Hicksville, N.Y.—Laminate sales may not be ringing up as briskly as they were in the late ’90s but, considering the rather sluggish economy of 2002, the category continues to click away as consumer interest and new technology keep the segment fresh. Proof of this comes not necessarily in the form of dollars but overall production volume. Most industry executives surveyed by FCNews feel dollar sales for the year compared to 2001 will be at worst flat, falling between an annual level of $750 million to $800 million. But, sales by the square foot should be up in the very high single to low double-digits when compared to last year.

“There is no question more square feet of product will be sold this year,” said Bill Byrne, vice president of sales and marketing for BHK of America. “But, dollars will be on the flat side.” The reason cited for this by mill execs has to do with the fact very low-end, imported products are still proliferating the American market. “This has really hurt the category,” Byrne said, “especially the single-line companies, which is why a number of laminate mills have branched into other flooring segments in addition to trying to bring more value-added features to their laminate offerings. The long-term players have realized you can’t win at the low end, which means in order to offer products at a higher level you have to manufacture them with added features and benefits.”

Rob Tarver, national marketing manager for Wilsonart Flooring, said this has created a major separation in the category between high and low ends. “Up to this year there used to be a fairly even separation of price points, but right now there is not a lot in the middle.” He points to the same reason as Byrne, noting a number of foreign companies have come to the U.S. with simply low-end goods in order to help them unload what is an over production problem. On the other hand, “the companies that intend to be here for the long run have realized they can’t go so low without hurting themselves and the industry. Therefore, they have started to build products and systems to protect price points at a level where everyone in the channel can make money while still giving the end users a quality, beautiful product.”

Despite price still being an issue, Bill Dearing, president of the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA), said this year’s figures appear to be pointing to a positive change. “This is kind of good news for the industry; at least we appear to be going in the right direction.” He explained that in recent years the spread between total square feet and total dollars was far wider than the way 2002 is shaping up, “so maybe the value of the product is starting to come back some. One reason is manufacturers, at least those who have shown they are committed to servicing the North American marketplace, are creating products that are more technologically advanced than ever before and developing a variety of value added components to allow for all parties to make money.”

One of the biggest areas of change is in the type of products being sold. This time last year, it was estimated that 25% to 30% of all laminate sales were glueless installation systems with the remaining 70% to 75% coming from traditional glue-together products. Twelve months later, most experts would acknowledge those numbers have reversed themselves. This figure, said BHK’s Byrne, whose company was one of the first to sell a glueless product, “is only going to get higher. Clearly, everything is headed to glueless.” “The traditional gluing methods are clearly becoming a thing of the past,” said Dearing. “All manufacturers seem to be moving in this direction with some fully there.”

One of the companies already making and selling only glue-free floors is Witex. Steve Newman, president and CEO, said a key reason for glueless products’ rapid rise in popularity is two-fold. “First, the manufacturing has gotten so much better in a short amount of time. For example, the tolerances in milling are better and tighter than ever.” The second reason has to do with the fact specialty dealers are accepting this type of product having realized they can still sell it as a professionally installed floor and make a fair profit doing so. “Dealers have started seeing the benefits,” said Newman. “The biggest thing is that glueless has taken away the mistake factor during installation—the use of glue—which means the end result will be a happier customer, something everyone wants.”

“The number one problem with laminates had to do with the use of adhesive,” noted Tarver. “Either too much or too little was used. Not only have glueless floors removed this problem, they are better made than ever and they look great.” Even so, experts agree more innovation is still to come. “Given that vinyl continues to improve and evolve after more than 30 years in the market,” said Kevin Biedermann, general manager of laminate for Armstrong World Industries, “it’s no surprise that we can expect continued innovation and improvements to the relatively young category of laminate flooring.” As such, he, like many others, feels technology will continue to drive improvements in two areas: visual and and depth of pattern, texture and realism.

“Performance-wise, you will see continued advancements to wear protection, and sound- and moisture-resistance features.” “The winners will be the ones who do texture surface and visuals the best,” New-man added. “We are constantly challenging our R&D staff to give the consumer a more realistic looking product. There’s some pretty good stuff out there but we feel it can still be advanced.” “Surface technology is the final, big area,” said Tarver, “Be-cause it all leads back to design and great design is what sells.” And that is what is all comes down to, said Dearing, giving the consumer a product that meets her needs in terms of looks, ease of installation and ease of maintenance. “That is what she sees and wants. Laminate visuals and performance are as good as they have ever been, but we will continue to see more attractive, more interesting products because the one area that drives this category is innovation.”