normal…
still waiting to see
what that is going
to look like. Lastly,
I hope that the U.S.
economy continues to
see positive growth
and that The Dixie
Group continues to
see positive profitable
growth as a
flooring company.”
— Jamann Stepp,
The Dixie Group
“I’m most excited to get back out
in front of customers, shake hands,
and expand CALI’s brand. We’re also
anticipating a diversification of our
product offering, and a move into
the lifestyle realm.”
— Doug Jackson, CALI
the future, and we’re particularly excited “At NovaFloor we “We are very excited for
about our Hybrid Rigid Core line, which is are capitalizing 2022 and are planning for
a revolutionary product that will be the on [consumer] another strong year, despite
next big thing in the world of LVT and demand by providing some lingering challenges
waterproof flooring.” exactly what our with costs and the supply
customers want, a chain. I feel we are well-
— Sam Kim, MSI
beautiful floor that positioned to continue our
is both durable and growth across all channels
sustainable. And we of the business.”
“I’d love to see sometime next year for can provide it now! — Bill Anderson, Karndean
With manufacturing Designflooring
us to have the opportunity for the dust
to settle on all these pricing and supply and warehousing
chain issues and get back to focusing on stateside, we
making beautiful products that surpass our have inventory.”
“My experience building
customers’ expectations.” — Kimberly Hill, Novalis
Innovative Flooring
plants around the world
— Russ Rogg, Metroflor Corp.
has me very excited for our
domestic SPC production
partner to be up and
“The last two years have taught us a lot about ourselves running in December.
as a company, and as we come out of 2020 and 2021, we The plant is a first-class
should be a stronger company for it. We made significant operation, and we have
investments in our plants, systems and people so as the several new collections in
economy and supply chain issues normalize, we hope to be development that will keep
well-positioned to excel in a more stabilized economy.” it busy.”
— Barron Frith, CFL
— Michel Vermette, Armstrong Flooring

“From a personal standpoint, this is a new role for me – I’ve spent most of my career in wood. 2022 will be my first full year in resilient; I’ve
learned quickly and we’ll see some product plans take off in 2022 … 2021 was a big year for Mohawk in resilient. We completely relaunched
rigid in SPC … seeing those take off and [to have them] complemented with new launches in 2022, a full-scale refresh, it’s nice. We’re doing
more deliberate and thoughtful launches.”
— Adam Ward, Mohawk

Optimism said these will include “continuing to

Continued from page 19
to see how the supply chain issues and
container situations shake out before
committing to that.
Mitigating Challenges
Both 2020 and 2021 were years
with uncertainty and challenges. Re-
silient flooring used these challenges
as a way to learn, grow and improve
processes and customer service.
Some challenges from 2021 will
persist in the new year. CEO of Karn-
dean Designflooring Bill Anderson
22 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
navigate the unsteady supply chain
and balancing costs while providing
fair pricing to our customers. We are
incorporating learnings from this year
into our planning for 2022, including
continued improvement of stock levels
and managing costs.”
Controlling costs and dealing with
supply chain hiccups will be crucial in
2022 and beyond, said vice president
of hard surfaces for The Dixie Group
(TDG), Jamann Stepp. He noted TDG
is “prepared to source more product
domestically as well as sourcing from
other countries other than China and/
or Vietnam” to help ease this stress.
For Republic Floor, one challenge in
2022 will likely be labor. To this end, di-
rector of business development Efi Eylor
said the company will “continue to hire,
train and grow our staff while offering
superior products at a fair market price.”
Despite these challenges, resilient
flooring remains true to its name.
“When you go through hard times, you
end up coming out on the other side a
little smarter and wiser for having gone
through that,” asserted Rogg. Metroflor
has been working on keeping its supply
nimble and cost efficient, he noted.
AHF Products leans on four key
growth strategies to ensure its success,
said Brian Parker, director, product
management. “Sell across more custom-
er categories; sell more products and
product categories; differentiate prod-
uct through innovation and branding;
and leverage operational excellence to
win across all categories and channels.”
Lions Floor also looks to overcome
challenges with company best practic-
es. “We are going to launch more color
selections to ease the inventory pres-
sure of certain colors, while ensuring a
sustainable inventory condition on all
colors. We are also expanding our port-
folio to the Midwest market, which can
grant us better saturation to the domes-
tic market and have better access to the
Midwest market,” said CEO Jerry Guo.
 People have always
looked down on our innovations.
Meet us at TISE and do the same!
Sometimes you don't have to look further than your feet to discover new possibilities. There
you'll find market-leading floor locking systems like 5G Dry, outstanding surface technologies like
Woodura as well as environmentally friendly solutions like Liteback and the latest room cleaning
technology Hygienius. In addition, at TISE we will show our newest Välinge Flooring hardened wood
products featuring the patented Woodura surface technology.

Step on in. We can't wait to see you!

