New Frontiers in Resilient

Responding to increased consumer demand for resilient flooring, Mohawk is expanding its SolidTech line in 2021 to offer retailers a full assortment of product from LMF to flex and rigid. Branded Mohawk SolidTech on the same merchandising unit and with 68 new trending wood and stone looks, the revamped line gives retailers and retail sales associates flexibility to reach a diverse range of consumers. Shown here: SolidTech Uncharted Territory Moussaka. Photo: Mohawk.

The resilient flooring sector continues to boom, having grown from $2.3 billion in 2003 to over $7 billion 2020. With it, resilient flooring manufacturers have invested a lot into research and product development to keep creating products that will answer consumer needs.

Great things have happened in the areas of innovation that have helped resilient gain steam over the last decade.

“First of all, there was no question that for a long, long time, aesthetics have been what has really helped our products have the leadership role they’ve had,” said Dean Thompson, president of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI). “What’s happened is that through innovation in digital printing and innovation in design, our products are vastly superior to what those were a few years ago.”

NovaFloor’s newest collection is Dansbee. With its blonde tones, clean visuals, and generous proportions, the company says Dansbee’s naturally beautiful flooring emulates chic, effortless style inspired by Southern California living. Shown here in White Ash Summit. Photo by Novalis.

According to John Rietveldt, CEO, I4F, cutting-edge digital printing technologies are enabling flooring manufacturers to create unique designs, achieve superior optical quality and avoid unnecessary inventory on pre-printed materials. These digital printing technologies are at the forefront of the flooring industry, enabling direct printing on a wide range of different core boards, as well as on PVC films.

“Digital printing will play a more crucial role in the future of flooring as it enables unlimited design flexibility and can be applied to a wide range of materials,” Rietveldt said. “This facilitates faster response times to market demands and trends while reducing material waste.”

COREtec Plus HD offers 10 new color additions which bring simplicity and warmth to the line: Allured Oak, Angelic Oak, Emersed Oak, Eloquent Oak, Gracious Oak, Luxe Oak, Savor Oak, Sleek Oak, Icon Pine and Trance Pine. Inspiration is drawn from the coexistence of rustic and modern visuals, as well as light, medium or dark color tones. With a 7” x 60” size, these new colors fit into any decor style. The planks are sleek, long, and adaptable to any design or size space in the home. Photo: COREtec.

Innovations in installation, such as the click and locking systems for rigid-core products, for example, have made these floors easier to install and taken the cost out of installation.

“Innovation in this category of flooring has been phenomenal—and has happened at an incredible rate — in recent years,” said Per Nygren, executive vice president, Välinge Innovation. 

Innovations in chemistry of wear layers have developed products with superior performance.

Shaw introduced Floorte Tile for consumers who want the timeless look of tile and stone visuals with the easy installation and maintenance expected from luxury vinyle. Integrated grout lines give the tiles a realistic tile look. New for 2021, Paragon Tile Plus (SPC), shown here, was inspired by the unique and true-to-nature looks in 12” x 24” size and 12 colors. Photo: Shaw Floors.

“In the industry, there’ve been hundreds of millions of dollars that have been invested to sustain the long-term value of this category on the market,” Thompson said.

RFCI has conducted some research in partnership with the Shelton Group, a sustainability marketing firm in Knoxville, Tennessee, to discover exactly what messaging is resonating with consumers of resilient floors now.

Karastan LuxeCraft luxury vinyl flooring introduced new hard surface flooring with inspired stone designs. The new Unearthed Beauty collection features six high-end décors inspired by the natural beauty found in stone, including soft onyx, high-contrasting marble and textured Breccia stone. Shown here: Karastan LuxeCraft Unearthed Beauty Dazed. Photo: Karastan.

“Sustainability is really now a mainstream with consumers concerned about health, indoor air quality, and waste—those are all primary product preferences and purchasing drivers for consumers,” Thompson said. “That’s what were working on was pre-COVID, but now because of COVID, it has even more greatly impacted the concern for the overall health of people.”

RFCI’s data shows that two-thirds of Americans were concerned about indoor air quality pre-pandemic and that 41% of Americans want to be perceived as people who are purchasing eco- friendly products. The RFCI took that research to develop three pillars of communications to help explain the benefits of resilient flooring:

MSI has unveiled eight new colors in its Cyrus, Prescott and XL Cyrus collections, along with three colors exclusive to the Ashton collection. The rigid core series feature an easy-install locking system and are 100% waterproof and low-maintenance, making them the ideal flooring for busy homes and light commercial spaces. Photo: MSI.

Mindful Manufacturing: Discusses how RFCI members are committed to their sourcing, designing and creating products that reflect sustainability.

Living Well: Talks about wellbeing and that curating products that are designed with health in mind so that consumers can live in cleaner, healthier environments.

Made for Life: Ensures resilient products are designed and built to provide consumers the security in knowing that they are investing in floors that will be protected with the ultimate in durability and performance in their homes over time.

Adventuro luxury vinyl flooring, part of Daltile’s ProSeries program, offers 6” x 48” rigid-core planks in twelve wood visuals. The planks click together with the Uniclic locking system for water-resistant performance. The collection’s 4.5-mm-thick planks include a 12-mil wear layer for heavy foot traffic and provide additional durability through ultra-reinforced SuperGuard Technology. Photo: Daltile.