If you’ve ever played “Whac-A-Mole” on the boardwalk or at an arcade, you can get a sense of the frustration that both food and beverage processors and architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) firms are feeling in today’s economy—fix one problem, another pops up.

Construction in the food and beverage industry is continuing, but there’s a bit of “wait and see” happening due to the presidential election occurring later this year.

Trucor Refined is a PVC-free flooring collection that combines rigid core and laminate for those who prefer an environmentally friendly, waterproof, durable and luxurious floor that is easy to install and maintain.

Retailers have a new tower display for Innovius SPC and new step displays for Encompass and Oterra laminate collections. 

Oterra features AC4 durability, painted bevel, and an emboss in register that adds to the look and feel of natural wood. 

The high-performance laminate flooring offers marble and porcelain visuals in a user-friendly, click-lock tile. 

The purchased assets include the Naturally Aged Flooring, Harris, Kraus and Heritage Mill brands in North America, as well as related inventory and associated domain names and websites.

 Torlys Smart Laminates offer the beauty of wood, with the durability of laminate.

LF-02, created by NALFA as a benchmark in environmental responsibility for laminate floor coverings, aims to systematically document and enhance the sustainability profile of products. 

Torlys Grand View Smart Laminate collection offers extra-wide and extra-long planks, with Surface Flood Protection thanks to Aqua Protect and pressed bevel edges.

Välinge announced that Changzhou Chenglu New Materials CO., Ltd. became a 5G Dry licensee and launched a collection of laminate products with increased waterproofness using the technology.

Jufeng selected i4F’s drop-lock technologies for faster and easier installation as well as AquaProtect, i4F’s highly advanced water-resistant process technology for laminate as part of its strategy to launch its laminate flooring as a mass market offering.

AHF Products, a manufacturer of hard surface flooring in the U.S., announced the launch of new product lines by Bruce, Armstrong Flooring, Hartco and Crossville, the company's brands.

The National Floorcovering Alliance's 26 vendor partners came armed with new products and promotion ideas aimed to boost sales for flooring retailers in 2024. 

For the third year, the Mohawk Design Summit brought together retailers and designers to curate the 2025 and 2026 products for the Mohawk, Karastan and Godfrey Hirst brands. 

This initiative marks the first major revision of the standard since its last update in 2019, emphasizing NALFA's commitment to ensuring the highest quality standards within the industry. 

The latest white paper by the North American Laminate Flooring Association clarifies the distinctions between flooring products labeled as "waterproof" and/or "water-resistant." Additionally, it outlines four key design methods employed in the manufacture of laminate flooring to safeguard against household spills and water challenges. 

Certainly there are exceptions to the rule and we had an opportunity to visit one of those when we were in Philadelphia recently to attend the Greenbuild expo and conference.

Many called 2013 “the Year of LVT.” And with good reason: Resilient has been the fastest growing flooring category, and within this rapidly growing segment, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is thriving (Editor’s note: For the purposes of this article, LVT refers to both luxury vinyl tile and luxury vinyl plank).

Cleaning and maintaining carpets and floors for the most part is not an everyday topic in most quarters of the floor covering industry. 

Since bamboo’s initial introduction to the U.S. flooring market in the early 1990s, it has continued to evolve into different flooring formats, which has served to increase the product’s use and demand, especially in today’s eco-conscious flooring market.

In conjunction with the 2014 InterCork II campaign being launched by APCOR, the international trade body representing cork producers from Portugal, I would like to elaborate further on their efforts while extolling the many virtues cork flooring has to offer the independent retailer.

Oils and waxes have been used to protect natural materials from the effects of the environment—light, water, cats, etc.—in buildings and building materials for as long as such things have existed.

Since its opening in 1960, Detroit’s Cobo Center has become one of the country’s most famous venues, drawing visitors to the banks of the Detroit River for the nation’s premier auto shows, concerts, political conventions and an endless variety of other events.

Selecting the right flooring for a space not only adds to its look, but experience and overall feel. That is one of the main points designers said when Floor Trends polled them to find out just what they’re looking for when designing for commercial spaces.