Meet us
at TISE,
booth
1021

H A R D E N E D WO O D F LO O R I N G OUR PATENTED TECHNOLOGIES

The brands presented are patented technologies and trademarks – invented, registered and
owned by Välinge Innovation AB. Use of these trademarks or technologies is allowed under license. Välinge Innovation AB | info@valinge.se | valinge.se | 
PRODUCT
Making LVT a
showroom success
Retailers share sales secrets
By Kacey Perinelli
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT), particularly rig-
id core vinyl, has become hugely popu-
lar with consumers. With its gorgeous
looks and many performance benefits,
it seems that LVT sells itself. Indeed,
there are times when the consumer has
done their own research and comes into
the showroom specifically looking for a
vinyl or “waterproof ” floor.
There are a lot of LVT products to
choose from, so it is important not to
overwhelm the consumer with choice.
As well, it is crucial to display vinyl
products in the showroom in a way
that is eye-catching and helps the con-
sumer decide which style is the right
choice for them.
PoPular DemanD
It’s true that today many consumers
come into the showroom asking for a
luxury vinyl tile product. Consumers
are also educating themselves at home
so they know exactly what to ask for
before they ever step foot in a store,
and the many benefits of LVT have
proven to be a draw for those who
have kids, pets or active lifestyles.
The durability that LVT offers as well
as its visual appeal are two reasons con-
sumers are gravitating toward this prod-
uct, said owner of California Carpets &
Design Center in Rocklin, Calif., Carlos
Lara. He noted that with previous itera-
tions, he would not have recommended
luxury vinyl flooring for homes worth
more than $500,000. “LVP has come
along so nicely and looks so good that it
doesn’t embarrass the house by install-
ing it,” he said, sharing that with the way
LVT looks now, it can be comfortably in-
stalled even in million-dollar homes.
Chris Cosentino, president of
Hadinger Floor in Naples, Fla. said the
way LVT is presented to consumers
makes a world of difference. “I think
with it being marketed as waterproof
as well as kid- and pet-friendly it real-
ly resonates with consumers especially
those with families. Also, the styling and
price points suit the product very well.”
Added Bo Perkins, sales manager,
Broadway Carpets, Inc. in Knoxville,
Tenn., “I think our business and our
industry is definitely fashion-driven,”
and LVT fits the bill with those look-
ing for a beautiful floor. He said too
LVT is pushed a lot due to the water-
24 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
proof marketing surrounding the cat-
egory, and that RSAs will also tout its
benefits because they have had previ-
ous success selling the category.
retail recommenDations
When a customer enters the store,
they should be able to see the options
for flooring that are available to them.
All of the retailers FCW spoke to said
they present their LVT in a dedicated
area of the store. And once you know
the consumer is interested in LVT, it
is important to qualify them to make
sure LVT is the right choice and to as-
certain what style will work best.
“We have a dedicated area for LVT/
LVP and we show a lot on the floor —
I think that’s meaningful [to do],” Per-
kins explained, noting the products
that are showcased on the floor tend
to sell more.
Lara also offers a dedicated area for
vinyl. “It’s pretty obvious where the
hardwood is, you can tell it’s hard-
wood. Then we have a carpet area that
separates the luxury vinyl plank area
from the hardwood, and it looks so
real that customers ask, ‘Is this hard-
wood as well?’ — that’s when we go
into our spiel,” he said.
Hadinger offers a Waterproof Gallery.
Shared Cosentino, “We use a combina-
tion of manufacturers’ displays as well as
our own displays. We market all of it in
our Waterproof Gallery which consists
of LVP/LVT, laminate and hardwood if
it is considered ‘waterproof.’ We have a
stock wall of all products we inventory
and have large displays of our inventory
so the consumer can see a large area of
the product laid out.”
Once the customer’s interest is
piqued, that is the time to qualify
the customer to make sure vinyl will
be the right fit. “We rely on our sales
associates to qualify the customer by
asking about their lifestyles and how
they plan on using the space in their
homes,” Cosentino said.
Lifestyle questions are crucial, agreed
Lara. After all, if a homeowner has kids
and a dog, they can purchase LVT with-
out the worry of what will happen to
their flooring once it is installed. Anoth-
er important thing to consider, he said,
is what area of the home the flooring
will be installed in and whether it expe-
Hadinger Flooring displays its LVT and other waterproof offerings in its
Waterproof Gallery.
riences exposure to water or heavy foot
traffic. “If they say they want hardwood,
my next question is how many kids do
you have? Tell me a bit about your fami-
ly … if they’re 35 to 45 with two kids and
a dog, I’ll say that hardwood is nice, but
do they know about luxury vinyl plank?”
Most customers who come into the
showroom know what they want, said
Perkins. “I’ll ask do they want a wood
look or tile look, wide plank, bevel or
no bevel, cork back or no cork back
… they’re all very educated and have
done a lot of research.”
Once the consumer is settled on vi-
nyl, next is the question of which vinyl
is the right choice. With so many op-
tions available, it may be easy for the
consumer to get overwhelmed by the
“paradox of choice.”
“I show them our vinyl area and say
that most purchases are about color, so
take your time and look at these sam-
ples, because today almost all manu-
facturers make good luxury vinyl plank
and if they don’t, they aren’t in my
store.” Lara said once they have nar-
rowed it down by color, he can help the
customer narrow it down even further
to help them make the right choice.
Cosentino noted, “We like to start all
customers on our stock wall. We inven-
tory many different products, and they
usually can narrow down their selec-
tions right there. If we can’t find them
something there, then we will branch
out and show them something from one
of our NFA vendor partners.”
Other considerations are important
given the current supply chain issues.
“What we’re trying to do is find what
we can actually sell. What’s going to
be in stock is the first step — we have
backorders like everybody. We home
in on a few products that our manu-
facturer and vendor [partners] are
keeping in stock,” shared Perkins.
Final aDvice
To be successful with vinyl, the most
important thing is to showcase the
product properly, be honest about its
attributes (and any potential issues your
customer might have) and to pay close
attention to both your customer’s needs
as well as their desires in terms of styling.
Part of the equation is marketing
your business in the first place. “We
have sold our brand and our reputa-
tion is good. We stand by our products
and take care of what we sell and ser-
vice what we sell. When people move
into the area, they hear about us from
word of mouth,” said Perkins.
Perkins noted too, “I think you have
to display [the product] well, we need
to show it for what it is.” Part of that, he
said, is showing all the boards to the cus-
tomer rather than just a piece or two and
installing it on the floor. “We have areas
where we’ve made 8´ ≈ 10´ quadrants.”
Agreed Lara, “Display it in a large
format — have it on the showroom
floor.” He allows consumers to take
the floor samples home as well so they
are able to take the floor home and
see how it looks in their environment.
He added California Carpets & De-
sign Center has a television screen in
the showroom that showcases photos
from prior jobs.
Embracing LVT is a sure strate-
gy for success. Asserted Cosentino,
“Don’t be afraid to show it and ex-
plain all the features and benefits of
the product. I know for a while many
dealers thought the product was going
to fade out quick, but it is definitely
here to stay, and it is a perfect product
for many consumers.”
The first technology
that makes flooring truly
waterproof, both in terms of
leakage and swelling. MEET US AT

BOOTH 6317

WATER-REPELLENT The Unicoat water-repellent coating for flooring

COATING TECHNOLOGY prevents liquids from penetrating in between the joints
of a floor. On top of that it is also the ultimate protection
against long-lasting water damages such as swollen
edges in laminate flooring.

NALFA test Wet mop test Test without leaks

INFO.TECHNOLOGIES@UNILIN.COM | WWW.UNILINTECHNOLOGIES.COM
OUTLOOK 2022
Experts optimistic about 2022
Hardwood suppliers adapt and innovate in the face of ongoing challenges
By Lauren Moore-Brennan
Heading into 2022, hardwood experts
are optimistic about the category’s
trajectory while acknowledging that
many of the ongoing challenges fac-
ing the industry, including increased
costs, material and labor shortages,
and extended timelines will continue
throughout the year.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty
across all segments — not just hard-
wood — because we’re still learning how
to live with the third or fourth strain of
COVID. There’s still a lot of uncertainty
as to where things are going to transi-
tion into 2022 and years after,” said Re-
nee Tester, vice president of marketing,
ecommerce and digital, QEP.
No one knows what the “new normal”
will look like; in fact, it’s probably some-
thing that will be difficult to predict for
quite a long time, said Michael Mar-
tin, president and CEO of the National
Wood Flooring Association (NWFA).
Still, hardwood experts are adapting to
the challenges they’re facing and devel-
oping solutions for this changed — and
changing — landscape.
Stabilization on the horizon
In 2022, the greatest expectation
for hardwood is consistency, reported
Martin. “While we definitely antic-
ipate less market chaos, it isn’t over
yet,” he said. It’s difficult to know what
the new normal will look like, he add-
ed, and anticipates it will be hard to
predict for a long time. That said, he
noted that most economists and out-
looks are positive and expect less, but
still moderate growth.
“Obviously, issues like inflation and
consumer confidence will have an im-
pact, but hopefully we can move away
from a day-to-day crisis management
model to a predictive business trend
with a four-to-six-week outlook for
both supply and demand. This would
allow businesses to manage more con-
sistently, which almost always goes
hand in hand with more profitably,”
Martin said.
Hardwood experts expect the strong
demand for wood products to continue
into 2022. Said John Hammel, senior
director of hardwood and laminate
with Mannington Mills, “We expect
to continue seeing strong demand for
hardwood products as we move into
2022, especially at the higher end of
the market. Consumers have cash and
hardwood flooring is a product that we
26 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
Despite ongoing challenges, industry experts are bullish about 2022 sales for
hardwood products, such as Mannington Mills’ Forest Park.
“WE HAVE ALWAYS FELT THAT THE GOOD DAYS FOR
HARDWOOD FLOORS WERE NOT BEHIND BUT AHEAD.”
– BRIAN CARSON, AHF PRODUCTS
expect them to continue purchasing at a
strong rate in 2022.” He added there is
potential upside for growth as the resi-
dential remodel market projections are
positive for 2022.
Brian Carson, president and CEO
of AHF Products, agreed that posi-
tive growth trends in the hardwood
category will continue, particularly as
consumers continue to remodel their
homes. “This is an incredible market
for hardwood and for AHF and for
our customers,” he shared.
Continued ChallengeS
Some of the issues that plagued the
industry in 2020 and 2021 likely won’t
abate until much later in the year, in-
dustry experts predict. Said David
Moore, senior director of hardwood
and laminate, Mohawk, “I believe we
will continue to see vessel and contain-
er shortages in the first two quarters of
2022 but should start to see some relief
in the back half of the year.”
Pat Oakley, vice president of sales
and marketing with Mullican Floor-
ing, agreed that shortages in the
supply chain, as well as raw materi-
als and labor shortages will continue
into 2022. For hardwood specifically,
he anticipates the demand for green
lumber will remain strong.
Lindsey Nisbet, vice president of
marketing with STC (formerly Swiff-
Train Company), said the impact of
COVID shut-downs in all phases of
the hardwood production cycle have
been significant, from the inability
to cut logs, saw-mills shutting down
because they have no raw materi-
als, leading to lack of lumber to mill
into flooring or to export to off-shore
flooring mills, and transportation/
logistics backlogs which are com-
pounded by a lack of skilled labor in
all phases of the supply chain. “Until
the labor and transportation issues
are addressed and rectified, I would
anticipate that we will continue to
face these same challenges into 2022,
which will ultimately result in addi-
tional increases in costs related to
hardwood,” she said.
AHF’s Carson also expects pricing
pressure will continue throughout this
year. “We’re still seeing steady price
increases on hardwood lumber used
in our sliced face products and we also
see price increases in our hardwood
core prices and in our hardwood face
veneer. We also see shortages of cer-
tain species like hickory and maple,”
he said, adding that most of the com-
pany’s raw material prices are quoted
delivered, which means the increase
in fuel prices has put upward pressure
on raw material prices.
new Year, new SolutionS
As the industry grapples with myr-
iad challenges, many hardwood sup-
pliers have been working toward solu-
tions to mitigate those challenges.
Martin said the NWFA is devel-
oping solutions to help its members
adapt, particularly surrounding on-
line and remote programs. “Through
the pandemic NWFA learned to
digitize its networking, meetings,
town halls and more,” Martin said.
None of that will go away; rather, it
will more and be more integrated in
the organization’s live meetings and
training events.
In fact, the NWFA Certified Sales
Advisor certification is now 100 percent
online so retailers can provide hard-
wood training from their own location
or the employee can learn at home.
NWFA also has a series of free educa-
tional webinars available to members
and non-members alike at nwfa.org.
From a standards perspective, the
NWFA is in the process of developing
a standard that, if approved by the in-
dustry, would provide a “refinishable
engineered hardwood” designation
that would further define the compar-
ative benefits of wood flooring over
other options for the consumer. To
further that cause, NWFA is working
with a group of 30 other hardwood
associations to promote hardwood to
consumers with an American Hard-
wood campaign that will launch its
web presence and consumer market-
ing campaign in 2022.
Meanwhile, suppliers are getting
creative when faced with obstacles.
For example, Rick Wagner, vice pres-
ident of sales at Duchateau, said that
while the ongoing shortfall of select
grade wood will continue to be an is-
sue into 2022, the company is using
the shortage to spur innovation by
developing new visuals that enhance
the look and feel of character-grade
wood. “At Duchateau, we have put our
new product development into high
gear, and 2022 will see a steady arriv-
al of new hardwood styles, visuals and
formats,” he said.
And Ken Freedman, North Amer-
ican Director with Barlinek Wooden
Floors, said Barlinek’s new product
introductions include engineered
products that can be installed using
Continued on page 28
OUTLOOK 2022

