By Louis Iannaco
While it didn’t take the laminate segment too long to make the switch to glueless, the wood category was another story. Whether the perception it wasn’t a solid installation job unless an adhesive was used or the given technology wasn’t quite up to par, the category’s jump to glueless was initially a slow one.

Today, much to the delight of installers, contractors and do-it-yourselfers, more wood mills are offering the latest in state-of-the-art glueless systems than ever before.

Mirage

“Our product is called Mirage Lock and has been in the works for many years,” said Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing for Boa-Franc, the parent company for Mirage. “It‘s an engineered floor with an exclusive pivot and hook locking joint system.” The flooring can be installed over any subfloor surface even with a radiant heat system; on, above or below grade, he noted.

Mirage Lock is made in single boards in five assorted lengths, and features a 3/32-inch (2mm) surface layer of real hardwood with a finely milled Micro-V joint on all four sides, Robitaille said. It also features the company’s latest innovation in finishing, Nanolinx, which is available on all Mirage products.

Preverco

Preverco’s hardwood locking system is called PreLoc, which is a 1/2-inch engineered floor with self-locking joints used under license by Valinge Innovation. “We use the second-generation system lengthwise and the fifth-generation system on the end,” said Jean-Sébastien Roy, marketing manager. “The plastic inserts at the end ensure stability.” This line has the same properties as the company’s engineered line but with a real frame sawn hardwood top layer of 1/8-inch and a 7-ply Baltic birch core.

Two widths are offered, and the lengths are random, up to 78 inches. “No other manufacturer offers these unique benefits with the look/feel of real, traditional hardwood flooring,” Roy added. “Preverco also has the highest number of SKUs available.”

He said dealers are excited and impressed when they see PreLoc because the category is brand new in the hardwood flooring business. “Glueless locking systems are the norm in laminate, but not too many hardwood manufacturers offer it.”

Armstrong World Industries

New products, technology and better product styling are all driving sales and profit opportunities for retailers in the locking hardwood category, noted Dick Quinlan, general manager of Armstrong’s Bruce Hardwood Floors business. “There are two types of mechanical locking systems in the market today—the traditional locking hardwood with an ‘angle-angle’ system like laminate flooring, and a newer ‘Lock & Fold’ mechanical lock offering a two-step installation process, eliminating the need to angle the ends together prior to assembling the sides.

“Both innovations are changing the face of hardwood installation,” he added.

Recently, Armstrong was awarded the patent for its NextGen engineered technology, which revolutionizes hardwood installations, Quinlan noted. “Bruce Turlington Lock & Fold offers a dimensionally stable floor with twice the lock strength of traditional locking laminate and hardwood floors for a durable surface that won’t shift/buckle. It’s a floor that saves the dealer time and money—an average of 30% per job—and meets homeowners’ design needs.”

Trueloc

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Trueloc was the second company worldwide to license a locking system on real hardwood back in 2000, so it’s very experienced in this category, noted Shane Calloway, Trueloc’s president-U.S. operations. “Our competitive advantage is bringing Australian wood species to the North American market, where exotic hardwood flooring continues to have strong growth, along with the latest technology in locking systems.”

Like Preverco, Trueloc is a Valinge licensee, and the system it markets is a 5G (fifth generation). “It’s the fastest and easiest system because it only requires a ‘single action’ fold down method on the end joints to secure the boards,” Calloway said.

All Trueloc products are offered with the 5G locking system, including traditional three-strip longstrip products, Trueloc 3000; Trueloc 6000, which are single-strip wide width featuring exotic species mainly from Australia, and recently launched Trueloc 8000, a single strip 71/2-inch wide plank featuring different staining techniques along with wire brushing/hand scraping. “Dealer reaction to the 5G locking system has been fantastic, Calloway concluded. “‘Floating’ hardwood floors still remain a small percentage of the overall hardwood market but continue to grow.”