Rob Menefee wants to continue to grow his business. Considering he already has three locations and $12-plus million in annual sales, that is no small task. 

Connecting with customers is vital to the success of any business. Flooring contractors are no different, but which customers and how? Who do you spend time with—architects, designers, end users or general contractors? What about product manufacturers?

In today’s digital age, the Yellow Pages have long since yellowed, permanently replaced by the Internet as the primary source to find a contractor.

When you speak with David Martin, you cannot help but recognize his sense of history, place and responsibility. He is the fourth generation of Martins to work at one of the country’s largest flooring retailers. 

Ted Gregerson found true love as a young man. Working for a Carpet One store in his hometown right out of high school he discovered flooring was in his blood. His love for people, integrity and helping customers create beautiful homes inspired him to his core.

According to a 2014 study by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing, the home improvement industry is expected to see double-digit growth through the end of the year.

What happens when a designer redesigns his own home? Floor Trends was invited to the New York City apartment of nationally known interior design Vern Yip to find out.

Long gone are the days of cheap, plastic looking vinyl flooring.

Distribution remains a vital part of the floor covering trade, but distributors are facing increased competition from e-commerce sites and retailers who go direct to manufacturers to buy their flooring products.

Dave Munson learned the flooring business from the ground up working in his parents’ two stores in North Dakota.

Dreams are what homes are made of.

A Google search for “laminate retailers” will retrieve over a million results in about 30 seconds.

From the beginning, laminate products have had a reputation of having a “hollow” sound when walked upon.

From the earliest days, Ruggieri Brothers of Cranston, R.I., was a hometown, family business.

These introductory case studies illustrate how EnviroQuiet LVT has been able to enhance the living and working conditions for a variety of populations.  

Interface introduces project-specific embodied carbon metrics on all floor plans created by its Design Studio. This industry-first initiative allows customers to easily understand the carbon impact of their flooring choices, comparing Interface products to industry averages.

In a move to reshape flooring distribution, Transom Capital Group has announced the formation of Artivo Surfaces, a new parent company that brings together distributors Virginia Tile and Galleher. This strategic consolidation creates a multi-regional powerhouse with 48 locations across 18 states, offering an extensive range of flooring solutions from coast to coast. 

Victoria CEO Phillipe Harners reported that while the flooring sector is experiencing the most severe and longest decline in demand in the last 30 years, the company is optimizing productivity and reducing operational costs while maintaining production capacity to prepare for future demand. 

Nineteen flooring manufacturers, including AHF Products, showcased a curated selection of products and met with architects and designers from the greater New York City area. 

Toronto-based Metropolitan Floors is challenging misleading acoustic rating requirements in condominiums, warning that increasingly demanding Impact Insulation Class (IIC) standards are often unattainable in real-world conditions. The company aims to educate industry stakeholders about the gap between laboratory test results and actual building performance.

Leading commercial interiors event NeoCon announces its call for programming submissions, opening October 30. Industry experts can propose CEUs, workshops, and talks for the 56th edition, scheduled for June 9-11, 2025, at The Mart in Chicago. 

Sherwin-Williams will highlight its industrial flooring systems at Pack Expo International, November 3-6, 2024, in Chicago. The company's Protective & Marine division will showcase chemical and sterilant-resistant flooring solutions designed for manufacturing and processing facilities.

The National Floorcovering Alliance (NFA) members demonstrated classic American entrepreneurial resilience at their fall meeting in Washington, D.C., October 27-30, reporting flat to positive business performance in 2024 despite broader market softness.

Mohawk's Performance Accessories showcased its commitment to the installation community as a platinum sponsor of the 2024 CFI and FCICA Convention and Trade Show. Held October 1-3 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida.

The SmartLoad FramePro 751XP clipped head framing nailer, SmartLoad FramePro 752XP full round head framing nailer, and SmartLoad SCN65XP coil nailer mount easily to most popular bridge systems, providing dependable fastening performance for machine- driven, high-volume assembly of walls, floors, roofs and other wood construction.