Keeping Pace
Demand & innovation expected to propel laminate in 2022
By Lauren Moore-Brennan
Laminate flooring sales are expected stand the rigors of an active household,” that LVT offers be-
to keep pace in 2022, category experts said John Hammel, senior director of cause today, that’s
predict, as demand remains strong hardwood and laminate, Mannington the gold standard in
thanks to a robust remodel market Mills. “Laminate demand is on an up- her mind.”
and product innovation that has bol- ward trajectory and poised to take share In addition to ex-
stered the category. as we move into 2022.” isting suppliers up-
“We expect strong growth from our As suppliers speculate the category ping their products,
laminate portfolio in 2022,” shared will continue on its growth trajectory new suppliers are
David Moore, senior product director in 2022, many are making product entering the field as
for wood and laminate with Mohawk. enhancements and upgrades to ap- well. AHF Products
“The growth will be driven by robust peal to the consumer. launched two lines
demand in both new construction “Added value/innovation will be of waterproof lami-
and residential remodel. We also see a key for 2022 to ensure continuous nate in the Timber- Suppliers anticipate that high-performing laminate products,
such as AHF’s TimberTru, will keep pace in 2022.
continuation in the growing consum- growth for us in the category,” said Tru collection un-
er acceptance of our products.” Barron Frith, president, CFL Floor- der the company’s legacy Bruce brand, expects to see increased stability in pro-
Laminate has undergone a revival ing. “A good example for this is our while MSI added waterproof laminate duction and shipments in 2022.
in recent years thanks to product and XXL sized laminate planks with AC5 and hardwood to its Everlife collection, Acknowledging that shipping costs
design innovation, particularly around heavy commercial wear ratings which which includes tile and LVT product will continue to be a hurdle, Frith said,
moisture-resistance. “The category has we launched this year and are getting lines as well. “We will continue to focus on our small-
overcome several challenges in the past a lot of interest in.” er niche, higher value special designs
few years. The most notable is the in- Said Hammel, “We think we will see navIgatIng challenges and sizes, products that many compa-
troduction of waterproof coatings like more advancements in digital print Although the outlook is strong for nies have a harder time making.”
Mannington’s SpillShield which make technology as well as continued im- laminate in 2022, the category is not Even those suppliers who do manu-
it all that much more competitive with proved performance technologies. It’s without its challenges. Like the rest of facture domestically aren’t fully insu-
LVT by giving the consumer additional all about meeting the consumer’s de- the flooring industry, laminate suppliers lated. “Mannington laminate is manu-
peace of mind that her floor will with- mands and catching up to the benefits have had to navigate material and labor factured entirely in the U.S.A., so some
shortages and supply chain challenges, of the supply chain issues facing im-
particularly for those with manufac- ported products don’t apply here. The
“WE ARE PREPARING FOR A SIMILAR YEAR FULL OF turing facilities and partners overseas. one that does is raw material avail-
CHALLENGES BUT ALSO OPPORTUNITIES PARTICULARLY However, some experts are optimistic ability and we expect that challenge to
those challenges may start to abate later continue into 2022,” Hammel shared.
IN THE VALUE-ADDED SECTION. WHILE SUPPLY CHAIN in the year. “Supply chain issues, primar- Kyle Brown, EVP of sales and mar-

CONSTRAINTS ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN TO A SIMILAR DEGREE,
WE WILL CONTINUE TO INNOVATE AND FIND WAYS TO ADD
VALUE TO ENSURE OUR GROWTH WITHIN THE CATEGORY. WE
ily caused by demand outstripping sup- keting with Swiss Krono USA, specu-
ply, should flatten and ease somewhat in lates that higher costs and transport
the latter half of 2022,” speculated Derek constraints will continue to drive cus-
Wellbourn, CEO of Inhaus. “Key factors tomers away from imports and look
have been the availability of raw materi- more to domestic producers for lam-

SEE DEMAND FOR THIS NICHE STAYING STRONG.” als required for manufacturing laminate inate flooring. “Domestic cost issues
and logistics, particularly internation- will push retail price points higher, and
– BARRON FRITH, CFL FLOORING ally with the scarcity of containers and we will have to see what the consumer
escalating costs.” Wellbourn added he is willing to bear,” he said.

Optimistic InvestIng DomestIcally

Continued from page 26
a locking system, which addresses
both the ongoing installer shortage
as well as issues surrounding adhe-
sive and glue shortages. “You’ve got
to adapt and be able to maintain
quality, and make sure your distrib-
utor partners get a product of high
quality and performance,” he said.
QEP’s Tester said the company
is also launching new click-install
products through its Harris Wood
line. “We’re launching a new sliced-
face click program that has a high-
end visual with an easier focused
install,” she said.
28 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
One of the biggest challenges in
the industry right now is the supply
chain, particularly in terms of import-
ed products, which are often subject-
ed to long lead times, container short-
ages and skyrocketing transportation
costs. To mitigate those issues, many
hardwood suppliers are ramping up
stateside production.
“Raw materials are tight everywhere.
But overseas freight is still an issue
that’s concerning. That’s why we have
expanded production capacity at all of
our U.S. plants to continue to provide
the most competitive service to our
customers,” AHF’s Carson said. “The
fact that AHF Products operates a vari-
ety of plants across the country affords
both us and our distributors the luxury
not only of offering some pricing stabil-
ity relative to tariffs, but also of provid-
ing benefits in terms of a more reliable
supply chain. In addition, businesses
that concentrate too heavy a mix on im-
ported goods — especially goods from a
single-source nation — remain exposed
to significant risks.”
Shaw Floors is expanding its
American-made hardwood offer-
ings in 2022 as well, offered Drew
Hash, vice president of hard surface
category management with Shaw
Residential. “Shaw has continued to
leverage our contract and domestic
manufacturing operations to help
keep up with the increased demand
for our products. Fortunately, we
have robust domestic manufacturing
capabilities and a vast portfolio of
American-made hardwoods,” he said.
“Many Shaw hardwoods are available
in five days or less, which offers a se-
rious advantage to our retail partners
as they navigate supply chain chal-
lenges for their customers.”
Concord Flooring is also investing
in stateside manufacturing. “We are
very proud to announce that we will
be operating our manufacturing plant
for engineered wood flooring in the
U.S.A.,” a representative shared with
FCW. “The team at Concord have
been relentless in their vision to see
this exciting capability through to
completion. We are very optimistic in
our future in this category.”
 CHOOSE
THE BEST FOR
BUSINESS
Taiwan Professional
SPC Manufacturer

TARIFF-FREE GREEN MATERIAL LIGHTWEIGHT

100% manufacture & Ship Non PVC & Sustainable 20% weight reduction solution
from Taiwan material solution to save your transportation costs

Come visit us.

2820
BOOTH

MJ Group US MJ International Group

www.mjgroupus.com Founded in 1982 in Taiwan

invent green ideas!

OUTLOOK 2022
Soft sales benefit from demand
By Janet Herlihy
Like the rest of the floor coverings
market, soft surface is expected to ex-
perience growth in 2022, as housing
starts and existing home sales remain
on an upward trend, according to the
Catalina Report.
“As we come out of COVID, we ex-
pect to see remodel growth and carpet
to come back in living rooms and sit-
ting rooms, not just bedrooms,” said
Curt Hutchins, president of Mohawk’s
residential carpet business. “We have
great formulations for both wall-to-
wall and rugs. People are using dif-
ferent carpets for different rooms. We
expect another solid year.” Hutchins
reported that the builder market —
both in single-family and multifamily
construction — will remain strong.
Brad Christensen, director of soft
surface category management, Shaw
Residential, offered, “As a percent-
age, we are expecting our net sales to
grow by double digits.”
Engineered Floors’ corporate exec-
utive vice president and president of
commercial, James Lesslie, predicts
that the industry in general will climb.
“Sales will grow due to retail renova-
tion and replacement continuing at
its current pace and new home con-
struction continuing to grow,” Lesslie
said, adding that the exact percentage
of growth is harder to predict due to
labor shortages throughout the carpet
supply chain.
EF also anticipates growth in all
segments, including residential re-
placement, new single-family and
For Shaw, the most exciting deliverable in 2022 will be the launch of its Pet Perfect
platform, which includes products like Purrfect Match from Anderson Tuftex.
30 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
multifamily construction, and Main
Street commercial, Lesslie added.
T.M. Nuckols, president of The
Dixie Group Residential, said, “I ex-
pect our specialty retail residential
carpet volume to grow again in 2022.
The increases will be low to mid-sin-
gle digits in square yards and more
significantly in dollars due to the im-
pact of the price increases.”
Tarkett too is expecting a contin-
uation of the growth it saw in carpet
in 2021 to carryover into 2022, ac-
cording to Jason Surratt, president of
Tarkett Residential. “Both marketing
and product have seen development
efforts to position us for growth in the
upcoming year,” Surratt stated. “We
anticipate existing home sales and
new home construction to continue to
fuel industry growth with demand for
homes continuing to outpace supply.
Beyond the strength of builder busi-
ness, both metrics drive heavy activity
within the remodel segment.”
StrategieS for growth
Mohawk is planning to make sig-
nificant capital invests in new assets
and new automation, and there will Astounding II by Engineered Floors’ Dream Weaver division is the kind of tonal
be major merchandising launches style that put Engineered Floors on the map. Made of 100 percent PureColor SD
at Winter Markets. In soft flooring, BCF Polyester, Astounding offers a luxurious 45 ounces of cut pile yarns that
carry a Lifetime Pet Stain Warranty.
there will be 50 to 60 new styles,
some totally new, others being added master in the specialty retail market,” Opportunities for EF in 2022 will
colorations, Hutchins reported. Hutchins stated. “And SmartStrand is be in product and fiber differentiation
“We expect the overall carpet mar- exclusive to Mohawk.” and innovation, effective merchandis-
ket to be essentially flat, but Mohawk Mohawk is the only carpet supplier ing and having readily available inven-
expects growth as SmartStrand is to offer products in polyester, Smart- tory, Lesslie explained, while challeng-
chosen as a replacement for Stain- Strand (PTT), nylon and wool. “We es include continuing inflation, labor
have launched a lot of nylon products shortages, raw material cost increases
to satisfy demand and have a polymer- and ocean freight shipping issues.
ization plant that makes virgin nylon Lesslie said EF will maintain in-
pellets ... We have a broad customer dustry-leading service and further
base and want to serve all customers amplify the EF brand through digital
and channel partners,” Hutchins said. marketing initiatives in 2022. “We
For Shaw, “The single most excit- will continue to innovate through
ing deliverable in 2022 will be the patented fiber technology,” he said,
launch of our Pet Perfect platform. adding, “We will also simplify and
The strength of this program is tied streamline our merchandising and
to durability, fashion, innovation marketing efforts.”
and solutions-based attributes that TDG will continue transitioning its
span across our portfolio of residen- Atmore, Ala., plant from commercial
tial brands,” Christensen explained, carpet to residential carpet, which
adding, “We expect growth to come will effectively increase its capaci-
from our beautiful new Pet Perfect ty to meet growth in the residential
and Pet Perfect + patterns in both market, reported Nuckols. “We will
Shaw Floors and Anderson Tuftex. expand our EnVision nylon platform
And Shaw’s product development and diversify our fiber supplier base.
teams will continue to leverage con- We will expand our Premier Flooring
sumer insights and industry trends Center program with new storefronts.
to strengthen our already diverse
product portfolio.” Continued on page 32
OUTLOOK 2022
Soft Surface
Continued from page 30
We are planning a major refresh in
our decorative carpet segment, with
the launch of 1866 by Masland and
Décor by Fabrica. We will launch
approximately 60 to 70 new carpet
styles in 2022, including 20 styles in
1866 by Masland and 10 styles in Dé-
cor by Fabrica,” he said.
In 2022, Mannington Mills’ ex-
pectations for growth include taking
share with a huge nylon launch of
fashionable styles, according to Matt
Johnson, senior director of residential
carpet. “Look for a brand new Floor-
Ever display with a mix of patterns,
textures, LCLs and ColorPoint styles,
all mid-to-high price point that are
performance based with high fash-
ion,” Johnson said.
Tarkett will continue to build
its new residential brand, Tarkett
Home, which along with added re-
sources seeks to better align the
company’s business and presence
with the needs of its residential
customer base, Surratt explained.
“With Tarkett Home, we are focused
on improving our overall placement
in the residential market with new
retail partners and achieving deeper
penetration within our current re-
tailers,” he said. “We’re also enhanc-
ing and increasing our overall res-
Tarkett plans on building on its residential brand, Tarkett Home, in 2022. Under that umbreslla mand and demonstrate
is Tribaleigh, a subtle loop pattern tufted in 100 percent Solution Dyed Primus PET fiber.
32 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
Mohawk expects Vivid Introspective from Karastan to perform well in 2022 because it offers a balance of ease and ele-
gance, crafted in SmartStrand Forever Clean fiber with permanent built-in stain and soil protection.
idential portfolio by adding fresh,
on-trend styles with new merchan-
dising and displays that will be more
appealing to the consumer.”
Southwind Building Products also
expects 2022 to be a great year, not
just for soft surface but for other cat-
egories as well. “Through our new
product introductions of XRP Water-
proof Floors, Finalvinyl LVT, LuxMax its retail customers, stated Alex Pey-
Carpet, Duxxe Laminate and South- kar, principal at Nourison. “All the
wind Closets, we have the wind at our preparations that were done during
backs,” stressed Randy Lovelace, exec- 2021 created a foundation that will
utive vice president of sales and mer- enable us to maintain and continue
chandising. “We also have some really with that growth momentum. We do
exciting products in the pipeline that expect another double digit increase
are sure to be an exciting addition for for 2022,” Peykar said.
our dealers. Our goal is simple — we
want to provide our cus- CommerCial reCovery
tomers with better mar- While the commercial segment has
gin products and help to been hurt by the COVID pandemic
drive consumers to them.” and remote work, “Rebounds are an-
Southwind’s plans for ticipated in all segments with an em-
2022 include multiple phasis on hospitality and workplace/
new product introduc- retail, compared to others that are
tions, including carpet in a more aggressive rebound cycle
tile geared toward the already such as education/govern-
Main Street commercial ment and health care/senior living,”
market. “Like our oth- explained Mike Gallman, president
er brands, these will be of Mohawk Group. “Mohawk Group
backed with the national is committed to launching leading
advertising we kicked off products that deliver superior perfor-
in 2021,” Lovelace noted, mance and top designs. This will be
adding, “We are working achieved in all product platforms.”
on DIY carpet options.” Mannington Commercial is also
In 2021, Nourison expecting strong growth in 2022,
navigated the same is- according to Al Boulogne, vice presi-
sues of cost increases dent, Commercial Carpet and Rubber.
of materials and labor “That growth will be from a backlog
shortages, along with of demand we have heading into Jan-
inflation of shipping and uary,” Boulogne noted, adding, “We
port fees. The company’s have a robust new product plan in
commitment to main- 2022 that will further establish Man-
taining full warehous- nington’s position in strategic market
es enabled it to meet a segments. And Mannington will be-
high percentage of de- gin to exploit its new equipment as-
sets that came from the acquisition of
service and support to Atlas/Masland.”

The Whole Picture
Trims & moldings, adhesives, grouts, underlayments complete the job
By Ryane DeFalco
When it comes to a flooring instal-
lation, the actual flooring product is
just part of the job and final look. Cat-
egories ranging from adhesives, grout,
transitions and underlayments are
often necessary to ensure the flooring
installation is done correctly and com-
pletely. Here, we talked to some of the
leading suppliers about innovations
debuting in 2022.
Trims & moldings
The inclusion of a trim, molding
or even stair tread assures that the
installation looks complete and is
fully functional.
“Trims are necessary to cover ex-
pansion gaps,” said Tina Keeton
Emery, national sales manager, Ver-
satrim, Inc. “It gives a smooth tran-
sition from one room to another,
especially when you have different
types of flooring.”
According to Mark Pacacha, na-
tional sales manager, Seneca Mill-
work, there are several different trim
and molding options to choose from.
FLOORS & MORE
MEMBERSHIP STARTING AT JUST
$349 PER MONTH!!!
The group that gives you MORE: more
marketing, more merchandising, more ways
to be a member. You choose what you use.
We work for you and your business.
JOIN US TODAY
join@floorsandmore.org
508-762-1682
www.floorsandmore.org
Before the flooring goes down, adhesive by Stauf is applied in this space.
“With expansion gaps needed around
walls, quarter round is always needed
to cover the gap. If there is a stairway
stair nosing or treads are needed, and
if different floors abut to each other a
t-molding, reducer or threshold has to
be used to complete the installation
for aesthetics and safety.”
Going forward, Keeton Emery ex-
pects to see new innovations in both
the appearance and performance of
trims and moldings. “I think with the
advancement in digital technology
you will see more realistic colors and
patterns,” she said. “I anticipate more
waterproof options as well as new
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022
PRODUCT
solutions for hard surface stairways.”
Adhesives
An adhesive is not necessary for
every installation but it is essential
when the project requires it to be
glued down to the substrate. Accord-
ing to John Lio, director of market-
ing for Sika, “Adhesives can provide
a multitude of advantages that can
enhance the overall performance and
success of a flooring installation and
significantly impact the longevity of
the flooring system well into the fu-
ture. Depending on product, some key
features include plank movement re-
duction, a solid sounding flooring sys-
tem (no hollow sounds when walked
on), moisture mitigation, crack sup-
pression, acoustical abatement, mem-
brane encapsulation and the overall
security of the flooring installation.”
Added Gary Schiedker, director of
technical services for Taylor Adhesives,
“The appropriate adhesive should be
used with any flooring type that re-
quires attachment to the substrate.
Most high stress applications require a
well secured flooring assembly.”
Schiedker added that adhesives
will serve different purposes for
Continued on page 34
33
PRODUCT

Whole Picture to other prescribed installation re-

Continued from page 33
different flooring types. “Some floor-
ing products are designed to be in-
stalled as a floating system and do not
need to be secured to the substrate.
There are also loose lay or free fit type
LVP products which are typically only
secured around the perimeter. How-
ever even loose lay products should
be secured to the substrate as a full
spread for high stress applications
such as schools, hospitals and oth-
er commercial. Flooring adhesives
should be included for any flooring
that is designed to be fully secured to
the substrate preventing movement.”
It is important to know exactly
what type of flooring installation is
desired to select the correct adhe-
sive for the job. “If the flooring is
approved for the glue-down meth-
od, it is critical to use the required
adhesive technology listed in the
installation specifications,” said Lio.
“The top flooring adhesive suppliers
in the industry offer a wide-array
of adhesive technologies, including
urethane, modified-silane polymer,
hybrid polymer, acrylic and pres-
sure sensitives. It is vital to adhere
quirements and preparation meth-
ods set forth by the manufacturer’s
installation specifications, includ-
ing but not limited to trowel selec-
tion and subsequent spread rates,
proper acclimation of the floor-
ing, subfloor moisture content and
proper subfloor preparation.”
Grouts & Mortars
Grouts and mortars are often con-
sidered one and the same when in
fact they both serve separate, but co-
ordinating, purposes. According to
Marcel Schoen, Laticrete technical
services supervisor, special projects,
“Mortar, or more frequently referred
to as thin-set in the modern tile in-
dustry, serves as the backbone of any
tile installation as it is relied upon
to adhere the tile to a suitable sub-
strate. Once the thin-set has dried,
grout is then packed in the joints
and provides a uniform look be-
tween the tiles as the final step when
setting tile.”
He added that mortar and grout
“not only provide additional rein-
forcement to the durability of a tile
floor — they also add to the overall
performance and aesthetics of a tile
install.” This ensures that the surface
is long-lasting, high-performing and
easy to maintain.
Logan Reavis, technical services
manager for Mapei, said grout and
mortar should be thought of as more
than just a tile and stone solution.
“Grout, by definition, is a binding
compound that fits into joints and
narrow cavities to fill them and con-
solidate adjoining objects into a solid
mass,” he explained. “Grouts are used
by myriad industries for more appli-
cations than I could ever list. Mortars
are the setting materials used to ad-
here tile to a substrate.”
Reavis added that the strength of
mortar and grout make it possible
for surfaces to be installed on walls
and even ceilings. And, he added, it
is important to remember that “tiles
expand and contract due to tempera-
ture. The joints between tiles allow for
relief of this movement when an elas-
tomeric sealant is applied in the joint,
instead of grout.”
underlayMents
An underlayment can serve many
purposes acoustically and aesthetically
when installing hard surface products.
Plus, it provides protection from water
and adds extra comfort underfoot.
“A premium underlayment provides
many key benefits — noise reduction,
moisture protection, mold and mil-
dew protection and masking minor
Leggett & Platt. “A premium under-
layment should be installed in most, if
not all flooring installations. In addi-
tion to providing the customer with a
better flooring experience, a premium
underlayment provides the retailer
with a profit opportunity.”
According to Jack Boesch, direc-
tor of marketing, MP Global, “Often,
when replacing an old floor covering
that may have involved adhesives,
there might be heavy residue stick-
ing to the subfloor. While scrapers
can help remove some of that residue,
an underlayment can also help cover
the sins of the old floor covering and
smooth out the imperfections so that
the new floor covering lays flat with
no protrusions showing through the
surface of the new floor. Another in-
stallation is when there is the need
for a moisture barrier, many under-
layments have moisture vapor barrier
attributes built in.”
Recent innovations have expand-
ed the category’s versatility as now
one underlayment can be installed
under all hard surface floors, Cronin
explained. “Leggett & Platt Flooring
Products offers one product that can
be installed under luxury vinyl tile/
plank (including attached back),
rigid composite, WPC, SPC, lami-
nate (including attached back), engi-
neered and solid hardwood, ceramic
and porcelain tile … The retailer only

HOW WIDE
subfloor irregularities,” said Mike needs to inventory one underlayment
Cronin, national accounts manager, for all floors.”

DID YOU SAY?

PUK 455
WIDE PLANK
Stauf PUK 455 (Wide Plank
Adhesive) is a special
formulation for wide plank flooring. Its single component
ADHESIVES SINCE 1828
property makes it a breeze to install. While single
component urethane adhesives are formulated with great www.staufusa.com
shear strengths for most typical installations, PUK 455 has a
1.866.GLUEUSA
shear strength of over 680 psi. With shear strength this high,
it is able to stabilize and help control common cupping
problems associated with wide width solid flooring. When
your next job calls for wide plank flooring to stay put, make it
stay with Wide Plank Adhesive (WPA) PUK 455.

Stick with what works! QuietWalk LV by MP Global is an underlayment product desgined to work
beneath attached back flooring.
34 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
 TECHNOLOGY

Envisioning Success
Closing sales & building trust with visualizers
By Mallory Cruise-McGrath
Seeing is believing, and with the ad-
vancements of visualizers available
today, consumers can now see how a
supplier’s product will look inside their
home. The ability to do this, noted sup-
pliers, helps take the friction out of an
oftentimes overwhelming experience,
taking end users from inspiration to
installation and ultimately building
trust between retailer and customer.
Visualization technology has ad-
vanced dramatically over the years
and is a great tool to help move the
sales process along, explained Chris-
tine Zampaglione, senior marketing
director, Stanton.
“Once seen as an exclusive tech-
nology, visualization has now become
more mainstream and the adaption
rate of usage has grown tremendous-
MSI’s new multi-surface visualizer showcases its floors, walls and countertops all together to help consumers with design.
ly throughout the past several years,”
she said. “The digital evolution, fu- Pacheco, encourages retailers to em- the retailer’s location. tomer’s space,” he said. “Confidence in
eled by the pandemic, has given bed web-based augmented reality vi- “RSAs can help their customers selections and the possible results will
consumers more confidence in using sualizer tools on their company web- navigate product selections, colors, lead to more sales and more satisfied
digital tools and has elevated the vis- site, making it simple for customers and textures, showing how their proj- customers.”
ibility of their value.” to use the tools at home or view them ect will ultimately look, either using
Indeed, this technology is quickly with a Retail Sales Associate (RSA) at a stock image or a photo of their cus- Continued on page 36
evolving, and visualizers are helping
to create a true omnichannel retailing
experience, explained Leap Tools CEO
Pawel Rajszel. Leap Tools developed
the visualizer tool Roomvo.
“Previously, the shopping experi-
ence included a virtual showroom
that was available online but now, the
best visualizers place the showroom
in the customer’s home,” Rajszel of-
fered. “Shopping for flooring used to
require holding small samples and
multiple trips to the customer’s home
to help them envision a certain prod-
uct in their space — it was a higher
risk. But by bringing the showroom
into the consumer’s home, it’s re-
moved a ton of friction and has made
the shopping experience exponen-
tially more enjoyable.”
And with consumers spending
much of their time researching and
looking for inspiration online, digital
visualization tools like Shaw’s Floor-
vana+ can help increase their confi-
dence. Explained Nina LoCicero, vice
president of marketing and digital
commerce, Shaw Residential, “Floor-
vana+ makes it easy for homeown-
ers to envision what a small flooring
sample will look like in their own
space, and this simple and powerful
tool can help RSAs close more sales.”
MSI, noted senior vice president Al
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022 35
TECHNOLOGY
Envisioning
Continued from page 35
Building TrusT
Visualizers not only help custom-
ers make a decision confidently and
more quickly, but they also build
trust between the customer and
RSA. This, in turn, has the potential
to lead to more sales, repeat business
and referrals.
“There’s a visual and emotional im-
pact between the customer and RSA;
they can collaborate on the project
and give and receive instant feed-
back,” Rajszel said. “Visualizers are
tools that allow you to see something
you could previously only imagine.”
Offered Engineered Floors’ mar-
keting and communications man-
ager Shawn Smith, “The ability to
place an image of your own space
into the visualizer helps the creative
process and allows the consumer to
see multiple options in their home
before making a decision.”
This is particularly helpful as the
average consumer does not have the
ability to envision what their space
would look like when they are look-
ing to purchase new flooring, ex-
plained Stanton’s Zampaglione. “The
36 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
“VISUALIZERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE WITH A HIGHER DEGREE
OF REALISM, HELPING THE CONSUMER MAKE THE DECISION
ON PURCHASING QUICKLY RATHER THAN HOLDING ONTO
THE IMAGINATION PROCESS AND SEEING OTHER OPTIONS
ELSEWHERE. VISUALIZERS HAVE BECOME A CRITICAL PIECE
OF THE SALES PROCESS.”
— PAWEL RAJSZEL, LEAP TOOLS
retail sales associate should absolute- with five other web-based visual-
ly use visualization technology when izer tools. With the introduction
working with a consumer to help of its new multi-surface visualizer,
them envision a particular product. customers can envision how MSI’s
It is an invaluable tool to inspire, ed- flooring, wall tile and countertop
ucate and excite the end user.” selections will come together in a
single space.
nexT gen Tech “This is unique to the industry
The next wave of visualizer tech- and most helpful to consumers’ pur-
nology is focused on the ability to chasing decisions. Product selec-
visualize multiple surfaces in one tions are often made together, so it
experience. “Putting in a floor is is beneficial to see combined choices
great but matching it to wall décor, visually before making a final design
backsplashes, countertops and actu- commitment. The evolution in tech-
ally design an entire room is a big nology has made it simple for cus-
evolution,” Rajszel said. tomers to virtually see a space come
MSI, for example, introduced a together — from floors to walls and
new multi-surface visualizer along countertops. MSI makes design de-
cisions attainable,” Pacheco said.
Engineered Floors’ recent ad-
vancement in its visualizer tool has
been the beta release of a 3D sample
feature. “Although it is only avail-
able for hard surface at this time,
we look forward to utilizing the de-
velopment of this feature sometime
next year,” said Smith. As well, the
Visualizers like Roomvo’s can help make the shopping journey more enjoyable.
company’s “Rug Demo” will feature
new area rug offerings from Engi-
neered Floors’ DW Select brand.
“This will allow our users to view
instant results, unprecedented re-
alism, and interactive elements re-
garding the placement of their ideal
rug purchase,” said Smith.
Mannington too is focusing on
its digital offerings. By visiting the
company’s website Floors.com/My-
Room, customers can see side-by-
side comparisons of Mannington
products. What’s more, there is the
ability to rotate the image 45 de-
grees for a more accurate represen-
tation of how the product will look
in their home.
“This technology is a margin en-
hancer,” shared Mannington’s vice
president of residential hard surface
David Sheehan. Coming soon, he
said, is a visualizer that can be used
to drop in stairs.
Stair installations are incredibly
important and a very large part of
Stanton’s business, noted Zampagli-
one, and is what the company’s visu-
alizer technology will focus on next.
“Decorative patterns that Stanton
is known for translate effortlessly to
custom-sized area rugs and hall and
stair runners so being able to visualize
these installation types was very im-
portant to us,” she said. “Our visualiz-
er has the ability to do both, and you
can also layer our luxury vinyl with an
area rug. This complementary prod-
uct visualization helps the consumer
to really hone in on the products that
they are interested in and helps the
decision-making process.”
 STYLE & DESIGN

LOVING LONG & WIDE PLANKS

By Kacey Perinelli
Many trends in flooring tend to span formats. Movements such as minimalism
and a focus on biophilia have particularly transcended formats as homeowners Trends in tile don’t necessarily follow those in the hardwood segment, but that
look to incorporate holistic themes into their home designs. One such trend that doesn’t mean this format doesn’t want a piece of the large format pie. Tile is per-
has in recent years become popular no matter the floor is the shift toward longer fect for large, elegant installs where homeowners are looking to visually expand the
and wider planks. space. A larger format also means fewer grout lines and less stress on install day.
The trend toward longer, wider planks took hold in the hardwood category due
to their ability of making a room look larger. Other wood-look formats such as Continued on page 38
vinyl and laminate followed suit, as is usually the case, mirroring wood’s trends
to entice wood customers who are looking for a floor with enhanced performance
benefits. Even tile today is being offered in large format slabs to up the sophistica-
tion and enhance the size of the room in which it is installed.

Like vinyl, trends in laminate tend

to follow those in hardwood, and re-
cent innovations in laminate have Quartz Valor from Daltile is available in
an extra-large quartz slab format.
made these floors both gorgeous and
high performing. They are a great
alternative to wood thanks to their
water resistance and have even been
shown to be more scratch resistant
than vinyl in some cases when it
comes to homes with kids and pets.
Laminate is a great budget pick for
those who want the luxurious look The Atroguard collection from CFL is Crossville’s Owen Stone porcelain tile
of long and wide planks without the available in extra wide planks that One of MSI’s newest large format tiles comes in extra-large slabs that create
wood hassle or the price tag. work well in open floor plans. is Durban White, pictured here. a sophisticated feel in any space.

Expand your market

Mohawk’s RevWood Plus in Antique
Craft can be installed in almost any
anywhere in the USA.
room of the home.
Our new Charlotte, NC distribution center brings even more
power to independent retailers who must sell wherever the
market is buying. With strategically placed distribution centers
across the United States, you can put the largest independent,
flooring-focused distribution network to work for you.

Scan the QR code to start solving your biggest supply

chain problems today.

Haven from Mannington’s Restoration

collection of laminate is pictured
above in Wheat, featuring an on-trend 844.947.7447 | xgsi.com
blonde coloration.
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022 37
STYLE & DESIGN

Long & Wide Planks

Continued from page 37

Hardwood is the trend leader for most other formats. Though there is still
room for traditional lengths in this timeless format, modern hardwood is get-
ting longer and wider than ever before with some planks coming in at lengths of
up to 82 inches. Innovation throughout the hardwood category is making these
lengths easier to achieve and hardwood manufacturers say they are expecting to
see continued demand for large formats.

CALI’s hardwood collection, Meritage, features the company’s longest and wid-
est engineered white oak planks. New for 2022 is The Dixie Group’s Relic Hardwood collection in 9˝ × 82˝ planks.

Vinyl often positions itself as a waterproof alternative to traditional hard-

wood options and therefore tends to follow the trends in hardwood. Recent
years have seen iterations of vinyl in extra-long planks, some that are as long
as 86 inches in length. As a technologically advanced category in the market,
vinyl flooring is able to create visuals and lengths that may be more difficult to
achieve in natural hardwood. Due to its high-performance capabilities includ-
ing performance against water, vinyl is also often installed on entire levels with
open floor plans, making longer format floors a natural choice.

Armstrong Flooring’s Empower rigid core features extra-long 72-inch planks.

COREtec Advanced+ in Pronto Oak combines trend setting visuals with innovative
performance in planks up to 86 inches long.

EarthWerks’ Footprints Plus collection in Sundew adds a light and warm pop of
color to this space. This eye-catching vinyl from Tarkett is NuGen rigid core in Pin Oak Drift.
38 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
 STYLE & DESIGN

Duchateau’s Lineage Series in Olivia is available in varying lengths up to 75 inches.

The Avenue collection from Hallmark in Newbury Hickory Expansive rooms look even more elegant with a long format plank. Pictured is AHF Products’
brings luxury to this room. Robbins brand’s Nature Canvas.

Large planks from Stanton’s Oakdale collection in Antique Room enhance the size of this space.

Metroflor Corp.’s Inception SPC 200 XXL features natural color variation and texturing.

The LooseLay Longboard collection from Karndean

Dansbee in Contemporary Maple, color Laguna from Novalis’ NovaFloor line of flooring brightens this space with Designflooring features extra wide planks with
modern, on-trend wood tones. realistic graining.
FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022 39
MARKETPLACE

TILE
Lifts modular
furniture fast,
so you can

and
lay the floor
safely.

STONE
ONLINE
TRAINING
www.OFFICELIFT.com
734-636-6116
BUILD
an effective salesforce
Custom modular lifting system

IMPROVE
installer productivity
QUALITY-BUILT AVOID
PROFIT CENTERS costly delays and problems
• Attractive, hands-on appeal
Online courses take 5 to 8 hours to
• Solidly-built, heavy metal frames/bases complete and are ideal for salespeople,
installers, architects and anyone
in the tile or stone industries!

BAY VIEW
PATENT # D 862,946

PATENT

Membership discounts available through

PE

CTDA, FUSE, NTCA, TTMAC, WFCA

NDING

DISPLAYS MADE IN USA

To learn more, visit the
Contact us today for quantity pricing!
University of
Ceramic Tile and Stone
231-218-6600 BayViewDisplays.com WWW.UOF CTS.ORG

FCW Get the word out

Print and web Place your ad in Classified & Marketplace
opportunities
Contact: Sherry Basdeo
available (212) 649-7981 fcwservices@hearst.com

40 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY

 CLASSIFIEDS
Business Opportunities Career Opportunities

1 CENT/SF
FLOORING ESTIMATE
CLOSEOUTS! CLOSEOUTS! Fast & Accurate - Callidus Takeoffs
CLOSEOUTS! commercialflooringestimating.com
Click SPC $1.49 sqft & up
WE HELP DEALERS
Carpet Tile $5.99 SQYD & Up
Private labels, specialty mills & etc.
I can also supply you with Call us now at 800-228-4632
Shaw Contract Materials www.carpetbroker.com
334-315-7117 Terry Behr
Email: Terry@behrwholesale.com WE BUY USED CARPET
CUTTING MACHINES
Call or text Trevor at
407-509-3030
For Sale
PRODUCT SUPPORT SPECIALIST, HMTX INDUSTRIES
HMTX Industries is looking hire a Product Support Specialist. Interested applicant
should possess the following abilities:
1. Do you have a passion for floorcovering and helping others?
2. Can you troubleshoot and solve complex resilient-flooring related
issues?
3. Do you like sharing your knowledge with other industry professionals
4. Are you interested in the idea of working for an industry leading
company that truly values your professional experience?
5. Do you have the ability to demonstrate your knowledge through verbal,
written, and hands-on instruction?
6. Does the opportunity to assist with the development of revolutionary
new products sound interesting?

If so, HMTX Industries invites you to consider a position as our Product Support
Specialist! We are looking for a top tier industry technical professional who is
FOR SALE: CREATIVE, SUCCESSFUL FLOORING AND excited to join our growing company.
WOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Job type: Fulltime/Exempt
Old Wood, LLC has a successful 25 year track record of producing innovative Location: Calhoun, GA
products with global sales. Our clean, modern facility with easy highway access near Benefits: At HMTX, our generous employee benefits are family-friendly and
designed to support total wellbeing—physical, mental and financial. HMTX benefits
Santa Fe, New Mexico includes several acres of land, 10,000 SF of deeded heated
are among the most competitive in the industry.
space along with an additional 33,000sf of rented space. Production equipment To apply for the position or for more information, email ct@hmtx.global
includes late model sawmills, dry kilns, molders, optimizers, IR/UV roll-coat line,
automated spray line, CNC, laser, sanders, clamps, rolling stock, etc. Our beautiful
Santa Fe Showroom is busy every day, but our high-end commercial sales are
global. We have strong IP, particularly in revolutionary end grain products, and PROFESSIONAL CARPET INSTALLER WANTED –
NDAs are currently in place with major manufacturers. WILL TRAIN THE RIGHT CANDIDATES
We have received over $2MM in federal grants and continue to maintain huge ESG
value including great relationships with tribes and land management agencies. Industry Leader Now Accepting Applications in Sunny Boynton Beach Florida!
We are a full service carpet workroom and cleaning company based in Boynton
Priced well. Perfect regional manufacturing base or R&D shop for larger wood
Beach Fl. We are looking for only the best to join our team of the most professional
products company. This is a lateral move to allow us to grow in another related field. and elite technicians in the industry. We are willing to train the right candidates to
http://www.oldwood.us/ learn the craftmanship of installing & crafting area rugs. No tools necessary as the
(505) 470-3616, david@oldwood.us, David Old. Old Wood LLC. Company Will Provide all that is needed for you to become an industry leading elite
installer. Great Pay, Paid Vacation Time, and a Great Employer.
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $30,000.00 to $100,000.00 /year
Interested candidates, please email david@costikyancarpet.comz
BEST FLOORING STORE IN FLOORING BUSINESS FOR SALE
SOUTH FLORIDA. Well established in business for 33 yrs
80 year old owner Abe Levy after 58 years Located in the High Desert of Southern Ca.
in business wants to retire. Gross sales 2.5- 3 mil per year
Very active company with Call Dee for more info 800-589-1286 ex 703 LA & HOUSTON AREAS/ CAREER OPPORTUNITY FOR
anticipated sales of 2.5 millions for 2021.
REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES
Owner will stay on for 1 year flexible pay out.
Call Abe Levy 305-238-8681 Office, WELL ESTABLISHED
LIONS FLOOR, as one of America's fastest-growing wholesale distributors of
305-790-3121 cell. FLOORING BUSINESS FOR SALE hard-surface flooring, is expanding to Texas!
IN A BEAUTIFUL VERMONT We have sustained exponential business growth for the past few years, and we
LOCATION. are realizing great growth potential in launching national distribution channels.
DOM 802 362-2091 Seeking Sales Representatives with proven record and experience in
WELL ESTABLISHED Greater Los Angeles Area and Greater Houston Area, Texas.
FLOORING BUSINESS FOR SALE Substantial earning potential and competitive compensation package will be
FLOORING BUSINESS FOR SALE offered. If you have a winning attitude and the desire to drive business growth,
Located in one of the fastest growing cities
46 Year Old NE Florida Flooring Business we want to hear from you!
in Central Texas & the United States.
Owner Retiring- Please submit resume with complete job history to: jerry@lionsfloor.com
Owner Retiring. Contact Debra
Contact Herb 904-571-4803
512.468.4813

FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY | JANUARY 3, 2022 41

THE LAST WORD
2022’s Blank Slate
W
hat will this
new year
bring? All
key indicators point
north and as an
industry, leaders
feel that the year
to come will show
increases — there
is preparation for
demand and steps
being taken to best
meet the consumer’s expectations.
Still, there are unknowns. COVID variants taking
hold across the country beg the question of what
that will do to the progress already made getting
back to normal. For example, I spent time taking in
some holiday cheer in New York City and while some
establishments were open with what has become the
typical restrictions — show your vaccine card at the
door, wear a mask walking in and out — other places
chose to close their doors as a precaution.
And inflation is creating concern around consum-
er spending. We see gas prices climbing as well as
other consumer goods that are typically seen as
staples. Will this impact the momentum of home
buying and renovation?
With all of these open questions, the unexpect-
ed is something we have come to, well, expect. The
future is ours to write — it is a blank slate, a clean
canvas — and I fully believe we are ready and well
prepared to do just that. After all, we have all faced
truly unique challenges over the last two years
and come out the other side better for it.
There are many lessons learned that arm us all
with strategies and a mindset made for success in
2022. Efficiencies put in place during the worst of
times are serving companies well now. The list of in-
vestments and efforts made in the last two years —
whether in automating manufacturing, creating bet-
ter workplaces or expanding capabilities — is long and
set the foundation for smart, nimble paths forward.
Diversification in supply and transportation is helping
To subscribe call (877) 272-7820 or visit fcw1.com/subscribe
42 JANUARY 3, 2022 | FLOOR COVERING WEEKLY
to mitigate the ongoing obstacles to get product into
the hands of the end user. And innovative new prod-
ucts are helping to drive consumer interest.
Indeed, we’ve learned a lot. The consumer is prac-
ticing patience with getting what they want when
they want it, and with understanding that things may
cost a bit more. It is all about managing expectations.
Home has become a haven and the want and
need to fill it with comfort and purpose won’t halt.
There is a desire to expand the living space to out-
doors and a trend to biophilia. There is also oppor-
tunity to trade up the customer as the appreciation
for better goods grows. Take a look at our luxury
content in this issue, there is clear opportunity.
The drive to a better digital presence has also put
businesses in better connection with the customer.
We’ve learned to lean on technology and look for
creative ways to connect with our partners when
in-person meetings are not possible.
At FCW, we chart our own path forward address-
ing the needs of our readers and business partners
as well as our team members. Our parent company
Hearst continues to be at the forefront of change and
over the last two years, has taken meaningful steps
to continue to develop a top-notch work environment.
Earlier this year, for example, as part of the Hearst
Include program, I became Conscience Inclusion
Training Certified. The company also began granting
two days for employees to do community service for
things that are important to them. Hearst and FCW
are committed to respecting and encouraging associ-
ates to be open, involved and agents of change.
This year, we also welcome Sharyn Bernard to
the edit team full-time as business and special
projects editor. She has been a meaningful con-
tributor to FCW’s cutting-edge content. We look
forward to her making an impact in 2022.
The new year may be unpredictable, there may
be some curveballs. But what we do know is we are
passionate, we are resilient, we are innovative and
creative — everything needed for a great new year.
Take this blank slate and make it your own.
Cheers to a safe, successful & inspired 2022.
- Amy Rush-Imber
FCW
THE INDUSTRY’S BUSINESS NEWS & INFORMATION RESOURCE
FLOOR COVERING W E E K LY
FCW Editorial and Sales Headquarters
300 W 57th St, 15th floor, New York, NY 10019
(212) 649-7981 • FAX (646) 280-1990
Editorial (212) 649-7981 Fax (646) 280-1990
Advertising (404) 964-3961
Classified Advertising (212) 649-7981 Fax (646) 280-1990
Mark Flinn General Manager
(212) 649-2336 mflinn@hearst.com
Amy Rush-Imber Editor in Chief
(212) 649-7983 arush@hearst.com
Editorial
Mallory Cruise-McGrath Managing Editor
(212) 649-7985 mcruise@hearst.com
Kacey Perinelli Senior Editor
(212) 649-7984 kacey.perinelli@hearst.com
Sharyn Bernard Business & Special Projects Editor
sharyn.bernard@hearst.com
Lauren Moore-Brennan Senior Associate Editor
(212) 649-7995 lauren.moore@hearst.com
Ryane DeFalco Associate Web Editor
(212) 649-7987 rdefalco@hearst.com
Janet Herlihy (361) 443-3752 herlihyjanet@gmail.com
Advertising
U.S. & Canada
Charlton Calhoun
24 Sloan Street, Suite A, Roswell, Ga. 30075
(404) 964-3961 ccalhoun4@aol.com
Classified Ad Sales
Sherridan Basdeo Advertising Administrator
(212) 649-7981 sbasdeo@hearst.com
Production
Vinny Forgione Operations Manager
(212) 649-7988 vinny.forgione@hearst.com
Samayra Williams Production Artist
(212) 649-7989 samayra.williams@hearst.com
Stefanie Candelario Production Intern
(212) 649-7986 scalendario@hearst.com
Administration
Sherridan Basdeo Advertising Administrator
(212) 649-7981 sbasdeo@hearst.com
Steven R. Swartz President & Chief Executive Officer
William R. Hearst III Chairman
Frank A. Bennack Jr. Executive Vice Chairman
Richard P. Malloch Executive Vice President for Business Media
Floor Covering Weekly (ISSN-0015-3761) is published twice
per month with 4 additional issues in March, April, June,
and September by Hearst Business Communications, Inc./
FCW Division, 300 W 57th St, 15th floor, New York, NY 10019.
Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing
offices. Subscription rates: Domestic: $25 per year, $48 two
years; Canada: $60 per year, $110 two years. Foreign: $174
airmail. Single copy Domestic: $4.00, Canada: $6.00. Printed
in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FLOOR
COVERING WEEKLY, PO Box 3012, Northbrook, IL 60065.
To subscribe: call (866) 813-3752 or go to fcw1.com/subscribe
 S P I N & W I N !
OT E,
V LOOR COVERING WEEKLY
WITH F

Retailers, cast your vote!

1. Visit FCW’s booth #2607.
2. Choose the products that will mean the most on your selling floor.
3. Pick a lucky number & spin the wheel to win $50.

The International Surface Event | Booth #2607

TimberStep: Wood Lux
Whether it’s your dog, cat, or kids, you
can be sure that TimberStep will provide
the style, design, and color you want and
the resilience you need.

Product: Wood Lux Color 2003

• engineeredfloors.com